Book Reviews

Abstract

Educators have invested considerable effort in developing environmental education programs that address students' knowledge, attitudes, and action competence regarding environmental issues. The authors explore the effectiveness of such programs in terms of both student learning outcomes and the intergenerational influence that results when students discuss their learning experiences with their parents and other community members. Six environmental education programs involving 284 students in Queensland schools, from Grades 5-12, were investigated. Students and their parents were surveyed and interviewed regarding their perceptions about the program, the program's influence on their environmental learning, and the extent and nature of discussions that the program stimulated between students and their parents. The authors draw conclusions about key features that should be incorporated into environmental education programs to encourage and empower students to bring about environmental change in their homes and communities.     

Functionalizing human relations in business

This commentary argues that Indvik and Fitzpatrick's article, “Perceptions of Inclusion, Affiliation, and Control in Five Interpersonal Relationships,” presents an inappropriate conceptual and methodological approach to the study of relationship defining communication. Problems are most evident in: (1) the domain isolated to represent the themes of inclusion, control, and affection; and (2) the inattention to the interdependence established with communication between relationship partners.     

The Writing Portfolio: Assessment Starts with A

Because of the nature of institutional administration, the intrinsic characteristics of the teaching profession, and outside factors, educators may suffer from many stress-related problems such as anxiety, illness, and withdrawal. In this article, the authors offer three case studies taken from field analysis as examples of stress in the workplace. These illustrations are followed by a discussion of the ways scholarship has endeavored to deal with the problem of stress.     

SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING PROGRAMMED LEARNING

The McCarthy Scales are a versatile and increasingly popular test of children's cognitive abilities. However, much of their high standing as an assessment instrument rests on the construct validity of each of the ability scales. A major recent study of the construct validity of the McCarthy Scales concluded that only the General Cognitive Index stood up to critical evaluation. The purpose of the present paper is to highlight some inadequacies in this critical study, and then to give an evaluation of the construct validity of the McCarthy Scales which is based on the findings from recent British research.     

Teachers' perspectives on the challenges of teaching physical education in urban schools: the student emotional filter

The purpose of this study was to analyze how the challenges of urban schools influence physical education teachers' emotional understanding and connections with their students and the implications on their teaching. Sixty-one elementary physical educators from an urban school district in the midwestern U.S. were interviewed multiple times (N = 136) over 3 years using interpretive methodology. Teachers reported five unique challenges that significantly shaped their thinking about students and their careers, along with strategies they used to overcome or manage those challenges. The challenges were: (a) insufficient instructional resources, (b) implementing culturally relevant pedagogy, (c) dealing with community violence, (d) integrating more games in curricula, and (e) teaching in a culture of basketball. Implications centered on the guilt-inducing nature of urban teaching, developing an informed and realistic vision of urban physical education, and the role of teacher preparation and professional development.