文化学习与幼儿教育

幼儿应该学什么?什么时候开始学?如何才能学得好?我怎样才能知道我已经回答了上述三个问题?第一个问题主要是关于课程的目标与目的,第二个问题是关于如何看待儿童长远发展问题,第三个问题是关于如何贯彻课程计划,第四个问题是关于评估。这四个问题是所有打算制定幼儿教育课程的人必须回答的。本文对这四个问题作了初步讨论。     

Intra-Rater and Inter-Rater Reliability of the Balance Error Scoring System in Pre-Adolescent School Children

This study was designed to test the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the University of North Carolina's Balance Error Scoring System in 9- and 10-year-old children. Additionally, a modified version of the Balance Error Scoring System was tested to determine if it was more sensitive in this population (“raw scores”). Forty-six normally developing fourth-grade students underwent balance testing. Twelve trials measured static and dynamic balance. Four adult raters scored the balance tests to yield Cronbach's alpha scores of reliability. Intra-rater University of North Carolina Balance Error Scoring System α varied from .73 to .94 and .94 to .99 when using the raw scores. The inter-rater University of North Carolina Balance Error Scoring System α of the four raters ranged from .77 to .95 and from .88 to .98 when using the raw scores. The University of North Carolina Balance Error Scoring System shows high reliability when used with fourth-grade elementary school children; however, raw scores may show greater reliability in a population of children.     

POPULARITY IN A FREEFALL: MEASURING A SPIRAL OF SILENCE AT THE END OF THE BUSH PRESIDENCY

This study measures a spiral of silence in the context of actualopinion change during President George Bush's popularity declinein one of his political strongholds. Willingness of voters topublicly express their opinions about Bush were analyzed overthree pre-election surveys (N = 1,800) sponsored by a prominentlocal newspaper in Orange County, California. Respondents wereasked whether or not they would be willing to be reinterviewedby a reporter and have their names and views published in thepaper. The hypothesis that Bush supporters would be less willingthan others to agree to be reinterviewed during the period inwhich the president's ratings were dropping sharply is supported.This trend was most in evidence at the beginning of the presidentialcampaign, when Bush's ratings were in the steepest decline.These findings indicate the importance of actual opinion shiftsin spiral of silence research, and suggest several issues forfuture research on opinion change.     

Ground zero: The information war in the Persian Gulf

This article provides an overview for the symposium while delving into specific facts about the development and implementation of the Pentagon's press policy during the Persian Gulf War. The article assesses the military-media relationship, and the Pentagon's own policy development, in the aftermath of the invasions of Grenada and Panama. It describes the power and authority of the President, and civilian and military leaders, at the time of the war, to supersede the best intentions and plans of Pentagon public affairs specialists. It reveals the inability of the media during war to perceive and impact how such policy is shaped. The article identifies, as a high priority, the independent, timely, and accurate reporting to the nation when America enters combat.     

'Not All Dispositions Are Desirable': Implications for assessment

Carr & Claxton offer guidelines for the assessment of dispositions related to the education of young children. The proposed grid is designed to capture observations of dispositions assumed to contribute to the growth of learning and development during the early years. It is suggested here that not all dispositions are desirable, and it may be worthwhile to include in a grid the observation of dispositions that could be thought to inhibit or otherwise interfere with development and learning.