Making a difference: moving beyond the superficial treatment of diversity

As populations in contemporary Western societies grow more diverse, the need for teachers to better understand and work with difference productively becomes increasingly critical (Allard & Santoro, 2006 Allard, A. C. and Santoro, N. 2006. Troubling identities: Teacher education students' constructions of class and ethnicity.. Cambridge Journal of Education, 36(1): 115–129. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]; D'Cruz, 2007 D'Cruz, H. 2007. Working with ‘Diverse Bodies, Diverse Identities’: An approach to professional education about ‘diversity’.. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(1): 35–57.  [Google Scholar]). However, the literature on teacher education shows that historically, teacher education programs have aimed to address diversity with add‐on or piecemeal approaches, with little success (McDonald, 2005 McDonald, M. A. 2005. The integration of social justice in teacher education: Dimensions of prospective teachers' opportunities to learn.. Journal of Teacher Education, 56(5): 418–435.  [Google Scholar]). Moreover, some authors (e.g. Lortie, 1975 Lortie, D. 1975. Schoolteacher: A sociological study, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.  [Google Scholar]) have argued that “the predispositions teacher education students bring to teaching are a much more powerful socializing influence than either pre‐service education or later socialization in the workplace” (Johnson, 2002 Johnson, L. 2002. “My eyes have been opened”: White teachers and racial awareness.. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2): 153–167. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar], p. 154). This article explores research and scholarship in this area and argues that we must move beyond the fragmented and superficial treatment of diversity if we are to encourage dispositions in all pre‐service teachers that are more closely aligned with a recognitive view of social justice.     

Artistic and Moral Imagination in The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

This essay provides a close reading of The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. It argues that the story's two themes—a celebration of artistic creativity and a ringing denunciation of prejudice—are closely related through their reliance on the importance of imagination, both artistic and moral. The role of moral perception in ethical decision making has recently come under new scrutiny in moral philosophy. This essay employs recent work in moral theory to analyze the way in which the resolution of Estes's story turns on the characters' growth in both moral courage and moral imagination.     

Further Study of the Choice of Anchor Tests in Equating

In this study, we describe what factors influence the observed score correlation between an (external) anchor test and a total test. We show that the anchor to full‐test observed score correlation is based on two components: the true score correlation between the anchor and total test, and the reliability of the anchor test. Findings using an analytical approach suggest that making an anchor test a miditest does not generally maximize the anchor to total test correlation. Results are discussed in the context of what conditions maximize the correlations between the anchor and total test.     

‘Oh you must be very clever!’ High‐achieving women,professional power and the ongoing negotiation of workplace identity

This paper uses a gender perspective to problematise the connection between high educational achievement and a fulfilling professional career. Drawing data from an Australian study of women working as professional engineers in a range of locations, the paper investigates the ways in which the identities produced in the women’s educational experiences require further negotiation in dealing with the realities of their divergent workplaces. Through a deconstruction of the power relationships that form a key feature of the women’s reported workplace experience, the women are shown to engage in a range of tactics in the effort to achieve a degree of workplace acceptance and some professional recognition. The paper concludes by urging renewed attention to changing engineering education and workplace culture if the profession is to attract and retain able women.     

Thinking with Posthuman Perspectives in Self-Study Research

In this study, we set out to explore processes of individual and group becomings of a self-study collective over time and distance, and with/through technology. Born out of a self-study project in one of our early doctoral courses, our self-study community has evolved over several years to one that is hybrid in nature. As we have continued our collaboration through online media, a tension arose at the juncture of our fundamentally relational work together, our need for the physical, embodied aspect of learning and self-study and the hybrid, often disembodied, experience provided by substituting online meetings for those conducted in-person. In this article we explore these tensions through pivotal moments and lines of flight in our self-study work over the past year. To frame these moments, we draw on ideas from posthumanism, which offers ways to conceptualize our collective as a multiplicity, account for the relational and material aspects of our work, address the agency of non-human actors (such as technology) in our collaboration, and consider our self-study practice a dynamic, complex, contextualized, situated phenomenon.     

Repeatability of three-dimensional thorax and pelvis kinematics in the golf swing measured using a field-based motion capture system

Field-based methods of evaluating three-dimensional (3D) swing kinematics offer coaches and researchers the opportunity to assess golfers in context-specific environments. The purpose of this study was to establish the inter-trial, between-tester, between-location, and between-day repeatability of thorax and pelvis kinematics during the downswing using an electromagnetic motion capture system. Two experienced testers measured swing kinematics in 20 golfers (handicap < or =14 strokes) on consecutive days in an indoor and outdoor location. Participants performed five swings with each of two clubs (five-iron and driver) at each test condition. Repeatability of 3D kinematic data was evaluated by computing the coefficient of multiple determination (CMD) and the systematic error (SE). With the exception of pelvis forward bend for between-day and between-tester conditions, CMDs exceeded 0.854 for all variables, indicating high levels of overall waveform repeatability across conditions. When repeatability was compared across conditions using MANOVA, the lowest CMDs and highest SEs were found for the between-tester and between-day conditions. The highest CMDs were for the inter-trial and between-location conditions. The absence of significant differences in CMDs between these two conditions supports this method of analysing pelvis and thorax kinematics in different environmental settings without unduly affecting repeatability.     

Youth leaders' perceptions of commitment to a responsibility-based physical activity program

This study extended Schilling's (2001) study by investigating program commitment among a larger (N = 12), older (M = 16.7 years), and more experienced (M = 5.96 years) sample of participants in the Project Effort Youth Leader Corps. Individual interviews elicited a greater number and specificity of themes. Program-related barriers included logistics, structure, and relationships, and personal-related barriers included perceived alternatives, personal characteristics, and "real-life" responsibilities. Similar to Schilling's (2001) earlier study, antecedents grouped under program environment, program structure, relationships, and personal characteristics. Participants also described outcomes in terms of behavior and emotional involvement but reported more themes related to leadership. Results are discussed in terms of consistencies and changes over time and implications for program development, expansion, and evaluation.     

SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL INCLUSION AND CHANGING SCHOOL CONTEXTS: A SCOTTISH PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT:  This paper synthesises a collaborative review of social capital theory, with particular regard for its relevance to the changing educational landscape within Scotland. The review considers the common and distinctive elements of social capital, developed by the founding fathers – Putnam, Bourdieu and Coleman – and explores how these might help to understand the changing contexts and pursue opportunities for growth.     

Effect of preschool integration for children with disabilities.

This study examined the effects of integration and segregation in a special education preschool program for children with mild to moderate disabilities to determine whether initial level of development differentially influenced gains achieved. No main-effect differences between the two groups appeared on several pretest and posttest measures. Aptitude-by-Treatment analyses revealed than higher performing students gained more from integrated classes, whereas lower performing students gained more from segregated classes. The data suggest careful monitoring of lower functioning students to ensure appropriate academic and social stimulation.