Disciplinary knowledge of K-3 teachers and their knowledge calibration in the domain of early literacy

Recently, investigators have begun to pay increasing attention to the role of teachers’ domain-specific knowledge in the area of reading, and its implications for both classroom practice and student learning. The aims of the present study were to assess kindergarten to third grade teachers’ actual and perceived reading related subject matter knowledge, and to investigate the extent to which teachers calibrate their reading related subject matter knowledge by examining relationships between actual and perceived knowledge. Results indicated that while teachers demonstrated limited knowledge of children’s literature, phoneme awareness, and phonics, the majority of these same teachers evaluated their knowledge levels quite positively. Teachers demonstrated some ability to calibrate their own knowledge levels in the area of children’s literature, yet they were poorly calibrated in the domains of phoneme awareness and phonics. These findings suggest that teachers tend to overestimate their reading related subject matter knowledge, and are often unaware of what they know and do not know. Implications for the design of teacher education at both the preservice and inservice levels are discussed. Note: This research was funded through the National Science Foundation IERI 00-74 Initiative to Anne E. Cunningham, University of California, Berkeley. acunning@uclink.berkeley.edu     

Preschool inclusion in the United States: a review of research from an ecological systems perspective

Using an ecological systems conceptual framework proposed by Bronfenbrenner, research on the inclusion of preschool children with disabilities in programs with typically developing children was reviewed. Drawing mainly from studies conducted in the United States, research on child characteristics (biosystem), classroom practices (microsystem), family perspectives (mesosystem), social policy (exosystem), culture (macrosystem), and changes in variables across time (chronosystem) is described. Positive developmental and behavioral outcomes occur for children with and without disabilities in inclusive settings, although as a group, children with disabilities are not as socially integrated as their typically developing peers. Parent attitudes are generally positive although they voice some concerns about inclusion. Several social policy issues within the U.S. system (e.g., enforcement of standards, fiscal issues) serve as barriers to and facilitators of implementation of preschool inclusion, and cultural variables shape the nature of inclusive classrooms as well as family access to inclusive settings.     

Seeing for ourselves: when teachers make documentary films. Rebel Goulash and Over the Rainbow

To begin … a moral tale for anthropologists, a fantasy in which an anthropological cinema exists—not documentaries about ‘anthropological’ subjects but films designated by anthropologists to communicate anthropological insights. It is a well‐articulated genre distinct from the conceptual limitations of realist documentary and broadcast journalism. It borrows conventions and techniques from the whole of cinema—fiction, documentary, animation and experimental … this fantasy is more like science fiction than anything else. It is not remotely close to being realized. But it is an ideal worth pursuing (Ruby, 2000 Ruby J 2000 Picturing culture: explorations of film and anthropology (Chicago and London, University of Chicago Press)  [Google Scholar], pp. 1–2).     

Developing professional skills in journalism through blogs

The curriculum for journalism is being forced to change because the traditional print‐based and broadcast modes are being challenged by wide and easy access to online mass communication. Primarily, students need to develop proficiency in writing, editing and publishing. However, they are also expected to be skilled in the Web medium as they venture into their careers, and weblogs offer a dynamic platform to develop these skills. Based on a statistical summary of student comments on the performance criteria for a blog project, a focus group interview and survey results, this paper will discuss the findings from the introduction of a course‐based blog to an undergraduate course in Hong Kong, including: (1) the technical challenge of making Web features; (2) the perception of proficiency in online publishing; (3) the evaluative skills developed through a peer‐review process; and (4) the development of a learning community through writing in blogs.     

Schools for the twenty‐first century: School design and educational transformation

The Building Schools for the Future programme has been established to ensure that English secondary schools are designed or redesigned to allow for educational transformation. The programme represents the biggest single UK government investment in school buildings for over 50 years. For this reason, it poses a major challenge to those involved in the design of educational buildings. Inspiration is in part sought from exemplar schools around the world. The paper draws on a multiple case study of four such exemplar schools in Scandinavia that have been designed to address changes in the educational curriculum. The analysis depicts the degree to which the building design in each case supports the school approach to teaching and learning. The disjuncture between commercial and educational issues inherent in designing ‘good’ schools is highlighted. The findings show how it is important to find a balance between good design, commercial realities and educational approaches.     

Classroom environments: an experiential analysis of the pupil–teacher visual interaction in Uruguay

We argue that the traditional physical environment is commonly taken for granted and that little consideration has been given to how this affects pupil–teacher interactions. This article presents evidence that certain physical environments do not allow equal visual interaction and, as a result, we derive a set of basic guiding principles that could contribute to the improvement of classroom design. Discussions about research on the design of classroom spaces and the methods to evaluate them articulate the rationale for this study. We seek to accomplish this by focusing on two fundamental variables of the face-to-face communication process: visual and distance. They are discussed in the context of four classroom case studies. The method is based on a hybrid approach composed of first-hand video-photographic records, isovist analysis and proxemic information regarding distances. The conclusions suggest that the proportion and spatial configuration of a classroom have a substantial impact on the number of pupils receiving high-quality visual interaction with the teacher. Finally, the importance of integrating experiential analysis in the architectural design process to ensure the quality and equality of the interaction among the protagonists of the teaching and learning process is highlighted.     

Longitudinal Relations among Maternal Self-Efficacy,Maternal Warmth,and Early Adolescents’ Prosocial Behavior

SYNOPSIS

Objective. This article examined two-wave longitudinal paths among maternal self-efficacy, maternal warmth, and early adolescents’ prosocial behavior. Design . Participants were 194 Italian mother/child dyads from 9–13 years at the first assessment and 12–15 years at the second assessment. Using a two-wave longitudinal design, the present study tested cross-lagged paths among maternal self-efficacy, warmth, and early adolescents’ prosocial behavior controlling for the stability of these variables and their concurrent associations. Results . Maternal warmth mediated the link between maternal self-efficacy and adolescents’ prosocial behavior, and bi-directional effects between maternal self-efficacy and maternal warmth were found. Conclusions . These findings support a parent-driven model in the promotion of prosocial behaviors across early adolescence and a general need to consider simultaneously parental cognitions (maternal self-efficacy) and actions (maternal warmth) in explaining adolescents’ prosocial behaviors. Implications for parenting program interventions are discussed.