Reviews

Vivienne Gross, Hackney Child and Family Consultation Service, Child Abuse and the School's Response: A Workshop for Professionals Involved with Ghildren/Young People from Nursery to Further Education by Eve Brock. Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1992. 22pp. ISBN 0 58210060 7, £25.00

Louise O'Connor, Roehampton Institute, Social Education and Personal Development Studies in Primary Education by Delwyn and Eva Tattum. London: David Fulton, 1992. 194pp. pb ISBN 185346 110 5, £12.99

Sue Smedley, Froebel Institute College, Stress in Teaching by Jack Dunham. London and New York: Routledge, 1992. 200pp. hb ISBN 0 415 06634 4, £35, pb ISBN 0 415 06635 2, £12.99

David Thomas, Department of Education University of Liverpool, Learning Support for Young People in Transition: Leaving School for Further Education and Work by Jean McGinfy and John Fish. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. 116pp. pb ISBN 0 335 09765 0, n.p.     

Impediments to Partnership: A literature review of school‐university links

Partnership innovations between teacher educators on school and university sites have become ubiquitous. Calls for bridging the theory/practice gap have been answered with reappraisal and restructuring of programs. The literature on the rationale and implementation of a partnership approach has grown steadily since the early 1980s. Praise for measures that promote increased and meaningful interaction between the key players is now almost universal. Ironically, simultaneously, this documentation reveals the challenges as well as the promises of partnership. Clear impediments to the creation and nurturing of partnership have emerged. This paper takes as its principal focus an exploration of the literature that examines the range of barriers encountered by teachers of future teachers.     

Listening to men student primary school teachers: some thoughts on pedagogy

This article is about teaching undergraduate student primary school teachers and is concerned with the pedagogical approaches that will support students as they move into the culture of the primary school and learn a professional identity as a teacher of young children. The paper draws on data from interviews with men student teachers, who, as a numerical minority, are in a context which obliges them and me to notice their gendered identities. What teaching approaches might help students to notice the assumptions shaping their perceptions and others' perceptions of them? How might the process of ITT suggest to student teachers that alternatives are possible? What sort of teacher/student relationship and interaction could help students to rethink themselves as teachers? Active encounters, detail, sensitivity and difference are put forward as important themes to underpin a pedagogy for primary Initial Teacher Training which prioritises conversations and relationships.     

“Where's the fox? You've got to read the fox.”

An important reminder that young children know how stories work, and are therefore able to use bibliographic and literary knowledge as they set about the task of learning to read books with maturity and competence. Sue Smedley shows four and five year olds working in intellectually demanding ways to recreate stories for themselves and argues that young children have a right to the kinds of books and stories which call for intelligent and imaginative responses.     

Science partnerships under the microscope: A study of Teacher Education Partnerships at Macquarie University

Partnerships between schools and teacher education institutions are now widely promoted as an effective pathway to the preparation of pre-service students. This paper examines the ways in which one form of school/tertiary partnership has attempted, over a 25 year period, to respond to the key questions on partnership: How do university lecturers share teacher education with their colleagues in schools? When and where does this occur? What can tertiary staff learn from the “new” teacher educators? What strategies are being considered to enhance the spirit of mutual respect which must underpin successful teamwork? How well are the vital roles of adviser, counsellor, guide, support and teacher understood and shared by school and tertiary staff as they work with pre-service students? Do the partners share similar understandings of the theory and practice of the program? The authors conclude, as a result of their own experiences in the Teacher Education Program at Macquarie University in Sydney, and as a result of recent research into the formation of specific links between school teachers and tertiary lecturers, that the success of new experiments with partnership will depend, ultimately, upon the success of the human rather than the structural relationships established.     

The forgotten minority: examining religious affiliation and university satisfaction

Researchers and practitioners generally discuss disparities in university student satisfaction and graduation rates in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. However, religious affiliation constitutes another important—yet often overlooked—form of identity that may be associated with student outcomes. In the context of Christian privilege in the United States, students from marginalized religions and those who do not identify with any organized religion can face significant challenges on university campuses and throughout society. Using a 4-year longitudinal sample of 3,098 undergraduates at 28 institutions, this study conducted hierarchical linear modeling analyses to examine the extent to which university satisfaction varies as a function of students’ religious affiliation (or lack thereof). Even when controlling for various individual and institutional characteristics, students who do not identify with any religious group have the lowest university satisfaction, whereas Protestant students have the highest satisfaction. Group disparities in satisfaction are also observed for race/ethnicity, gender, parental education, and academic preparation. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Life history insights into the early childhood and education experiences of Froebel trainee teachers 1952–1967

Drawing on life-history interview data collected as part of a research project funded by the Froebel Trust, this paper explores the family backgrounds and educational experiences reported by nine women who attended Froebel College located in London in the United Kingdom (UK), in the 1950s and 1960s. Informed by Bourdieu’s theories of habitus and field and theories of identity, this paper explores any shared habitus and dispositions within the early childhood and family milieu reported by the participants. The paper also considers the women’s educational experiences and their stories of getting into Froebel College, reflecting on the commonality of family values and the secondary education pathways they reported. The findings show some striking resonances between Froebel’s educational ideals, in particular his belief in the mystical and transformative power of learning through play and engaging with nature, and the participants’ stories of their early childhood experiences.