Talking about Sex in Sex Education

In the context of the recent controversy and confusion around sex education in Britain, I argue that an understanding of how boys and girls talk about sex and an awareness of the different and changing social worlds boys and girls inhabit, are crucial starting points for formulating sex education policies. Sex education is often embarked on without adequate understanding of the social context of sexuality and of the significance of changes in sexual practice that have occurred over the past few decades. Drawing on interviews and group discussion with male and female adolescents, I illustrate the difficulty boys and girls have communicating with each other and how for boys, to be intimate is to forego their dominance. I argue that there is a need to develop ways in which the power relations between boys and girls can be addressed and the derogatory way menstruation, pregnancy, and girls are perceived by boys can be challenged.     

Assessing and Predicting Small-Group Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood Classrooms

Research Findings: The present study assessed the extent to which early childhood educators utilized small-group literacy instruction and explored factors potentially associated with the use of this evidence-based practice. The classroom activities of 83 early childhood educators were observed in the fall and spring, and videos were coded to calculate time spent in small-group literacy instruction. Educators completed questionnaires indicating classroom adult:child ratios, literacy beliefs, and feelings of self-efficacy. Classroom Assessment Scoring System scores for classroom organization and instructional support measured the quality of classroom management and instructional interactions, respectively. On average, educators provided 11.4 min (SD = 10.6) of small-group literacy instruction a day. It is notable that many educators provided little or no small-group literacy instruction. Negative binomial regression analyses indicated that educators with better classroom management, higher quality instructional interactions, and lower adult:child ratios were more likely to use small-group literacy instruction. Educators’ beliefs and feelings of self-efficacy were not associated with the use of small-group literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Educators may be better able to provide small-group literacy instruction in contexts affording low adult:child ratios and high levels of classroom management and instructional support, all of which are malleable factors that can be changed via policy or professional development.     

The effect of instruction on early nonword reading strategies

This paper reports the results of a study examining the role of early reading instruction on the nonword reading strategies employed by beginning readers. Three groups of children given different styles of reading instruction were asked to read a list of nonwords presented (a) in isolation and (b) using the clue word technique (Goswami, 1986, 1988). The three groups of children were following either (i) the Early Reading Research project (small units instruction), (ii) the National Literacy Project (instruction emphasising onset‐rime and rhyme awareness), or (iii) usual classroom practice (combined large and small units instruction). Children given small units instruction (Early Reading Research) were found to make significant use of grapheme‐phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and were more accurate than the other two groups of children at reading the nonword items. The National Literacy Project children demonstrated a preference for a rime‐based strategy, once familiarity with the analogous words was controlled, and made significantly more use of this strategy than the Early Reading Research children. The results suggest that early reading instruction does have a significant impact on early reading strategies and should be taken into account in future studies of this type.     

America's Wasted Talent: A Karplus Lecture

Millions of young people who could achieve in mathematics and science are being discouraged or prevented from studying these subjects. Access to jobs, status and power in a high-tech, information economy depends upon mastery of these fields, but erroneous beliefs about aptitude are limiting the options for young women, students of color and students from poverty. Curriculum reform efforts are exciting, much-needed improvements, but the single most important change we need is a national consciousness raising. We should hold high expectations for all students and expect virtually all of them to achieve. Outdated and false notions about which groups possess the aptitude for technical subjects should not be used as barriers to access.     

The Discourse of Research Degrees Supervision: a case study of supervisor training

This article is designed to add to the literature dealing with the supervision of research degrees. It examines the discourse of supervision in the context of accredited research supervisor training at one British university. The data is based on naturalistic observation of course participants and in‐depth interviews with a range of stake‐holders. It explores the metaphors employed by supervisors to describe their roles within the research award process. This is the first stage of a larger project that is looking in more depth at supervisory discourse and using the analysis of that discourse as a heuristic device to encourage reflection in professional education.     

Networked Resources, Assessment and Collection Development

This project provides a critical evaluation of networked resources as they relate to the library's collection development policy, identifies areas of the curriculum not well represented, establishes a reliable method of assessing usage across all resources, and develops a framework of quantitative data for collection development decision making.     

Vital pathways for hospital librarians: present and future roles

Objectives:

The research objectives were to (1) describe the current and future roles of hospital librarians and the challenges they face and (2) find evidence supporting the hypothesis that librarians are essential to hospitals in achieving the organizations'' mission-critical goals.

Method:

The authors used results from a previous research study that identified the five organizational mission-critical goals important to hospital administrators and then searched the literature and solicited examples from hospital librarians to describe the librarian''s role in helping hospitals achieve these goals.

Results:

The literature supports the hypothesis that hospital librarians play important roles in the success of the hospital. Librarians support quality clinical care, efficient and effective hospital operations, continuing education for staff, research and innovation, and patient, family, and community health information needs.

Conclusion:

Hospital librarians fulfill many mission-critical roles in today''s hospital, providing the right information at the right time in a variety of ways to enhance hospital and medical staff effectiveness, optimize patient care, improve patient outcomes, and increase patient and family satisfaction with the hospital and its services. Because hospital librarians and their services provide an excellent return on investment for the hospital and help the hospital keep its competitive edge, hospital staff should have access to the services of a professional librarian.

Highlights

• A review of the literature supports the hypothesis that services of the professional librarian result in:
  • enhanced staff effectiveness,
  • optimized patient care,
  • improved patient outcomes, and
  • increased patient and family satisfaction with the hospital and its services.

Implications

• Because hospital librarians and their services provide an excellent return on investment for the hospital and help the hospital keep its competitive edge, hospital staff should have access to the services of a professional librarian.