The Guernica Children's Peace Mural Project

This is an exploration of the international Guernica Children's Peace Mural Project, particularly in terms of its theoretical underpinnings and possible impact as a paradigm for ‘real life’ art education.     

How do students process complex formative feedback in question-answering tasks? A think-aloud study

Metacognition and Learning - The goal of this study was to examine how students process formative feedback that included corrective and elaborative information in online question-answering tasks....     

How siblings resolve their conflicts: the importance of first offers, planning, and limited opposition

Sixty-four sibling dyads (4-12 years old; 61% males; 83% European-American) were asked to resolve an ongoing conflict. Older siblings provided leadership by suggesting, modifying, justifying, and requesting assent to plans for conflict resolution. Younger siblings countered and disagreed, but also contributed to planning and agreed to their siblings' plans. Compromises were associated with first offers that met both children's goals, future-oriented planning, and limited opposition. Win-loss outcomes followed offers favoring only one child and arguments over older siblings' plans. Conflicts were unresolved when negotiations included frequent accusations and opposition, but little planning. Thus mutually beneficial conflict resolution required that children shift focus from debating past wrongs to developing plans to meet their unrealized goals in future interaction.     

Characterising the impact performance of field hockey sticks

Published research on field hockey equipment is scarce. The aim of this research was to investigate methods for characterising the impact performance of field hockey sticks. Three sticks were used with fundamental frequencies in the range 74?C154?Hz. Striking an initially still ball with a stick was identified as the preferred method for characterising performance. Impacts were simulated at mean velocities of 19?m/s at toe and 16?m/s at the shaft. The mean apparent coefficient of restitution and standard deviation were ?0.32?±?0.05 at the toe and ?0.18?±?0.02 at the shaft. The foundation work presented here provides the foundations for developing a methodology for characterising the impact performance of field hockey sticks.     

The Enduring Effects of Early-Learned Ideas and Local Folklore on Children’s Astronomy Knowledge

Research in Science Education - The research described here examined the sources of knowledge of astronomy of children (age 3–18) in China and New Zealand, together with the development of...     

Releasing the socio-imagination: children's voices on creativity,capability and mental well-being

With increasing concerns in the UK about the positive mental well-being and flourishing of children, this research, using drama and creative writing with primary school teachers, children and a theatre company, looks at the links between creative processes and children's well-being. This pedagogy applies a capability approach and we use this lens to examine children's critical reflections on the project. Interview data highlight the link between agency, social imagination and subjective well-being. The study offers some concrete examples of the ways in which creative processes can move beyond an outcome-based understanding of the curriculum by offering a legitimate space for children to explore their values and develop competencies which are crucial for well-being in the 21st century.     

Interactive TV as an option in early childhood teacher education

Abstract

The qualitative study examined the processes and approaches to collaboration, reflection, and dialogue of preservice and mentoring teachers who were engaged in a yearlong internship experience. Within the context of a university course grounded in constructivism, social constructivism, and the concept of teacher as researcher, the study explored the social interactions of the teachers throughout the course of the school day. Teachers were observed in the process of planning and reflecting on daily classroom activities through collaborative meetings with a focus on the teaching and learning process. The preservice teachers were educated in the use of the main principles described by the Reggio Emilia Approach ‐ collaboration reflection, and dialogue (Edwards, Gandini &; Forman, 1998) and thus, served as a guide for the collaborative interactions with the mentoring teachers.     

Stimulators and barriers towards social innovations in public libraries: Qualitative research study

Public libraries have a huge potential to be creators and facilitators of social innovation in communities and society. Qualitative research based on interviews with 27 librarians showed that social innovation in libraries can take the form of educational and cultural activities, leisure and networking activities and social support services. The main goal of the research was to find out what factors support and make these innovations difficult in public libraries. A four-layer model of barriers and stimulators for social innovation is presented, which includes structural, local, organizational and personnel levels. The model could serve to inform librarians, their stakeholders and governments about all levels of barriers and stimulators connected to innovation of library services and social re-positioning of public libraries in the future.