Deaf and hearing individuals' beliefs about the capabilities of deaf people

The study explored the beliefs of 100 residents of Greece about the capabilities of deaf people living in that country. Participants included deaf adults who communicated in Greek Sign Language (GSL), deaf adults who communicated orally, hearing adults who attended GSL courses, and hearing adults who did not attend such courses. Beliefs were explored through the ODP (Opinions About Deaf People) scale (Berkay, Gardner, & Smith, 1995) and an open-ended interview. All participant groups viewed deaf people's capabilities positively, but Deaf users of GSL expressed the most positive beliefs. The findings suggest that less positive beliefs reflect diverse ideological views toward GSL and Deaf culture or an awareness of the obstacles preventing deaf people from developing their potential. The Deaf community's role in empowering deaf people and the role of GSL courses in promoting awareness regarding deaf people are also discussed.     

Pre-adolescents’ representations of multiple attachment relationships: the role of perceived teacher interpersonal behaviour

Attachment theory proposes that early parent–child relationships provide the basis for all future close relationships of the individual, through childhood and adolescence into later life. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between parental attachment, peer attachment and students’ perceptions of their teacher’s interpersonal behaviour, in order to shed light on the channels through which these constructs relate. In doing so, we examined three proposed theoretical schemes of pre-adolescents’ representations of multiple relationships. As a side-goal, the psychometric properties of the Greek translations of the Revised Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R) and the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI-G) were investigated. Two independent samples comprising 270 and 306 pre-adolescents (grades 5–7), respectively participated in the study. Results supported a four-factor structure of the IPPA-R and an elliptical shape for the Interpersonal Teacher Circle measured by the QTI-G. The integrative scheme regarding pre-adolescents’ multiple adult relationships was supported by the data. Parental attachment relationships were found to be an important determinant of students’ perceptions of their teacher interpersonal behaviour, which in turn mediated the relationship between parental and peer attachment relationships. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.     

Evaluating transmission towers potentials during ground faults

During ground faults on transmission lines, a number of towers near the fault are likely to acquire high potentials to ground. These tower voltages, if excessive, may present a hazard to humans and animals. This paper presents analytical methods in order to determine the transmission towers potentials during ground faults, for long and short lines. The author developed a global systematic approach to calculate these voltages, which are dependent of a number of factors. Some of the most important factors are： magnitudes of fault currents, fault location with respect to the line terminals, conductor arrangement on the tower and the location of the faulted phase, the ground resistance of the faulted tower, soil resistivity, number, material and size of ground wires. The effects of these factors on the faulted tower voltages have been also examined for different types of power lines.     

FACING THE CHALLENGES OF “EUROPEANIZATION”: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE GREEK UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

The admission of Greece to the European Community at a moment when the European economic context was undergoing profound mutation has required a major effort of adaptation. The development of higher education in Greece has been very rapid and the employment structures have had difficulty in adapting themselves to the new situation. The close links one can notice between training and employment make education all the more vital for turning the European Communities into a united Europe. A number of decisions, among these being decision no. 89/48 adopted by the EEC at the Council meeting of 21 December 1988, are aimed at achieving this goal. A European university system is conceivable only through a harmonious integration of teachers and students into an environment characterized by great fluidity. With a view to meeting European requirements, Greece intends to improve the basic and specialized training of its administration and restructure its ministries. The need for more and better information as well as training with regard to European matters is becoming increasingly obvious. So that this effort will lead to concrete results, the role of specialists on European questions should be reconsidered.     

The Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Italian and American Short Forms

Objective. The aims of this article were to test the measurement invariance of the Italian and American versions of the Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire and to compare adults’ remembrances of parental acceptance–rejection across the two nations. Design. The Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire was administered to 564 Italian adults (M = 23.04 years) and 509 U.S. American adults (M = 22.09 years), matched by gender and age. The measurement invariance of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire was first established by means of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. Results. The Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire is fully invariant across the two cultures, and adults organize their remembrances of mothers’ and fathers’ parenting around the same four classes of behavior in both nations. Italian and American adults tend to remember their parents as having been quite loving, with Italian parents being remembered as slightly less warm and more hostile than American parents. Conclusions. The full invariance of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire across the two populations represents additional strong evidence for the universality of interpersonal acceptance–rejection theory. Measurement invariance also confirmed that the Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (short form) can be used to measure adult remembrances of parental acceptance–rejection across these two populations.     

‘It’s not about punitive’: exploring how early-career teachers in high-poverty schools respond to critical incidents

ABSTRACT

This article explores how early-career teachers working in high-poverty schools in Australia account for their decision-making during critical classroom incidents. Classroom management solutions are problematized by investigating how two teachers take up particular positions, make decisions, and enact what they believe to be ‘quality teaching’ in context. Through a combination of interviews and observations of teachers ‘in situ’, we examine what these teachers do, why they do it, what informs their decisions, and how they reflect on their actions. The complexity of teachers’ work in schools located in high-poverty areas is highlighted. We argue that both early-career teachers prefer to position themselves within ‘pastoral’, in contrast to ‘disciplinarian’, discourses, as part of constituting the school as a site of possibility and teachers who advocate for youth growing up in poverty.     

An Emic,Mixed-Methods Approach to Defining and Measuring Positive Parenting Among Low-Income Black Families

Research Findings: This within-group exploratory sequential mixed-methods investigation sought to identify how ethnically diverse, urban-residing, low-income Black families conceptualize positive parenting. During the item development phase 119 primary caregivers from Head Start programs participated in focus groups and interviews. These qualitative data were content analyzed using a 3-stage iterative process that resulted in the development of a final set of 72 items for a paper-and-pencil measure. In the measure validation phase of the study initial construct validity of the 72-item measure was assessed with an independent sample of 665 respondents. Common factor analyses revealed 5 dimensions of positive parenting on the Black Parenting Strengths in Context scale that related in expected ways with other parent self-report measures. Practice or Policy: Black Parenting Strengths in Context dimensions provide initial support for a more nuanced operationalization of positive parenting than currently exists in any single scale for use with this group and hold promise for better honoring the culture- and context-specific parenting goals and practices that low-income Black parents subjectively view as important for producing healthy developmental outcomes for their children.     

The culture of disciplines: Reconceptualising multi-subject curricula

The arts are recognised for their potential to humanise and enrich educational experience, but hold a lowly position in the hierarchy of school subject-based curricula. This limits the time, and thus the influence, they can have. Whilst schools welcome the idea of a curriculum rich with both arts and science subjects, resistance to realising this is often advanced in terms of the proportion of curriculum time required for different subjects. Arguments for STEAM education, whilst apparently challenging this and valuing the potential of the arts, have reinforced its servant role. Drawing on research into a particular project, where the perspectives of the arts and sciences inform and enrich how the other is experienced and understood, we reframe this problem. Firstly, drawing on Massey’s conception of space-time, we argue that one can conceive of more than one subject occupying the same curricular space on a school timetable. Secondly, informed by Geertz, we consider what the culture of the arts and the sciences offers, suggesting that this appears to reflect what teachers have valued. We argue that foregrounding the culture of school subjects, and particularly the culture of the arts, as part of a multicultural frame can facilitate rich and engaging educational experiences. Rather than being positioned as competing for time or status in the curriculum, a focus on culture emphasises how the co-existence and interplay of multiple subjects broadens, develops and thus enriches children’s educational experience. It also enables a different conception of, and thus role for, the arts in schooling.     

Social and ethical dimension of the natural sciences, complex problems of the age, interdisciplinarity, and the contribution of education

In view of the complex problems of this age, the question of the socio-ethical dimension of science acquires particular importance. We approach this matter from a philosophical and sociological standpoint, looking at such focal concerns as the motivation, purposes and methods of scientific activity, the ambivalence of scientific research and the concomitant risks, and the conflict between research freedom and external socio-political intervention. We then point out the impediments to the effectiveness of cross-disciplinary or broader meetings for addressing these complex problems and managing the associated risks, given the difficulty in communication between experts in different fields and non-experts, difficulties that education is challenged to help resolve. We find that the social necessity of informed decision-making on the basis of cross-disciplinary collaboration is reflected in the newer curricula, such as that of Greece, in aims like the acquisition of cross-subject knowledge and skills, and the ability to make decisions on controversial issues involving value conflicts. The interest and the reflections of the science education community in these matters increase its—traditionally limited—contribution to the theoretical debate on education and, by extension, the value of science education in the education system.     

Academics and practitioners: Partners in generating knowledge or citizens of two different worlds?

The research reported in this paper explores aspects of the relationship between academics and practitioners in the context of a professional development programme. It is illustrated by qualitative data from a case study of university teachers’ and secondary teachers’ experiences and perceptions of a university-led in-service training course in Greece. Three antithetical pairs: theory versus practice, propositional versus procedural and knowledge producers versus knowledge translators are used heuristically to guide data analysis and presentation, seen as constituting a continuum between two poles. It is indicated that rather than focusing on the ‘gap’ between academics and practitioners, the discussion should be about ‘space’ between the two groups, and that both should inhabit this space and work mutually its boundaries and its purpose, so that a vital partnership will emerge, which in turn can assist university-provided in-service training.