Pedagogy of the Impossible: Žižek in the Classroom

If knowledge is socially constructed, then students' discursive attachments should be eminently malleable. Students' radical openness to change, however, is not the defining characteristic of a university classroom. Instead, learners appear to desire coherence of knowledge over revelations of contingency, and pedagogical acts that disrupt existing formations are as likely to produce reactionary responses as revolutionary reorganizations of the self. In this article Chris McMillan argues that neither the constructivist nor the social constructionist readings of critical pedagogy are able to account for this fixity of knowledge. In response he contends that Slavoj ?i?ek's Lacanian‐inspired theory of subjectivity and of the Real can effectively respond to the limitations of these approaches by insisting upon the pedagogical value of the lack within subjectivity. A ?i?ekian conception of subjectivity is able to respond to this lacuna by positing the negativity of the subject as the agent of transformation and to produce a “pedagogy of the impossible” that evokes the moments of impossibility within discourse embodied by the subject qua the Lacanian Real.     

Critical incidents as formative influences on the work of educational researchers: understanding an insider perspective through narrative enquiry

Drawing on insights from phenomenological sociology and various strands of socio-cultural theory, this paper reports the findings of a qualitative investigation into critical incidents as formative influences in the research orientation and research cultivation of 22 academics working in research-intensive university education departments. The study first outlines the context in which educational research has taken place, focusing on evidence of tension and conflict associated with differences in epistemological and professional orientation. The research findings indicate two ideal-type categories of educational research professional: the ‘intellectual-academic’, motivated primarily by the intellectual virtue of research excellence and accountability to the academic community; and the ‘humanistic-professional’, motivated by service to the wider community. It is concluded that a synergy of both orientations is necessary in producing quality research that is both rigorous and meaningful to a constituency of stakeholders extending beyond the immediate interests of academe.     

Teacher Satisfaction and Turnover in Charter Schools: Examining the Variations and Possibilities for Collective Bargaining in State Laws

Charter schools see as many as one in four teachers leave annually, and recent evidence attributes much of this turnover to provisions affected by collective bargaining processes and state laws such as salary, benefits, job security, and working hours. There have been many recent efforts to improve teacher voice in charter schools (Kahlenberg & Potter, 2014), including engaging in some form of collective bargaining, but we know little about the possibilities dictated by state laws. Therefore, this article describes the possibilities and variations for collective bargaining by state and for different charter types (e.g., conversion vs. newly created charters), as well as laws that have the potential to improve teacher satisfaction in charter schools. Ideally, state laws and the collective bargaining process should provide the appropriate balance between flexibility for charter school leaders, teacher voice, and protections for teachers.     

Role of maturity timing in selection procedures and in the specialisation of playing positions in youth basketball

This study investigated the role of maturity timing in selection procedures and in the specialisation of playing positions in youth male basketball. Forty-three talented Dutch players (14.66 ± 1.09 years) participated in this study. Maturity timing (age at peak height velocity), anthropometric, physiological, and technical characteristics were measured. Maturity timing and height of the basketball players were compared with a matched Dutch population. One-sample t-tests showed that basketball players were taller and experienced their peak height velocity at an earlier age compared to their peers, which indicates the relation between maturity timing and selection procedures. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that guards experienced their peak height velocity at a later age compared to forwards and centres (P < .01). In addition, positional differences were found for height, sitting height, leg length, body mass, lean body mass, sprint, lower body explosive strength, and dribble (P < .05). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) (age and age at peak height velocity as covariate) showed only a significant difference regarding the technical characteristic dribbling (P < .05). Coaches and trainers should be aware of the inter-individual differences between boys related to their maturity timing. Since technical characteristics appeared to be least influenced by maturity timing, it is recommended to focus more on technical characteristics rather than anthropometric and physiological characteristics.     

A comparison of genetic variants between proficient low- and high-risk sport participants

Athletes participating in high-risk sports consistently report higher scores on sensation-seeking measures than do low-risk athletes or non-athletic controls. To determine whether genetic variants commonly associated with sensation seeking were over-represented in such athletes, proficient practitioners of high-risk (n = 141) and low-risk sports (n = 132) were compared for scores on sensation seeking and then genotyped at 33 polymorphic loci in 14 candidate genes. As expected, athletes participating in high-risk sports score higher on sensation seeking than did low-risk sport athletes (P < .01). Genotypes were associated with high-risk sport participation for two genes (stathmin, (P = .004) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (P = .03)) as well as when demographically matched subsets of the sport cohorts were compared (P < .05); however, in all cases, associations did not survive correction for multiple testing.     

A changing world: Books can help children adapt

Life today demands coping with the rapid change occurring all around us. Young children encounter rapid change and must learn to adapt to it. In order to adapt to it they need to develop an understanding of change. Children's books can be used to explain and explore the possibilities of change.Cynthia Szymanski Sunal is Professor of Early-Middle Childhood Education at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Barbara Hatcher is Professor in the Department of Education at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos.