Case studies of student research projects in school science

Conclusion These case studies offer strong support for the notion that learning occurs naturally and inevitably when it flows out of a student's desire to extend her own interests and experiences. This view was expressed strongly by the progressives (Dewey [1963], and Kilpatrick [1928, 1952:315]) and more recently by Wilson (1971). They also represent “instances of autonomy” that challenge our normal assumptions of student behaviour. There are, of course, matters of the transmission of those “storehouses of knowledge” that represent the disciplines, and matters of practicality in motivating and managing a class of students pursuing their own interests (Tytler 1983), that would make it impractical to centre all teaching around the IRP or its equivalent. The need to include IRP's at a significant place within the curriculum, however, is indicated not only by the student outcomes that have emerged in this study, but from the fact that an increasing number of teachers have found it to be a satisfying method, involving a more powerful and natural view of the student in relation to the educational process (Tytler, ibid). The case studies have something to say about all such activities (other possibilities are described in Boomer [1983]) that invite students to take responsibility for the serious development of their interests. They stand as examples of the way students work outside the classroom, but also as celebrations of student independence and autonomy. Too often the schooling practices we subscribe to tend to invalidate students' own life experiences. These case studies provide a challenge to us to find educative ways that can match the range of abilities and dispositions that students bring with then to school.     

Editors’ introduction to Keeping cultures alive: Archives and Indigenous human rights

Keeping Cultures Alive investigates the relationship between Indigenous human rights and the archives through an interdisciplinary and comparative lens, bringing together papers by Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts in Indigenous studies, human rights, law and archival science. It explores Indigenous human rights in an international context with particular reference to the implications of the international human rights agenda for current and future archival practice in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.     

The association between academic self‐beliefs and reading achievement among children at risk of reading failure

This paper investigates whether children's academic self‐beliefs are associated with reading achievement and whether the relationship is modified by gender and/or age. Data were collected from children at risk of reading failure, that is, emergent readers (6‐ to 8‐year‐olds) in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas reading at a level below the population mean. The authors' own measure of attitude to reading and perceived competence was used. The study found a significant positive association between attitude to reading in class and vocabulary and phonemic awareness and a significant negative association between perceived competence at reading in class and single‐word reading and spelling. Girls' attitude to reading and perceived competence were more positively associated with reading achievement, and this was most evident in the first grade. Perceived competence was inflated among those with the poorest reading and also among boys, in association with reading‐related skills found most challenging by children in this sample.     

Evaluating Continuing Resources: Perspectives and Methods from Science Librarians

Five science librarians share their experiences with the evaluation of continuing resources at an academic university and discuss implications caused by the evaluation process. Four of the authors were new to collection evaluations at the time of the Serial Evaluation Project. These new librarians faced many challenges, both personally and professionally, in dealing with the cancellation process. Although the differences in approaches to collection analysis are discussed somewhat, they are not a focus of the article.     

Our Experience with User Experience: Exploring Staffing Configurations to Conduct UX in an Academic Library

ABSTRACT

A research project was undertaken by a university library system to develop a sustainable user experience strategy. A task force was convened to conduct a pilot project with members from both libraries in the system to assess staffing responsibilities, guidelines, processes, and data-gathering procedures. The team tested an electronic resources list common to both libraries. In describing the methods employed by the task force in their research, this article outlines the benefits and drawbacks of staffing configurations to initiate user experience practices in an academic library setting.     

Family Communication Patterns and Difficult Family Conversations

Difficult conversations among family members can impact the health and structure of familial relationships. The reported study investigated potential antecedents and outcomes of difficult family conversations. Perceived consequences of, reasons behind, responses to, and results of difficult conversations were considered, and the family communication patterns (FCP) framework guided the examination. Although the majority of respondents feared negative consequences prior to conversations, most reported positive results. The type of response received from conversational partners was associated with the eventual result. Counter to predictions, data analysis found no relationships among the family communication styles proposed by FCP and the antecedents and outcomes of difficult family conversations. These results suggest that the need for engaging in difficult conversations may outweigh family communicative norms and potential family consequences. Practical implications of the findings, including how therapists or counselors might communicate the benefits of discussing difficult topics generally and of avoiding negative reactions during such conversations, are considered.     

Reconstructing the “Work Ethic” through Medicalized Discourse on Workaholism

While commonly construed as an ethic and/or balanceable life quality, work rarely is looked upon as being a disease. Drawing from theories of structuration as well as work–life balance literature, this study examines how societal trends of production and efficiency impact the embodied nature of human life, particularly for self-proclaimed workaholics. Through conducting a narrative analysis of texts written by workaholics, the author investigates how individuals reconstruct meanings for their work through their use of diagnostic and therapeutic terminology. Themes for the analysis center on how workaholics define and diagnose workaholism, express their experiences of this addiction, and reconstruct their lifestyles through recovery. The findings underscore the benefits of intersecting health discourse with occupational and ethical discourses surrounding work. Meanwhile, the author cautions that framing work as a disease focuses attention on individuals' problems and thus runs the risk of overlooking potentially “ill” societal conditions that warrant further concern. Suggestions are offered for promoting discussions that raise explicit awareness of the embodied interconnections between work and health.     

A comparison of year 1 and year 6 students' conceptions of evaporation and condensation: dimensions of conceptual progression

A range of challenging activities centred on evaporation and condensation were explored with year 1 and year 6 children. Their explanations in group discussion, written responses and interview were analysed, using NUD*IST qualitative analysis software, to explore the nature and coherence of their conceptions. The data was used to critically evaluate previous claims in the literature concerning the characteristics of progression in understanding of evaporation, and to identify the main dimensions that characterize the differences in children's explanations. The older children displayed a surer sense of ontological categories, greater epistemological sophistication including their ability to link explanations and evidence, greater precision in the use of conceptual language, and a greater range of associations they could make.