Who'd be an English teacher?

This paper is about the progress of newly qualified teachers of English in London classrooms. Using a case‐study approach, it explores the ways teachers' knowledge of their subject is developed in specific situations and in relation to particular learners. In contrast to media representations of successful teaching that focus on questions of personality and inspiration, the picture of progress offered here is one of negotiation and accommodation, leading to fundamental change and to new understanding of the content and purposes of English.     

Do all roads really lead to Rome? The case of spelling acquisition

The French orthographic code is complex, and its acquisition is laborious (Catach, 2008; Fayol & Jaffré, 2008). Three hypotheses attempt to explain orthographic knowledge acquisition (OKA). For some, exposure to the code leads to OKA through a self-learning process (Share, 2004). For others, OKA benefits from graphophonological processes (Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001). Finally, some authors suggest that OKA is possible thanks to visual specific processes (Ans, Carbonnel, & Valdois, 1998). The main goal of this study was to test these hypotheses in a classroom context with comparable samples. In total, 143 2nd-grade children participated in this quasi-experimental study with a pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest design. We assigned participants to one of four conditions. For three conditions, we created three teaching procedures based on each of the hypotheses: frequency of contacts with target words; explicit teaching of graphophonological properties of words; explicit teaching of visual properties of words. The fourth served as a control group. ANOVA analyses indicated that all three experimental conditions favored OKA, showing that the different teaching procedures led to spelling development. However, the visual condition was the most favorable. Three main conclusions can be drawn from this study: (a) models of OKA should account for the different paths that can lead to spelling acquisition; (b) visual properties of words and their acquisition need additional research, and (c) applied research in real classroom contexts is not only relevant for informing teaching practices but also for better understanding how learning takes place.

     

Growing up in a tourist destination: developing an environmental sensitivity

Abstract

This paper explores how the socio-cultural milieu of a community may foster a sense of environmental stewardship among children and young people. Ethnographic fieldwork, carried out in a popular tourist destination in Australia, revealed that the overt impacts of tourism activity such as littering provoke negative feelings among children and young people; these perceptions can in turn translate into a sensitivity towards the environment. While debated in some circles, a Significant Life Experiences (SLE) lens is useful in understanding children and young people’s lived experiences of – and sensitivity to - environmental issues in the communities where they are raised. SLE is employed in this article to explore how a sense of stewardship towards the environment is developed among children and young people growing up in a tourist destination. Findings suggest they actively contribute to protecting the environment in a variety of ways from regular beach clean ups and educating visiting tourists to participating in rallies and anti-development protests.     

The Magellan project: Developing global citizens through independent study abroad

Washington & Jefferson College undergraduate Magellan Scholars explore the world on their own. Tori Haring‐Smith describes this unique program and explains why it offers so much more than a traditional study abroad experience.     

Positioning Civic Engagement on the Higher Education Landscape: Insights from a civically engaged pedagogy

The significance of competing conceptions of civic engagement is increasingly apparent as efforts are made to respond to the measurement imperative that characterises contemporary higher education. The importance of devising appropriate means of recognising and incentivising civic engagement is asserted in this paper and the potential offered by emerging measurement and mapping methodologies is considered. The empirical basis for the argument derives from a multi-site case study of the process of embedding community-based learning within Irish higher education. Analysis of interview data from four cases, drawn from the university and extra-university sector, yielded, inter alia, a typology of orientations to civic engagement. Findings are discussed, including those relating to orientations, ambivalence, scepticism, and legitimisation strategies. The case is made that these themes and the factors which impact on sustainability are mirrored within the wider domain of civic engagement—hence the opportunity to learn from a civically engaged pedagogy.

     

Emergent Supervisors: Comparing Counseling Center and Non‐Counseling‐Center Interns' Supervisory Training Experiences

Predoctoral interns' responses to an internship supervision training questionnaire indicated that counseling center interns supervised more trainees, received more supervision in their supervisory roles, reported more supervision training activities, and yielded higher supervisor development scores than did non‐counseling‐center interns. A qualitative analysis of participants' responses showed that non‐counseling‐center interns desired more supervision training and opportunities to provide supervision during their internship year than did counseling center interns.     

Ecological Mural as Community Reconnection

Murals are particularly visually captivating forms of public art due to their size and accessibility. Mural images also capture public attention and provoke viewers to explore layers of meaning and find hidden stories. They are often in places that people come to visit, study, play, congregate and discuss matters that may relate to the content of the mural. To this end, murals can be effective tools for helping communities think about their environmental issues. This article discusses the Mystic River mural project in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. It addresses how the local art councils, mural artists, local students, community members and non‐profit organisations collaborated to carry out this ongoing mural project. The purpose of this research is to examine how Mystic River eco‐murals were created, what challenges and benefits the eco‐murals provided, how local social concerns were represented through the eco‐murals, how eco‐murals can continue to promote environmental awareness and inspire youth about their community and the local environment, and how the mural can continue to reflect or affect the meaning of the place. This process can serve as an example for other communities that seek to address their environmental concerns through public art.