Why relationships matter: parent and early childhood teacher perspectives about the provisions afforded by young children's relationships

This study investigated the perspectives of early childhood teachers and parents regarding the importance of provisions afforded by child–teacher and peer relationships in early childhood centres. Participants were 200 parents and 71 teachers of children aged 0–5 years who responded to an online survey containing a series of relationship function statements that were rated according to their perceived importance. Results demonstrate that most functions were rated as more important in the context of child–teacher relationships than peer relationships, although statements reflecting the provision of friendship were regarded as more important in the domain of peer relationships. Ratings for particular provisions of infant relationships were significantly lower than those for older children; a result generated largely by variation in the ratings of teachers in comparison to those of parents. Findings are discussed in relation to differences between parent and teacher perspectives and implications for the development of inclusive, relationship-based pedagogies.     

Artistic interpretation

This essay argues for a revised perspective of the theory of “feminine style” developed by Karlyn Kohrs Campbell to explain the characteristics of historical feminist rhetorical action. Using a case study of contemporary feminine style in the political discourse of Texas Governor Ann Richards, the authors argue that the formal characteristics of feminine style, such as reliance on concrete reasoning, personal disclosure, and audience participation, can be viewed as integrally related to a philosophical position grounded in the uniqueness of women's experience. They conclude that the form and content of Richards’ rhetoric function to critique traditional grounds for political judgment and to offer an alternative political philosophy based in traditionally feminine values of care, nurturance, and affective relationships. These conclusions have relevance both for the study of feminist rhetoric and for the development of a critical rhetoric.     

Are teachers' beliefs incongruent with their observed classroom behavior?

The study forcuses on an on-going question of whether teachers' beliefs are incongruent with their observed classroom behavior. The setting for the study is a Protestant high school in a large southwestern city. In particular, two teachers are studied. Elicitational questioning and classroom observations are used as procedural methods for data collection. Congruency/incongruency is determined qualitatively, i.e., by comparing observed patterns of teacher classroom behavior with their elicited beliefs. Findings indicate that congruent and incongruent beliefs must be understood in terms of a clustering effect of beliefs in belief systems. Moreover, such findings can be used in understanding teacher decision making processes and classroom teaching strategies.     

Attending to spatial locations: a developmental study

In 2 experiments, 7- and 8-year-old children and college students performed a letter-detection task in which reaction time was the dependent variable. Expectancy was manipulated by varying the probability the stimulus would appear at the center of an imaginary circle rather than along the perimeter. Although both age groups responded consistently faster to stimuli presented in expected locations than to stimuli presented in unexpected locations, this expectancy effect was larger for the children than it was for the college students. In a third experiment, these results were replicated using a luminance-detection task with 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and college students as subjects. It was concluded that children as well as adults are able to expand or contract the breadth of their attentional focus in accordance with task demands and that there is a developmental change in the efficiency with which a stimulus presented in an otherwise empty field can be located. Furthermore, it was suggested that children may be more disrupted by the occurrence of an unexpected event than adults are.