Gandhi and Mao on manual labour in the school: A retrospective analysis

Mahatma Gandhi's views on relating the world of formal education to the world of work were developed first in his experimental ‘Tolstoy Farm’ in South Africa. On his return to India, Gandhi insisted that a required manual labour component in the curriculum would help regenerate India's village economy, develop in India's children a deeper understanding of India's cultural roots, motivate children to relate ‘book learning’ to life in society, and destroy invidious caste distinctions. The major proposals and suggestions in Gandhi's writing will be discussed in the context of his hopes for using schooling as an agent of progress in India. Mao Ze-Dong's views, on the other hand, were developed in the context of his Yenan experience in the 1930s, i.e. the decision to consolidate a power base in the interior of China before waging a class war against the landlords and capitalists of China. Mao's views were also, to some extent, rooted in the Chinese reality of stagnant, poverty-stricken rural areas. But, Mao's writings indicate that Marxist hopes to relate theory and practice (as understood in dialectical materialism) and to ensure that everyone participated in mental as well as manual labour in a socialist society had led him to formulate his proposals. Both Gandhi's and Mao's views and proposals have been more or less abandoned in India and China respectively. The similar and dissimilar reasons which led to such a fate are examined in this retrospective analysis.     

Evaluating engineering thinking in undergraduate engineering and liberal arts students

ABSTRACT

This study explored if it is possible for liberal arts students to develop engineering professional competencies without detailed engagement with the engineering sciences. Students on a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programme were compared with their undergraduate peers in Civil Engineering. A new method for evaluating such competencies was developed. Two one-hour individual problem-solving exercises were devised to assess capabilities against 14 criteria, based on the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Competency framework for professional development (2011 The BASc cohort’s scores for each criterion improved notably from the start of term to the end. This cohort rated their capabilities more highly at the end of term and was more satisfied with the answers they gave. Engineering students showed a slight decline in performance against the criteria. Self-evaluation in this group revealed a smaller increase in perceived capability but increased dissatisfaction. Both cohorts felt more anxious about the assignment at the end of the term. PBL environments can improve student competence in attributes associated with professional engineering. The scope of the study is constrained by the small cohort but the findings and evaluation method provide the basis for further development, including detailed statistical evaluation and validation of the evaluation instrument.     

Layers of reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade: changes in teaching and student outcomes

In this study, students and their teachers participated in a layered approach to reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade that included professional development for teachers in scientifically based reading instruction, ongoing measurement of reading progress, and additional small-group or individual instruction for students whose progress was insufficient to maintain grade-level reading achievement. Reading outcomes were compared with historical control groups of students in the same schools. The findings revealed overall improvements in reading, improved reading for students who began the study in high-risk categories, and decreases in the incidence of reading disability at the end of third grade. Implications for scaling up are discussed.     

Comparison of the General Ability Measure for Adults and the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test with college students

Ninety‐four college students were administered the GAMA and KAIT. GAMA IQs were significantly and moderately correlated with KAIT Fluid, Crystallized and Composite IQs, supporting the convergent validity of this instrument. Although significant correlations between measures emerged and nonsignificant differences were found between mean scores across these instruments, GAMA IQ scores did not accurately predict KAIT Composite IQ scores when GAMA IQ scores were compared to KAIT Composite IQs. Similarly, when the sample was divided into two groups by ability level, GAMA IQs accurately estimated the intelligence for individuals of Average and Below Average intelligence, but underestimated the KAIT Composite IQ scores by 4 points for the Above Average group. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided. © 2002, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Learning in science project (teacher development): The framework

The Centre for Science and Mathematics Education Research at the University of Waikato is now undertaking the fourth Learning in Science Project, LISP(Teacher Development). The project builds on the findings of the previous three projects on the nature of learning and how to improve learning of science in classrooms. This two-year project is investigating the process of teacher development (as change in behaviour and beliefs) in the context of two kinds of teacher courses that acknowledge and take into account teachers’ existing ideas. This paper summarises the planning done for the first phase of the project as detailed in Bell, Kirkwood and Pearson (1990). Specializations: learning theories, curriculum development, equity issues. Specializations: science education, teacher professional development.     

Emotion and cognition: an intricately bound developmental process

Regulatory aspects of development can best be understood by research that conceptualizes relations between cognition and emotion. The neural mechanisms associated with regulatory processes may be the same as those associated with higher order cognitive processes. Thus, from a developmental cognitive neuroscience perspective, emotion and cognition are dynamically linked and work together to process information and execute action. This article highlights the authors' recent efforts at integrating emotion regulation and cognitive processing during the first year of life by focusing on the methodological criteria outlined by Cole, Martin, and Dennis (this issue), and it discusses the idea that emotion and cognition are an intricately bound developmental process.     

Trajectories of Infants’ Biobehavioral Development: Timing and Rate of A‐Not‐B Performance Gains and EEG Maturation

This study examined how timing (i.e., relative maturity) and rate (i.e., how quickly infants attain proficiency) of A‐not‐B performance were related to changes in brain activity from age 6 to 12 months. A‐not‐B performance and resting EEG (electroencephalography) were measured monthly from age 6 to 12 months in 28 infants and were modeled using logistic and linear growth curve models. Infants with faster performance rates reached performance milestones earlier. Infants with faster rates of increase in A‐not‐B performance had lower occipital power at 6 months and greater linear increases in occipital power. The results underscore the importance of considering nonlinear change processes for studying infants’ cognitive development as well as how these changes are related to trajectories of EEG power.     

Developing a European Dimension of the Teacher Training Curriculum

This contribution explores the relationship between traditional conceptions of pedagogy and an alternative approach grounded in research‐based teaching. The case is put forward for collaborative investigations focusing on improving practice on the European dimension in education. The implications of this case suggests a changed role for training institutions to enable the study of inter‐cultural teaching and learning to be carried out by practitioners. For the teacher, supported opportunities to contribute to a knowledge base of good practice through action inquiry is also implied. The experience of an EEC‐funded project designed with such principles in mind is described and evaluated. Operating since 1982 in six member states, the outcomes suggest some priorities for future activities and outline a theory for developing the European dimension of the teacher training curriculum.     

Patterns of interactions in multidisciplinary child protection teams in New Jersey

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of how multidisciplinary team members in child protection worked together within the team, meeting to provide assessments of, and services to, children and families. METHOD: Fifteen multidisciplinary child-protection teams in New Jersey were observed during one meeting of each team. The interaction among team members was recorded and analyzed using a structured observation method, Bales' Interaction Process Analysis. RESULTS: There was a wide variation in participation among team members, with some contributing nothing to the meeting and others contributing a great deal. In some teams, participation by members was more equal than others. Some professional groups and agencies contributed very little to any meeting while others contributed a great deal to many meetings. CONCLUSIONS: Professionals are members of multidisciplinary teams because they are expected to contribute to the investigation of child maltreatment cases and to the planning for further work with cases. However, the findings from this study suggest that there is a considerable degree of inequality in levels of participation in multidisciplinary meetings. It is particularly noticeable that staff from the prosecutor's offices participate in every meeting and either the agency as a whole or individual members of it dominate many of the meetings.