Analizando los discursos de las prácticas alfabetizadoras desde la perspectiva de la teoría de la actividad

Resumen

Las maneras de hablar en la escuela transmiten maneras de pensar y de saber, así como estructuran la experiencia y el conocimiento. Este estudio se propone describir e interpretar el tipo de prácticas discursivas que pueden construirse en un «evento alfabetizador», en particular un tipo de discusión en el aula de clase, en este caso una discusión sobre un relato. Dado que el habla en la escuela se usa en contextos conversacionales, el estudio integra una perspectiva vygotskiana con una conversacional, específicamente, la propuesta por Levinson. Siguiendo esta aproximación, se han identificado secuencias de movimientos conversacionales, en situaciones de disputa y de coconstrucción de episodios. Esta perspectiva de análisis se complementa encuadrando la tarea y los datos resultantes en la teoría de la actividad propuesta por Leont'ev tomando en consideranción alguna de sus recientes aplicaciones para el análisis de la actividad conjunta. Los diferentes componentes de este evento social en la alfabetización temprana fueron interpretados de acuerdo con esta aproximación. El estudio demuestra cómo el maestro y los niños pueden acomodarse unos a otros recíprocamente, apropiando sus diferentes perspectivas en el curso de un evento alfabetizador.     

Building a school leadership programme: an American paradox of autonomy and accountability

School districts within the USA face ever-decreasing autonomy in rendering decisions regarding instruction, curriculum and the leading and managing of schools at the local level due to the ever-increasing accountability measures implemented by district, state and federal governments. This study investigates a joint university–school district partnership designed to develop turnaround administrators by exploring the tensions between autonomy and accountability. The findings indicate that mandates force educators to find new spaces that are contextually appropriate and effective in exercising their autonomy and accountability within a conceptual model for partnerships between schools, districts, universities and the governing bodies that regulate them.     

Ex Corde Ecclesiae and American Catholic Higher Education: The Calm Before the Storm or Dead in the Water?

Amid the struggle that Catholic colleges and universities, especially those in the United States, face as they seek to preserve their religious identities, Rome formally entered the fray on August 15, 1990, when Pope John Paul II promulgated the Ex Corde Ecclesiae (Ex Corde) (literally, “from the heart of the Church”). John Paul II wrote Ex Corde in an attempt to reinvigorate the debate over how Catholic colleges and universities can remain true to their religious missions while being viable institutions of higher learning wherein faculty members are free to work as researchers and teachers who can meet the same objective performance evaluation criteria as their professional colleagues in the world of academics. In reviewing the status of Ex Corde over the more than 5 years that expired since the controversy over the adoption of The Application and The Guidelines designed to implement Ex Corde began, this article is divided into three parts. The first part reviews the basic elements of Ex Corde while the second examines both the events surrounding the adoption of The Application and The Guidelines along with their subsequent (non)implementation in the United States. The third part of the article reflects on the current status of Ex Corde in American Catholic colleges and universities, revealing that its critics have little to fear for academic freedom and/or job safety unless its terms are expressly included in employment contracts—a prospect that is not even remotely on the horizon.     

Reflections on Surveys of Faculty Attitudes Toward Collaboration with Librarians

The authors implemented a survey of faculty attitudes toward library research instruction that is closely related to two previously published surveys. After reviewing their results, the authors raise questions about the significance of some of the results of all three surveys.     

Helping Military Families Who Have a Child with a Disability Cope with Stress

This exploratory study investigates perceived levels of family stress for military families who have a young child with a disability. Two primary areas of study were the sources and levels of stress, and the benefits of resources designed to help families cope. Results of the study indicate an increased level of stress for families when the demands of military life were coupled with the demands of caring for a young child with a disability. Events such as separation from family members, relocation, deployment, and personal safety and health issues emerged as concerns of the military personnel. The importance of coordinating services for these families is discussed.     

Structural engineering and geology applied to the static problems of the Etruscan “Tomba dell’Orco” (Tarquinia,Central Italy)

The Etruscan Tomba dell’Orco was discovered in 1868. However, soon after discovery, part of its ceiling collapsed. An investigation was thus conducted with a view to assessing its safety conditions and permitting visitors’ access. Petrographic and physico-mechanical features of the local weak sandstones and mechanically more resistant calcareous sandstones “macco” were determined. Field mapping, drill-holes and geophysical prospecting helped reconstruct the stratigraphy of the volume where the tomb was excavated. The stability of the tomb basement is given by a thick macco layer. A few dm macco layer was identified above the ceiling. A model was then prepared with the Plaxis 2D V8.6 software. The safety coefficients calculated along two cross-sections of the tomb indicated that the margins for the tomb stability are reasonable.