Theory, experiment and practical application in research on visual impairment

This paper examines the relation between theories of development in conditions of visual impairment, the experimental evidence on which models are based, and methods of education and remediation. It is argued that experimental findings always need fine-tuning to be adapted to individual circumstances and needs. Equally, practical procedures are based on tacit assumptions which need to be scrutinised explicitly, so that they can be updated when the empirical evidence suggests changes in our models of the role of the sense modalities in development. Spatial skill and braille learning are used as examples. The first section discusses how theory and practice are reciprocally affected by simplistic dichotomies like the “nature-nurture” distinction, and the notion that vision is either necessary, or else irrelevant to sparial understanding. Spatial development is explained next by the CAPIN hypothesis which assumes that total absence of sight requires convergent and redundant, not just substitute, information and underlines the importance of specific task conditions. A third section focuses on the dual verbal and spatial processing demands of braille. The two final sections deal with empirical methods in asking questions about blindness in psychology and education.     

The tasks of early childhood: The development of self-control — Part II

Four-year-old Tommy felt mad that Jonah was hogging the big building blocks. He stood nearby, feeling more and more disgruntled. Just a week ago, his teachers had carried out a group discussion about hitting and hurting. No one was supposed to hit, even if you were mad. The group had discussed other ways to express their feelings. They had talked about telling a child what you wanted, or getting a teacher to help you out. Alice Sterling Honig teaches at Syracuse University in the Department of Child and Family Studies, College for Human Development, in Syracuse, NY. She is an editorial board member of Day Care & Early Education.Therese Lansburgh is Chair of the Maryland Committee for Children and an advocate for families and children at the state and national levels.     

Gender and Sports within the Equine Sector – A Comparative Perspective

The aim of this article is to discuss and problematize research on gender and sports within the equine sector, and to argue for the necessity of a comparative perspective in order to understand the gender order within equestrian sports. The article will focus on two areas within the equine sector: horse racing and Olympic equestrianism. Differences over time as well as between countries and events will be highlighted and discussed. Previous research demonstrates that the equine sector has historically been connected to men and masculinity in large parts of the world, although there are many examples of women working with horses and enjoying equestrian activities during their leisure time. During the twentieth century, horses have become progressively less important for agriculture, forestry, transport, and the army. The societal context is interesting, as sport historians Jennifer Hargreaves and Gertrud Pfister have claimed that a destabilization of the gender order in society at large may open new opportunities for women in sport. It is argued in this article that an analytical framework based on insights from gender studies and a comparative perspective is crucial if the development is to be understood and explained.     

Riding Instructors,Gender, Militarism,and Stable Culture in Sweden: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century

Equestrian sport underwent significant changes in Sweden during the twentieth century, from being connected to men and the army to being associated with women and leisure activities. Previous research has shown that a stable culture with masculine military norms still exists in spite of these changes. The purpose of this study is to explore why these norms continue to influence Swedish equestrian sport. Institutional economic theory and gender theory are used to explain continuity and change in stable culture. The source material consists of interviews and document analysis. An important finding is that military norms have been reproduced in the education of the riding instructors.     

TV violence and child aggression

Early Childhood Education Journal -     

The place and approach of outdoor learning within a holistic curricular agenda: development of Singaporean outdoor education practice

This paper details the potential contribution of outdoor education (OE) in Singaporean education given the recent raft of national curricular reforms aimed at fostering holistic and exploratory learning opportunities. In this context, we contend that increasing recognition of the value of OE, both internationally and locally, heralds specific challenges within unique Singaporean educational conditions that must be taken into account for this subject area to flourish. In particular, we seek to distil the ways in which local community, cultural and school conditions signal the need for a more place-based and contextualised version of OE. Our analysis further addresses the need for adequate professional development frameworks to be installed in order to enhance existing local teachers’ capacities to substantially educate pupils through the outdoors, within a Southeast Asian urban context.     

English in Hong Kong: a preliminary study of the ACERWord Knowledge Test – Form F and the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices as indicators of verbal reasoning ability and abstract reasoning ability among Hong Kong university students

The standard of English of Hong Kong students is a matter of considerable debate. Academics, business people and others bemoan the deterioration of English-speaking skills and the declining quality of students. Explanations for this situation include the introduction of mass education, the lack of trained English teachers and an exam-centred curriculum. Yet, little research has been undertaken concerning student intellectual ability and English skills. This short report examines the English skills of 146 undergraduates using the ACER Word Knowledge Test - Form F , and their abstract reasoning ability using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. The results show that Hong Kong students, while low in English skills are superior in intelligence. Although exploratory and subject to qualification, the research has implications for the teaching and continued use of English in Hong Kong schools and universities.     

Educating for Character in the Sexual Domain

Econometric cost functions have begun to appear in education adequacy cases with greater frequency. Cost functions are superficially attractive because they give the impression of objectivity, holding out the promise of scientifically estimating the cost of achieving specified levels of performance from actual data on spending. By contrast, the opinions of educators form the basis of the most common approach to estimating the cost of adequacy, the professional judgment method. The problem is that education cost functions do not in fact tell us the cost of achieving any specified level of performance. Instead, they provide estimates of average spending for districts of given characteristics and current performance. It is a huge and unwarranted stretch to go from this interpretation of regression results to the claim that they provide estimates of the minimum cost of achieving current performance levels, and it is even more problematic to extrapolate the cost of achieving at higher levels. In this article we review the cost-function technique and provide evidence that draws into question the usefulness of the cost-function approach for estimating the cost of an adequate education.     

“External” Organizations and the Politics of Urban Educational Leadership: The Case of New Small Autonomous Schools Initiatives

Members of organizations traditionally outside public school systems have begun to take on central, and in some cases internal, leadership roles and responsibilities in the implementation of ambitious educational improvement initiatives. How are these arrangements playing out in practice? This article explores that question with a 3-year qualitative investigation of the participation of two such organizations—a school reform support organization and a consortium of foundations—in the implementation of new small autonomous schools initiatives in Oakland (California) and Chicago. Using Malen's politics of implementation framework, this article reveals how external organizations influenced the implementation of district initiatives with significant consequences for both the reform strategy and their own ability to sustain their involvement in implementation over time. The article concludes with implications for the research and practice of educational leadership.     

Effects of a Brief Intervention Program to Promote Prosocial Behaviors in Young Children

A classroom procedure that did not involve extensive teacher training nor intrusion into the school system was found to be easily implemented for one month with second graders. The children were encouraged to report during daily circle time how they had been kind, cooperative, helpful, or sharing with a peer. The report had to be corroborated by at least one classmate. Each prosocial action resulted in a star being placed on a class star chart. Pre and post observations of the frequency of prosocial actions by the intervention class and a randomly chosen control class revealed a significant increase in prosocial actions among peers in the intervention classroom.