Interaction,Reflection and Learning at a Distance

The author's experiences as an online student are presented as a case study to examine the relationship between interaction, reflection and learning in distance education. Reflection as a dimension of experiential learning theory is summarised and examples of its use in distance education are discussed. Recommendations for course design that promotes the understanding of theoretical issues through personal experience are proposed.     

Effect of social setting,self‐concept,and relative age on the social status of moderately and highly gifted students

This study compares the social status of highly gifted (N=42) and moderately gifted (N=86) students across academic (classroom) and social (dormitory) settings. Giftedness was not significantly related to social status in either setting. Two social statuses, popular and rejected, were significantly stable across settings. Furthermore these statuses were related to peer nominations for getting along, fighting, and being shy, to social and academic measures of self‐concept, and to age relative to the peer group. These findings are examined in light of other research on gifted‐ness and social status.     

The Stranger Within: Dostoevsky’s underground

Abstract

In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s influential novel Notes from underground, we find one of the most memorable characters in nineteenth century literature. The Underground Man, around whom everything else in this book revolves, is in some respects utterly repugnant: he is self-centred, obsessive and cruel. Yet he is also highly intelligent, honest and reflective, and he has suffered significantly at the hands of others. Reading Notes from underground can be a harrowing experience but also an educative one, for in an encounter with what at first seems unfamiliar and disorienting we can awaken the ‘stranger within’. Dostoevsky’s work, if we are ready for it, can shake us from our slumbers and allow us to see that what appears to be strange may in fact be deeply familiar to us.     

‘People are suspicious of us’: a critical examination of father primary carers and English early childhood services

Positive father involvement and investment in the early years is of importance for children's later emotional, cognitive and social well‐being. This article critically examines the multiple motivations and barriers experienced by the growing number of father primary carers. The small‐scale research study presented suggests that for a ‘positive culture shift’ towards fathers in the UK to occur, early childhood services need to question the extent to which they are ‘father friendly’. Research suggests that policy initiatives such as a ‘Daddy month’ (found in Canada and most Nordic countries) may encourage much needed attitudinal shifts towards fathers by legitimising their caring activities. Other initiatives that encourage father primary carers in their role may include the recruitment of professional male early childhood workers.     

How teaching world religions brought a truce to the culture wars in Modesto,California

Despite a growing consensus among scholars and activists about the importance of religion, proposals for teaching about it have often been a source of division rather than unity in American public school districts. Faced with familiar cultural conflicts, Modesto, California, chose to become the first public school district in the USA to require all high school students to take an extended and independent course in world religions. The results of the first, large‐scale empirical research on the effects of teaching about religion in USA public schools provides evidence that Modesto’s bold approach was worth the risk. Surveys and interviews administered to students show statistically significant increases in students’ knowledge about other religions, and levels of passive tolerance – willingness to refrain from discrimination – and active tolerance – willingness to act to counter discrimination. The course has not been the subject of lawsuits or complaints by parents and has gained acceptance among all of Modesto’s religious groups.     

The Roles of Substantive and Procedural Understanding in Open-Ended Science Investigations: Using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to Compare Two Different Tasks

We examine the respective roles of substantive understanding (i.e., understanding of factual knowledge, concepts, laws and theories) and procedural understanding (an understanding of ideas about evidence; concepts such as reliability and validity, measurement and calibration, data collection, measurement error, the ability to interpret evidence and the like) required to carry out an open-ended science investigation. Our chosen method of analysis is Charles Ragin’s Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis which we introduce in the paper. Comparing the performance of undergraduate students on two investigation tasks which differ with regard to the amount of substantive content, we demonstrate that both substantive understanding and an understanding of ideas about evidence are jointly involved in carrying out such tasks competently. It might be expected that substantive knowledge is less important when carrying out an investigation with little substantive demand. However, we find that the contribution of substantive understanding and an understanding of ideas about evidence is remarkably similar for both tasks. We discuss possible reasons for our findings.

A New Patriotism? Neoliberalism, citizenship and tertiary education in New Zealand

This paper argues that a new patriotism has emerged in New Zealand over recent years. This has been promoted in tandem with the notion of advancing New Zealand as a knowledge economy and society. The new patriotism encourages New Zealanders to accept, indeed embrace, a single, shared vision of the future: one structured by a neoliberal ontology and the demands of global capitalism. This constructs a narrow view of citizenship and reduces the possibility of economic and social alternatives being considered seriously. The paper makes this case in relation to tertiary education in particular. The first section outlines the New Zealand government's vision for tertiary education, as set out in the Tertiary Education Strategy, 2007–12 (Ministry of Education, 2006). This is followed by a critique of the Strategy and an analysis of the model of citizenship implied by it. The paper concludes with brief comments on the role tertiary education might play in contesting the new patriotism.