Support Teams in New Zealand Schools: A National Survey of Establishment and Practice

Two and a half years after the initial funding allocation for teacher release hours to establish Support Teacher positions in New Zealand schools, 63 (91%) of the schools with a Support Teacher funding allocation completed a questionnaire on the establishment of the position in the school. Information derived from the questionnaire included qualifications and experience of teachers appointed to the role of Support Teacher, and detail regarding the establishment, practice, and degree of adherence to the Support Team model of operation. Significant difficulties with Support Team establishment and program adherence are reported, notably in selection, training, organizational support, and form of service delivery. The results are discussed in terms of the speed of drift from the model, differences between primary and secondary schools in implementation of the program, the importance of training, and the presence of an active Support Team Management Committee in ensuring effective service delivery.     

Is Piaget's epistemic subject dead?

Niaz (1990) presents arguments in favor of the retention of Piaget's epistemic subject as a theoretical construct to guide research and practice in science education and psychology. The intent of this article is to point out the weaknesses of those arguments and to suggest that the weight of evidence argues against the existence of the logical thinker postulated by Piaget. Therefore, contrary to Niaz's conclusion that the acceptance of Piaget's epistemic subject will facilitate the development of cognitive theories with greater explanatory power, the conclusion is reached that Piaget's epistemic subject is dead and that continued acceptance of this aspect of Piagetian theory would be counterproductive.     

The Physical Education System as a Consequential Social Determinant

ABSTRACT

Employing the ideal type of “The Physical Education System,” in this analysis I explore the import of systems frameworks for new institutional designs which hold promise for better outcomes. The inherited idea of a system is restricted to the relationship between teacher education and school programs. It draws on the developmental trajectory of the specialized field of study which pre-dated Kinesiology, and it conforms to the industrial age school, particularly its assumptions regarding standardized curricula, teachers’ roles, student classification, and cultural assimilation. When this inherited framework reigns, other key systems components (e.g., public policy, influential peer/family/community ecologies) get short shrift, important “outcome chains” are not addressed, and both Kinesiology’s and Public Health’s contributions are constrained. Once the inherited physical education system is recognized as a consequential social determinant of pediatric health and well-being, needs and opportunities for redesign become apparent.     

The acquisition of basic quantitative reasoning skills during adolescence: Learning or development?

Five items requiring use of proportional, probabilistic, and correlational reasoning were administered to students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12. Proportions are taught in the school district in grades 7 and 8, probability in grade 10, and correlations are not taught. Based on the hypothesis that successful performance is due to classroom instruction, improvements on the proportions item were predicted between grades 6 and 10 and improvements on the probability items were predicted between grades 10 and 12. Actual gradewise improvements did not correspond well with predictions. Yet performance did correlate significantly with enrollment in classes such as chemistry, physics, and trigonometry. It is argued that successful qualitative reasoning arises as a consequence of the process of equilibration, and influences one's selection of course work. Specific instruction may initiate the equilibration process.     

l'Utilisation De La Télévision Scolaire Au Niger,En Côte d'Ivoire Et Au Sénégal

Conclusion Les limites de cet article ne permettent de tirer que quelques conclusions d'ordre très général. On peut remarquer tout d'abord que ces opérations demeurent trop peu connues et que l'ignorance tant de leurs caractéristiques que de leurs résultats pédagogiques, ne permet pas d'effacer les opinions négatives erronées qui continuent à être émises à leur sujet. Elles ont mis en évidence le bien fondé d'une approche globalisante, considérant la mise en place d'un véritable système original (et non l'adjonction au système traditionnel d'un élément supplémentaire, comme ce fut presque toujours le cas dans les pays du Nord), fondé sur l'usage de longues séries d'émissions, cohérentes et à fort taux de redondance. Elles ont enfin relevé l'importance déterminante du ‘facteur humain’ à tous les niveaux de l'entreprise qu'il s'agisse de l'adhésion des divers publics concernés, de la cohésion d'équipes, ou, problème qui ne fut jamais résolu convenablement, de la formation des nouveaux spécialistes requis par ces projets.     

Classically conditioned heart rate and respiratory-motor activity in newborn and neonatal pygmy goats

Classical discrimination conditioning of heart rate (HR) and respiratory-motor (RM) activity was examined in 16 newborn (average age = 1 day) and 8 neonatal (average age = 2 weeks) pygmy goats over 4 days of conditioning involving an electric shock US and auditory CSs. On the 4th day, one-half of the animals in each group received a low to moderate dose of ethanol to test the resistance of the CRs to drug effects. Discriminated conditioning of RM activity but not HR occurred in the newborn group, indicating an absence of close coupling between skeletal-motor activity and HR at this early age. While the newborn group failed to show recognizable HR reactions to the CSs during the 4 days of testing, it did show a long-latency brady-cardia UR beginning at 2 days of age that may have been secondary to baroreceptor reflex actions. The neonatal group displayed conditioning of both HR and RM activity. The similar latencies of the two types of CRs during the CS suggested that they may have been related to each other. However, the fact that the RM CR developed a day before the HR CR, combined with the observation that ethanol modified the HR CR but not the RM CR, supports the view that there was considerable independence between the two types of CRs.