Suchergebnisse

This article is based on a case study conducted in an Italian primary school where the interactions between a sightless girl (named Jasmine, aged 8) and her classmates were extensively observed. The initial aim was to understand and describe the problems encountered by the sightless pupil, who acted in a social, organizational and physical environment which was not designed for handicapped people. However, other theoretical issues emerged during the research. The main finding was that sightlessness seems socially and organizationally constructed before it becomes a biological/physical handicap. The organizational processes through which the blindness is slowly and routinely constructed were extensively described.

Pre-one classes are schools' invention to save "developmentally delayed" children from traditional grade retention and its negative effects. This study investigates transition classes from the perspectives of practitioners and parents, documents what transpires inside transition classes and accounts for the discrepancy between research on transition classes and practice. ; Pre-one programs in three RI school districts are examined through classroom observations and in-depth interviews. The analysis considers research on retention and child development, and places the evolution of transition classes in its social, political and economic context. ; Practitioners say transition classes are a humane response to an otherwise rigid system. With research support from the Gesell Institute, they argue that they are doing the best they can given the constraints under which they operate. Parents overwhelmingly prefer pre-one to conventional retention. ; Schools have changed in response to social, economic and political forces. In the name of higher learning standards, reform efforts have inadvertently redesigned kindergartens and first grades to defeat children. When considering the cause of increasing failure in the early grades, policymakers tend to focus on why children are not ready for school rather than why schools are not ready for children. ; Extra-year programs are a short-term solution with long-term consequences for students, the curriculum and schools. Pre-one classes benefit some students by getting them prepared for today's first grade and saving them from experiencing traditional retention. Students whose needs are not met by pre-one, however, risk experiencing multiple retentions, a condition that correlates with dropping out. Segregated from their age cohorts for the remainder of their school years, students may suffer the negative effects of stigma. Discriminatory patterns exist with boys and the chronologically young overrepresented. ; Transition programs raise teacher expectations and prolong the current early primary curriculum with its reliance on instructional approaches suited for older students. They preserve the lockstep system of grades, which perpetuates retention practices. ; To eliminate the need for extra-year programs, policymakers must reconceptualize readiness, eliminate improper assessment practices, offer all students a developmentally appropriate curriculum, re-train teachers to fit classes to children's needs, develop better home-school partnerships and abolish the present grade structure. ; Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-05, Section: A, page: 1393. ; Adviser: Susan Moore Johnson. ; Thesis (Ed.D.)--Harvard University, 1992.

Purpose
In recent years, the field of social studies education has seen renewed interest in using inquiry to teach intradisciplinary concepts and skills. However, prospective primary grade teachers may have few (if any) opportunities to observe classroom teachers modeling inquiry during field placements. Methods courses provide fitting contexts in which to introduce preservice teachers (PSTs) to inquiry as a basis for intellectually challenging, meaningful social studies instruction. The purpose of this paper is to utilize a published inquiry curriculum developed for the New York Social Studies Toolkit (NYSST) Project as a tool to explore PSTs' thinking about teaching first grade economics.


Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study utilized focus groups with two groups of early childhood PSTs enrolled in a social studies methods course (n=28). Secondary data sources included PSTs' handwritten comments on hard copies of the inquiry curriculum and the researcher's analytic memos.


Findings
In the process of critiquing curriculum during focus group interviews, PSTs concentrated on the proposed tasks, evaluated those tasks for their potential to affect children's understanding, and suggested new activities that would promote more active student engagement. Participants recognized the significance of children's prior knowledge and were sensitive to students' family values, although they underestimated young children's capacity for robust discussion and intellectually challenging content.


Originality/value
This study is unique in its use of a published NYSST Project inquiry to explore how PSTs make sense of new curriculum. Its attention to PST education for primary grades contributes to elementary social studies literature. Additionally, this study addresses a general concern in teacher education about the need for PSTs to develop skills in interpreting and adapting curriculum materials. Findings suggest that engaging PSTs in discussions about social studies curriculum can help teacher educators identify latent learning goals for their courses that may be overlooked or assumed unnecessary.