Is Educational Research Any Use?

We begin by examining the widespread scepticism about the value of empirical educational research that is found within sections of the philosophy of education community. We argue that this scepticism, in its strongest form, is incoherent as it suggests that there are no educational facts susceptible of discovery. On the other hand, if there are such facts, then commonsense is not an adequate way of accessing them, due to its own contested and variable nature. We go on to examine the claim that teaching is a moral enterprise whose successful pursuit demands the grasp of moral concepts and their implications. We show that while this is the case, it is a necessary, not a sufficient condition for successful teaching, which also requires a grasp of facts that are relevant to effective teaching and learning. Finally we examine some protocols for educational research. John Gingell, John Gingell is head of philosophy programmes at the University of Northampton, UK. He is the author, with Ed Brandon, of ‘In Defence of High Culture’ (Blackwell 2000) and (with Christopher Winch) ‘Philosophy and Education Policy: a critical introduction’ (Routledge 2004). Christopher Winch teaches at King’s College, London, UK. He is the author of ‘The Philosophy of Human Learning’ (Routledge 1998) and ‘Education, Autonomy and Critical Thinking’ (Routledge, forthcoming, 2005).     

Qualitative research in psychology: Attitudes of psychology students and academic staff

Qualitative research is experiencing a resurgence within the field of psychology. This study aimed to explore the range of attitudes towards qualitative research in psychology held by students and academics, using the model of attitudes by Eagly and Chaiken as a framework. Twenty‐one psychology students and academics were interviewed about their attitudes towards qualitative research. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. While qualitative research was described as inherent to the psychology profession and useful for generating rich data, some participants felt that this approach was not well respected or considered as legitimate as quantitative methods. Reflecting common misperceptions about qualitative research, participants also expressed concerns that qualitative research was too subjective and had limited generalisability. Furthermore, some participants felt that they lacked the skills and confidence necessary to conduct qualitative research. Large investments in time and resources were identified as barriers to undertaking qualitative research. Identifying attitudes towards qualitative research provides a basis for future work in dispelling myths, promoting attitudinal change and increasing both the use and teaching of qualitative approaches in psychology.     

丁文江与中医——对张起钧与伊广谦关于丁文江之死两文的批评

1丁文江其人丁文江(1887-1936),字在君,江苏泰兴人。1902年,16岁东渡日本,过“谈革命,写文章”的生活。1904年转赴英国,先在东部一个斯堡尔丁镇的中学就读二年。1906年考入剑桥大学,由于财力不济,上了半年便赴欧洲大陆游历。1907年夏去英国格拉斯哥,在一所工科学院(Technical College)选课一年。翌年报考伦敦大学医科,应试未能遂愿,于是改入格拉斯哥大学,主修动物学,副科为地质学,最后一年又将地质学列入主科,地理学为副科。1911年从该校“动物学和地质学双科毕业”,4月回国[1]。1913年,丁文江就任民国政府工商部矿政司地质科科长。次年,北…     

协和育才模式与创造性人格

创造性人格是个体创造力的主体部分。协和医科大学的教育模式有助于培养医学生积极的人生态度、高度的自我肯定评价、强烈的内在动机、自主的认知风格以及丰富的情感。在我国高等医学教育改革进程中,普通医学院校应将协和模式与本校实际相结合,加强对医学生创造性人格的培养,增强其创造力,更好地适应国际医学发展的需求。     

THE EFFECTS OF RESPONSE CARDS ON STUDENT AND TEACHER BEHAVIOR DURING VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION

The use of response cards during whole‐class English vocabulary instruction was evaluated. Five low‐participating students were observed during hand‐raising conditions and response‐card conditions to observe the effects of response cards on student responding and test scores and teacher questions and feedback. Responding and test scores were higher for all targeted students in the response‐card condition. The teacher asked a similar number of questions in both conditions; however, she provided more feedback in the response‐card condition.     

Generalizing Teaching Techniques from University to K-12 Classrooms: Teaching Preservice Teachers to Use What They Learn

Preservice teachers learn evidence-based practices in university classrooms but often fail to use them later on in their own K-12 classrooms. The problem may be a missing link in teacher preparation, i.e., failure to teach preservice teachers to generalize newly acquired techniques. Two experiments using multiple baseline designs across participants assessed effectiveness of a model to promote generalization and maintenance of a specific teaching skill. In Experiment 1, preservice teachers’ maintenance of behavior deteriorated from practicum to student teaching when intervention consisted of training to criteria alone. When a programming for generalization component (program common stimuli) was added to the intervention, teachers in Experiment 2 generalized and maintained behavior across settings (student teaching to own classrooms) at a higher average than occurred during intervention.     

心为文字之性:永明延寿判教原则的语言哲学分析

Along with the Chan’s “linguistic turn”, the significance of sutras, which were despised and even regarded as the obstacle to complete enlightenment, became accepted by the Chan. Due to Yanshou’s contributions, the principle that emphasized the diversity of teaching in terms of the relationship between meaning and expression in the Sui and Tang Dynasties has been changed into a system which stressed the importance of the root/branches relationship of the mind and words. According to Yanshou, the conflict between the Chan and doctrinal teachings is resolved by highlighting the significance of words. Yanshou’s work greatly inspired the Chan’s interest in words in the Song Dynasty. __________ Translated from Jiangsu Shehui Kexue 江苏社会科学 (Jiangsu Social Sciences), 2005, (5): 109–113     

对中学教学中教师运用情感因素的现状调查

针对中学教师在教学中运用情感因素现状的大规模问卷调查,结果表明,重知轻情现象在当前的中学教学中十分普遍,并主要表现在虽有一定认识却鲜于教学实践的状况上,其原因主要是缺乏情感教学方面的理论和方法上的指导,也为一些误解所致,而市区和郊区中学、重点和非重点中学在这方面存在的问题基本一致,不存在明显差异。     

PROMOTING RECIPROCAL INTERACTIONS VIA PEER INCIDENTAL TEACHING

This study evaluated peer incidental teaching as a strategy for increasing reciprocal peer interactions by children with autism. Three typical preschoolers were trained as peer tutors for 3 young children with autism. During a classroom free-play session, peer tutors used incidental teaching to obtain verbal labels of preferred toys by children with autism. A multiple baseline across the 3 target children showed replicated positive effects of the intervention. Adult supervision and assistance were then faded systematically, with resulting maintenance of increased reciprocal interactions. Multiple measures of the extent and limits of generalization suggested that 1 child increased interactions in free-play periods throughout the day, but none of the children showed increases at lunch. Teacher and peer ratings supported the social validity of positive findings.