The hospice: an educational-service model providing counseling opportunities and indirect benefits for older widows

The article focuses on the large and increasing number of older widows who are available for human service work within the hospice movement caring for the dying and the bereaved. The need for preparation for widowhood is cited as one major reason why widows should assist potential widows to prepare more adequately for this eventuality. Widows are portrayed as effective lay counselors in hospice because they have experienced the reality of death and possess an empathetic readiness for work in this human service field. The hospice training program for widows is appealing because it presents learning experiences that are satisfying for the older learner. Numerous therapeutic and educational benefits are available to the older widows who participate in hospice work and training. Widows, therefore, become both the beneficiaries and the benefactors of their service efforts.     

Aristotle’s gnoseology and understanding ‘understanding’ in practitioner research

ABSTRACT

This article offers a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding the ‘understandings’ generated through practitioner research, and specifically exploratory practice (EP), based on Aristotle’s philosophy of knowledge. Drawing on Olav Eikeland’s interpretation of Aristotle’s philosophy of knowledge as a gnoseology, it illustrates how a gnoseology framework adapted from Eikeland’s work was used to analyse the different types of understanding generated through the processes and products of practitioner research. Specifically, it looks at the understandings developed in an English for Academic Purposes class as the learners explored their own puzzles about language learning using the principles of EP, a form of practitioner research mainly used in language teaching. Focusing on one of the learners in the class, it traces his developing gnoseology across the 10-week course by analysing the naturalistically generated classroom artefacts produced through the EP process. It then shows how the different understandings developed reflect an interrelated and relational view of knowledge and concludes by suggesting that such a gnoseology framework might provide a valuable conceptual and analytical tool for understanding the relationship between different forms and ways of knowing in practitioner research.     

The law and the outlaw: is legal prohibition a viable solution to the contract cheating problem?

Abstract

Contract cheating happens when students commission someone else to do assessed work for them. While it is already illegal in 18 jurisdictions, others are considering making the provision of contract cheating services illegal. To date, legal approaches to addressing contract cheating have faced little scrutiny in the peer reviewed literature. This article outlines some challenges with the legal approach to combating contract cheating. To this end it examines a segment of the contract cheating market to determine if contractors operate in localities where contract cheating services have been made illegal. The results suggest that contractors operate in plain sight, offering services to and from localities where services are prohibited by law. On the basis of the current challenges with enforcement of legal rules, this article recommends some alternative strategies for addressing contract cheating.     

Neurocognitive function and joint attention ability in young children with autism spectrum disorder versus developmental delay

Studies have shown that young children with autism are not impaired on prefrontal tasks relative to what would be expected for their mental age, raising questions about the executive dysfunction hypothesis of autism. These studies did not include ventromedial prefrontal tasks, however. The present study examined whether young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impaired on ventromedial prefrontal tasks, and whether performance on such tasks is correlated with a core autism symptom, joint attention ability. Seventy-two 3- to 4-year-old children with ASD, 34 3- to 4-year-old developmentally delayed children, and 39 12- to 46-month-old typically developing children, matched on mental age, were administered ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal tasks and joint attention tasks. Children with ASD performed similarly to comparison groups on all executive function tasks, indicating that at this early age, there is no autism-specific pattern of executive dysfunction. Ventromedial, but not dorsolateral, prefrontal task performance was strongly correlated with joint attention ability, however. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is hypothesized to play a role in the development of joint attention and possibly some aspects of the autistic syndrome.     

Community participation in urban schooling: A critical assessment

The notion of community participation in urban education is analyzed. The author examines the social reproduction thesis in which community participation can be seen as merely a symbolic vehicle of legitimation whose ultimate function is to obtain quiescence and promote social adjustment. The view that community participation in schooling is a major strategy in urban educational and social reorganization is then analyzed from a theoretical perspective provided by the phenomenological, interpretative framework. Finally, the author argues that in order to appreciate community participation in education as an emancipatory democratic activity, one must adopt a synthetic view incorporating the phenomenological aspects of the interpretative approach within the framework of an analysis of educational hegemony.     

“Science capital”: A conceptual,methodological, and empirical argument for extending bourdieusian notions of capital beyond the arts

This paper sets out an argument and approach for moving beyond a primarily arts‐based conceptualization of cultural capital, as has been the tendency within Bourdieusian approaches to date. We advance the notion that, in contemporary society, scientific forms of cultural and social capital can command a high symbolic and exchange value. Our previous research [Archer et al. (2014) Journal of Research in Science Teaching 51, 1–30] proposed the concept of “science capital” (science‐related forms of cultural and social capital) as a theoretical lens for explaining differential patterns of aspiration and educational participation among young people. Here, we attempt to theoretically, methodologically, and empirically advance a discussion of how we might conceptualize science capital and how this might be translated into a survey tool for use with students. We report on findings from a survey conducted with 3658 secondary school students, aged 11–15 years, in England. Analysis found that science capital was unevenly spread across the student population, with 5% being classified as having “high” science capital and 27% “low” science capital. Analysis shows that levels of science capital (high, medium, or low) are clearly patterned by cultural capital, gender, ethnicity, and set (track) in science. Students with high, medium, or low levels of science capital also seem to have very different post‐16 plans (regarding studying or working in science) and different levels of self‐efficacy in science. They also vary dramatically in terms of whether they feel others see them as a “science person.” The paper concludes with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues and implications for practice. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 922–948, 2015.     

Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom: definition,rationale and a call for research

Flipped classroom approaches remove the traditional transmissive lecture and replace it with active in-class tasks and pre-/post-class work. Despite the popularity of these approaches in the media, Google search, and casual hallway chats, there is very little evidence of effectiveness or consistency in understanding what a flipped classroom actually is. Although the flipped terminology is new, some of the approaches being labelled ‘flipped’ are actually much older. In this paper, we provide a catch-all definition for the flipped classroom, and attempt to retrofit it with a pedagogical rationale, which we articulate through six testable propositions. These propositions provide a potential agenda for research about flipped approaches and form the structure of our investigation. We construct a theoretical argument that flipped approaches might improve student motivation and help manage cognitive load. We conclude with a call for more specific types of research into the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach.