Exporting the American (information) revolution: the international impact of the National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine has had an enormous impact on health information services all over the world. Although NLM is primarily a national institution, it has become an important international resource by responding to requests from the international community. NLM has been influential in three major ways. First, NLM has provided a model for other national and regional health information services. Second, it has been a catalyst, in that MEDLARS and other services it provides formed the nucleus of many regional networks. NLM helped such networks get started by giving advice on how to set up services and build collections and by "training the trainers" on the MEDLARS system. Third, NLM has supported national and regional operations by providing the additional training and materials needed for day-to-day service.     

Primary Teachers’ Reflections on Inquiry- and Context-Based Science Education

Inquiry- and context-based teaching strategies have been proven to stimulate and motivate students’ interests in learning science. In this study, 12 teachers reflected on these strategies after using them in primary schools. The teachers participated in a continuous professional development (CPD) programme. During the programme, they were also introduced to a teaching model from a European project, where inquiry- and context-based education (IC-BaSE) strategies were fused. The research question related to teachers’ reflections on these teaching strategies, and whether they found the model to be useful in primary schools after testing it with their students. Data collection was performed during the CPD programme and consisted of audio-recorded group discussions, individual portfolios and field notes collected by researchers. Results showed that compared with using only one instructional strategy, teachers found the new teaching model to be a useful complement. However, their discussions also showed that they did not reflect on choices of strategies or purposes and aims relating to students’ understanding, or the content to be taught. Before the CPD programme, teachers discussed the use of inquiry mainly from the aspect that students enjoy practical work. After the programme, they identified additional reasons for using inquiry and discussed the importance of knowing why inquiry is performed. However, to develop teachers’ knowledge of instructional strategies as well as purposes for using certain strategies, there is need for further investigations among primary school teachers.     

The Lamer Social Competence in Preschool (LSCIP) Scale: Structural Validity in a Large Norwegian Community Sample

There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of social competence for children's development, well-being, and learning. Thus age- and context-appropriate measures are needed. This study addresses the structural validity of the Lamer Social Competence in Preschool (LSCIP) scale, developed to accommodate the Nordic model of early childhood pedagogy. The authors specify the theoretical basis for a bi-factor model of social competence. This model is tested in a large (n?=?1157), community based sample of Norwegian children, including teacher- (at age 2, 3, and 4), mother- (at age 4), and father- (at age 3) reports. A model with a main factor for social competence, and three bi-factors fit data across ages and reporters, with factorial, but not strong, invariance over time.     

Why Inquiry? Primary Teachers’ Objectives in Choosing Inquiry- and Context-Based Instructional Strategies to Stimulate Students’ Science Learning

Studies have shown that there is a need for pedagogical content knowledge among science teachers. This study investigates two primary teachers and their objectives in choosing inquiry- and context-based instructional strategies as well as the relation between the choice of instructional strategies and the teachers’ knowledge about of students’ understanding and intended learning outcomes. Content representations created by the teachers and students’ experiences of the enacted teaching served as foundations for the teachers’ reflections during interviews. Data from the interviews were analyzed in terms of the intended, enacted, and experienced purposes of the teaching and, finally, as the relation between intended, enacted, and experienced purposes. Students’ experiences of the teaching were captured through a questionnaire, which was analyzed inductively, using content analysis. The results show that the teachers’ intended teaching objectives were that students would learn about water. During the enacted teaching, it seemed as if the inquiry process was in focus and this was also how many of the students experienced the objectives of the activities. There was a gap between the intended and experienced objectives. Hardly any relation was found between the teachers’ choice of instructional strategies and their knowledge about students’ understanding, with the exception that the teacher who also added drama wanted to support her students’ understanding of the states of water.     

Video Journaling as a Method of Reflective Practice

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine seven school counseling students’ experiences of creating reflective video journals during their first internship course. Specifically, this study focused on capturing the essence of the experiences related to personal reactions, feelings, and thoughts about creating two video journal entries. Qualitative analysis revealed that reflection as a developmental process, authenticity, parallel process, and apprehension with the process were significant themes related to the video journaling experience. Implications for counselor education and training and directions for future research are presented.     

Is the frequency of dyslexic problems among prison inmates higher than in a normal population?

The primary objective of this study was to compare a sample ofprison inmates with the norms obtained for large samples of 12year-old students on tests measuring word decoding skills,reading and spelling abilities. Theoretically, we assumed thatphonological processing deficits are a strong predictor ofdyslexic problems, and thus, only those inmates who did not seemto possess appropriate levels of phonological decoding skillsshould be defined as dyslexics. The results showed that theinmates performed better or at the same level as 12 year-oldstudents on all tasks measuring reading, spelling, and worddecoding skills, and that 4 out of 35 inmates (11%) with Swedishas their native language exhibited phonological decoding skillssubstantially below the average of grade 6 students. Thus, bycomparing the group of inmates with 12 year-old students, and byusing phonological decoding skills as an indicator of reading andwriting disabilities, our conclusion was that the frequency ofpossible dyslexic problems found in a group of prison inmateslooks very much like comparable incidence figures from a generalpopulation.     

Providers,consumers and the horizons of the possible: a case study of marketization and physical education teacher education pedagogical discourse

Framed within a shift from a highly centralized system of higher education (HE) to a de-regulated system in Norway, this article addresses how the foci upon student recruitment and incentives in the governmental funding of HE have stimulated market dynamics which affect local configurations of bachelor degrees in sport, physical education and outdoor pursuits, which in turn, can affect the content knowledge of physical education teacher education (PETE) degree. Analyzing data generated via in-depth interviews with Deans and Heads of programs at three significant national providers in the field of HE sport and physical education, this article illuminates how marketization permeates the communication of education values and, thus, the institutional pedagogical discourse. This article problematizes the ways in which PETE pedagogical discourse currently reflects market values embedded in new managerialism in local strategies to recruit students at university colleges in Norway, rather than educational or professional values.