Community education and the concept of need

Whether we are lost to flagrant and groundless subjectivism or whether we can actually sustain and support our actions by appealing to discovered, transcendental truths is perhaps the chief angst of the modern and postmodern ages. In this paper it is argued that by seeking a middle ground through praxis, a ground neither lured by false foundationalism nor racked by relativism, we can sustain our social practices as educators only by critical encounters with the traditions and ideologies from which those practices emerge. To pursue this argument, it is suggested that because science does not well ground our practices we must therefore seek a sounder basis. To that end, a revitalized form of praxis is proposed, one that retrieves its central concerns with the moral dimensions of human action. Thus, in opposition to dominant interests in technical forms of educational practice based on empirically ‘discovered’ regularities, it is suggested that ‘practical’ reasoning provides a more useful understanding of how we conduct our practices as educators. In this respect we can understand our educational practice as requiring choice and deliberation in specific circumstances where courses of action are variable and debatable. Such a focus then allows us to consider the value‐laden and community bases of practice and encourages improvement of practice through encounters with its normative nature. It is in this context that our views of what we believe to be right and why become the reasons for our actions as educators. Consequently, praxis has to be focused on the ideology of our practice. It is here that the final discussion of the paper considers the ultimate project of praxis which is to distinguish bad practice based on false beliefs from that which is sustained by continuing critical dialogue.     

Seasonal Variation in Physical Activity Among Preschool Children in a Northern Canadian City

Little research has examined seasonal differences in physical activity (PA) levels among children. Proxy reports of PA were completed by 1,715 parents on their children in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Total PA (TPA) minutes were calculated, and each participant was classified as active, somewhat active, or inactive. Logistic regression models were conducted to examine associations between PA status and seasons. Significant seasonal differences were observed for TPA, weekday PA, weekend PA, and active play. Children were significantly more likely to be physically active in the summer and spring and somewhat physically active in the summer and fall, relative to winter. Children living in cold climates are less likely to be physically active in the winter     

Educational accountability tests,social and legal inclusion approaches to discrimination for students with disability: a national case study from Australia

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability promotes equal and full participation by children in education. Equity of educational access for all students, including students with disability, free from discrimination, is the first-stated national goal of Australian education. Australian federal disability discrimination law, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, follows the Convention, with the federal Disability Standards for Education 2005 enacting specific requirements for education. This article discusses equity of processes for inclusion of students with disability in Australian educational accountability testing, including international tests in which many countries participate. The conclusion drawn is that equitable inclusion of students with disability in current Australian educational accountability testing is not occurring from a social perspective and is not in principle compliant with law. However, given the reluctance of courts to intervene in education matters and the uncertainty of an outcome in any court consideration, the discussion shows that equitable inclusion in accountability systems is available through policy change rather than expensive, and possibly unsuccessful, legal challenges.     

'Well,I've Not Done Any Work Today. I Don't Know Why I Came to School'. Perceptions of Play in the Reception Class

The place of play in the education of young children has been the focus of much interest in the past. But the findings from this research project demonstrate that there remains a significant amount of confusion about the role that play has in young children's education. In particular we found that there is a clear distinction between the rhetoric and reality of play in the reception class. Further, there was evidence of real anguish for some early years workers who were failing to offer the play activities that they knew should be provided. These findings are particularly interesting at present, since the debate on the role of play has once again emerged as fundamental in the attempt to define a curriculum appropriate to the needs of the 3-6 year olds who, from the year 2000, will be required to work within the highly contentious Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum.