Predictive and concurrent relations between literacy skills in Grades 1 and 3: A longitudinal study of Italian children

A sample of 170 Italian children was assessed for reading accuracy, reading speed, text comprehension and spelling in Grades 1 and 3 in order to investigate the concurrent and longitudinal relationships among literacy skills. Main results from multivariate analyses (regression, discriminant and path analyses) indicated that reading speed was the best predictor of later literacy and that spelling was the most stable measure and influenced text comprehension and reading speed. An asymmetry was also observed in the longitudinal relationship between reading and spelling errors, with reading errors predicting later spelling errors and a non-significant result in the opposite direction.     

A feminist posthumanist political ecology of education for theorizing human-animal relations/relationships

This paper contributes to a nascent conversation in environmental education (EE) research by using ethnographic data and extant theory to develop a feminist posthumanist political ecology of education for theorizing human–animal relations/relationships. Specifically, I (1) engage feminist methodologies and theories; (2) give epistemological and theoretical attention to nonhuman animals; and (3) address the field of EE’s minimal engagement with the interdisciplinary research agenda of political ecology. The paper begins with a literature review examining how feminist and/or posthumanist scholars have theorized human–animal (or human–nature) relations/relationships. Next, I outline the conceptual frameworks guiding the analyses of ethnographic data I collected at Long Beach, California’s Aquarium of the Pacific and follow with a brief overview of the study. I conclude by outlining the major tenets of this article’s conceptual framework, which contributes to a growing conversation in EE regarding human–animal relations/relationships and lays the groundwork for other political ecologies of education.     

Neoliberal and disciplinary environmentality and ‘sustainable seafood’ consumption: storying environmentally responsible action

This article invokes a neoliberal and disciplinary governmentality lens in a political ecology of education framework to analyze educational programming at Long Beach, California’s Aquarium of the Pacific. I begin by briefly describing governmentality as Foucault and neo-Foucauldian scholars have theorized the concept, followed by a discussion of the emergence of green governmentality and environmentality in political ecology. Next, I invoke a political ecology of education framework informed by neoliberal and disciplinary environmentality to analyze institutional and teaching practice at the Aquarium. In this analysis, I demonstrate how the institution’s funding structure, placement within the entertainment markets of the southern California area, and commitment to ocean conservation education all influence how the Aquarium conceptualizes itself and its work. I focus on the case of the Blue Cavern Show and the Seafood for the Future program, which work in tandem to define a problem (declining fish stocks; possible seafood shortages) and then structure a neoliberal solution through the market (sustainable seafood consumption). I conclude by discussing the implications of this research for environmental education, which include unpacking how neoliberalism impacts teaching practice, especially as it relates to notions of framing environmentally responsible action.     

Hacking agency: Apps,autism, and neurodiversity

This essay examines the complex relationship between agency and technology. I compare autism apps developed by Samsung and Toca Boca and show that while app marketing retains a human-centered notion of agency, user–app interactions distribute agency through a constellation of human and nonhuman actors. The divergence between marketing and use, as well as critiques about agency and technology within disability studies, motivates my argument for hacking agency. Whether in computer or knowledge networks, hacking is a critical process that exploits information silos for particular ends. In this essay, I seek to broaden notions of rhetorical capacity and challenge narrow approaches to intentionality so as to facilitate the attribution of agency across the neurological spectrum.     

Not a one-shot deal: Generative professional development among experienced teachers

This study examines two experienced teachers’ transformations and sense of agency as they implemented a writer’s workshop curriculum with multi-lingual third grade students. Multiple lines of inquiry guide the study including communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991), teacher identities in figured worlds (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, & Cain, 1998), and the ethic of care (Noddings, 1984/2003). A constant comparative method was used to analyze classroom observation notes, interviews and debriefing sessions (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Findings indicate that teachers transformed their pedagogical practices around writing, and at the same time reconsidered what it may mean to become renewed professionals.     

Understanding user needs for citation management program support

Abstract

Citation management programs are tools used to organize references and to create citations and bibliographies. Libraries are often the central point for providing training and support in using these tools. To determine how we could improve our support and training services, we surveyed users to determine what software in being used, why they chose that particular program, what features are important, and how they use citation management programs to collaborate. Results indicate that users chose a particular program because it was freely available or recommended to them by others and that they thought that importing references and creating citations were important features. We also found a majority of respondents used citation management programs to collaborate and turned to the library for training and support.     

Sharing meanings in the music classroom

This work explores the study of interaction through discourse as a means for analysing and understanding the process of teaching and learning music. Over the course of a didactic sequence, we assess classroom conversations dealing with the analysis of a music score constituted as the reference for the process of creating a joint music composition. The group is made up of a teacher and second-year elementary pupils (aged 9–10 years) at a music school. Eight categories of discourse are identified that help to understand the strategies used to construct shared musical meanings. This knowledge is important for practitioners when reflecting on the teaching-learning process. It is also useful for teacher training.     

博物馆,生态博物馆,和反博物馆:解决遗产、社会和发展的思路

此探讨遗产与社会和发展间应当建立起新的关系。认为应当反思，从考虑遗产和其特性的方式上，尤其应当关注遗产地情况。在全球化的今天，化被认为是地区性的，——由地理边界划分。遗产的确定取决于它所处于的社会群体对价值的重要性的认识。因此，我们不能忘记民俗和传统的重要性是自发表现的。 地方遗产面对世界性强势化建立的不正当游戏规则的矛盾现实，所进行的运动是寻找有效的解决方法，世界遗产正在引起人们的重视。这样可能提供一种真正的生存，特别是对于小的社区，他们的社会经济结构和他们的价值观和行为动力相关联——确保可持续地发展他们的经济。地方社区才能对全部遗产的博物馆化作出反应。当我们考虑现在范例的时候，博物馆就可作为一种可持续发展的工具，以更加人性化的行动保护全部遗产。