Environmental Hazards Education for Childbirth Educators

The purpose of this article is to educate childbirth educators about environmental hazards and provide resources. Hazardous chemicals have been found in cord blood, placenta, meconium, and breastmilk samples. These chemicals include commonly known hazards such as lead, mercury, and environmental tobacco smoke, as well as some pesticides, solvents, products containing chlorine, and other chemicals referred to as “persistent organic pollutants.” The fetus is particularly vulnerable to environmental chemicals that can disrupt the developmental process at critical times during gestation. Childbirth educators are encouraged to inform themselves in order to inform childbearing families to take preventive action and explore alternative behaviors to reduce exposure to environmental hazards.     

The role of the university tutor in school-based work in primary schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

There has been much international debate on the role of the university tutor in the supervision of student teachers during school-based work. This study focuses upon the Irish context, where there has been little research. It involves a comparative study of the views and attitudes of university staff, student teachers and class teachers from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Data collection methods comprised questionnaires to university tutors, class teachers and students (n = 150), focus groups and one-to-one interviews. This project reveals a reservoir of goodwill between tutors, teachers and students, along with a willingness to engage in dialogue and collaboration. Importantly, this study concludes that it is the university tutor who should have the lead role in collaborative models of school-based work partnership, with significant consultation and input from the class teacher and consultation with the student in the evaluation process.     

Between East and West: Sappho Leontias (1830–1900) and her Educational Theory

The paper presents one of the most prominent Greek women teachers and educators of the nineteenth century, and a leading figure of Greek women’s education in Ottoman territory, Sappho Leontias (1830–1900). Within a transnational framework and based on the study of the writings of Sappho Leontias, the paper presents her educational views, theory and philosophy and focuses on her connections to educational thought and activity “beyond ethnic/national borders”, investigating the influences on her theoretical schema. A secondary intention of the paper is to present the influence Leontias exercised on the education of her times through an overview of her educational activity. The historical and social conditions of the time and place, as well as gender ideologies, are taken into consideration; the paper supports the position that they affect or shape individual projects and choices to a great extent.     

生活史研究对中外教育家研究的价值

生活史研究是借助日记、信件、报纸、自传等记录有关研究对象生活经历的文献,对研究对象生命历程中的独特体验和感悟进行研究。这种方法注重让与研究对象相关的材料说话,而非由研究者对这些材料进行解释和分析。目前这种方法被广泛运用于社会学、人类学、历史学等领域,运用其对中外教育家进行研究也有着独特的价值。