Conceptualizations of writing in early years curricula and standards documents: international perspectives

Abstract

In this article, researchers in the field of early writing identify underlying beliefs and values about writing and learning to write for the beginning years of formal schooling in four jurisdictions: the American state of Connecticut, New Zealand, the Canadian province of Ontario, and Sweden, as reflected in the respective curricula and standards documents that guide instruction. Using Ivani?’s Discourses of Writing and Learning to Write to guide our text analysis, we found that curriculum developers have primarily been influenced by views of writing as a set of skills, processes, and genres. We found few references to the sociopolitical discourse which indicates a view among curriculum developers that sociopolitical literacy is not suitable for this age group. We argue, with support in previous research, that young children’s writing does not have to be politically neutral and that it can be developed under age-appropriate circumstances. Implications for policy and curriculum development include a need for greater consideration of the complexities of writing shown in research conducted across five decades. We propose a change to the model for early years, recognising that young children’s socio-political understandings lie within their home and school lives, rather than the broader community.     

Encouraging ecological behaviors among students by using the ecological footprint as an educational tool: a quasi-experimental design in a public high school in the city of Haifa

The aim of the current study is to explore whether the ecological footprint is an appropriate tool for encouraging ecological behaviors in students. In the quasi-experimental research that we conducted, four classes from one of the public high schools in the city of Haifa (N?=?130) participated in an environmental education (EE) program (intervention program) based on the theoretical and practical aspects of the ecological footprint and the action competence approach in EE. Two classes (N?=?70) constituted a control group. Ecological worldview (EW), perceived behavioral control (PBC), behavioral intentions (BI), personal norms (PN), pro-environmental behavior (PEB), and self-reported behaviors were measured by means of questionnaires completed by the students in their classes before and after the intervention program. The results show statistically significant differences between the experimental and the control groups in the variables PBC, PN, and BI. However, no statistically significant differences were revealed in EW and PEB. The results indicate that incorporating the ecological footprint as an educational tool in high school might yield some predictors of PEB.     

Perceptual inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals

ABSTRACT

The instructional leadership approach expects school leaders to give top priority to ongoing improvement of teaching quality and academic outcomes. Researchers have found that despite the top-down pressures to assume an instructional leadership role, school principals demonstrate limited direct involvement in such leadership. The current qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, aimed to expand inquiry into inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals. Data analysis uncovered that Israeli principals’ perceptions served as key inhibitors of instructional leadership, identifying three main perceptual inhibitors: (1) perceptions regarding principal-teacher relationships; (2) perceptions regarding the role of the principal; and (3) perceptions regarding the goal of schooling. These findings expands the available knowledge by illustrating how for Israeli principals, the inhibitors of instructional leadership did not only involve the constraints and capabilities of school principals but also deep disagreements with the conceptual framework that underpins instructional leadership. Implications and further research are discussed.     

Performing literary works judged problematic

This study offers several options for performing literary works judged problematic, discusses those options in relationship to four literary texts, and examines some of the theoretical implications surrounding the options.     

Effekte eines Tanz- und eines Gesundheitssporttrainings auf die graue Hirnsubstanz gesunder Senioren

Due to the demographic change and an aging society more research is nowadays dedicated to geriatric problems and questions. Aging is associated with a loss of grey matter volume in the brain and often leads to neurodegenerative diseases. Physical and cognitive activities have been shown to improve brain plasticity whereby the combination of both seems to be most effective. We hypothesized that dancing could be an ideal intervention because it combines exercise, cognitive, coordination and emotional features. In this study 26 healthy senior citizens (63–80 years old) were randomized into a dancing group (n = 14) or a physical exercise group (n = 12). After 18 months the dancing group showed increased grey matter volumes, especially in the frontal and temporal regions including the gyrus parahippocampalis and the precentral gyrus. The physical exercise group showed grey matter volume increases only in subcortical regions. Our results suggest that dancing is more effective in inducing neuroplasticity in regions normally affected by aging than classical repetitive fitness training. We assume this to be related to the multimodal nature of dancing, which combines exercise, cognitive and coordination features. These findings demonstrate for the first time in a longitudinal study the positive effects of dancing programs for the prevention of volume loss of grey matter and neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly.     

Automatic target tracking on multi-resolution terrain

INTRODUCTION In this paper, we propose an automatic target tracking method in our real-time simulation and animation system of large-scale terrain field. Our system supplies autonomous guidance, navigation and control of moving objects, in order to efficiently perform related challenging missions in manufacture, entertainment, and other real-world applications. Our goal is to deploy a large number of moving vehicles upon a large-scale virtual terrain (essentially a 2D curved terrain surfa…     

Captions, consistency, creativity, and the consensual assessment technique: New evidence of reliability

The consensual assessment technique (CAT) is a measurement tool for creativity research in which appropriate experts evaluate creative products [Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context: Update to the social psychology of creativity. Boulder, CO: Westview]. However, the CAT is hampered by the time-consuming nature of the products (asking participants to write stories or draw pictures) and the ratings (getting appropriate experts). This study examined the reliability of ratings of sentence captions. Specifically, four raters evaluated 12 captions written by 81 undergraduates. The purpose of the study was to see whether the CAT could provide reliable ratings of captions across raters and across multiple captions and, if so, how many such captions would be required to generate reliable scores, and how many judges would be needed? Using generalizability theory, we found that captions appear to be a useful way of measuring creativity with a reasonable level of reliability in the frame of CAT.     

Developmental Relations Among Behavioral Inhibition,Anxiety, and Attention Biases to Threat and Positive Information

This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition (BI) assessed in toddlerhood (n = 268) and attention biases (AB) to threat and positive faces and maternal‐reported anxiety assessed when children were 5‐ and 7‐year‐old. Results revealed that BI predicted anxiety at age 7 in children with AB toward threat, away from positive, or with no bias, at age 7; BI did not predict anxiety for children displaying AB away from threat or toward positive. Five‐year AB did not moderate the link between BI and 7‐year anxiety. No direct association between AB and BI or anxiety was detected; moreover, children did not show stable AB across development. These findings extend our understanding of the developmental links among BI, AB, and anxiety.     

Theological and Pedagogical Implications of the Role of Zionism in Reform Jewish Manifestos: A Bridge from Vision to Praxis

In this article, we explore the transition from philosophical and theological manifestos to their practical and educational implementation as we analyze the official American Reform-Judaism discourse as curricular text. This analysis provides a tool for a discussion of the relationships between vision and its implementation particularly for educators and leaders. We highlight the possibilities of dialogue among educators, rabbis-in-training, and leaders to aid in the formation of new visionary documents and, in doing so, affect the dynamics of paving new directions. We demonstrate a model that may be used to investigate such translations from vision to a lived experience and back to reconstruction of a vision.