Science education research in Papua New Guinea 1978–1990

This paper presents a science/science education bibliography, to assist science educationalists interested in Papua New Guinea. 392 articles were reviewed. The bibliography was then categorised in a number of ways to indicate patterns of research productivity in various areas of science education, and at different levels of education. A questionnaire was devised to obtain information from former and current researchers in the field about their own contributions. This exercise produced some surprising information about science education research in Papua New Guinea. Specializations: science teacher education, chemical education, science education in developing countries, educational issues.     

The POE in the primary school: An evaluation

The POE (Predict-Observe-Explain) is a technique for identifying students' knowledge and understanding of science concepts. It has mainly been used for physical science topics at secondary and tertiary levels. In the present study, 60 preservice teachers each implemented and evaluated POEs with groups of primary children. The children were studying a range of topics from the NSW Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus and represented a range of year levels. The evaluations were generally positive. The children responded to the technique enthusiastically and the teachers were able to identify both their understandings and their process skills development. The main problems were the difficulty of inventing suitable POEs in some topics, especially topics on communication, and problems caused by the use of oral rather than written responses. The study concluded that it is a suitable technique for primary science.     

Students' application of the concept of interdependence to the issue of preservation of species: Observations on the ability to generalize

One of the aims of science education is that students should be able to apply scientific principles to contemporary issues. Individual interviews were used to investigate the way in which students (63 12-year-olds and 60 16-year-olds) applied the ecological concept of interdependence of species to the issue of preservation of species. Students were shown a list of items representing a range of living things and were asked to select those which they would want to save from extinction and explain their reasoning. Although most students used the concept of interdependence for some items, they did not apply it in a scientifically consistent way to all types of living things. Three probable reasons for this lack of consistency were anthropocentricism, mixed reasons (students appeared to spontaneously choose another type of reason depending on what image the item immediately provoked), and opposite reasons (students interpreted the idea of interdependence as applying to some types of living things but not to others). J Res Sci Teach 34: 837–850, 1997.     

Reviews

Jeffree, Dorothy M. and Skeffington, Margaret (1980) Let Me Read. MacFarlane, Tom, with Moyle, Donald (adviser), (1980) Comprehension Through the Newspaper. Pugh, A.K., Lee, V.J. and Swann, J. (Ed.) (1980) Language and Language Use. Veatch, Jeannette (1978) Reading in the Elementary School.     

Intercollegiate Athletes and Effective Educational Practices: Winning Combination or Losing Effort?

Scrutiny of intercollegiate athletics has intensified in recent years. This study compares student-athletes with those of non-athletes in terms of their engagement in effective educational practices. Contrary to many reports in the popular media, the findings from this study indicate that, on balance, student-athletes across a large number of colleges and universities do not differ greatly from their peers in terms of their participation in effective educational practices. In most instances, when differences do exist, they favor athletes.     

Work commitment and job satisfaction for program staff: How to build it

Children develop appropriately in social, cognitive, physical, and emotional ways in a stable environment. Early childhood administrators can help create this stable environment by minimizing staff turnover. Staff turnover can be kept at a reasonable rate through the development of administrative skills which will enhance staff self-esteem and job satisfaction.Nora Palmer Gould is an Early Childhood Administrator who is currently working as a consultant to Early Childhood Programs.     

Making the News: Anarchist Counter-Public Relations on the World Wide Web

Traditionally, radical social movements faced a dilemma regarding media coverage: focus either on mass media, but lose control of their representation, or on alternative media, but fail to get their message to the broader public. The World Wide Web overcomes these problems, allowing movements to create their own media with mass distribution. However, it has two key weaknesses of its own: attracting audiences and mixing in- and out-group communication. In this paper, we show how the structure and content of the anarchist Web-based media work together to separate in- and out-group discourses. We then demonstrate how the anarchists attracted an audience to their Web media. The Black Bloc tactics at the Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization brought an increase in media attention, albeit negative. We examine how anarchists took advantage of the larger audience created by this bad publicity and mounted a counter-public relations campaign online. We argue that the Web alters the power relationship between mainstream and alternative media without displacing the need for mainstream coverage.     

State Perspectives on Implementing,or Choosing Not to Implement,an Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards

Since Federal regulations have given states the option to implement alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) as part of their accountability systems for a small group of students with disabilities, a number of states have made decisions about whether or not to develop and implement such an assessment. State-level directors of assessment and directors of special education were surveyed about their state's decisions on implementing AA-MAS. Improvements in accessibility and appropriateness were reasons given for choosing to implement an AA-MAS, whereas lack of resources and guidance were identified as barriers. This article presents the findings from a survey on 22 states' decisions concerning implementation of AA-MAS.