Software review

STATISTICA 5.0. StatSoft, 2325 East 13th Street, Tulsa, OK 74104, (918) 583–4149. $995 retail, academic site license—$2,000 for 10 copies. Requirements: 386 or better, 4 Meg RAM, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or 95.     

The Place of Philosophy in the Training of Teachers: Peters revisited

Abstract

In 1964, Richard Peters examined the place of philosophy in the training of teachers. He considered three things: Why should philosophy of education be included in the training of teachers; What portion of philosophy of education should be included; How should philosophy be taught to those training to be teachers. This article explores the context of the time when Peters set out his views, describes philosophy of education at the London Institute of Education at one period in Peters’ time there, and then discusses the current state of philosophy of education, using New Zealand as an example of opportunities and challenges. Finally, asking whether Peters was nearly right about the place of philosophy in the training of teachers, it is concluded that he was right about its importance but got it wrong about his conception of philosophy.     

Reflective Practice in Physical Education and Physical Education Teacher Education: A Review of the Literature Since 1995

Reflection and reflective practice are key concepts in the educational literature as well as in research on physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE). The purpose of this article is to review the current empirical knowledge base for reflection and reflective practice in PE and PETE from 1995 to 2011. The review includes empirical research published in peer reviewed journals on the topics on reflection and reflective practice in the contexts of PE and PETE. There were 33 articles included in the review. Most of the research is conducted in the PETE context, where it was found that pre-service teachers do develop their reflective capabilities. However, the results also indicate students make little progress on critical reflections. In the PE context, it was found that teachers express a need for reflective communities. Theoretical and methodological challenges with the reviewed literature are discussed and suggestions for further research proposed.     

A Modified NEP/DSP Environmental Attitudes Scale

Abstract

The relationship between people and the rest of nature is central to the debate concerning the management of natural resources. An understanding of how environmental concern is reflected in people's attittudes and value systems is important for the development of responsive environmental management. Effective attitude measures already exist, most notably the New Environmental Paradigm scale. Since this measure was produced, however, certain issues not addressed by the scale have become increasingly important within the environmental debate. These include concepts such as the intrinsic value of nature, or the moral duties of humans to the rest of nature-issues that surface repeatedly in the environmental literature. The study has shown that it is possible to include references to the intrinsic value of nature, as well as the moral duties people have to the rest of nature and to other human beings, within a reliable and unidimensional attitude scale.     

Visitation to Natural Areas on Campus and its Relation to Place Identity and Environmentally Responsible Behaviors

This study examined college students’ visits to natural areas on campus and how these visits relate to place identity and environmentally responsible behaviors. The majority (76.5%) of the 115 participants visited the natural areas, and 55.7% of these students visited for a course requirement. Students who lived on campus, were younger, and majored in environmental studies, humanities, or arts made more frequent visits. Among those who had visited the natural areas (n = 88), place identity and environmental responsibility were related to visitation frequency, and were stronger for those who had visited for a course requirement. Place identity mediated the relationship between visiting for a course requirement and environmental behaviors, but did not mediate the impact of visitation frequency.     

Pupils’ Attitudes to the Social Implications of Science

Summaries

English

Attitude statements, mostly concerned with the social implications of science, were administered to 2100 pupils of age 14+. The sample was divided into the top 25oO ('GCE') and the next 30‐40oo ('REST') of the ability range and further divided by sex and by coeducation and single‐sex education.

Factor analysis yielded measures of five independent attitudes to (1) science as a school subject (SUBATT) and to its implications (SOCATT) regarding (2) aesthetic/humanitarian issues; (3) practical benefits (4) value to the state for money invested (S) the activities of scientists. The attitude scores were correlated with the biology, chemistry and physics choices made at this age and with liking for these subjects’ teachers. There were 26/60 significant but low overall correlations with physics and chemistry choices, but only 5/30 for biology. A further 26 significant correlations arose either at high or low teacher liking, the former predominating with boys and the latter with girls.

A Kruskal‐Wallis analysis indicated that some attitudes in the ‘GCE’ group were unaffected by the school attended and possibly derived from the media. Adverse attitudes to the social implications of science may be a factor in the swing away from physical science and technology.     

PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ THOUGHTS AND FEARS ABOUT DISCIPLINING CHILDREN

The purposes of this study were threefold: (1) to determine if fears and concerns about guiding children's behavior and misbehavior is a generalized feeling, or more related to specific circumstances and scenarios; (2) to determine which situations may give students the greatest and least amounts of anxiety; and (3) to explore the relationship between students’ beliefs about the causes of children's misbehavior and their anxiety about specific discipline situations.

After completing a questionnaire, preservice teachers in this study rated children's challenges to their authority as the most difficult. Discipline situations involving conflicts between children (e.g., refusing to share, not joining in activities) were rated as the least difficult to handle. Most of the preservice teachers believed children misbehaved because of a lack of social skills and developmental sophistication rather than because of bad parenting, inherent personality characteristics, or too many adult restrictions. Preservice teachers rated the difficulty of the discipline issues similarly regardless of their beliefs concerning the causes of misbehavior. Implications of this study are discussed.     

El estudio del lenguaje infantil a partir de 5–6 años

RESUMEN

El punto de partida del trabajo presentado en el estudio de las variedades no standard del francés. Tras la constatación de que el marco de referencia utilizado hasta ahora para el estudio de estas variedades ha sido fundamentalmente la variedad standard escrita, los autores proponen un cambio de óptica al abordar la descripción y análisis del lenguaje oral de locutores adultos y niños en diferentes tipos de situaciones informales. Ello les lleva a reconocer dentro de la competencia lingüística de los locutores un doble sistema de organización de los enunciados: el basado en el modelo tradicional de la frase o construcción gramatical y el basado en las configuraciones discursivas.

Tras pasar revista a ambos tipos de sistemas y proporcionar una serie de ejemplos de configuraciones discursivas complejas, los autores abordan desde esta perspectiva un análisis somero de las relaciones existentes entre sistema lingüístico y otros componentes que determinan las producciones verbales de los locutores. Finalmente, el nuevo marco de referencia adoptado les lleva a replantearse la relación entre la variedad standard normativa y las restantes variedades no standard, así como a una revisión de las diferencias constatadas entre las producciones lingüísticas de los niños y las de los adultos.