History Run Wild: The Alternate World of Joan Aiken’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</Emphasis> Series

This article examines the historical fantasy world created by Joan Aiken in the eleven volumes of her Wolves of Willoughby Chase series. In particular it looks at her subversion of historical reality by the creation of an alternative yet recognisable representation of our own world, using a wide range of events, and the remoulding of aspects of language and geography. It also discusses her reasons for writing in this form and explores the character of Dido Twite as heroine and major raison dtre of the series.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the article title.     

Initial and Further Education: Substitutes or Complements? Differences in Continuing Education and Training over the Life-Course of European Workers

This investigation examines the place of initial and further education in continuing education and training over the life-course of workers across Europe. The evidence presented demonstrates that in countries with a strong orientation towards vocational education, participation in continuing education and training among employees is higher than in countries that mainly provide general education. Moreover, it can be seen that the effect of the vocational orientation of the education system increases over the life-course of workers. The conclusion of this investigation is that further education complements rather than substitutes for initial education. This implies that national education and training policies meant to encourage lifelong learning should not only attempt to expand or redirect training received by already experienced workers, but also try to facilitate participation in initial vocational training.     

African Oral Traditions: Riddles Among The Haya of Northwestern Tanzania

This study argues for the integration of African oral traditions and other elements of traditional learning into the modern school curriculum. It thus contributes to supporting the increased relevance of education to local communities. In particular, using the example of riddles collected from one of the main ethnic groups in Northwestern Tanzania, the Haya people, the present study challenges the views of those social and cultural anthropologists who hold that African riddles have no substantially meaningful educational value. Instead, it is maintained that riddles make an important contribution to children’s full participation in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of African communities, especially by fostering critical thinking and transmitting indigenous knowledge.

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Zusammenfassung MÜNDLICHE TRADITIONEN IN AFRIKA: DER ERZIEHERISCHE WERT VON RÄTSELN BEI DEN HAYA IM NORDWESTLICHEN TANSANIA – Diese Studie argumentiert für die Einbeziehung afrikanischer mündlicher Traditionen und anderer Elemente traditionellen Lernens in den modernen schulischen Lehrplan. Sie fördert somit die gestiegene Bedeutung der Bildung für die örtlichen Gemeinschaften. Insbesondere begegnet die vorliegende Studie, indem sie das Beispiel von Rätseln gebraucht, die bei einer der Hauptvolksgruppen im nordwestlichen Tansania, dem Volk der Haya, gesammelt wurden, den Ansichten derjenigen Sozial- und Kulturanthropologen, die behaupten, dass afrikanische Rätsel keinen wesentlich bedeutungsvollen erzieherischen Wert haben. Stattdessen wird die These aufgestellt, dass Rätsel einen wichtigen Beitrag zur vollständigen Teilnahme von Kindern am gesellschaftlichen, kulturellen, politischen sowie wirtschaftlichen Leben afrikanischer Gemeinschaften leisten, besonders durch die Förderung von kritischem Denken und die Weitergabe des Wissens der Eingeborenen.

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Resumen TRADICIONES ORALES AFRICANAS: EL VALOR EDUCATIVO DE LAS ADIVINANZAS PARA EL PUEBLO DE LOS HAYA EN EL NOROESTE DE TANZANÍA – Con este trabajo, el autor aboga por una integración de tradiciones orales africanas y de otros elementos de aprendizaje tradicional en los actuales planes de estudios de las escuelas. Al mismo tiempo, hace énfasis en la creciente relevancia que la educación tiene para las comunidades locales. Con este estudio, el autor desafía la posición de aquellos antropólogos sociales y culturales que sostienen que las adivinanzas africanas no tienen ningún valor educativo digno de mención, ante todo presentando el ejemplo de adivinanzas que ha recopilado entre los miembros del pueblo de los haya, uno de los principales grupos étnicos del noroeste de Tanzanía. Por lo contrario, el autor afirma que las adivinanzas promueven en gran medida la participación plena de los niños en la vida social, cultural, política y económica de las comunidades africanas, ante todo porque incentivan el pensamiento crítico y transmiten conocimientos indígenas.

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Résumé TRADITIONS ORALES AFRICAINES : LA VALEUR ÉDUCATIVE DES ÉNIGMES CHEZ LES HAYAS DE LA TANZANIE DU NORD-OUEST – Cette étude argumente en faveur de l’intégration des traditions orales africaines et autres éléments de l’apprentissage traditionnel dans le programme d’étude de l’école moderne. Elle contribue ainsi à soutenir la pertinance accrue de l’éducation au sein des communautés locales. En particulier, utilisant l’exemple des énigmes recueillies chez l’un des principaux groupes ethniques de la Tanzanie du Nord-Ouest, le peuple Haya, l’étude présente conteste les vues de ces anthropologues sociaux et culturels qui soutiennent que les énigmes africaines n’ont pas de valeur éducative substantiellement significative. Au lieu de cela, on maintient que les énigmes apportent une contribution importante à la pleine participation des enfants à la vie sociale, culturelle, politique et économique des communautés africaines, spécialement en ce qu’elles favorisent la pensée critique et transmettent les connaissances indigènes.

     

What Can Clients Tell Us about Seeking Counselling and Their Experience of It?

Research on counselling is often unknown to or ignored by counsellors. Research that explores counselling from the client’s perspective is even less familiar to most counsellors, perhaps because there is far less of it compared to the quantity of research investigating the process from the counsellor’s point of view. Nevertheless, research presenting the client’s perspective can be a useful guide to both counsellors and their clients. With this aim in mind, this article summarises some of the research that has been conducted from the client’s point of view and suggests implications for counselling practice.     

Variation in Students’ Experiences of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’

This paper examines Oxford University students’ conceptions of the role of the tutorial in their learning. An analysis of interviews with 28 students constituted four qualitatively different conceptions of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’. These ranged from the tutorial involving the tutor explaining to the student what the student did not know, to the tutorial involving the tutor and the student in exchanging different points of view and both coming to a new understanding of the topic under discussion. These different conceptions also appeared to be related to variations in students’ views of the role of the work done in preparation for the tutorial, their view of the student’s and tutor’s roles in the tutorial, and the conception of knowledge that students adopted in relation to the tutorial. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of the relations between students’ conceptions of tutorials and their anticipated learning outcomes and its implications for contexts outside of Oxford in terms of students’ conceptions of academic tasks.     

“I Think About It All The Time”: A 12-Year-Old Girl’s Internal Crisis With Racism and the Effects on her Mental Health

I conducted an ethnographic study, situated within the conceptual framework of Critical Race Theory, which illustrates one child’s experiences with racism. The study was conducted in an urban after-school program, and explores issues of racism in both the school and community settings. Utilizing the storytelling aspect of Critical Race Theory, I explore the racial experiences of a 12-year-old African-American girl, and the dichotomous emotions of sadness and anger that emerge. I describe the risk to this child’s emotional well-being, and suggest a need within the mental health field to create a framework to deal with the trauma caused by racism. Amy L. Masko is affiliated with the Grand Valley State University. She is a professor of English Education, preparing pre-service teachers to teach elementary literacy. Dr. Masko’s research interests are in urban education, after school programs, and multicultural education. She is also an educational consultant in the area of diversity in education and literacy education. Address correspondence to Amy L. Masko, Grand Valley State University, 221 Lake Huron Hall Allendale, MI 49401; e-mail: maskoa@gvsu.edu     

SCHOOL RACIAL CLIMATE AND THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

This investigation utilized an integrative model of development for ethnic minority children and a process model of engagement to explore whether three dimensions of school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) mediated relationships between school racial climate, academic performance, and educational aspirations. A total of 139 African American students were recruited from a high school in the southeastern United States. Findings revealed an indirect association between perceptions of racial fairness and academic achievement indicators through behavioral and cognitive engagement. Behavioral and cognitive engagement also mediated relationships between youths’ perceived peer discrimination and academic achievement indicators. No significant indirect associations between teacher discrimination and academic achievement through school engagement dimensions were found. Study limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.     

Early Childhood Creativity: Challenging Educators in Their Role to Intentionally Develop Creative Thinking in Children

Creativity is a topic of wide global interest, often discussed in fields such as education, psychology and business (Runco, Divergent thinking and creative potential, Hampton Press, New York, 2013; Yoruk and Runco, Journal for Neurocognitive Research 56:1–16, 2014). However, the relationship of pedagogical practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) as it applies to the development of creative thought processes of young children is a relatively new area for investigation. This paper presents recent research that examines the role of the educator as an intentional teacher within Australian early learning environments and investigates the relationship of this role to children’s developing creativity. Theoretically informed by Vygotsky’s sociocultural constructivist approach (Vygotsky, Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1930, 1978) and neo-Vygotskian theories on creativity (John-Steiner and Moran, Educational Psychologist 31:191–206, 2012), this paper explores some of the beliefs and understandings of educators on creativity. Furthermore, this paper exposes some of the misconceptions of educators about children’s creative thinking as they engage in play-based learning activities. The evidence from this Australian study suggests that the role of the educator is pivotal in assisting children in the early development of creative thinking thus challenging their role as educators.     

A model of intellectual capital management capability in the dynamic business environment

This paper discusses the way in which intellectual capital (IC) can be managed to assist organization to overcome dynamic challenges. An intellectual capital management capability (ICMC) model is developed which permits the management of an organization to realize the potential of IC by measuring the maturity level of its IC. The model is consistent with dynamic capability theory, which suggests leveraging internal and external resources in response to environment changes to sustain competitive advantage. By utilizing in-depth interviews with 25 chief executive officers from firms possessing high IC, this study seeks to inform the readers of the preliminary work and the way in which the maturity level of ICMC can be measured through the development and deployment of dynamic capabilities. The verification and enhancement of the proposed model has also clarified our understanding on the evolutionary path of management capabilities of IC.