Book reviews

The Fiscal Administration of City School Systems. By J. R. Mcgaughy. A report reviewed and presented by the Educational Finance Inquiry Commission under the auspices of the American Council on Education, Washington, D. C. New York: Macmillan Co., 1924.

Child Accounting. By A. B. Moehlman (University of Michigan). Detroit: Courtis Standard Tests, 1924. Pp. 205. Price, $1.85.

Principles of Teaching Practically Applied. By Ruby Minor. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. Pp. xiii + 281. Price, $1.90.

Sex, for Parents and Teachers. By William Leland Stowell. New York: Macmillan Co., 1924. Pp. xx + 204. Price, $1.50.

The Child, His Nature and His Needs. Edited by M. V. O'Shea. Valparaiso, Ind.: The Children's Foundation, 1924. Pp. xi + 516.

Measuring Intelligence. By H. C. Hines (University of Washington). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. Pp. xii + 146. Price, $1.20.     

Different paths,one goal: Southeast Asia as knowledge society

The article charts the extent to which selected societies of Southeast Asia can be seen as knowledge societies. Beginning from the premise that the global world of knowledge is changing from the former bipolar model of the West and the Rest, towards a more multi-polar world in which Asia figures more prominently, the analysis proceeds to use China, the most prominent example of this shift to the East, as a benchmark for Southeast Asia. Charting China's rising knowledge profile is followed by a consideration of the notion of a knowledge society, including the work of Nico Stehr and Manuel Castells, and its transformation into the contemporary, and more instrumental, knowledge economy. The five Southeast Asian states of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam are selected for analysis, revealing both a common intent of moving towards a knowledge society (often now more commonly expressed as a knowledge economy), but rather different outcomes, and knowledge profiles. National innovation indices are compared; as are research and development (R&D) measures, including by sector, production of papers and citations, and moves to develop “World Class” universities, against a backdrop of brain drain effects, and the differential impact of corruption.     

The Role of the Form Tutor: Some Research Findings

This paper describes how a school has sought to create a more inclusive ethos and improve standards of behaviour through the introduction of a structured programme, ‘Discipline for Learning’. The writer sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme through case studies of three specific pupils. These did not provide a full evaluation of the programme but threw considerable light on a range of issues that related to it and suggested that, given the full commitment of staff, the programme could make a positive contribution. Equally the case studies identified a number of failures in the way that the programme had been implemented and was operating.     

An Implicit Theories of Personality Intervention Reduces Adolescent Aggression in Response to Victimization and Exclusion

Adolescents are often resistant to interventions that reduce aggression in children. At the same time, they are developing stronger beliefs in the fixed nature of personal characteristics, particularly aggression. The present intervention addressed these beliefs. A randomized field experiment with a diverse sample of Grades 9 and 10 students (ages 14–16, n = 230) tested the impact of a 6‐session intervention that taught an incremental theory (a belief in the potential for personal change). Compared to no‐treatment and coping skills control groups, the incremental theory group behaved significantly less aggressively and more prosocially 1 month postintervention and exhibited fewer conduct problems 3 months postintervention. The incremental theory and the coping skills interventions also eliminated the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms.     

Communication

“MR. LORD” An Appreciation of Miss Isabel McKinney's Biography of a Master-Teacher

THE YEARS By Virginia Woolf An Appreciational Review by Florence K. Johnston

The Honeysuckle and the Bee. By Sir John Squire. E. P. Dutton and Company. 282 pp. $3.00.

The Private Letters of Princess Lieven. Edited by Peter Quennell. E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc. 376 pp. $3.75.

A First Course in Statistics: Their Use and Interpretation in Education and Psychology. By E. F. Lindquist. Houghton, Mifflin and Company. 226 pp. $2.25.

Study Manual for a First Course in Statistics. By E. F. Lindquist. Houghton, Mifflin and Company. 122 pp. $.80.

America Yesterday and America Today. By Roy F. Nichols, William C. Bagley, and Charles A. Beard. Illustrated. The Macmillan Company. 415 pp. each. $1.40, each.

An Introduction to Progressive Education. By Samuel Engle Burr. The C. A. Gregory Company, 345 Calhoun Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. 84 pp. $.50.

Educational Psychology. By Noel B. Cuff. The Standard Printing Company, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky. 387 pp. $2.50.

Child Guidance Procedures: Methods and Techniques Employed at the Institute for Juvenile Research. By The Staff of the Institute for Juvenile Research, Paul L. Schroeder, Director. D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc. 345 pp. $2.50.

Elementary Practical Physics. By Newton Henry Black and Harvey Nathaniel Davis. The Macmillan Company. 710 pp. $2.00.

Guide to High School Biology. By Edna Craig and George K. Stone. The Macmillan Company. 146 pp. $.96.

High School Biology. By Ralph C. Benedict, Warren W. Knox, and George K. Stone. Illustrated. The Macmillan Co. 724 pp. $2.00.

How to Teach. By Claude C. Crawford. Southern California School Book Depository, Los Angeles, California. 501 pp. $2.50.

Humanized Geometray: An Introduction to Thinking. By J. Herbert Blackhurst. The University Press, 26th and University Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa. 272 pp. $1.33.

Personal and Social Adjustment. By Willis L. Uhl and Francis F. Powers. Illustrated. The Macmillan Company. 475 pp. $1.40.

Problems in American Democracy. By S. Howard Patterson, A. W. Selwyn Little, and Henry Reed Burch. The Macmillan Company. 726 pp. $1.88.

Reorganizing the Social Studies. By Vernon B. Hampton. The John Willig Press, Stapleton, New York. 91 pp. $1.25.

Secretarial Assistance in Teachers Colleges and Normal Schools. By Luther Jordan Bennett. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York. 86 pp. $1.60.

Social Interpretation: Principles and Practices of Community and Public School Interpretation. By Arthur B. Moehlman. D. Appleton-Century Company. 485 pp. $3.00.

The Progress Arithmetics. By Philip A. Boyer, W. Walker Cheyney and Holman White. Book E. Accompanied by a Teacher's Manual. The Macmillan Company. 189 pp. and 29 pp. $.48.

The Student Editor. By James W. Mann. The Macmillan Company. 149 pp. $1.00.

A Mighty Fortress. By Le Grand Cannon, Jr. Farrar and Rinehart. 336 pp. $2.50.

Grass on the Mountain. By Henry and Sylvia Lieferant. E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc. 443 pp. $2.50.

Robinson of England. By John Drinkwater. Illustrated by J. H. Dowd. The Macmillan Company. 326 pp. $2.50.

The Hush-Hush Murders. By Margaret Taylor Yates. The Macmillan Company. 344 pp. $2.00.

The Wooden Spoon. By Wyn Griffith. E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 318 pp. $2.50.

Time Piece. By Naomi Jacob. The Macmillan Company. 352 pp. $2.50.

Victoria Four-Thirty. By Cecil Roberts. The Macmillan Company. 364 pp. $2.50.

The Concept of Morals. By W. T. Stace. The Macmillan Company. 307 pp. $2.50.

Differential Psychology. By Anne Anastasi. The Macmillan Company. 615 pp. $2.00.

In the Name of Common Sense. By Matthew N. Campbell. The Macmillan Co. 192 pp. $1.75.

Earth-Lore: Geology Without Jargon. By S. J. Shand. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Company. 144 pp. $1.25.

Living Safely. By Earl C. Bowman and Paul F. Boston. The Macmillan Company. 177 pp. $.52.     

Developing Teachers’ Knowledge,Beliefs, and Expertise: Findings From the Alberta Student Assessment Study

This article reports on a subset of findings that emerged from the Alberta Student Assessment Study in relation to the preservice and in-service development of teacher knowledge of, expertise in, and beliefs underpinning their assessment practices. Findings indicate that, although there has been a lot of attention given to improving assessment, confusion remains for teachers about terminology, principles, and pragmatics that undermine teacher confidence about assessment and making sound judgments about students’ work.     

Assessment in Alberta: Six Areas of Concern

This report on the Alberta Student Assessment Study describes the context, methodology, and emergent themes. It outlines the purposes and uses of assessment according to the various stakeholder groups. Using both qualitative and quantitative data from students and parents, as well as educators at all levels, there were six areas or themes that emerged for further exploration: politics of assessment, decision making, teacher learning, communication and relationships, instructional leadership, and fairness and equity.     

A joyous lifeline in a target-driven job: teachers’ metaphors of teaching poetry writing

Drawing on Vygotsky’s notion, developed by Bruner, of learners growing into ‘the intellectual life of those around them’, this paper reports on a small-scale questionnaire survey of teachers’ thinking about poetry writing and their instructional practices of teaching it. Thirty-three teachers, with a range of teaching experience and service, took part in the study. This paper presents, analyses and evaluates the central metaphor of ‘freedom’ used by teachers. This presents poetry writing instruction in four contrasting ways: as freedom to explore personal creativity; as a site of integrated thinking; as a rejection of ‘formulaic writing’; and as freedom from curricular ‘directives’. The paper argues that these metaphors indicate considerable personal investment by teachers of poetry and that they consider the teaching of poetry writing to have impact as much on themselves as on pupils.     

Redefining Normal: A Critical Analysis of (Dis)ability in Young Adult Literature

This literary analysis examines constructions of normalcy and disability within contemporary young adult literature, including Jerk, California (Friesen, 2008), Marcelo in the Real World (Stork, 2009), and Five Flavors of Dumb (John, 2010). As recent winners of the Schneider Family Book Award from the American Library Association, these novels offer complex and realistic portrayals of characters with disabilities. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, this paper explores how identity, agency, and power shape the novels’ plots and themes. The growing prevalence of characters with disabilities in young adult literature offers an opportunity for students to consider how disability is constructed in society and represented in literary works. By taking a critical approach to literary analysis, teachers can emphasize social justice within the English curriculum.