The question of linguistic anomaly in developmental dyslexia

Recent research findings pointing to an anatomical anomaly in the left hemisphere of dyslexics supports the conjecture that dyslexia involves a central anomaly in structural linguistic capacity. Two preliminary studies were carried out to test this conjecture. One study employed the techniques of grammatical research and the other was a reaction time study. Each study provided distinct evidence of a linguistic anomaly. The grammatical study suggested an anomaly when the assignment of referential relations among nominal elements is restricted on the basis of sentence structure, and the reaction time study provided evidence of an anomaly in the exploitation of grammatical markers. Based on a presentation at the 33rd Annual Conference of The Orton Dyslexia Society, San Diego, California, November 1983. I wish to thank Albert Galaburda for many stimulating discussions which led to the preliminary research reported here and the elaboration of that work in continuing studies, he cannot, however, be held accountable for either.     

‘It’s more than care’: early childhood educators’ concepts of professionalism

This article reports on the findings from a small-scale study of early childhood educators’ perceptions of their roles, responsibilities and ideas related to professionalism. Twenty-five early childhood educators from Canada (Ontario), Nigeria and South Africa participated in qualitative interviews to address the following questions: (1) In what ways do early childhood educators perceive of themselves as professionals? (2) How is the concept of professionalism impacted by values, beliefs and experiences? And (3) Do contextual variations exist in conceptualizations of ECE professionalism? Valuable insights were gained into the commonality of educators’ experiences and ideas across contexts, as well as the prominence of an ‘ethic of care’ as an inherent aspect of teacher professionalism. The study’s findings provide support for the literature advocating for care (and passion) as a social principle within education and socially constructed ideals of professionalism.