The mall,the library and the church: inquiring into the resourcing of early learning through new spaces and networks

Early learning has increasingly been the focus of social policy and programmes with a proliferation of public, community and commercial entities entering the field of production. Understanding this phenomenon requires educational researchers to conceptualise early learning both within a globalised network of circulating commodities and within specific situated spaces of local sociocultural practice. This paper describes how a research project has drawn on geosemiotic and actor-network theories, and employed spatially sensitive methods, to investigate the resourcing of early learning in spaces new to most educational researchers. Focusing on the suburban field site ‘Midburb’, we analyse the ways in which discourses operate through/in place producing different entry points, pathways and access for parents, impacting on their opportunities for encountering early learning resources.     

The ages of consent: re-working consensual frameworks in postmodern times

The processes of gaining consent for educational and social research with children and young people have become increasingly complex. A variety of influences contribute to this complexity. In this paper, we use post-structural concepts to focus on the influence of three co-existing and interweaving perspectives: protectionist, participatory and post-structural. Each of these foregrounds different issues in the process of gaining consent for research involving children or young people. We argue for the need to be cognisant of the interplay between the three different perspectives, and what is effected by each. We conclude by proposing a three-overlapping-points-of-entry approach to thinking about research involving children. Our hope is that by sharing the ideas that we have had, we will contribute to those ongoing conversations in which others are trying to re-think consent within the broader framework of why and how do we do research with children and young people.     

Rhetorical analysis in critical policy research

Rhetorical analysis, an approach to critical discourse analysis, is presented as a useful method for critical policy analysis and its effort to understand the role policies play in perpetuating inequality. A rhetorical analysis of Character Matters!, the character education policy of a school board in Ontario, Canada, provides an illustrative example of the method’s contributions to the field. I identify rhetorical appeals of Character Matters! texts that aim to persuade the policy’s audience to support a predominantly traditional approach to character education. I then present contributions of rhetorical analysis for critical policy research and possibilities of rhetorical analysis for democratizing policy processes. I conclude by considering possible implications for York Region if the rhetoric of Character Matters! successfully convinces its audience to support the traditional approach to character education it advocates.     

Conceptions of assessment: trainee teachers' practice and values

This study examines the values and practice in relation to assessment of a sample of 220 trainee teachers studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, an initial teacher training and education (ITET) course, at the University of Cambridge, UK. The survey instrument was drawn from James and Pedder (2006 James, M. and Pedder, D. 2006. Beyond method: Assessment and learning practices and values. The Curriculum Journal, 17(2): 109–138. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), and was composed of questionnaire items that sought to elicit how trainees valued different classroom assessment practices, and the extent to which their own teaching complied with such values. The study draws additionally on the findings of James and Pedder (2006 James, M. and Pedder, D. 2006. Beyond method: Assessment and learning practices and values. The Curriculum Journal, 17(2): 109–138. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) to compare and contrast results with those for qualified teachers. Item and factor analyses revealed three dimensions that underpin trainees' classroom practice and values (promoting learning autonomy, performance orientation, making learning explicit). Values-practice gaps were greatest on promoting learning autonomy and performance orientation. Trainees valued practices associated with the former more than they implemented them in their teaching, while they implemented practices associated with the latter more than predicted by their values. Values-practice gaps suggested that trainees were constrained from implementing their values to a greater extent than qualified teachers, particularly with respect to these two factors.     

The power of student resistance in action research: teacher educators respond to classroom challenges

The purpose of this research was to study the design and implementation of a newly developed, two‐semester, action research course in a Master of Arts in Teaching program. Over a four‐year period, we (the instructors) used action research methodologies for analysis and evaluation of the course. Throughout this study, students expressed varying reactions to the process of action research, ranging from enthusiasm and acceptance to continual and persistent reluctance to accept the process as ‘real research’. This resistance is the focus of our study. Four years of reflection on our data points to the following reasons for student resistance: lack of understanding about what action research is and its purpose; a discomfort with the emphasis of process over product and the associated investment of time and ability to multi‐task; and willingness to embrace the transformational process of action research as part of learning to teach.     

The appeal of rough‐and‐tumble play in televised professional football

In a factorial design varying (1) the degree of roughness/violence of a play (low, intermediate, and high), (2) several particular plays within this classification, and (3) sex of viewer, the enjoyment of televised plays of professional football was investigated. The plays were taken from a large pool of plays drawn from numerous games and involving numerous teams. In a pretest, a strong differentiation in the selection plays' degree of roughness/violence was secured. At the same time, the plays were matched on several other, potentially contaminating stimulus dimensions. The enjoyment of plays was found to increase with the degree of their apparent roughness/violence. However, this relationship was significant for male viewers only. It was not reliable for females. There were no appreciable sex differences in the enjoyment of plays featuring low and intermediate levels of roughness. Highly violent plays, in contrast, were significantly more enjoyed by males than by females. The findings suggest that, at least for male viewers, a high degree of aggressiveness is a critical ingredient of the enjoyment of watching sports contests.     

Emerging Adult Siblings' Use of Verbally Aggressive Messages as Hurtful Messages

The purpose of this study was to identify the specific types of verbally aggressive messages emerging adult siblings use with each other and to determine whether these types of verbally aggressive messages differ in perceived hurtfulness, intensity, and intent. Participants were 115 individuals who identified a verbally aggressive message recently used by a sibling. Results indicated that siblings use seven types of verbally aggressive messages (i.e., name calling, insults, withdrawal, physical acts or threats, repudiating the relationship, negative affect, unfair comparison), and the seven types of verbally aggressive messages do not differ in their perceived hurtfulness, intensity, and intent.     

Developing a discourse of the postmodern community development professional

This article seeks to promote the generation of a discourse of the postmodern community work professional. A shared discourse will lead, we propose to shared capital. We argue that there is a tension between the modern and postmodern for those of us engaged in the profession of community learning and development (CL&D). We need to value reflexivity which allows the community worker to make sense of multiple discourses and to make the transition from modernism to postmodernism. We need in the CL&D profession to recognise that Marxist principles that we espoused in the 1980s may be enhanced by a new theoretical base that still values change.     

Leadership and social capital: engaging small Australian communities in development and implementation of learning plans

ABSTRACT

The paper explores the processes by which two Australian rural communities established Community Learning Plans (CLPs). It acknowledges the role of CLPs as contributors to social and economic change through influencing employment rates, income equity, social cohesion and reduction in poverty. In addressing the research question: What factors contribute to the effective development and implementation of a CLP in a small rural community? The paper reveals the importance of evidence and clarity of vision such as improved social and economic outcomes as core rationales for triggering the development of CLPs. The analysis of leadership and social capital resources drawn upon from trigger for a CLP through initiation, development and reflection to sustainable embedding in community, reveals the interplay between formal community leadership structures such as Council, community members, education, business, training and social services, and external actors as a predicator of communities’ ability to enact CLPs. Maturity of social capital resources and leadership processes and resources influence the development and implementation of plans in alignment with community needs and aspirations. The paper advocates for reward and recognition frameworks to help connect, engage and sustain stakeholder groups into community learning initiatives through providing relevance to their business or activity.