To maintain circularity: Biological roots of education

Truisms have the disadvantage that by dulling the senses they obscure the truth. Almost nobody will become alarmed when told that in times of continuity the future equals the past. Only a few will become aware that from this follows that in times of socio-cultural change the future will not be like the past... At any moment we are free to act toward the future we desire. In other words, the future will be as we wish and perceive it to be. This may come as a shock only to those who let their thinking be governed by the principle that demands that only the rules observed in the past shall apply to the future. For those the concept of change is inconceivable, for change is the process that obliterates the rules of the past (Von Foerster, 1972).     

ANCHORING ADHD SYMPTOMS TO MENTAL AGE

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM‐5), requires that symptoms of ADHD must be developmentally inappropriate in order for an ADHD diagnosis to be considered. Because the DSM‐5 does not specifically outline procedure for determining developmental inappropriateness of behaviors, practitioners do not have guidance for making this consideration. To explore the relationship between mental age and behavior ratings of ADHD symptoms, the cognitive and behavioral data from 50 children who were evaluated in a school or clinic were compiled for this study. Cognitive ability scores were used to calculate mental age and behavior rating scores were then recalculated using the assessed mental age. Using the recalculated behavior ratings, scores based on mental age decreased significantly on the Attention Problems, Hyperactivity, and Atypicality scales of the BASC‐2. Additionally, as the discrepancy between mental and chronological age increased, larger differences in scores were found.     

Informing parents about educational options. How well are we doing?

This study explores an aspect of information delivery to parents by focusing on those who have chosen residential school placements for their children. Although most parents choose to send their deaf children to special programs in regular public schools, some do opt for residential school placements. Little is known about the foundations on which such decisions are made, and this study is a preliminary attempt to better understand parents' motives and expectations and to assess the adequacy of information provided to them. In 128 surveys from a sample of parents nationwide, a surprising number reported that they were not given information about placement options. Of those who were, many said they were dissatisfied with the information. A large proportion of the parents were satisfied with the residential school. The relationships among their reasons for this placement, their views of the advantages and disadvantages, and the information provided to them are discussed.     

Notes on Classroom Practice and the Ownership and Use of Personal Computers Amongst Egyptian Science and Mathematics Teachers

This paper reports a study of the acquisition and use of personal computers by Egyptian science and mathematics teachers. Self-report data was collected from the same teachers on how they had changed their classroom activities and professional practice since their return to Egypt following a twelve-week in-service course in the United Kingdom. The data from this sample of teachers is compared with that from a second sample, who also attended the same in-service programme, but did not report the purchase of a personal computer. Analysis indicates that the Egyptian teachers with personal computers have tended to concentrate on improving the quality of current practice, through better preparation and student testing, rather than introducing major, paradigmatic, changes to their teaching.     

The university as agent of social transformation: The postmodern argument considered

This is an abridged version of an essay that will appear inThe Imperiled Academy, edited by Howard Dickman, to be published by Transaction this year.     

Code‐switching in US ethnic literature: multiple perspectives presented through multiple languages

For the multilingual author, switching between two or more languages is not an arbitrary act, nor is it simply an attempt to mimic the speech of his or her community; code‐switching results from a conscious decision to create a desired effect and to promote the validity of the author's heritage language. This article looks at code‐switching in literary texts between Spanish and English, English and Chinese, and English and Jemez, a Native American language. Incorporating native and heritage languages along with English within a literary work, usually through code‐switching, creates a multiple perspective and enhances an author's ability to express his or her subject matter.     

The effectiveness of science supervisors and their membership status within a faculty

…Teachers tend to say they find their supervision of little value. Supervisors say their work has a lot of value. Supervisors seem to be saying that they want to spend more time doing what their clients (the teachers) consider to be relatively useless.