ST THOMAS'S PEDAGOGY – IGNORED, REDISCOVERED, AND APPLIED

St Thomas Aquinas enjoys the repute of having given five proofs of God's existence, the famous 'Five Ways': Respondeo dicendum quod Deum esse probari potest quinque viis – I reply that you have to say that God's existence can be proved in five ways – and here they come! For students of philosophy they make their deadly, inescapable appearance in any and every manual, trotted out with a granite certainty comparable only to that with which we are assured that English Catholics once nearly succeeded in blowing up the Houses of Parliament. Here, however, our concern is with St Thomas's teaching method, rather than with a readers' consensus about what he said, that of a readership largely content to ignore the question: and this article is an endeavour, not indeed to 'flog a dead horse', but simply to explain the pedagogy implicit in the great Summa. That simply means, how to read it with as much ease and understanding as its author intended – and indeed indicated from his opening sentence onwards. The article ends by mentioning some highly regrettable consequences of the neglect, briefly updating (if the paradox be allowed) the post-Tridentine moral tradition, by adding to it from St Thomas's nowadays largely forgotten legacy.     

Teaching Creative Writing Skills to Primary School Children in Hong Kong: Discordance Between the Views and Practices of Language Teachers

Although creativity has been valued in ancient and contemporary Chinese literature, the degree to which creativity is valued and incorporated into teaching by Chinese language teachers is not known. This information is important given that creativity has been increasingly recognized in the education literature as a component of effective writing. The purpose of this study was to compare the views of Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong about creativity and the acquisition of creative writing skills by primary school children, and their teaching practices. A total of 449 Chinese language teachers, employed at primary schools throughout Hong Kong completed a survey questionnaire. The 14‐item questionnaire focused on teachers' views of creativity, their perceptions of how to develop students' creativity, their awareness of creative writing strategies, and teaching practices related to creative writing. With respect to the definition of creativity, teachers identified imagination foremost, followed by inspiration, and original ideas. Teachers identified developing students' confidence, and providing an open atmosphere as essential means of fostering creativity. Despite the apparent value of creativity expressed by the teachers and their familiarity with methods for enhancing creativity, the majority reported using traditional methods of teaching writing. Strategies are recommended for reconciling this discrepancy, and promoting creative writing skills by primary school teachers in Hong Kong and other Chinese speaking societies.     

Death Education in the Primary School [1]

Death Education, a common component of Religious Education (RE) and Personal and Social Education (PSE) at secondary level, is an issue beginning to raise its head within the field of primary education. Is there justification for death, a topic normally a taboo, to be taught about in the primary school? Is death education beneficial for children and are children aged 9‐11years capable of discussing such an abstract concept as the afterlife?

This article attempts to justify the teaching of death education at primary level. It examines research that proposes death education is of relevance to children and suggests, from examining children's conception of the afterlife, that children at the upper end of the primary school are capable of discussing the afterlife and thus of thinking abstractly.     

Creativity in Comic Strip Authors1

The Remote Associates Test of creativity was administered to 17 comic strip authors. These men obtained a higher mean score than any sample tested to date, including research scientists, psychology graduate students, and engineers.     

The Impact of Developmental Issues on Human Relations Training for Preservice Teachers

The developmental stage of an individual receiving human relations training is of critical importance in determining whether the training will be effective and whether it will be incorporated easily or only after overcoming stiff resistance.