A Critical Evaluation of Current Pedagogical Approaches in Human Movement Studies: A Suggested Alternative

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical critique of traditional pedagogical approaches used in the field of human movement studies. An argument is presented for an approach that will allow for the development of a conscious, critical praxis for those in programs and professions in the field. Through the suggested approach, students will be assisted in their development as critical, philosophically sound thinkers, and decision makers. An emergent approach—based upon the use of critical sensitive, critical feminist, and student-centered pedagogical principles that will allow for a cross-disciplinary strategy for informing and developing students in the realm of human movement studies and its allied professions-is presented.     

Education,stratification, and the academic hierarchy

Some view the academic hierarchy as an essential meritocratic structure that rewards students who have greater natural abilities. Others suggest that this structure reflects specific status divisions. Using nationally representative data, this study considers the relative and independent influence of students' undergraduate achievement, social class, sex, and race on rank of graduate school they attend. Analysis of covariance techniques indicate that undergraduate achievement is the strongest predictor of rank of graduate institution attended, in all six sub-areas examined. All of the status variables also have independent effects. In several sub-areas the graduate academic hierarchy does not universally reward social class, sex, and race groups for equal levels of achievement. Other sex and race groups, with equal achievement levels, attend similarly ranked graduate institutions.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 53rd Annual Meetings of the Pacific Sociological Association, 1982, in San Diego, and is part of a larger study (Lang, 1983).     

The Development of a Curriculum Toolkit with American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

This article explains the creation of the Growing and Learning with Young Native Children curriculum toolkit. The curriculum toolkit was designed to give American Indian and Alaska Native early childhood educators who work in a variety of settings the framework for developing a research-based, developmentally appropriate, tribally specific curriculum to use with Native children aged 0–3. The curriculum toolkit should assist Native people in preserving and maintaining their unique culture and language. Challenges specific to the implementation of an early childhood program in Indian Country have been explained. A brief historical overview of Indian education has been included. The contents of this article were developed under Grant #P116Z05-0056 from the US Department of Education. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education and the reader should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.     

Basic needs: New approach to development — But new approach to education?

The article is an examination of what has been called the basic needs approach to development and the implications of adopting such an approach for education.The authors trace briefly the sequence by which the basic needs approach reached the corridors of international development policy. This sequence, together with an analysis of some of the conceptual underpinnings of the basic needs approach, suggest that the approach may be biased toward the experience of the Western industrial nations, and some aspects may be inappropriate for the social realities found in developing countries.The authors take up the question of how education relates to the basic needs philosophy. They look at attempts to fashion a conception of education for basic needs and how such conceptions compare to the prevailing notions of basic education. Finally, the authors identify some key issues where, conceivably, education for basic needs could emerge as distinct from basic education and become consistent with the aspirations of the basic needs approach taken as a whole.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel werden der sogenannte Grundbedarfsansatz zur Entwicklung und die Implikationen seiner Übernahme auf das Bildungswesen untersucht.Die Verfasser zeigen kurz den Weg auf, auf dem der Grundbedarfsansatz in die Korridore der internationalen Entwicklungspolitik eindrang. Dieser Weg sowie eine Analyse der konzeptuellen Untermauerungen des Ansatzes deuten darauf hin, daß er vorrangig auf die in den westlichen Industriestaaten gemachten Erfahrungen ausgerichtet ist, und daß einige seiner Aspekte für die soziale Wirklichkeit in Entwicklungsländern ungeeignet sein dürften.Dann greifen die Autoren die Frage auf, wie sich das Bildungswesen zur Grundbedarfs-Philosophie verhält. Versuche, eine Konzeption der Erziehung für Grundbedürfnisse zu erarbeiten, werden besprochen und Vergleiche solcher Konzeptionen mit den bestehenden Vorstellungen von Grunderziehung angestellt. Schließlich identifizieren die Verfasser einige Schlüsselgebiete, auf denen sich möglicherweise die Erziehung für Grundbedürfnisse als unterschiedlich von der Grunderziehung erweisen und mit den Bestrebungen des Grundbedarfsansatzes als Ganzem übereinstimmen könnte.

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Résumé Les auteurs de cet article examinent ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler l'approche du développement sous l'angle des besoins essentiels ainsi que les répercussions que pourrait avoir l'adoption de cette approche sur l'éducation.Ils relatent brièvement comment l'étude des besoins essentiels en arriva, par des étapes successives, à déboucher sur la voie de la conception du développement international. Ce cheminement et l'analyse de quelques uns des fondements conceptuels de l'abord des besoins essentiels, amènent à penser que l'approche pourrait être prédisposée en faveur de l'expérience des nations industrialisées de l'Occident et que certains aspects ne sont peut-être pas appropriés aux réalités sociales des pays en développement.Les auteurs envisagent la question des relations entre l'éducation et la philosophie des besoins essentiels. Ils considèrent les tentatives d'élaboration d'une conception de l'éducation réondant aux besoins essentiels et la confrontation de cette conception avec les notions prédominantes de l'éducation de base. Enfin, ils identifient quelques points clefs où, d'une façon concevable, l'éducation répondant aux besoins essentiels pourrait se dégager de l'éducation de base, devenir distincte et compatible avec les aspirations de l'approche des besoins essentiels que l'on envisagerait alors comme un tout.

     

Attitudes toward science of gifted and nongifted fifth graders

The purpose of this investigation has been to explore whether differences existed between gifted and nongifted fifth graders and between genders and related subgroups with respect to attitudes toward science. Both groups (N = 25) were matched on the demographic characteristics of school-site, race, sex, and socio-economic background. Gifted students were found to have more positive attitudes toward science than nongifted students; however, no significant differences were found. In all cases, boys (all boys, gifted boys, and nongifted boys) exhibited more positive attitudes toward science; again, no significant differences were uncovered between the boys and their counterpart group or subgroups. The item which consistently reflected the most positive rating (gifted students, all boys and gifted boys, and all girls and nongifted girls) was “usefulness of things done in science class.” Items where discrepancies surfaced included “usefulness of science when playing at home” where nongifted students and gifted girls were significantly more positive than their counterparts, and “spending more time doing science experiments” where all boys and gifted boys were significantly more positive than their counterparts.     

The role of the printed answer in programmed instruction

Using a variety of programmed materials, this series of studies showed that students observed available answers in the program far less than 100% of the time. Answer observing was found to be correlated with student error on the related frame. The view that the printed answer in a program is always a reinforcer for the preceding response(s) is severely questioned.     

Diffusing Supply Chain Innovations at Hewlett‐Packard Company: Applications of Performance Technology

Hewlett‐Packard Company (HP) is a global electronics company that employs an internal, self‐funding consulting lab to create supply chain management innovations for its businesses. The lab is challenged to diffuse new technologies effectively across HP's worldwide organizations. This paper outlines how the lab follows Everett Rogers and Diane Dorniant's principles to accelerate the diffusion and adoption of their innovations. Performance technologists are members of the consulting lab, and the paper discusses how their competence in supply chain engineering methods allows them to improve the diffusion process. The performance technologists work with their engineering colleagues to modify innovations to ease diffusion, define the client adoption path, create resources to lead clients through adoption, and improve the diffusion process. Examples of results from the lab's efforts are shown and arguments are presented on why this approach is superior to alternative diffusion techniques that have proven less successful at Hewlett‐Packard.