Researching early intervention and young children's perspectives – developing and using a ‘listening to children approach’     

Alice Paige‐Smith  Jonathan Rix 《British Journal of Special Education》2011,38(1):28-36

This article, by Alice Paige‐Smith and Jonathan Rix, considers the current context of early intervention in England from the perspective and experiences of two families and in particular focuses on two young children identified as having Down syndrome. This case study research has emerged from previous research conducted by the authors, both of whom are Senior Lecturers at the Open University and have a wealth of experience across all phases of education. Their previous research involved interviews with parents of children diagnosed as having Down syndrome, which raised further questions about early intervention and the pedagogical relationship between the parent and the child, and recognised that ‘early intervention’ can be more than structured activities led by professionals. The research in this article, which has been funded by the British Academy, used ethnographic methodology to understand the process of early intervention with two young children with Down syndrome and their families. The methodology developed to include narrative first‐person observation of the child and photography. In addition to this a method of reflecting on the process of early intervention developed that included the researchers, the parent and the child. The development of this research methodology is considered in detail in this article.  相似文献   

Resourced provision: the impact of inclusive practices on a mainstream primary school     

Jonathan Glazzard 《Support for Learning》2013,28(3):92-96

This personal account from a special educational needs co‐ordinator illustrates the negative impact that resourced provision has had on one school. The provision caters for children with communication and interaction difficulties and is housed in a mainstream primary school. For this school, while the provision has had a beneficial impact on the development of inclusive values among pupils, it has also led to a decline in the overall effectiveness of the school. The achievement data of pupils in the provision has had a detrimental impact on overall school performance data. Current narrow measures of school effectiveness in England mean that schools with increasingly diverse student populations can pay the price for their commitment to inclusion, as this example illustrates.  相似文献   

斯蒂芬霍金警告:不要和外星生物说话     

张二娜 《英语沙龙》2010,(8)

斯蒂芬·霍金是本世纪享有国际盛誉的科学家,他现年68岁,是剑桥大学应用数学及理论物理学系教授,以及当代最重要的广义相对论和宇宙论家。他在1988年出版的著作《时间简史》,至今已销售逾2500万册,是全球最畅销的科普著作之一。霍金在最近发布了关于外星生物的纪录片,让我们一同来看看他的观点吧。  相似文献   

Identifying English Language Learners for Gifted and Talented Programs: Current Practices and Recommendations for Improvement     

Bryn Harris  Kelly E. Rapp  Rebecca S. Martínez  Jonathan A. Plucker 《Roeper Review》2013,35(5):26-29

While the number and relative proportion of English language learners (ELL) in public school systems is rapidly increasing, ELL students are often overlooked for gifted programs, and for this reason are grossly underrepresented in gifted and talented education programs. Identification practices that were implemented decades ago did not take into account the linguistic and cultural diversity of students that are present in schools today. This theoretical article examines current gifted identification practices related to ELL students in public schools nationwide. The authors identify necessary components to this process that are often overlooked for ELL populations. Recommendations for best practice and future research are provided.  相似文献   

Informants' Traits Weigh Heavily in Young Children's Trust in Testimony and in Their Epistemic Inferences     

Jonathan D. Lane  Henry M. Wellman  Susan A. Gelman 《Child development》2013,84(4):1253-1268

This study examined how informants' traits affect how children seek information, trust testimony, and make inferences about informants' knowledge. Eighty‐one 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds and 26 adults completed tasks where they requested and endorsed information provided by one of two informants with conflicting traits (e.g., honesty vs. dishonesty). Participants also completed tasks where they simultaneously considered informants' traits and visual access to information when inferring their knowledge and trusting their testimony. Children and adults preferred to ask and endorse information provided by people who are nice, smart, and honest. Moreover, these traits influenced the knowledge that young children attributed to informants. Children younger than 5 years of age reported that people with positive traits were knowledgeable even when they lacked access to relevant information.  相似文献   

Pupils' views of the role and value of the science curriculum: A focus-group study     

Jonathan Osborne  Sue Collins 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(5):441-467

Pupils' perceptions of their experience of school science have rarely been investigated. The aim of the research reported in this paper, therefore, was to document the range of views that pupils held about the school science curriculum, the aspects they found either interesting and/or valuable, and their views about its future content. As such, the research aimed to articulate their views as a contribution to the debate about the future form and function of the school science curriculum. The method adopted to elicit their views was to use focus groups-a methodology that has not been extensively used in the science education research. Reported here are the findings from 20 focus groups conducted with 144 16-year-old pupils in London, Leeds and Birmingham, split both by gender and whether the pupils intended to continue, or not, with the study of science post-16. The findings of this research offer a window into pupils' perspective of school science revealing both their discontents and satisfaction with the existing curriculum. On the negative side, many pupils perceived school science to be a subject dominated by content with too much repetition and too little challenge. From a more positive perspective, pupils saw the study of science as important and were engaged by topics where they could perceive an immediate relevance, practical work, material that was challenging and high-quality teaching. The implications of these findings and the insights they provide for curriculum policy and school science curricula are discussed.  相似文献   

Young Children's Aspirations in Science: The unequivocal,the uncertain and the unthinkable     

Jennifer DeWitt  Jonathan Osborne  Louise Archer  Justin Dillon  Beatrice Willis  Billy Wong 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(6):1037-1063

Students' lack of interest in studying science and in science-related careers is a concern in the UK and worldwide. Yet there is limited data, particularly longitudinal, on the sources and development of science-related aspirations. In response, the ASPIRES (Science Aspirations and Career Choice: Age 10–14) longitudinal study is investigating the development of students' educational and occupational aspirations over time. In the first phase of the project, a questionnaire exploring science-related aspirations and interests was completed by over 9,000 primary school students across England. This survey allowed us to explore possible associations between attitudes and aspirations, links which have not been investigated in previous attitudinal studies of this scope. Overall, students expressed positive attitudes to science, reported positive parental attitudes to science and held very positive images of scientists. Multilevel modelling analyses revealed that aspirations in science were most strongly related to parental attitudes to science, attitudes to school science and self-concept in science, and are also associated with students' gender, ethnicity and cultural capital. However, the images students held of scientists were not as closely related to aspirations. These factors are discussed in more detail within the paper, alongside a consideration of possible school-related effects.  相似文献   

Beyond Construction: Five arguments for the role and value of critique in learning science     

J. Bryan Henderson  Anna MacPherson  Jonathan Osborne  Andrew Wild 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(10):1668-1697

This paper argues that science education has overemphasized the importance of construction at the expense of critique. In doing so, it draws on two key premises—Ford's argument that the construction of knowledge requires a dialectic between construction and critique and Mercier and Sperber's theory of argumentative reasoning that critique is essential for epistemic vigilance. Five separate cases are presented which argue that the absence of critique within school science limits the opportunities for students to engage in scientific reasoning making the learning of science less effective. These five arguments incorporate research literature surrounding the nature of science, epistemology, literacy, pedagogy, and motivation. Furthermore, we draw on data collected from cognitive think-aloud interviews to show that students can, with the appropriate prompts, engage in the important epistemic activity of critique. We conclude by examining the implications for the teaching and learning of science. In essence, we argue that the undervaluing of critique within the curriculum and pedagogy of school science results in a failure to develop the analytical faculties which are the valued hall mark of the practicing scientist; a misrepresentation of the nature of science; and, more importantly, a less effective learning experience. Critique, therefore, needs to play a central role in the teaching and learning of science.  相似文献   

Recollections of Exhibits: Stimulated‐recall interviews with primary school children about science centre visits     

Jennifer DeWitt  Jonathan Osborne 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(10):1365-1388

One issue of interest to practitioners and researchers in science centres concerns what meanings visitors are making from their interactions with exhibits and how they make sense of these experiences. The research reported in this study is an exploratory attempt, therefore, to investigate this process by using video clips and still photographs of schoolchildren’s interactions with science centre exhibits. These stimuli were used to facilitate reflection about those interactions in follow‐up interviews. The data for this study were 63 small group interviews with UK primary school children (129 students, ages 9–11). Interviews were transcribed and then analysed for common themes. The analysis presented here explores how students explain or interpret particular exhibits and the extent to which they were cognitively engaged by the process of observing their interactions with exhibits. The findings show that digital media enable students to re‐visit their experience and engage them with the content underlying science centre exhibits. There was, however, little difference between the patterns of response stimulated by video as opposed to photographs. It seems that such “re‐visitations” of exhibit interactions could serve as a valuable means of developing further students’ scientific concepts and exploiting the value for learning from the experience afforded by informal contexts.  相似文献   

An Attachment Model of University Connectedness     

Steffen Wilson  Jonathan Gore 《Journal of Experimental Education》2013,81(2):178-198

Students with high levels of connectedness to the university have been found to be more likely to complete their college degree than are students with low levels of university connectedness. This study examined the role of parental and peer attachment as distal predictors of school connectedness. As predicted, it was found that attachment style to parents predicted attachment style to peers. An avoidant attachment style to peers predicted negative perceptions of peer support and support services. An anxious attachment style to peers predicted negative perceptions of faculty support. Perceptions of peer support, support services, and faculty support then predicted feelings of connectedness to the university. Classroom comfort also predicted university connectedness, although it was not found to be related to attachment style to parents or peers. Implications for college students and college/university administrators are discussed.  相似文献