The contradictions of scientific management as a mode of controlling teachers'' work in black secondary schools: South Africa

Using teaching as a labour process, this paper shows how teachers' work is controlled by the state. By using data collected from the Lebowa bantustan in South Africa, the analysis focuses on structural/material constraints on teachers' work; how scientific management has been transferred from industrial corporations to South African black schools as a post-1976 reform strategy, to bring control over teachers and students at a time when the system of education of blacks was characterised by massive student and teacher protests. However, contradictory developments emerged whereby teachers responded and resisted these controls in a variety of ways in different work contexts. Since the research was conducted in the late 1980's, the paper seeks to discuss how widespread scientific management ideas are in the post-apartheid era.     

Self-Restraint as a Mediator of Family Influences on Boys' Delinquent Behavior: A Longitudinal Study

In the course of social development, family influences seem to become partly internalized and transformed into personality characteristics that regulate behavior outside the family sphere. In a longitudinal study of 81 boys and their families, we hypothesized that individual differences in boys' self-restraint would serve as a mediator between family factors in preadolescence and sons' delinquent behavior 4 years later. Measures were derived from principal components analyses of multiple indices of each construct as assessed by multiple informants. As expected, parenting practices measured at both pre- and mid-adolescence predicted delinquent acts only indirectly via their association with boys' self-restraint. In addition, general family functioning at preadolescence, independent of other scores, predicted boys' levels of self-restraint 4 years later. There was no evidence that boys' self-restraint at preadolescence systematically affected the quality of parenting that they subsequently received. Parents' and families' role in children's development of self-regulatory skills may be a primary vehicle by which they ultimately influence adolescents' problem behaviors.     

Early Responsiveness to Intensive Behavioural Intervention Predicts Outcomes Among Preschool Children with Autism

Archival data from a private day‐school offering early intensive behavioural intervention based on the principles of applied behaviour analysis to preschoolers with autism (N = 29) were analysed longitudinally. Teacher reports on the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS) were available up to 4 times and on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Classroom Edition (VABS‐CE), at 2 time points. Parent reports on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) were available at 2 time points. All assessments occurred approximately at 6‐month intervals. Children showed statistically significant progress across all skill domains on the ABLLS and on selected subscales and the composite scales of the VABS‐CE and ATEC. Gains were substantial for some children and minor for others. When divided into performance‐based groups, both higher‐performing and lower‐performing groups showed improvement over time, with greater improvement for the higher‐performing group. Nine of 16 children who had been discharged from the programme entered inclusive kindergarten or first‐grade classrooms with an aide. Seven discharged children entered special education classrooms. No child progressed to the point that special education services were not needed. Findings are discussed relevant to the extant literature on early intensive behavioural intervention outcomes among young children with autism.     

Professional socialization and contemporary career attitudes of three faculty generations

As one aspect of a study of individual and organizational conditions contributing to faculty vitality, career socialization experiences and current career attitudes of three faculty generations were compared for two groups of tenured university faculty members. The first group was a representative sample drawn from the fields of the humanities, biological sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences. The second was a selected sample of faculty from the same areas who had been identified by judges as highly active in teaching, research, and service. The analyses focus on differences in the professional socialization experiences and career attitudes of the two groups that appear to be indicative of career success. Within these groups the generational trends are also examined.Presented at the 23rd Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Toronto, May 1983.     

Engaging Pre-Service Teachers in Multinational, Multi-Campus Scientific and Mathematical Inquiry

Pre-service teachers from Texas and Indiana in the United States and from Queensland, Australia, observed the Moon for a semester and compared and contrasted their findings in asynchronous Internet discussion groups. The 188 pre-service teachers were required to conduct inquiry investigations for their methods coursework which included an initial Moon observation assignment, an Internet Moon discussion, and a final project. The Moon context was chosen for its motivating capability, its inherent interdisciplinary makeup, its inclusion in the National Science Education Standards, and its ability to be viewed worldwide. This study was of a mixed method research design and involved pre-service teachers’ journals, summative reflections, Internet discussions, final projects, and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI). Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted through the exploration of patterns and themes that illustrated pre-service teachers’ conceptual development, and the LPCI was administered as a pre/post assessment. We found that our project led to increased knowledge concerning the mathematics and science involved with understanding the Moon and its phases. We also found that it was beneficial to have Internet discussions with pre-service teachers from around the world, but it was not without its problems (e.g., coordinating schedules and lack of participation by some participants). We discovered that pre-service teachers’ exposure to the new uses of technology for teaching and learning did not necessarily translate to their planning to adopt similar techniques in their own classrooms.     

A neurodevelopmental profile of the rural hearing‐impaired child in the QwaQwa region,South Africa

Being hearing impaired does not only affect a child's academic performance, but can also influence a child's overall development and ability to succeed academically. Children with hearing impairment often experience delays in other areas of their development and an understanding of the inter‐relatedness of these delays are important in order to address all these aspects, and thus minimise the impact on a child's overall development. The paper provides a neurodevelopmental profile of 4‐year‐old to 8‐year‐old rural hearing‐impaired children based on the result of a psychometric assessment. Eighteen children were selected from a special needs school in the rural QwaQwa Free State area of South Africa and underwent a psychometric assessment using two test batteries (Griffiths mental developmental scales – extended revised and a neurodevelopmental evaluation scale). The neurodevelopmental profile will contribute to knowledge of the nature of the challenges faced by the hearing‐impaired child in rural education and the neurodevelopmental origin of these challenges.