Contested Latitudes: When is Artwork Scholarship?

"Artwork scholarship" is defined in this context as a forum for inquiry that involves artful expressions, innovative experimentation and critical propositions informed by aesthetic characteristics as well as customary approaches for the advancement of the arts and education. ‘Latitudes’ in turn take into account the adaptations of artful expressions for educational purposes and the contributions of ongoing critique of art as scholarship. If we deliberate on the pedagogic turn to art as research in tandem with a disposition of latitudes, embracing the tensions of ongoing contestations implicated in such evolving conceptual geographies, arts‐based educational research (ABER) becomes a means to negotiate activities that articulate when is artwork scholarship, rather than what is art as research. In this way, latitudes as a proposition – metaphorically, pedagogically and spatially – is a potential mode for the mapping of theoretical, methodological and practical scholarly encounters, embracing the very tension that the arts evoke, and in the course of so doing, makes such work emergent and inclusive of creative possibilities.     

Chafing borderlands: obstacles for science teaching and learning in preschool teacher education

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This study examines preservice preschool teachers’ university science education experience. The empirical data are from a research and intervention...     

Classroom design and impression formation: A new area for research

Recently, educators and psychologists have begun to discuss the messages conveyed by different classroom designs. Although the arguments presented are persuasive, the basic contention—that classroom design influences impression formation—has not been empirically tested. The purpose of this article is to bring to the attention of educational psychologists the possibilities for research in this area. The paper summarizes the findings of some initial investigations and suggests directions for future study.     

The differential antecedents of self-efficacy beliefs of novice and experienced teachers

Among the sources of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, mastery experiences are postulated to be the most potent. Thus it seems likely that other sources of self-efficacy would play a larger role early in learning when fewer mastery experiences are available. Among the 255 novice and careers teachers who participated in this study, contextual factors such as the teaching resources and interpersonal support available were found to be much more salient in the self-efficacy beliefs of novice teachers. Among experienced teachers, for whom an abundance of mastery experiences were available, contextual factors played far less important a role in their self-efficacy beliefs.     

Cream skimming and elitism in state/municipality-regulated enrolment: A case study of two elementary schools in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Cream skimming and elitism in public elementary education is closely related to the question of selection criteria used by the schools in their selection procedure. Although equity in access seems to be important part of any education policy, individual school's practices are often selective. In the Slovenian context, state and municipalities seemingly regulate admission and selection criteria by catchment areas, yet the case study of two Ljubljana schools reveals different practice for undersubscribed schools. The paper, therefore, describes, discusses and analyses how schools in the state regulated system and defined catchment areas choose students and, thus, operate on a quasi-market.     

Practical Bibliotherapy Strategies for the Inclusive Elementary Classroom

This article was developed to assist the regular education elementary classroom teacher in utilizing practical bibliotherapy strategies for the inclusive classroom. Using quality children’s literature for bibliotherapy helps students to grow socio-emotionally by identifying with the main character in the story with a disability which leads to personal insight and growth. Teachers will learn how to use a checklist which was developed by the authors to select appropriate bibliotherapy literature and lead classroom discussions. A top ten list of books on bibliotherapy for the inclusive elementary classroom is provided.     

Guided Reading: A Research-Based Response to the Challenges of Early Reading Instruction

The purpose of this article was to illuminate for early childhood teacher practitioners how guided reading, as a research-based approach to reading instruction, could address the challenges of early reading instruction. The early years are the focus for the prevention of reading difficulties and research conducted over the past two decades has produced extensive results demonstrating that children who get off to a poor start in reading rarely catch up (Lentz, 1988; Neuman & Dickinson, 2001; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Torgesen, 1998; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001). One particular research-based strategy, guided reading, is an important “best practice” associated with today’s balanced literacy instruction. The National Reading Panel (2000) argued that balanced approaches are preferable when teaching children to read, based on their review of scientific research-based reading instructional practices used by teachers in classrooms across the country. Additionally, guided reading practices as part of a balanced literacy program conforms to the recommendations on literacy as suggested in position statements by the International Reading Association/The National Association for the Education of Young Children (1998), and the National Council of Teachers of English (2002).