Cosmo girls: configurations of class and femininity in elite educational settings

In this paper we offer a unique contribution to understandings of schooling as a site for the production of social class difference. We bring together the rich body of work that has been conducted on middle-class educational identities, with explorations of the centrality of the feminine in representations of class difference from the field of critical girlhood studies. This is done in order to explore how young femininities mediate the representation of class difference in the environment of the private girls’ school. Drawing from our two research studies, located in private girls’ schools in Australia and the United Kingdom, we argue that the notion of ‘disgust’, commonly used in recent engagements around class, has only limited purchase in understanding the representation of class difference in these schools. It is the inconsistencies and complexities in how class and class relations are produced that we wish to illuminate.     

Learning about friction: group dynamics in engineering students’ work with free body diagrams

In educational research, it is well-known that collaborative work on core conceptual issues in physics leads to significant improvements in students’ conceptual understanding. In this paper, we explore collaborative learning in action, adding to previous research in engineering education with a specific focus on the students’ use of free body diagrams in interaction. By looking at details in interaction among a group of three engineering students, we illustrate how they collectively construct a free body diagram together when learning introductory mechanics. In doing so, we have focused on both learning possibilities and the dynamic processes that take place in the learning activity. These findings have a number of implications for educational practice.     

Examining the effects of hegemonic depictions of female bodies on television: a call for theory and programmatic research * This article was accepted by the previous CSMC editor,Dr. James W. Chesebro

Although the media effects literature was precocious in its development, appearing almost as soon as the object of its study, researchers have focused on a relatively narrow array of effects. Examples include the effects of violent, pornographic, and sexual content in the media and minority stereotyping. This review demonstrates the need for researchers to construct stronger theories and conduct more programmatic research on another important, yet often ignored, media effect–the effect of ideal televised images on females' perceptions of, and satisfaction with, their own bodies. To accomplish its purposes, the paper begins with a review of the body image literature, including a discussion of current televised representations of female bodies and their effects on body satisfaction. Next, the paper argues that researchers should refer to two prominent media effects theories (cultivation theory and social cognitive theory) to better understand the process by which television influences body image. This latter review leads to ethical considerations and conclusions regarding probable effects of television on women's body satisfaction.     

The Impact of Professional Development on Elementary Teachers’ Strategies for Teaching Science with Diverse Student Groups in Urban Elementary Schools

This study examined elementary teachers’ instructional strategies for promoting scientific understanding and inquiry and supporting English language development with diverse student groups including English language learners. The study was part of a 5-year research and development project consisting of reform-based science curriculum units and teacher workshops aimed at providing effective science instruction to promote students’ science and literacy achievement in urban elementary schools. Data consisted of 213 post-observation interviews with third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers. The teachers reported using instructional strategies to promote scientific understanding, but generally did not employ more sophisticated inquiry-based strategies. They also reported using instructional strategies to support English language development. There were significant differences among grade levels and by years of teacher participation.     

Parental Involvement and Risk for School Failure

Abstract

Since a significant percentage of students facing the risk of school failure, educational systems struggle to improve equity in education. Researchers argue that the missing link in establishing educational equity is parental involvement (PI). Τhis study examines three dimensions of PI (home-based, school-based, parental dispositions) as to effects on risk for school failure across two competencies (language and mathematics), while controlling for other variables, e.g. prior achievement and demographic factors. Data is drawn from the national ‘Program for Functional Literacy’ involving 6865 Year 6 students from 226 Cyprus public primary schools. Logistic multilevel modeling analyses, with students nested within schools, lead to interesting findings. Parental dispositions appear to relate significantly to the risk for failure in language and mathematics, confirming that this dimension holds the strongest impact. In addition, from the home-based PI dimension, the availability and number of books at home have statistically consistent effects on the risk across both competencies. Other dimensions or components of these dimensions relate significantly to risk for one competency only. These findings are further discussed in the context of future policy and research directions.     

Racist Violations and Racializing Apologia in a Post-Racism Era

In theorizing the dialectic of public acts of white racial offenses and the in/sufficiency of apologia associated with white racial discourse, we examine racist violations and racializing apologia from 24 white public figures in the United States between 1996 and 2012. Analysis of racist violations reveals that each offense undermines race as a social and political marker, whereas racializing apologia makes explicit the constant force of racialization and latent nature of whiteness in apologia strategies. We view racializing apologia as potentially liberatory, capable of allowing for a defense of oneself and challenging reproduction of racial formations.     

The question of dissection in medical training: Not just “if,” but “when”? A student perspective

While debate about the use of—and alternatives to—human cadaveric dissection in medical training is robust, little attention has been paid to questions about timing. This study explores the perspectives of medical students and recent graduates with regard to two key questions: when in the degree program do students prefer dissection opportunities and what are the students getting out of participating in dissection? Self-report survey data from students in preclinical years (n = 105), clinical years (n = 57), and graduates (n = 13) were analyzed. Most (89%) preferred dissection during the preclinical years, with no effect by training year (χ² = 1.98, p = 0.16), previous anatomy (χ² = 3.64, p = 0.31), or dissection (χ² = 3.84, p = 0.26) experience. Three key findings emerged. First, the majority of students prefer to dissect in the preclinical years because they view dissection as important for developing foundation knowledge and delivering an opportunity for consolidation prior to transitioning to primarily clinical studies. In addition, students recognize that it is a time-consuming activity requiring specialized facilities. Second, three main understandings of the purpose of dissection were reported: depth of learning, learning experience, and real-world equivalence. Third, these student perspectives of the purpose of dissection are associated with timing preferences for dissection opportunities. The results identify the preclinical phase as the optimal time to strategically integrate dissection into medical training in order to maximize the benefits of this unique learning opportunity for students and minimize its impact upon curricular time.     

Connecting characterizations of equivalence of expressions: design research in Grade 5 by bridging graphical and symbolic representations

Educational Studies in Mathematics - One typical challenge in algebra education is that many students justify the equivalence of expressions only by referring to transformation rules that they...