International political socialization of sixth grade elementary children: What and how do Japanese and Thai children know about the world?

This study investigates cognitive and affective components of Japanese and Thai children's attitudes toward international political socialization. The survey results report how children feel about people from other nations, international political institutions, and their country's involvement with the world community. An important concern of the study is the assessment of how much accurate knowledge Japanese and Thai elementary school children have about other nations. This study includes information on children's feelings about, and knowledge of such problems as warfare between nations, world government, stereotypic thinking about people not belonging to one's own culture and awareness of cross-cultural diffusion between Japan, Thailand and other nations.

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Zusammenfassung Diese Studie befaßt sich mit den kognitiven und affektiven Elementen der Einstellung japanischer und thailändischer Kinder zu internationaler politischer Sozialisierung. Aus den Ergebnissen der Untersuchung geht hervor, wie Kinder über Mitglieder anderer Nationen, über internationale politische Organisationen und über den Zusammenhang ihres Landes mit der Weltgemeinschaft denken. Ein wichtiges Ziel der Studie war es, festzustellen, wieviel akkurates Wissen von anderen Völkern japanische und thailändische Kinder besitzen. Der Bericht enthält Informationen über die Einstellung der Kinder und ihre Kenntnisse in bezug auf Probleme wie Kriege, Weltregierung, stereotypische Vorstellungen von Menschen, die nicht zur eigenen Kultur gehören, sowie darüber, inwieweit sie sich der grenzübergreifenden kulturellen Diffusion zwischen Japan, Thailand und anderen Ländern bewußt sind.

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Résumé Cette étude est une recherche des composants, cognitifs et affectifs, des attitudes des enfants thaïlandais et japonais devant la socialisation politique internationale. Les résultats de l'enquête montrent comment les enfants réagissent devant les gens des autres nations, devant les institutions politiques internationales et les relations de leur propre pays avec la communauté mondiale. L'auteur s'intéresse plus particulièrement à l'évaluation des connaissances exactes que les enfants thaïlandais et japonais des classes élémentaires possèdent sur les autres nations. L'étude donne des informations sur les sentiments des enfants à l'égard des autres pays, sur la connaissance qu'ils ont des problèmes tels que la guerre entre nations, le gouvernement mondial, la pensée stéréotypée sur ceux qui n'appartiennent pas à leur propre culture, et sur leur prise de conscience de la diffusion interculturelle entre le Japon, la Thaïlande et les autres nations.

     

Outcomes and satisfaction of two optional cadaveric dissection courses: A 3‐year prospective study

Teaching time dedicated to anatomy education has been reduced at many medical schools around the world, including Nova Medical School in Lisbon, Portugal. In order to minimize the effects of this reduction, the authors introduced two optional, semester‐long cadaveric dissection courses for the first two years of the medical school curriculum. These courses were named Regional Anatomy I (RAI) and Regional Anatomy II (RAII). In RAI, students focus on dissecting the thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and perineum. In RAII, the focus shifts to the head, neck, back, and upper and lower limbs. This study prospectively analyzes students' academic achievement and perceptions within the context of these two, newly‐introduced, cadaveric dissection courses. Students' satisfaction was assessed anonymously through a questionnaire that included items regarding students' perception of the usefulness of the courses for undergraduate teaching, as well as with regards to future professional activity. For each of the three academic years studied, the final score (1 to 20) in General Anatomy (GA), RAI, and RAII was on average 14.26 ± 1.89; 16.94 ± 1.02; 17.49 ± 1.01, respectively. The mean results were lower in GA than RAI or RAII (P < 0.001). Furthermore, students who undertook these courses ranked them highly with regards to consolidating their knowledge of anatomy, preparing for other undergraduate courses, and training for future clinical practice. These survey data, combined with data on participating students' academic achievement, lend strong support to the adoption of similar courses as complementary and compulsory disciplines in a modern medical curriculum. Anat Sci Educ 10: 127–136. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

A new model of collaborative action research; theorising from inter-professional practice development

The development of pedagogies to meet the needs of diverse communities can be supported through inter-professional practice development. This article explores one such experience, that of speech and language therapists developing a new video-based coaching approach for teachers and teaching assistants in multi-cultural settings with high numbers of children learning English as an additional language. To support them in developing and trialling the coaching approach, the expertise of a teacher-educator and educational researcher was provided through a university business voucher. It is this working relationship that the article has as its practical focus, as it transformed to one of collaborative action research. The action research is described, providing the context for a discussion of the characteristics of collaborative action research and the proposal of a new model. This model offers a way of conceptualising collaborative action research through time, and of recognising the importance of the partners’ zones of proximal, contributory and collaborative activities in sustaining change and knowledge-creation.     

“You need a phone and camera in your bag before you go out!”: Children’s play with imaginative technologies

Early childhood settings value play as the way young children learn and educators encourage children’s re-enactment of cultural practices in the imaginative play spaces provided. From a cultural-historical perspective, children expect these imaginative play spaces to contain objects from their social contexts, but what happens when technologies are not provided? The aim of this study was to explore children’s imaginative play involving working and imaginative technologies within two kindergartens (the year before formal schooling). Imaginative play spaces are designed to replicate social situations relevant to the cultural context in which they occur and as technologies increase in society, their proliferation is reflected within early childhood settings. Understanding the role that imaginative technologies can play in children’s digital literacy learning is important for the early childhood field. Also, these devices are often absent from literature and overlooked in conversations about children’s digital participation. The findings show how the children engaged with the imaginative technologies and raises questions around the influence of these technologies on children’s imaginative play and their technological understandings. The findings have implications for educators’ understandings of children’s play with technologies and the objects they provide in an era where children’s lives are increasingly immersed in technology.     

Between tradition and modernity: girls’ talk about sexual relationships and violence in Kenya,Ghana and Mozambique

This paper interrogates the influence of a tradition-modernity dichotomy on perspectives and practices on sexual violence and sexual relationships involving girls in three districts of Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique. Through deploying an analytical framework of positioning within multiple discursive sites, we argue that although the dichotomy misrepresents the complexity of contemporary communities, it is nonetheless deployed by girls, educational initiatives and researchers in their reflections on girls’ sexual practices and sexual violence. The analysis examines variations between communities in patterns of and perspectives about sexual relationships, transactional sex and sexual violence. It illuminates ways in which features of ‘modernisation’ and ‘tradition’ both exacerbate and protect girls from violence. Across contexts, girls actively positioned themselves between tradition and modernity, while positioning others at the extreme poles. Education initiatives also invoked bipolar positions in their attempts to protect girls’ rights to education and freedom from violence. The paper concludes by considering the implications for educational intervention and the potential for the analytical framing to generate richer, more contextualised understandings about girls’ perspectives, experiences and ways of resisting sexual violence.     

Connectedness to Campus and Likelihood of Help-Seeking for Suicidality among College Women

The goal of the present study was to examine the link between connectedness to campus and the likelihood of help-seeking from a mental health professional/school counselor for thoughts of suicide among college women. An online survey was administered to college students to assess perceived likelihood of seeking help, feelings of connectedness to campus, sense of togetherness with peers, and presence of a supportive group of friends on campus. Findings indicated that feeling connected to campus was positively associated with perceived likelihood of help-seeking for suicidal ideation. Furthermore, this association was stronger among participants reporting either a sense of togetherness with peers or a supportive group of friends. Efforts to increase students’ sense of connection to the larger campus community and build peer relationships may promote help-seeking for suicidal ideation among college women.     

Employability and higher education: the follies of the ‘Productivity Challenge’ in the Teaching Excellence Framework

This article considers questions of ‘employability’, a notion foregrounded in the Green and White Papers on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The paper first questions government imperatives concerning employability and suggests a series of mismatches that are evident in the rhetorics in this area. This summary opens up elements of what I am calling the first ‘folly’ in the field. The second section of the paper considers recent research with individual academics engaged in employability activity. This research suggests another series of mismatches in the aims and outcomes of ‘employability initiatives’ and opens up a further series of ‘follies’ in the day-to-day practices of academics and students’ responses to them. The third section of the paper turns to academics’ reports of student behaviour in relation to the outcomes of their degree. This section develops an argument that relates to the final ‘folly’ associated with the current focus on employability. I argue that students’ focus on outcomes (which at face value suggests they have internalized the importance of employment) is contributing to the production of graduates who do not have the dispositions that employers – when interviewed – say that they want. The highly performative culture of higher education, encouraged by the same metrics that will be extended through the TEF, is implicated then in not preparing students for the workplace.     

Good readers but at a cost? Attitudes to reading in England

The results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2001 (PIRLS) were reported in 2003. In addition to data about the reading achievements of 10‐year‐olds in 35 countries, the study also collected questionnaire information from children, their teachers, headteachers and parents. One aspect of the data that attracted comment in the media was the fact that, despite high achievement on the reading tests, children in England were reported as having relatively poor attitudes to reading, compared to children in many other countries. A review of the results of selected surveys over the past 30 years suggests that there may be some evidence of attitudes to reading in primary schools becoming less positive. Preliminary analysis of the attitude and achievement data from PIRLS suggests a more complex picture than that presented in the summary index published in 2003.     

Preparing beginning teachers for technology integration in education: ready for take-off?

The overall aims of this study are to explore (1) how beginning teachers integrate technology in their practice and (2) the connections between teachers’ technology uses and their pre-service education programmes. Data of this follow-up study were collected through in-depth interviews with beginning teachers. The results reveal that all beginning teachers used a wide range of technological applications, mainly for structured learning approaches, while few created opportunities for student-centred technology use. Further, pre-service learning experiences that impact graduate teachers’ technology use are identified. While teacher educators modelling technology use are an important motivator for beginning teachers to use technology in their own teaching, field experiences seem to be the most critical factor influencing their current practice. Based on the results of this study, recommendations about how to prepare and support pre-service and beginning teachers for technology integration are discussed.     

Emotional neglect and family structure: impact on student functioning

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between retrospective reports of child neglect, family of origin functioning, and current psychological distress. It was hypothesized that experience of childhood emotional neglect would be associated with lower levels of cohesion and adaptability in participants' family of origin and greater levels of current psychological distress. Gender effects were explored. METHOD: Retrospective reports of emotional neglect in childhood were quantified by use of a parental bonding measure, specifically by assessing level of perceived parental care. Participants were assigned to one of three groups based on level of care scores: neglect by a primary male caregiver, neglect by a primary female caregiver, and no neglect. These groups were compared on three variables: current psychological functioning, retrospective report of family of origin adaptability, and retrospective report of family of origin cohesiveness. Amount of time left in the care of others was used as a covariate based on attachment theory literature. RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 69 female and 22 male undergraduate students. Participants who reported a childhood experience of emotional neglect by a primary female caregiver described greater current psychological distress than those reporting no neglect or neglect by a primary male caregiver. Participants who experienced emotional neglect by a primary female caregiver, as compared to those reporting emotional neglect by a primary male caregiver and those reporting no neglect, described lower cohesion and adaptability in their family of origin. There were no differences between male and female participants in terms of impact of emotional neglect. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests potential caregiver gender effects, regardless of respondent gender. Perceived neglect by female, but not male caregivers, led to psychological distress in adulthood and was associated with lower cohesion and adaptability in one's family of origin. Future research should attempt to account for the participants' expectations regarding male and female caregiver roles.