Computer Literacy as Ideology

Some of the most prominent policies in schools throughout the industrialized world today relate to the rapid introduction of computers. The most common rationale for introducing educational microcomputing is the concept of ‘computer literacy’. It is a concept, however, which is so poorly defined and delineated, and so unclear as to purpose and procedure, that it may best be investigated as a form of ideology. The justificatory arguments for computers in classrooms are primarily vocational or practical. They are based on assumptions that computers will be pervasive in the workplace of the future, or that they are soon going to be ‘everywhere’. The more purely pedagogical arguments are secondary: that learning about computers is a worthwhile experience in and of itself, and that computers can be useful productivity tools for other academic work. Drawing upon empirical evidence from an evaluation of computer use in two Canadian high schools, this paper shows how a critical treatment of computer literacy as ideology raises important issues about the computerization of education. It suggests that educators should question whether they have simply taken the ideology of computer literacy at face value, and whether this almost universal policy has received the critical attention it deserves.     

Curriculum Contests: environmental studies versus geography

Much of the literature promoting environmental education as ‘a just cause’ assumes a rational discussion of curriculum options. In fact, the promotion of new curriculum areas threatens existing subject territories. Historically environmental education has threatened the boundaries of geography. Thus, by studying these ‘border wars’ we learn more about the process of promoting new curriculum areas. This paper seeks to build on previous work which has scrutinised the social history of school subjects. A conviction underlying this work has been that as well as studying the interactive nature of curriculum practice, also examining the conflict over the definitions of curriculum which precede classroom events (with the insights thereby provided into the vested interests involved) will further our understanding of ‘what counts as education’.     

Adult literacy in the Commonwealth Caribbean with special reference to a study of the functional literacy of young Guyanese adults

International databases report high rates of adult literacy for Commonwealth Caribbean countries which create the impression that these countries do not have a literacy problem. This is despite the fact that local and regional research has consistently pointed up serious weaknesses in the literacy skills of nationals at all levels, including university students. This paper questions whether the reported high adult literacy rates really reflect the reality of the situation in Commonwealth Caribbean countries and it uses a case study of Guyana - the poorest and most underdeveloped of the English-speaking Caribbean - to support its case. The paper describes the methodology of the test used for measuring levels (high, moderate, low) of achievement in functional literacy of out-of-school youth (OSY) in three domains (document, prose, quantitative) where literacy and numeracy functions are typically found in the society. Special reference is made to differences in achievement in functional literacy according to gender and ethnicity. The main findings of the study are: that only 11% of the OSY achieve at a high level of functional literacy: that females tend to achieve at a higher level of functional literacy than males and that there are significant differences in the achievement of the OSY from the different ethnic groups. The findings suggest a much lower adult literacy rate for Guyana than is usually reported and underscore the fact that failure to report rates that more accurately represent the situation in Commonwealth Caribbean countries will prolong the absence of political will to address the social and economic issues which lie at the root of the literacy problem. In countries where their provision is weak, adult and continuing education programmes are needed to help the adult population to meet the changing demands of society for improved skills in literacy and numeracy.     

Will Undergraduate Students Play Games to Learn How to Conduct Library Research?

This exploratory study examines whether undergraduate students will play games to learn how to conduct library research. Results indicate that students will play games that are an integral component of the course curriculum and enable them to accomplish overall course goals at the same time they learn about library research.     

Restructuring teachers’ work‐lives and knowledge in England and Spain

This article explores the restructuring of education in England and Spain. Against a presumably homogeneous global streamlining of educational systems according to competition‐driven goals, the comparison of teachers’ work‐lives and professional knowledge evidences a variety of experiences under‐represented in discourses on global restructuring. Our argument highlights how in England political reforms have worked their way deep into the working lives of professionals, giving rise to a ‘managerial’ model of professionalism, whereas in Spain reforms are more loosely coupled with teachers’ work, favoring a ‘social service’‐oriented model. However, despite the different professional ideals, teachers uniformly stressed the challenges they face were predominantly due to broader social transformations for which policy reforms provided few if any remedies. Our study emphasizes the variety of educational reforms and teachers’ experiences in the European context and argues further educational change should be bound to the historical trajectory and the concrete needs of the professionals in question.     

Reference Works

COMPUTER SCIENCE RESOURCES: A GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE, compiled and edited by Darlene Myers (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1981—$59.50, paper).

LIBRARY AND REFERENCE FACILITIES IN THE AREA OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, edited by Margaret S. Jennings (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$39.00, paper).

STATISTICAL SERVICES DIRECTORY: A GUIDE TO THE ORGANIZATIONS, CORPORATIONS, PROFESSIONAL AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, RESEARCH CENTERS, UNIVERSITIES, PUBLISHERS, FOUNDATIONS, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT PROVIDE STATISTICAL SERVICES (Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1984—$150).

CAREERS IN INFORMATION, edited by Jane F. Spivack (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industries Publications, 1982—$34.50/27.50).

VIDEOTEX: A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY, Volume 1, 1979-1982 (Technical and Education Center of the Graphic Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 9887, Rochester, New York—price not given, but about $15.00, paper).

TELEMANAGEMENT NEWS SERVICE: THE NEWS SERVICE ON THE TELEPHONE INDUSTRY FOR OFFICE, DP AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT (SRG Publications, P.O. Box 335, Palmyra, New Jersey 08065—$260.00 per year/weekly).

SPACE ENTERPRISE TODAY: THE NEWSLETTER ON COMMERCIAL SPACE VENTURES (Phillips Publishing Inc., 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1200 N, Bethesda, Maryland 20814—$297.00 per year/monthly).

LINK-UP: COMMUNICATIONS AND THE SMALL COMPUTER (On-Line Communications, Inc., 3938 Meadowbrook Road, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55426-$23.95 per year/monthly).

RESEARCH NOTES (Policy Development and Planning, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1111 Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20036—apparently free on request/irregular).

SCA: RADIO SUBCARRIER REPORT (Waters & Company, Security Mutual Building, Suite 322, Binghampton, New York 13901—$185.00 per year/monthly).     

The story so far: personal knowledge and the political

This paper looks critically at a number of forms of inquiry that are now developing in the field of teacher education. Narrative methods and starving are two associated genres that have emerged forcefully in the past decade as ways of seeking to represent the lived experience of schooling. It is because of the very potential of these methodologies to bring us closer to the experience of schooling that our scrutiny should focus sharply upon both the strengths and weaknesses of these methods. To help the process of identifying the cultural place of stories and narrative, the paper seeks to link the emergence of such genres inside teacher education with broader cultural patterns within contemporary societies. In particular, the use of personal stories in the global media is examined; and as a result, a series of questions is asked and issues are raised. Finally, some conclusions regarding the role of stories and narrative in educational research are provided. Here, some antidotes to the absence of historical and theoretical context are developed.     

The Current Status of Graduate Training in Suicide Risk Assessment

Directors and coordinators (n = 75) of graduate programs in school psychology approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) were surveyed regarding their training practices in suicide risk assessment. Respondents viewed the assessment of suicide risk as an important part of graduate instruction, and most believed that students completing training at their institutions would be adequately prepared to perform this task. Almost all directors indicated that a portion of class lectures was dedicated to addressing child/adolescent suicide risk assessment, and students were reportedly exposed to this topic in multiple courses, particularly those associated with practicum and internship. Students in doctoral and nondoctoral programs received comparable training and were judged to be equally prepared to perform suicide‐related professional activities in the schools. Gaps in training were revealed involving instruction in the use of quantitative measures of risk, large‐scale suicide prevention efforts, interventions with suicidal youth, and postvention activities.