The issue at a glance

The issue at a glance     

Child Observation as Teachers' Work in Contemporary Australian Early Childhood Programmes L'Observation des Enfant en Tant que Tache de l'Enseignant dans les Programmes Contemporains d'Enseignement Prescolaire en Australie Observacion Infantil como Trabajo Docente en Programas Comtrmporaneos Preescolares Australianos

This article reports data from a study of how teachers use child observations in one State in Australia. It argues that the current economic and political climate has meant changes for most early childhood settings catering for children prior to school entry. How teachers in these various settings deal with changes in relation to child observation depends on the contexts in which they work. The paper suggests that the purpose of observing children is changing and that traditionally accepted ways of writing child observations may be under threat. Cet article rend compte des resultats d'une etude concernant la maniere dont les enseignants utilisent l'observation des enfants dans un Etat d'Australie. Elle avance que le climat economique et politique actuel a cause des changements dans la plupart des centres d'enseignement prescolaire. Comment les enseignants de ces divers centres repondent a ces changements en ce qui concerne l'observation des enfants depend du contexte dans lequel us travaillent. L'article suggere que le but de l'observation des enfants est en train de changer, et qu'il se peut que les facons dont on notait traditionnellement ces observations soient menacees. Este articulo reporta los resultados de un estudio sobre la utilizacion de observaciones infantiles por parte de educadores en uno de los estados australianos. Discute que el actual ambiente economico y politico ha transformado a la mayoria de los ambientes preescolares. Sostiene que la manera en la cual los educadores en estos multiples ambientes enfrentan los cambios asociados con la observacion infantil depende del contexto en el cual ellos trabajen. El articulo sugiere que el objectivo de la observacion infantil esta cambiando y las formas tradicionalmente aceptadas de documentar estas observaciones pudiesen verse amenazadas.     

New languages of possibility: early experiments in education as dissent

This paper reviews the work of four early radical educators: the cultural nationalist Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), Asia’s first Nobel Laureate; Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), Cambridge mathematician and philosopher; the Irish educationalist and insurgent Patrick Pearse (1879–1916) and Leonard Elmhirst (1893–1975), co-founder of Dartington Hall school in England. Each represents a type of radicalism that is particular to his own era but resonates in twentieth-century educational provision and policy. Each articulated his political vision through the establishment of a school and all contributed to modern pedagogical practice. The paper argues that ideological and methodological similarities not only compel us to consider them as radical founders, whose ideas are in many ways identical, but to identify them as pivotal theorists in early conceptualisations of education as dissent and disengagement, as a means of decoupling thought and habit from the mainstream of educational practice, colonial imposition or curricular conservatism. In particular, the paper concentrates upon the work of the Irish educationalist and political radical Patrick Pearse and, employing his educational writings and practice as a template for dissension, demonstrates that it was both typical of and reflected the wider tone of early formulations of education as dissent.     

Taking an evaluative stance to decision-making about professional development options in early childhood education and care

This article builds on our ongoing work in conceptualising an ‘evaluative stance’ framework to assist in understanding how leaders in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) make decisions about the selection of professional development options for themselves and their staff. It introduces the notion that evaluative mindsets can be considered in terms of attitudes towards decision-making that are based on personal epistemologies. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews, it explores the mindsets of six experienced leaders in two long-established ECEC organisations in Australia with respect to their decision-making about professional development. The article concludes with a consideration of the potential utility of the framework and the coding template used in this exploratory study.     

Camp for all connection: a community health information outreach project.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the Camp For All Connection project is to facilitate access to electronic health information resources at the Camp For All facility. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/RESOURCES: Camp For All is a barrier-free camp working in partnership with organizations to enrich the lives of children and adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities and their families by providing camping and retreat experiences. The camp facility is located on 206 acres in Burton, Texas. The project partners are Texas Woman's University, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library, and Camp For All. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Camp For All Connection project placed Internet-connected workstations at the camp's health center in the main lodge and provided training in the use of electronic health information resources. A train-the-trainer approach was used to provide training to Camp For All staff. RESULTS/OUTCOME: Project workstations are being used by health care providers and camp staff for communication purposes and to make better informed health care decisions for Camp For All campers. EVALUATION METHOD: A post-training evaluation was administered at the end of the train-the-trainer session. In addition, a series of site visits and interviews was conducted with camp staff members involved in the project. The site visits and interviews allowed for ongoing dialog between project staff and project participants.     

Career preferences,self-concept,and vocational maturity

This study explored the differences in self-concept and vocational maturity variables between freshmen students who made congruent, incongruent, and undecided college major choices. The self-concept variables were operationally defined by the Tennessee Self Concept Scale. The vocational maturity variables were defined by the Career Questionnaire, Form IV, and the Vocational Development Inventory. Congruent, incongruent, and undecided college major choice groups were defined operationally using the Vocational Preference Inventory. The analysis of variance revealed the main effect of groups (congruent, incongruent, and undecided) to be significant for four vocational maturity variables. The test for the main effect of sex was found to be significant for one vocational maturity variable. The test for interaction was found to be significant for one self-concept variable. The findings tentatively suggest that subjects in the congruent male and female groups tend to be more vocationally stable and mature than subjects in the undecided male and female groups. Limitations in the reults of the present study were pointed out.