bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leptospirosis Presenting with Mania and Psychosis: Four Consecutive Cases Seen in a Military Hospital in Turkey
Authors: Semiz Umit B. , Basoglu Cengiz , Oner Ozgur , Ebrinc Servet , Cetin Mesut
Published: December 2005

Objective:

To present the clinical features and the treatment alternatives of manic and psychotic symptoms in patients with leptospirosis.

Methods:

Clinical observation and diagnosis of four cases with leptospirosis presenting with psychiatric symptoms.

Results:

Leptospirosis diagnoses were established by recovery of the organism from culture, macroagglutination tests, and dark field microscopy in all cases. Leptospira ELISA-Ig M was also positive in all cases. Microagglutination tests were positive in case 1 and case 2. All of the cases were also screened for other possible medical, infectious, and neurological disorders that could account for their clinical symptoms. Patients were treated with a combination of antibiotics, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers.

Conclusions:

The presence of manic and psychotic symptoms with fever and high transaminase and/or CPK levels in high risk occupational groups during rainy periods should alert the physician to the possibility of leptospirosis. The psychiatric symptoms are sensitive to anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers but not to antimicrobial treatment, suggesting that the psychiatric picture may not be related to direct invasion of the central nervous system by the infectious agent.
Somatization in Primary Care: A Comparative Survey of Immigrants from Various Ethnic Groups in Rome, Italy
Authors: Aragona Massimiliano , Tarsitani Lorenzo , Colosimo Francesco , Martinelli Barbara , Raad Hassan , Maisano Bianca , Geraci Salvatore
Published: December 2005

Objectives:

Those responsible for interviewing immigrants in primary care settings often underestimate the importance of somatic symptoms arising from psychological distress. This study investigates the current prevalence of somatization in immigrants, and evaluates the comparative rates of somatic complaints in four ethnic groups (Caucasians, Asians, South/Center Americans, and Africans).

Methods:

We studied the 301 consecutive outpatients (aged between 16 and 70 years) attending the “Caritas” primary care unit for immigrants in Rome (Italy) from January to December 2003, all of whom completed the 21-item version of the Bradford Somatic Inventory (BSI-21). Patients scoring 14 or more on the BSI-21 were considered at risk for somatization.

Results:

The current prevalence of somatization was 35.2%; 62.3% of the somatizers were women. A multiple regression analysis adjusting for the possible confounding effects of sex, age, education, and months of stay in Italy showed that South/Central Americans had significantly higher somatization scores than the other three groups.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest a high probability of somatization syndromes in immigrant patients. South/Central Americans tend to somatize more than other ethnic groups. A psychosomatic approach may be useful for immigrants in primary care settings.
Are Separate Standards for Occupational and Environmental Exposures Good Public Health Policy?
Authors: Rabovsky Jean
Published: December 2005

Occupational and environmental exposures are treated as distinct entities for the purpose of public health protection. Yet workers and community members may experience the same exposures simultaneously or within a very narrow time frame. Agricultural chemicals applied by workers in the field drift into residential communities. Chemicals may be carried from a work site, with or without physical boundaries, into the home and delivered to household members. Meteorological conditions transport agricultural chemicals or stored ashes to residential communities during and after the work day. Occupational standards generally allow a higher level of exposure to workers than environmental standards allow for community exposures. For some chemicals, standards exist for only one exposure group, thus leaving the other exposed group without protection. The distinction between occupational and environmental exposures assumes the identification of specific human activities as work or non-work. However, not all human activity falls clearly into one specific category. The strict separation of occupational and environmental exposures therefore renders public health protection of all exposed people difficult to achieve. An in-depth discussion about the factors and assumptions that are used when occupational and environmental standards are separately applied to exposed populations is needed to enhance the public health of all people.
Mental Health Problems of Army Personnel Seen in Medical Outpatient Clinics in Greece
Authors: Argyropoulos Ioannis Th. , Samakouri Maria A. , Balascas Dimitrios K. , Dalapascha Melpomeni , Pallas Dimitrios P. , Livaditis Miltos D.
Published: December 2005

Objective:

The problem of the underdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of mental disorders in people who visit health services has been studied in Greece as well as in other countries. There is not, however, enough research data for military personnel. The purpose of the present study is to assess the psychiatric morbidity of military personnel referred to outpatient clinics for physical problems.

Method:

Two hundred twenty-two (222) males serving in the Army, aged 21.9 + 2.8 years, were examined when they visited the outpatient clinics of a General Military Hospital of a border area of Greece. They gave information concerning demographic data, completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and were assessed by the psychiatric interview M.I.N.I. (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview).

Results:

Eighty-two out of 222 individuals (36.9%) were classified as GHQ cases. Enlisted men and personnel with chronic physical disabilities were classified more often as cases than were professionals and physically able military men. Those referred for fractures had fewer psychiatric problems than those referred for other reasons. The most common diagnoses were anxiety disorders, major depressive episode, and alcohol abuse.

Conclusions:

A large number of military personnel present undiagnosed psychological problems despite attempts in the last few years by army services to develop mechanisms of timely diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric cases. Measures for the improvement of this situation are discussed.
Diabetes Associated with Atypical Antipsychotic Treatment May Be Severe but Reversible: Case Report
Authors: Dibben C. R. M. , Kalavalapalli S. S. , Linnington H. E. J. , Hynes F. A. , Dinneen S. F. , Adler A. I. , McKenna P. J.
Published: December 2005

Objective:

To draw attention to severe presentations of atypical neuroleptic related diabetes and to document that a marked degree of remission can take place after drug withdrawal.

Method:

We describe two patients who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis after treatment with quetiapine and risperidone, respectively.

Results:

Both patients were negative for islet cell antibodies. They both required treatment with insulin, one in very high dosage, but their insulin requirements fell progressively after the atypical antipsychotic was withdrawn. After several months, neither patient required antidiabetic treatment.

Conclusions:

Atypical antipsychotic-induced diabetes does not always take a “type 2” presentation in which weight gain and insulin resistance are implicated. Sometimes the presentation is with diabetic ketoacidosis, requiring insulin treatment, which can nevertheless be reversible.
Menopause-Related Quality of Life in Chronically Mentally ILL Women
Authors: Friedman Susan Hatters , Sajatovic Martha , Schuermeyer Isabel N. , Safavi Roknedin , Hays Robert W. , West Jane , Ignacio Rosalinda V. , Blow Frederic C.
Published: December 2005

Objective:

Menopause is an important life event that has not yet been well characterized among women with severe mental illness. Our goal was to evaluate menopause-related quality of life among severely mentally ill women.

Method:

We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, ages 45–55, diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression, who were receiving inpatient or outpatient psychiatric care. Women were compared regarding menopausal symptoms and quality of life using the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Scale (MENQOL).

Results:

Women with severe mental illnesses who were peri- and post-menopausal experienced considerable vasomotor, physical, sexual, and psychosocial symptoms related to menopause. On seven of 29 MENQOL items, women with major depression reported problems significantly more often than women with other serious mental illnesses.

Conclusions:

This preliminary study indicates that psychiatrists and other physicians should consider the frequency and overlap of menopausal and psychiatric symptoms among women with serious mental illness in this age group.
Attendance at Religious Services and Subsequent Mental Health in Midlife Women
Authors: King Dana E. , Cummings Doyle , Whetstone Lauren
Published: December 2005

Objective:

Spiritual and religious factors may influence mental health in midlife women. The purpose of this study was to explore whether strength of religious beliefs or attendance at religious services helps to mitigate the stresses of life in mid-life women.

Methods:

Data are from a sub-sample of 265 women, ages 40–70, who were participants in the REACH study, a longitudinal study investigating health parameters in a representative sample of households from rural communities in eastern North Carolina. Using t-tests and linear regression analyses, we analyzed the relationship between frequency of attendance at religious services and strength of religious beliefs in 1997 and subsequent mental health in 2003 as measured by the mental health component score (MCS) of the SF-12.

Results:

The mean MCS in 2003 was significantly higher (better mental health) in women who reported attending religious services ≥1/week compared to those who reported attending <1/week (53.9 vs. 51.7; p < 0.05). In the linear regression model controlling for self-reported health status, baseline attendance at organized religious services remained a significant predictor of the MCS at six-year follow-up (standardized β = −0.123, p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

Attendance at religious services is positively related to subsequent mental health in middle-aged women. The findings support the notion that religious commitment may help mitigate the stress of the midlife period. More research is needed to translate these findings into clinical interventions that can decrease the burden of anxiety and depression on midlife women.
Associations between the Impact of Terrorism and Health Perceptions of Patients
Authors: Haidet Paul , O'Malley Kimberly J , Sharf Barbara F. , Gladney Alicia P. , Tran Anh N. , Greisinger Anthony J. , Ashton Carol M. , Street Richard L.
Published: December 2005

Objective:

Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on anxiety and anxiety-related conditions in Americans. However, data regarding associations between the attacks and patients' health perceptions are lacking. The objective of this study was to explore associations between the personal impact of the September 11th attacks and patients' perceptions of health and illness.

Method:

We performed a cross-sectional survey of 303 adult African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic patients at primary care clinics in Houston, Texas. Data were collected between October 15, 2001 and March 1, 2002. We developed items to measure the impact of the September 11th attacks and patients' quality of life. Previously validated scales were used to measure health status, health locus of control, preferences regarding the patient-physician relationship, and patients' explanatory models of illness.

Results:

Twenty-two percent of patients reported no impact from the attacks, 41% reported mildly negative impact, 22% reported moderately negative impact, and 15% reported extremely negative impact in their lives. In multivariate analysis, demographic characteristics were not associated with impact from the attacks. However, patients who perceived a more external locus of control with respect to health and patients who reported greater meaning of illness in their lives also reported more negative impact from the September 11th attacks.

Conclusions:

The September 11th terrorist attacks had at least a somewhat negative impact for a majority of patients far from the site of the nearest attack, and regardless of their demographic backgrounds. The amount of negative impact that patients perceived as a result of the terrorist attacks correlates with certain illness perceptions, including an external health locus of control and a perception of greater meaning of illness in one's life. Such correlations may indicate an effect of terrorism on patients' illness behaviors. Further research is needed to better understand effects of the threat of terrorism on the general health and illness behaviors of patients.
Qualitative Research Using Numbers: An Approach Developed in France and Used to Transform Work in North America
Authors: Messing Karen , Seifert Ana María , Vézina Nicole , Balka Ellen , Chatigny Céline
Published: December 2005

Qualitative research is often opposed to quantitative research. But numbers can play an important role in illustrating analyses in qualitative research. Their persuasive, concrete nature can help ensure the success of a workplace intervention, especially in the North American context, where numbers are treated very seriously. We describe a method of work analysis and transformation developed at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers in Paris, where the meaning of the numbers used is critical. We think that the numbers used in work analysis have a different meaning from that in a “pure” quantitative study, where they are submitted to statistical procedures for hypothesis testing. Using examples from recent studies carried out in Québec and Canada in collaboration with unions or joint health and safety committees, we show that counting can be part of qualitative analysis, enrich our portrait of organizational and physical aspects of the work process, and help indicate pathways for workplace improvement.
Colonialism and Cargo Cults in Early Childhood Education: Does Reggio Emilia Really Exist?
Authors: Johnson Richard
Published: November 2005

The Reggio Emilia, preschools in Italy, have been called one of the best preschool education systems in the world. This is witnessed by the proliferation of people who have made a pilgrimage to Reggio to study this system and bring it to the USA. This article uses Reggio as a now familiar cultural icon in an attempt to problematize larger issues in the field of early childhood education. Beginning with a brief overview of some of recent Reggio discourse the author interprets this phenomenon using Foucault in an attempt to illustrate the extent to which “power reaches into the very grain of individuals … inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives' (1980, p. 39). Assisting with this interpretation, the popularity of Reggio is positioned against cargo cult theory and the normative, hegemonic practices of colonization.
Working Perspectives within Feminism and Early Childhood Education
Authors: De Lair Heather Anne , Erwin Eric
Published: November 2005

The authors describe a model for feminist-based early childhood practice from two perspectives: the classroom teacher and the teacher educator. Using examples from their own work, the authors outline the assumptions and the principles which guide their work with children and adults. Implications for the field are discussed.
Environmental Literacy: Providing an Interdisciplinary Context for Young Children
Authors: Basile Carole , White Cameron
Published: November 2005

This article outlines the benefits of developing a program considering environmental education in which children are engaged in learning opportunities that connect to their lives and interests. The authors contend that reform efforts generally focus on the application of content knowledge by using higher order thinking skills and encourage connections to be made with the world beyond the classroom. The article includes examples which highlight that environmental literacy is particularly appropriate for emphasizing the world beyond the classroom, for developing depth of understanding and content knowledge, and opportunities to use higher order thinking skills
‘Building Bridges’ and Indigenous Literacy: Learning from Indigenous Families
Authors: Grant Megan
Published: November 2005

This article outlines the Australian Early Childhood Association project Building Bridges: literacy development for young indigenous children, funded by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Building Bridges was a highly innovative project designed to develop resources for improving literacy competence in indigenous young children.
A Journey through Dangerous Places: Reflections on a Theory of White Racial Identity as Political Alliance
Authors: Hayes Michael T.
Published: November 2005

In this article, the author develops a theory of white racial identity as a political alliance. He argues that a racial identity is inherently a social relationship that is immersed in institutional and everyday power arrangements and that formulating a racial identity is an inherently political process that involves the articulation of politically committed relationships, which are alliances. Using examples from academic literature and personal experience, the author illustrates how racial identity is articulated within the constant tension between historical and institutional structures and human agency. The implications are twofold. First, whites must acknowledge and take responsibility for the historically derived systems of privilege that place them into alliances with each other. Second, whites must also understand that reformulating a racial identity entails the development of social relationships that, because they are racial in nature, are inherently political. This means that constructing a white racial identity is a form of political action that requires a conscious effort to develop an anti-racist identity that embraces the possibility and need for social justice.
Colonized through Language: The Case of Early Childhood Education
Authors: Viruru Radhika
Published: November 2005

In this article, the privilege accorded to language as the ‘natural’ way of human expression and communication is problematized. Drawing upon multiple post-colonial sources, the author suggests that this is yet another of the ways in which dominant Western ways of viewing the world are imposed upon diverse groups of people, including young children. Questions are asked about whose interests are best served when language is privileged over other modes of communication. Acquiring language is often perceived as a crucial tool in the growth of young children; however, the question is rarely asked, what is lost when language is gained. The article also provides examples from an ethnographic study done in India that suggests that children can engage in complex forms of communication that do not involve language. Finally, the article addresses the common assumption that using language mostly means using one language. Dominant Western discourses about language are almost overwhelmingly unilingual; however, most of the world's children use and live in multilingual environments.
From Nostalgia to Metatheory: Researching Children's Relationships with the Media
Authors: Hughes Patrick
Published: November 2005

Consensus about the influence and significance of the media in children's lives is precluded by the fact that research into children's relationships with the media is conducted within various models of childhood, paradigms and research approaches, each generating specific — sometimes mutually-exclusive — research questions and answers. This article assesses the potential for political action concerning children and the media that is offered by the paradigms (structural, humanist and interactionist) and research approaches (essentialist and non-essentialist) that dominate much contemporary research on children and media, illustrating each one's use in recently published research. The article poses a new ‘localised’ research perspective on the topic, in which researchers and research subjects co-author ‘little narratives' about media products. These ‘little narratives' embody different — often competing — local desires and understandings, generate new questions and create new rules for discussing children's relationships with the media.
Derrida Goes to Nursery School: Deconstructing Young Children's Stories
Authors: Jones Liz
Published: November 2005

In many ways, an engagement between Derrida and teacher research seems an unlikely affair. However, this article attempts to illustrate some of the benefits of a liaison between the two. Using data generated from practice in a nursery classroom, the article details some of the advantages when practices of deconstruction are incorporated into practitioner research. It exemplifies how deconstructive thinking can be put to work in confronting young boys' dependency on ‘superhero’ play. Additionally, the article demonstrates how deconstructive thinking seeks to dismantle habitual ways of thinking in order to create a space for thinking differently.
Where Do We Put Our Research Efforts? An Investigation of the Perceived Research Needs of Early Childhood Professionals
Authors: Fleer Marilyn
Published: November 2005

In many countries around the world, policy developers have argued for evidence-based policy development. In some countries, demonstrating the long-term outcomes of early childhood education has become an important goal. However, what does the early childhood profession believe? This article reports on a study that examined the research needs in Australia for supporting early childhood education. The findings have relevance for early childhood education across the international community.
Who's Ready for What? Young Children Starting School
Authors: Dockett Sue , Perry Bob
Published: November 2005

Each year, as children start formal schooling, there are discussions between parents and educators about children who are, or are not, ‘ready for school’. The first section of this article examines issues of readiness, definitions of readiness, and considers some implications of decisions about children's readiness status. Following this, and in the context of different perspectives of readiness, the views of Australian children, parents and educators are considered. These views indicate some similarities between the expectations of parents and educators, and some differences between what children and adults regard as important in the transition to school. Implications for early childhood education and educators are considered.
Leadership Roles of a Pre-School Principal in the Use of Information and Communication Technology: A Hong Kong Experience
Authors: Han Christina
Published: November 2005

The incorporation of information and communications technology (ICT) in education is increasingly recognised as a priority for schools in Hong Kong. Teachers are now expected to undertake formal training to ensure they are proficient in the use of ICT and are able to use it effectively within the classroom setting. This colloquium highlights the important role played by school leaders in ensuring the successful transition of schools within the ‘information age’. It is argued that principals need to inspire, encourage and support teachers to meet the challenges that lie ahead. The colloquium reports on a case study of a pre-school leader's practices in the use of ICT. The study investigates the strategies the principal used to promote the use of ICT in the pre-school and her influence on ICT use in the kindergarten.
Computers in Early Childhood Mathematics
Authors: Clements Douglas H.
Published: November 2005

Computers are increasingly a part of the lives of young children. This article reviews empirical studies that have investigated the implementation and use of computers in early childhood mathematics, from birth to grade 3. Major topics include general issues of children using computers, the use and efficacy of various types of computer programs for teaching and learning mathematics, and effective teaching strategies using computers.
Children's and Families' Use of Computers in Australian Homes
Authors: Downes Toni
Published: November 2005

Children's approaches to learning may be changing as a result of their interactions with modern technologies. In Australian society there have been quantum leaps in the use of and reliance upon computers and information and communications technologies. An understanding of the lived experiences and interactions of children of various ages with computer technologies in their homes is the focus of this article. Such an understanding informs the work of educators who wish to provide effective instructional environments that draw on children's starting points and the positive aspects of their home computing environments. The research found that children's family computer resources, patterns of use and sociocultural contexts combined to affect children's computing experiences. Several discourses exist surrounding the use of computers by families. These discourses are the importance of computers for education, for the future and as productivity tools. From children's discussions emerged a comfortable co-existence of ‘toy use’ (for playing games) and ‘tool use’ (for purposeful work and leisure tasks) when using the computer and a preference for an exploratory mode of learning. A number of key elements present in domestic computing environments were identified as contributing significantly to children's learning. Implications for teachers are discussed.
Winning Hearts and Minds: Television and the Very Young Audience
Authors: Howard Sue , Roberts Susan
Published: November 2005

Although we know that very young children watch television and indicate preferences for favourite programmes, very little research has been undertaken exploring the responses of such young viewers to media texts. Reasons for this are probably largely methodological — one cannot use the usual methods associated with social research with children who are in the early stages of language acquisition. In this article, the authors describe how they devised a unique technique for observing and recording the responses of 20 under two year-olds to a television text — Teletubbies. Faced with a large amount of rich textual data, they then developed a set of analytical criteria. The subsequent analysis revealed that very young children's responses to the chosen text were very diverse and included pleasure, parasocial and cognitive responses. In addition, new insights into very young children's attentional abilities were revealed.
Young Gifted Girls and Boys: Perspectives through the Lens of Gender
Authors: Lee Libby
Published: November 2005

In contemporary society we have become highly dependent on a technological, scientific and mathematically literate population. There has been considerable debate for many years about the lack of talented people entering professions associated with these literacies and about the level of understanding of science and technology in the general community. Since perceptions of and interest in mathematics, science and technology begin in early childhood, teachers of very young children play an important role in fostering and supporting these interests. The research problem investigated in this article emerged when the researcher became aware that teachers in Brisbane, Australia nominated as many as five times more boys than girls for a mathematics and science enrichment programme for gifted young children. Hence, teachers' conceptions of what it means to have high ability in mathematics and science in early childhood appeared to be influenced by teacher beliefs about gender. Single in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 early childhood teachers who nominated children for the above mentioned enrichment programme. Based on interview data, a model of teachers' conceptions of giftedness was developed, comprising seven categories of description or ways that teachers see the phenomenon of giftedness in relation to young children. A latter interpretative analysis of this model found that teachers' conceptions of giftedness are indeed gendered and that each of the seven categories of giftedness guides teacher behaviours or actions that directly disadvantage girls. This article explores this latter analysis and concludes that gender is a significant influence on teachers' conceptions of giftedness in young children.
Mobilization toward What Must Be: A Call to Action on Behalf of Refugee Children
Authors: Schulze Pamela A.
Published: November 2005

Much has been written about the plight of refugee children and families. The authors of these articles generally make a case for greater involvement by the international community on behalf of refugee children. All too often, these eloquent and moving calls to action fall on deaf ears. In particular, this author argues that academics in the field of child development, who tend to be socialized to define and debate issues rather than act on them, are often slow to act on issues of concern. In this colloquium, the author provides several examples of ways that professionals in early childhood can help to promote the healthy development of refugee children, and she advocates for all of us to take on this responsibility, as it is consistent with our professional, personal, and moral obligation to promote the developmental well-being of all young children.
New Directions: Charting the Paths for the Role of Sociocultural Theory in Early Childhood Education and Curriculum
Authors: Edwards Suzy
Published: November 2005

This article identifies the growing role of sociocultural theory as an informant to the early childhood curriculum. Beginning with a brief description of the more traditional Piagetian interpretation regarding development and its use in early childhood education and curricula such as DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice), the article identifies key theoretical arguments made against this view on the basis of ontological, methodological and/or epistemological precepts. The growing literature regarding the use of curriculum approaches to early childhood education based on the sociocultural explanations for development proposed by Vygotsky and Rogoff are identified. The article argues that the manner in which sociocultural theory is being utilised in early childhood education may be considered in terms of three main ‘pathways’, including the transformative, assimilated positivist and social-constructivist paths.
The American Creche: ‘Let's Do What the French Do, but Do it Our Way’
Authors: Prochner Larry
Published: November 2005

Early childhood programs in the USA have been characterized as fragmented. In recent times more integrated European models have been studied as lessons for the USA. The French system in particular has been held up as a model of high-quality service for families with particular relevance for US policymakers. This article reviews the history of early childhood programs in the USA that included attempts to introduce the French model of daily group infant care as early as the 1850s. While the French approach inspired American programs at the time, group infant care developed in line with the dominant approach to charity and social welfare that viewed the family as having the first responsibility for child rearing barring exceptional circumstances.
Hong Kong Pre-Primary Education in Transition: ‘Consultation Document of the Working Party on Harmonisation of Pre-Primary Services’
Authors: Lee Kenneth Siu Woo , Na Anna Yeung On , Yee Wong Shuk
Published: November 2005

Hong Kong's most recent education reform proposal is the Consultation Document of the Working Party on Harmonisation of Pre-primary Services ( Consultation Document. This examines the feasibility of combining kindergarten and childcare centres and having one single body regulating them. It has stimulated great responses from the early childhood education sector. As one of the major training institutions for kindergarten teachers and childcare workers, the faculty and students of the Hong Kong Baptist University have had extensive discussions on the Consultation Document with experts in the sector. This article reviews the development and rationales of the Consultation Document and examines its recommendations on teacher training, subsidy schemes, and transition arrangements. The authors' views and counter-proposals are also discussed.
Recruiting and Recognizing Multiple Socially Situated Identities: Consonance and Contradiction in the Pedagogy of a Male Pre-Service Early Educator
Authors: Johnson Amy Suzanne
Published: November 2005

In this article the author uses a socially situated view of identity to take a close look at how one male pre-service early educator shapes his professional identities during a fieldwork experience in a kindergarten classroom. In organizing his pedagogy and relationships this pre-service teacher simultaneously draws from his personal experiences and the discourses of his university teacher education program to perform his teacher identity. The synergy created from this crafting of selves brings a multiplicity to the identities this teacher enacts and recognizes, at times causing dissonance between his plans and his practices. This article suggests that taking a socially situated view of identity is necessary for teacher education, as it provides a theoretical framework for pre-service teachers to consider the multiplicity of identities they draw from when shaping their ‘teacher’ identity.
Patterns of Resistance and Support among Play-Based Teachers in Public Schools
Authors: Erwin Eric J. , Delair Heather A.
Published: November 2005

The authors present the results of a multi-year qualitative study of play-based teachers in the USA. These teachers were often under pressure to alter their curricula in order to conform to more rigid and traditional educational approaches, pressure which has only increased under the present federal administration. The contextual factors surrounding play-based curricula in the early grades of elementary school in the USA are discussed, and the strategies used by these teachers to resist making changes to the curricula against their professional judgment are described in detail. Implications for the field of early childhood education are presented.
Misplacing the Teacher? New Zealand Early Childhood Teachers and Early Childhood Education Policy Reforms, 1984–96
Authors: Duncan Judith
Published: November 2005

Early childhood care and education services in New Zealand have experienced major policy reforms since 1984. Life history interviews were carried out over a two-year period to obtain insight into the impact of the major reforms on the lives of eight kindergarten teachers. This article looks at the teachers' own perceptions of the changes and how they often felt ‘overtaken’ or ‘misplaced’ within the reforms. The teachers' stories are positioned within an environment of competing discourses about education, where newly established discourses worked to relocate or misplace the teachers.
Baby, It's You: International Capital Discovers the under Threes
Authors: Hughes Patrick
Published: November 2005

Well-established international entertainment firms such as Disney and Fisher-Price are joining new start-up firms such as Baby Einstein to create a ‘Baby’ market of products (including toys, games and videos) specifically targeted at children aged 0–3 years. Despite its novelty, the ‘Baby’ market mirrors older markets that these firms have created around other demographic groups (e.g. older children, adolescents and adults) — it redefines its target demographic group around specific commodities and promotes its redefinition as ‘common sense’. The ‘Baby’ firms redefine babies solely as early learners whose potential to learn can be released by these firms' brand-name ‘educational’ or ‘developmental’ products. Many adults buy these products because they accept the firms' redefinition of babies, but other adults ignore the firms' promotional messages and buy the products to give themselves some time apart from their babies. The ‘Baby’ market is significant for children and adults because it changes young children's relationships with adults and because it subordinates local cultural differences to a children's culture that purports to be ‘global’ but has, in reality, extremely narrow foundations in class, race and gender.
Market Childcare: Preliminary Considerations of a ‘Property View’ of the Child
Authors: Goodfellow Joy
Published: November 2005

A recent study of grandparents who were caring for their young grandchildren on a regular basis has prompted an examination of what appears to be a paradox surrounding the provision of childcare services within Australia. The paradox reflects concerns surrounding the balance between a commitment to high-quality childcare services for children and families and the means by which this may be achieved. The choice that grandparents made to care for their grandchildren in caring and loving environments reflects a humanistic perspective. However, some grandparents raised concerns about what may be considered to be a property view of the child that places childcare within the context of a competitive marketplace. This article explores these issues using terminology drawn from the marketplace to traverse what appears to be an abyss between a business orientation and more humanistic approaches to early childhood education. Following the introduction of the paradox and an examination of market characteristics, the article concludes with questions about who the childcare consumer is, a consideration of approaches to consumer protection and reflections on childcare provision.
Introducing Functional Thinking in Year 2: A Case Study of Early Algebra Teaching
Authors: Warren Elizabeth , Cooper Tom
Published: November 2005

Sixty-five Year 2 children with ages ranging from six to seven years participated in a teaching experiment to introduce functional thinking. The results show that young children are capable of generalising, can provide examples of relations and functions, can describe the inverse of such relationships and give valid reasons for how they found the inverse relationships. They also indicate that specific features of instruction assist this process, particularly abstracting underlying mathematical relationships, notably the materials used by the teacher and the children, the types of activities and the questions asked by the teacher. This leads to specific implications for the teaching of arithmetic in the early years.
Is ‘Pedagogik’ as an Academic Discipline in Sweden Just a Phenomenon for the Twentieth Century? The Effects of Recent Education Reform
Authors: Lindberg Leif
Published: November 2005

In this article, the disciplinary transitions of Pedagogik in Sweden during the last century are examined. The material used includes written expert assessments, inaugural lectures, syllabuses, descriptions of teaching and research duties, governmental reports and research activities. Three different periods are detectable. From the first decade until the mid-century, an embryonic stage of psychometrics and intelligence testing could be observed. From mid-century up to the mid-1970s, a neo-behaviouristic paradigm was growing strong and dominated school research and a new teacher education was launched, supported with professorships in school research. From the mid-1970s up to the turn of the century, research was characterised by a variety of research perspectives and approaches. The conception of the discipline seems to be stable but under development. Parliamentarians searched for another knowledge base for teacher education than Pedagogik at the end of this period. There is evidence of Pedagogik moving towards an interdisciplinary approach, but there are also contradictory movements.
Education between Academic Discipline and Profession in Germany after World War II
Authors: Keiner Edwin
Published: November 2005

This article analyses the development of the science of education in Germany between 1947 and 1990, focusing on the relationship between discipline and profession. First, it describes the shifts from a unity concept to a concept of difference between discipline and profession. The second part outlines an analytical concept of discipline based on communication and publication, and describes sources and methods used for an empirical investigation based on educational journals. Part three presents the findings. In view of the occupational profiles of authors, it shows the process of ‘academisation’ of educational communication and the exclusion of ‘profession’. In view of the cognitive texture of science of education, it finds a stable continuity over time. The results support the thesis of a decoupling of the development of the social structure of disciplinary communication and the theoretical concepts.
Demanded and Feared: Transnational Convergencies in National Educational Systems and Their (Expectable) Effects
Authors: Adick Christel
Published: November 2005

The article focuses on the impact of social developments related to ‘globalisation’ on education. In line with the world systems approach as most prominently expounded by Immanuel Wallerstein the author conceptualises globalisation not as a new development, but as the current expression of a long historical process originating in sixteenth century Europe. In order to make use of world systems theory for education, the author makes a strong argument in favour of taking Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and the relative autonomy of the educational system into account. On this basis, the author reviews a secondary analysis based on numerous studies of national education systems with respect to the various degrees of convergence, divergence and variation. It is argued with reference to the neo-institutionalist approach of the Stanford group that convergence and standardisation in education are not questions of affirmation or rejection as much as historical processes that by no means imply a deterministic implementation of an economic rationale.
Accountability of Schools and Teachers: What Should Be Taken into Account?
Authors: De Fraine Bieke , Van Damme Jan , Onghena Patrick
Published: November 2005

The domain of school effectiveness relates to the question of accountability of schools. It is commonly agreed that a correction should be made for student background in order to achieve fair comparisons between schools. But even then, a fair estimation of the schools' value added is not achieved. The composition of the group of students has arguably an effect over and above individual student characteristics. This study addresses the effects of group composition in secondary schools and classes on achievement and well-being. Compositional effects are discussed with reference to type A and type B effects. Type A effects are school effectiveness indices, controlling for student background. Type B school effects are controlled for both student background and school context.
Taking Control of Their Lives? The Youth, Citizenship and Social Change Project
Authors: Evans Karen
Published: November 2005

The question of whether there now exists a period of ‘extended dependency’ in young people's transitions is central to the ‘Youth, Citizenship and Social Change Research Programme’. The project ‘Taking Control’ aims to understand how young adults experience control and exercise personal agency as they pass through extended periods of transition in education and training, work, unemployment and in their personal lives in selected localities experiencing economic transformation in England and the new Germany. Through a combination of questionnaire survey and group interviews the study has investigated how, in different ways, choice and uncertainty can be important dimensions in young people's biographies in contemporary societies. Their experiences and their futures are not exclusively determined by socialising and structural influences, but also involve elements of subjectivity, choice and agency. The research contributes to understanding of the process involved in becoming ‘independent’ and ‘personally effective’ in different settings and has aimed to involve researchers and users (young people, policy-makers and practitioners) in debate about the most effective ways to support transitions in early adult life. While building on methodological approaches and findings of the author's previous Anglo-German research, this research is new and distinctive in its theme of control in the under researched ‘young adult’ phase (up to 25) and in the inclusion of the post communist society of eastern Germany in the selected localities.
The Information Society: Towards an Iron Cage of E-Learning?
Authors: Hautakangas Sami , Kiilakoski Tomi
Published: November 2005

The purpose of this article is to analyse the meaning of different cultural paradigms in the development of educational technology. The article analyses technology critically from the perspective of the philosophy of technology, examines the manifestations of instrumentalism in the curriculum theory and analyses its effects on the different levels of decision-making relative to the design processes of educational technology. It is claimed that instrumental rationality may increase if common curricular models are used when engineering technology. One major problem that affects the development is that instrumentalism and its manifestations on different levels of design and application of educational technology excludes alternatives by its internal logic, while it provides a general problem-solving model which is justifiably rational. The essential feature of educational technology in relation to the topic of the article is the underlying logical framework in which every feature that is to be supported by technology must be given a quantifiable description.
The Three Axes of School Merchandization
Authors: Hirtt Nico
Published: November 2005

Deregulation and privatization of the school systems are the symptoms of the transition from the era of ‘massification’ of education to the era of ‘merchandization’. This process is generated by a new relation between education and the needs of the globalized economy. Education is charged to supply the economy with a skilled and flexible labour force, to stimulate the markets by fashioning the consumer and to become itself a new, profitable market.
What in the World Happens in Classrooms? Qualitative Classroom Research
Authors: Candela Antonia , Rockwell Elsie , Coll César
Published: November 2005

This report synthesizes the discussion that took place in a Conference on Qualitative Classroom Research (‘What in the world happens in classrooms?’), organized by the authors and held in Oaxtepec, México in May 2002. The primary aim was to visualize possible interconnections among the various disciplines represented by the 35 scholars who were present. We faced the initial difficulty of defining what ‘classrooms' are, have been, or will become. This led to a discussion of the various links between classrooms and their social contexts, which posed the problem of working on various spatial and temporal scales. The topic of learning was a constant preoccupation, as we considered that researchers still lack tools to connect specific teaching practices with student outcomes over time, and simultaneously to account for learning in other, non-classroom, spaces. Although qualitative classroom research has shown convincing results on the nature of verbal interaction, a current horizon is the integration on non-verbal modes of representation and communication, in ways that make sense to both researchers and participants. Finally, the knowledge of cultural and historical, global and local, (dis)continuities, provides a new angle for viewing classroom practices, but also entails methodological and conceptual challenges.