Reconstructing Early Childhood Development Services in South Africa: From apartheid to democracy

A miracle has occurred in South Africa. A country bent on self‐destruction changed course over the past 5 years and achieved an extraordinary reconcilliation amongst its diverse people. The process of democratization and liberation has brought freedom to millions of South Africans previously governed by racial separation. The reconstruction and development of the nation is led by President Nelson Mandela.

Our youngest children have not been untouched by this. For the first time in our history there is a political commitment to serve young children and to provide resources for this.

Supported by intense research and investigation, and a sector deeply committed to improving conditions for young children, their families and communities, a comprehensive national policy and training framework for early childhood education and care has been developed.

This article begins by setting the context for early childhood education and care in South Africa. The article focuses on the principles which direct programme and service delivery, the development of a training framework, the role of lobbying and advocacy networks, strategies for improving the quality and increasing quantity of provision, and the role of non‐governmental organisations in service delivery.     

The electronic campus: Technotreachery: Play infiltrates school

Eric Crump is the learning technologies coordinator for the University of Missouri-Columbia Learning Center. He is working on a number of projects, all exploring ways to use computer networks to create new learning environments and to complement conventional learning environments. His pet projects at the moment are the Online Writery, an online community of student writers; Rhetnet, an experimental scholarly cyberjournal on rhetoric and writing, and the MU Institute for Instructional Technology, a mechanism for effecting technological and pedagogical change on campus. If you would like to contact Eric to inquire about the nuts and bolts of on-line learning or about his views on learning and the academy, you can send e-mail to him at wleric@showme.missouri.edu.     

An examination of motives underlying active sport tourist behavior: a market segmentation approach

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a preliminary sport tourism motivation scale (STMS) that detected unique active sport tourist segments according to their social psychological motives for traveling to a destination to compete in sport. Segments’ conative loyalty were also analyzed to gain a greater understanding of how underlying motives for sport event tourism influences consumers’ behavioral intentions. A convenient sampling approach was used to collect data from 380 athletes participating in the 2014 GoPro Mountain Games in Colorado. In developing the STMS, items derived from previously validated sport and tourism motivation scales were used to reduce and verify a parceled STMS factor structure. Confirmatory Factor Analysis yielded acceptable psychometric properties. Ward’s Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three segments: tourism-oriented, sport tourism enthusiasts, and sport-oriented. The sport tourism enthusiasts, who exhibited favorable valuations on each of the nine STMS factors, demonstrated elevated conative loyalty characteristics above those of the other two segments. Additionally, the STMS was able to explain 30% of the variation in consumers’ conative loyalty with factors, ‘Destination Attributes’ and ‘Competitive Desire’ being the most influential predictors. Overall, the study’s findings may better equip event managers with information necessary to tailor event service elements which may enhance customer satisfaction and lead to greater retention.     

Using Palm Technology in Participatory Simulations of Complex Systems: A New Take on Ubiquitous and Accessible Mobile Computing

This paper reports on teachers’ perceptions of the educational affordances of a handheld application called Participatory Simulations. It presents evidence from five cases representing each of the populations who work with these computational tools. Evidence across multiple data sources yield similar results to previous research evaluations of handheld activities with respect to enhancing motivation, engagement and self-directed learning. Three additional themes are discussed that provide insight into understanding curricular applicability of Participatory Simulations that suggest a new take on ubiquitous and accessible mobile computing. These themes generally point to the multiple layers of social and cognitive flexibility intrinsic to their design: ease of adaptation to subject-matter content knowledge and curricular integration; facility in attending to teacher-individualized goals; and encouraging the adoption of learner-centered strategies.     

Threat appeals and persuasion: Seeking and finding the elusive curvilinear effect

One of the earliest theories of threat appeals, the drive model, predicts that the fear–persuasion relationship is characterized by an inverted U-curve. Evidence of such a curve has proven elusive, probably because, in reality, there are two curvilinear hypotheses, not one. Existing primary studies and meta-analyses have tested the between-persons version of the inverted U-curve and found it wanting. In contrast, this study reports on a within-persons version and finds clear support for it. A peaked curve predicted change in intention to use dental floss, whereas a flatter curve did not. Partitioning the sample on individual differences in the behavioral inhibition system produced curves that did not differ in their ability to predict persuasion. Because no contemporary theory of threat appeals can predict these curvilinear findings, researchers should reconsider the utility of drive theory.     

Beyond the Research Paper: Extending the Use of Collections

The increasing availability of high quality digital texts and usage data about them provides opportunities to identify new uses for collections, alternative ways to present and explore content, and expanded audiences for the materials. Using this information and a rapid development model called a “flash build,” JSTOR is creating and partnering with other organizations to build new tools that add value to library investments in digital collections. Two examples are discussed: “Classroom Readings,” a tool designed to help educators find articles on JSTOR that are good candidates for teaching, and “Understanding Shakespeare,” a resource created in collaboration with the Folger Shakespeare Library that enables scholars to follow links in lines from Shakespeare plays to articles on JSTOR that reference them. The rapid development model used for these projects is easily reproducible and effective, and could be applied to many library-driven efforts.     

Postracial fantasies,blackness, and zombies

The essay mainly performs a structural and formal analysis of the logics and affective economies of postracial fantasies so as to eventually offer the Zombie trope as a mode of analysis figuring alternative ways of thinking race relations. The essay contends that the Zombie, when articulated with discourses and feelings of the postracial, signifies the unleashing of black bio-threat bodies upon a population; and that enjoyment of the postracial and the Zombie Apocalyptic genre obscures and resuscitates this signification. As a brief case study, the essay discusses the display, materiality, and “bloody” enjoyment of the “Zombie Obama” target mannequin by gun enthusiasts and preppers.     

The Impact of Video Length on Learning in a Middle-Level Flipped Science Setting: Implications for Diversity Inclusion

Popularity of videos for classroom instruction has increased over the years due to affordability and user-friendliness of today’s digital video cameras. This prevalence has led to an increase in flipped, K-12 classrooms countrywide. However, quantitative data establishing the appropriate video length to foster authentic learning is limited, particularly in middle-level classrooms. We focus on this aspect of video technology in two flipped science classrooms at the middle school level to determine the optimal video length to enable learning, increase retention and support student motivation. Our results indicate that while assessments directly following short videos were slightly higher, these findings were not significantly different from scores following longer videos. While short-term retention of material did not seem to be influenced by video length, longer-term retention for males and students with learning disabilities was higher following short videos compared to long as assessed on summative assessments. Students self-report that they were more engaged, had enhanced focus, and had a perceived higher retention of content following shorter videos. This study has important implications for student learning, application of content, and the development of critical thinking skills. This is particularly paramount in an era where content knowledge is just a search engine away.     

Early childhood education and care in a context of social heterogeneity and inequality. Empirical notes on an interdisciplinary challenge

Against a background of increasing inequality and its impact at various levels on childhood and family life, of the growing societal significance and uptake of extra-familial childcare provision, and of social policy goals emphasising participation and education for all, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in Germany is facing new and heightened challenges. This article presents and analyses current and empirically observable changes in society. It comes to the conclusion that ECEC needs to be more strongly viewed as an interdisciplinary challenge, and that ways forward need to include a comprehensive professionalisation and workforce development project: the aim must be to provide children and families with care and support services tailored both quantitatively and qualitatively to their needs, thereby offering not only support to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family obligations and an alternative place of education for children, but also programmes of specific support for disadvantaged and support-dependent children and families.