On explaining curriculum change: H. B. Beal,organizational categories and the rhetoric of justification

ABSTRACT

In response to a perceived reluctance to engage with poetry on the part of teachers and trainee teachers, a questionnaire was administered to a group of 48 trainees in their second year of training, before they undertook the part of their course dealing with the teaching of poetry. Their responses indicated that they had had a positive experience of poetry during their own primary education but had ceased to enjoy or understand poetry at secondary level. In discussing the responses, attention is drawn to the importance of understanding the difference between poetry as a specialist subject and as a vehicle for teaching other things. The difference between ‘enjoyment’ and ‘appreciation’, as outlined by Wittgenstein, is defined and applied to the study of poetry. Ways of extending trainees’ understanding and ability to teach poetry are explored. It is concluded that in order to get ‘on the inside of the subject they should (a) be allowed to respond freely to poetry at their own level and (b) be initiated into the kind of skills and knowledge which will enable them to identify the progressive features of poetry itself as well as the instrumental aspects of poetry teaching in the primary school.     

‘Competitive Balance’ in the Top Level of English Football, 1948–2008: An Absent Principle and a Forgotten Ideal

Competitive balance is thought to be an important aspect of sport. Notions of ‘equity’ or ‘fair play’ appeal to the concept of competitive balance. Focusing upon the period between 1948 and 2008, this paper uses data from the top division of English football to investigate what has happened to competitive balance through the use of three measures. The first measure is an index, similar to a concentration ratio, that seeks to capture the extent to which the four most successful teams, by decade, have dominated the league. The second measure uses the Herfindahl index to discover the number of competitive teams in the league over the six decades. The final measure looks, season by season, at the probability of repeat success. The results suggest, from all three measures, that competitive balance has decreased and that the ‘beautiful game’ in England is in danger of becoming a monopoly of the few.     

A Sport for All Project in Eastern Europe: 1990-2001

The question of providing the citizens of London, Ontario, Canada with public bathing facilities emerged in the late 1860s and persisted through the early 1920s. Initially concerns over the financial costs of such a venture trumped the need to protect public morals and ensure the physical safety of bathers. Not until the first decade of the 1900s did serious interest arise within local government to provide public facilities, prompted primarily by concerns over the moral and physical safety of the city's children. Whereas concerns related to the provision of public bathing facilities are relatively well documented for larger Canadian cities including Montreal and Toronto, attempts to secure public space to bathe in smaller centres such as London provide clear evidence of how broader social forces, including the critical influence of the playgrounds movement, served to promote swimming and bathing in Canadian towns and cities after the turn of the twentieth century.     

Experience,knowledge and attitudes: Are paramedic students prepared to care for older patients?

ABSTRACT

As the population ages, so does the number of older patients encountered by paramedics. It is vital that paramedics are adequately prepared to meet the unique and growing needs of these patients. Experience and education play key roles in the formation of attitudes that impact behavior, and ultimately patient care. The aim of this study was to determine the level of student paramedic experience with knowledge of, and attitudes toward, older adults and to examine the relationship between these factors. This was a cross-sectional study utilizing three paper-based questionnaires; Experience with Older Adults Questionnaire, Australian Facts on Aging Quiz 2 (FAQ2), and Aging Semantic Differential (ASD). Of the 871 paramedic student participants, 79% had an oldest living grandparent 65 years old or above, and 63% had encountered older adults on clinical placement. The mean (SD) score for the FAQ2 was 12.7 (3.0) out of a possible 25, indicating a low level of knowledge about older people. The mean (SD) score for the ASD was 120.3 (17.77), indicating slightly positive attitudes toward older adults. Knowledge (β = ?0.06; p = .058) and experience (β = ?0.06; p = .058) had weak associations with attitudes. Student paramedics have some prior experience with older adults, relatively low knowledge and generally positive attitudes. There is some association between these factors; however, the impact on patient care requires further investigation. Paramedic educators should strive to provide students with broad quality experiences and education that increases awareness and understanding of older people.     

Mind the Generation Gap: Millennials and Boomers in the Library Workplace

As editor of On My Mind, I wanted to introduce myself and let you, the reader, know a little bit about what I intend this column to be. Primarily, I want it to be a venue for you to write about anything that has been bugging you or that you think needs to be said. This is an opinion column so please share your opinion. Maybe you want to talk about what you wished you had learned in library school. Or, perhaps you have a bone to pick with people who rely too much on using statistics in their weeding of books from the library's shelves. Whether the majority of librarians hold your opinion or not, I will try to give you a venue to express your thoughts. Also, this column is intended to be informal; feel free to use the first person. That does not mean that you cannot or should not back up statements you make with research. Please do. It does mean that personal anecdotes and stories are encouraged and make for a more interesting read. Finally, inquiries into writing for this column should be directed to me via e-mail. You will get a timely response. –Eric Jennings     

Teaching Transgressive Representations of LGBTQ People in Educator Preparation: Is Conformity Required for Inclusion?

Abstract

One strategy used to teach about diverse populations is to edit their -curricular representations to minimize their transgressive nature in an effort to gain more acceptance among students. This article explores the implications of these -assimilationist narratives when used in educator preparation programs to -represent LGBTQ people. It examines the potential advantages of teaching more diverse and transgressive representations in the interest of inclusion and educator -preparation.