The promotion of moral ideals in schools; what the state may or may not demand

The content and boundaries of moral education the state may require schools to offer is a matter of contention. This article investigates whether the state may obligate schools to promote the pursuit of moral ideals. Moral ideals refer to (a cluster of) characteristics of a person as well as to situations or states that are believed to be morally excellent or perfect and that are not yet realised. Having an ideal typically means that the person is dedicated to realising the type of situation or person to which the ideal refers. Therefore generating student enthusiasm for moral ideals may be an effective way to realise a morally excellent society. This article defends the position that schools may be required to promote the recognition of ideals that all reasonable citizens endorse. Reasonable citizens will not, however, accept that the state obligates schools to promote the pursuit of moral ideals.     

A Reply on Behalf of the Relativist to Mark Mason's Justification of Universal Ethical Principles

Mark Mason, in his ‘A Justification, After the Postmodern Turn, of Universal Ethical Principles and Educational Ideals’ Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37 (2005), attempts to justify transcultural multiculturalism. In this paper I argue that he fails to refute moral relativism, and that multiculturalism as he interprets it is not morally acceptable.     

They do care: An interview with William Damon and Anne Colby on moral development

What follows is an interview with William Damon and Anne Colby, pioneers in the fields of moral psychology and education. Throughout their careers, they have studied, moral identity, moral ideals, positive youth development, purpose, good work, vocation, character development in higher education, and professional responsibility. In their words, they are interested in the ‘best of humankind’—not only the competencies, but also the character necessary for living a good life—not only for the sake of the individual, but also for society. They have received numerous academic and civic awards and honors. Their publications include Some Do Care, Greater Expectations, Educating Citizens, The Path to Purpose, and most recently, The Power of Ideals—in addition to editing, for example, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development and The Handbook of Child Psychology. As a married couple, their vocational journeys have mostly been separate, but have always complemented each other and sometimes converged. This interview asks about reflections on their careers, their own sense of purpose, their greatest contributions, current needs in our field, and advice to emerging scholars.     

Assimilating to a boy’s body shape for the sake of performance: three female athletes’ body experiences in a sporting culture

This paper explores three female swimmers’ relationships with their male coaches and the body practices they were exposed to within Australian swimming. Particular attention is given to how the relationships and practices might relate to gender. Additionally, the article examines how (if at all) the conduct contributed to the social construction of an accepted female swimmer body. Through narrative accounts, the three adolescent female athletes articulate hierarchical male coach–female athlete relationships and specific body encounters they were exposed to and/or engaged with. Their experiences reveal how a sexually maturing body (growing breasts, female body shape and menstruating) was deemed unsuitable for performance and the swimmers were thus encouraged to transform their bodies and behaviours towards that of the boys. Using a feminist Foucauldian perspective, these accounts points to how the three swimmers came to regulate their diet, training and appearance in order to fulfil expectations. This self-regulation is problematic in two ways: first, no scientific evidence shows that a boy like physique is essential for best performance. Second, the stress from being pressured to achieve a particular body, as well as the shame that resulted from being unable to achieve the idealised physique, eventually caused the swimmers to develop an unhealthy relationship with their developing bodies. We highlight how those immersed in sporting contexts should recognise the serious implications of gender practices and power relations underpinning the male coach–female athlete dynamic in competitive sport.     

社会转型期理想信念教育的几点思考

在社会转型的特殊时期,如何提高理想信念教育的实效性,是全社会面临的重大理论和现实问题,关系到社会主义事业的前途和命运。卓有成效地开展理想信念教育,教育者要以自信和正己为前提,坚定自身的理想与信念;要以认清两大社会制度本质为重点,强化教育对象的理想信念意识;要以"三观"教育为核心,培养坚定的理想信念者。     

Career Choices, Job Selection Criteria, and Leadership Preferences in a Transitional Nation: The Case of Turkey

This study explored the factors that influenced Turkish university students' career choices, job selection criteria, and leadership preferences. Participated in this study were 1,213 senior and junior management students from 17 universities across 6 regions of Turkey. Data collection was accomplished through a self-administered four-part questionnaire. Findings revealed that for the entire sample, having power and authority, peaceful work environment, opportunity for career advancement, and pay were the most motivating factors in job selection, whereas close supervision and guidance, praise from supervisor, feedback on performance, and sense of belonging were the least motivating ones. Charismatic leadership was found to be the most preferred style followed by participative, paternalistic, and bureaucratic styles. Finally, career choices were mostly affected by intrinsic factors (i.e., self aspirations), whereas interpersonal factors (i.e., significant others' expectations) were least influential. Findings were discussed in light of dynamic and changing cultural characteristics of the Turkish society.     

The transformation of academic ideals: an Australian analysis

This article explores the role that universities play in shaping the relationship between academics and their work. Drawing on Miller and Rose's interpretation of our present era as being characterised by ‘Advanced Liberal’ governance, this article demonstrates how discourses seeking to govern academic labour enrol ideals about the academic and subjectify academic staff within strategies to govern their conduct. Entrepreneurial conceptions of ‘good’ academic conduct are valorised through such initiatives as performance evaluation, interdisciplinary research programmes and Graduate Certificates of university teaching and skills development. Drawing on the past literature and an analysis of three Australian public universities, this article proposes three ideals through which academics are enrolled into strategies to govern their conduct: ‘the career academic’, ‘the tribal academic’ and ‘the celebrity academic’. The centrality of an entrepreneurial sense of self within academic ideals contributes to the production of insidious effects within academic practices. The subjectification of academics, as entrepreneurial knowledge managers, may potentially produce strain within academics who fail to close the psychological distance between their self-perceptions and academic ideals. This article proposes that future investigations of the development of academic ideals and values should engage with an analysis of modes of self-government. The utility of self-government is explored in an analysis of the dynamic production of academic ideals within policies and programmes aimed at governing the behaviour of academic staff.     

关于环的局部特征的一点注记

刻画了凝聚环、遗传环、半遗传环及交换半局部环的局部特征,并给出了模的内射维数与平坦维数的一种计算方法。     

社会主义-共产主义理想信念教育的内容结构研究

选择合适的教育内容是社会主义-共产主义理想信念教育取得实效的重要措施之一。社会主义-共产主义理想信念教育的基本内容应包括以下三个方面：马克思主义基本理论的教育、社会主义历史与现实的教育、社会主义未来的教育。这三个方面是一个有着内在联系的整体,通过这样整体性地教育,把影响人们社会主义-共产主义理想信念的一些重大理论问题说清说透,从而使理想信念建立在“科学分析的理性基础之上”。     

论高职生综合素质的提高与培养

全面推进素质教育，是我国教育事业正面临的一场深刻变革。现行高职教育重视规模发展，忽视了对高职生综合素质的培养。提升高职生综合素质，须以理想信念教育为前提，以文化素质教育为重点，以能力培养为本位。