13,997 research outputs found

    Behavioral Economics and Developmental Science: A New Framework to Support Early Childhood Interventions

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    Public policies have actively responded to an emergent social and neuroscientific evidence base documenting the benefits of targeting services to children during the earliest period of their development. But problems of low utilization, inconsistent participation, and low retention continue to present themselves as challenges. Although most interventions recognize and address structural and psycho-social barriers to parent’s engagement, few take seriously the decision making roles of parents. Using insights from the behavioral sciences, we revisit assumptions about the presumed behavior of parents in a developmental context. We then describe ways in which this framework informs features of interventions that can be designed to augment the intended impacts of early development, education and care initiatives by improving parent engagement

    Critical Analysis of Problems Encountered in Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge in Science Teaching by Primary School Teachers in Zimbabwe

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    In Zimbabwe the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge in science education to reflect local cultural settings cannot be overemphasized. Current policies on science are situated in Western cultural definitions, thus marginalizing indigenous knowledge, which is misconceived as irrational and illogical. This study used qualitative research methods. Ten teachers were purposively selected and interviewed to gain their insights into problems faced in incorporating indigenous knowledge into science teaching. The study found that the problems were attitudinal, institutional, and systemic. Teachers were found to be conservative “gatekeepers” who exhibited negative attitudes toward indigenous science and supported maintaining the teaching of Western science. The study suggests reforming and transforming science curriculum, policymaking, and teacher education to promote cross-cultural science in Zimbabwean primary schools

    Anti-Bias Work on Self-Identity in a Primary Montessori Classroom

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    This research sought to determine the effect of implementing an anti-bias curriculum on the selfidentity of children in a private primary Montessori classroom. Twenty-two students aged three to six from a highly concentrated urban community in a northeastern coastal city participated in the study. Pre and post discussion questions, a running log of personal observations, visible child-produced artifacts, and an attribute checklists were the four tools used in this study. These tools determined the effect of the anti-bias work on each child’s ability to self-identify. The interactions and artifacts produced specific and traceable data on children’s thoughts and perceptions before and during the implementation of anti-bias work. Data analysis concluded that the study impacted the student’s ability to self-identify positively. To further investigate this work, I will continue to present anti-bias materials, engage in discussions, and provide diverse works for all children to explore in the inclusive environment

    INTEGRATING CULTURALLY SUSTAINING PEDAGOGY TO DISRUPT OPPRESSIVE PRACTICE

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    I present a plan for addressing and remedying a history of institutionalized racism at a midsized elementary school in British Columbia. Mountainview Elementary was designed 25 years ago to serve a White, Christian demographic seeking an elite educational ethos. The school now finds itself serving a demographic that is 90% South Asian with a large proportion of English language learners. The conservative, Eurocentric approaches to education that made the school attractive historically are still deeply engrained in the organizational structure and pedagogy of the school and now support problematic and highly inequitable educational practices that marginalize the South Asian community. Implementing inclusive, equitable, and culturally relevant structures to support the needs of all learners will require identifying and mitigating bias among the staff, incorporating the voices of the South Asian parents, and mobilizing the knowledge of community stakeholders to integrate culturally relevant curriculum into daily practice. At the heart of my approach to solving the problem at Mountainview are notions of social constructivism and social justice theory which support the enhancement of students\u27 sense of self and the reflection of family values. My framework for leading change is based in authentic and distributed approaches to leadership that develop trust and employ shared decision-making. A hybrid model for change implementation, strategies for evaluating and monitoring change, and next steps for achieving lasting organizational change at Mountainview are discussed. Keywords: Eurocentric, Social Constructivism, Social Justice, Authentic Leadership, Distributed Leadership, Inclusive, Equitable, Culturally Responsive, Bias, Institutionalized Racism, South Asia

    “Are staff bias’ affecting the way pediatric patients develop and cope within the hospital setting?”

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    Gender stereotypes are pervasive in our culture – ingrained by long-standing biases (both conscious and unconscious) (Higgins, 2018). The way boys and girls begin to understand and mitigate their world are often related to the gender stereotyping that society has constructed. However, stereotypical expectations not only reflect existing differences, but also impact the way boys and girls interpret themselves and are treated by others. This paper will focus on the way gender stereotyping of hospitalized pediatric patients may impact coping, treatment, and overall care. The author has chosen to examine language especially as it relates to gender specific analogies, incentives for procedures, normalizing activities, gender biased statements and their implications on coping. The author will discuss the potential for next steps that focus on education of staff as well as modeling and reframing of gender biased statements for both staff and caregivers

    Household Choices and Child Development

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    The growth in labor market participation among women with young children has raised concerns about the potential negative impact of the mother's absence from home on child outcomes. Recent data show that mother's time spent with children has declined in the last decade, while the indicators of children’s cognitive and noncognitive outcomes have worsened. The objective of our research is to estimate a model of the cognitive development process of children nested within an otherwise standard model of household life cycle behavior. The model generates endogenous dynamic interrelationships between the child quality and employment processes in the household, which are found to be consistent with patterns observed in the data. The estimated model is used to explore the effects of schooling subsidies and employment restrictions on household welfare and child development.Time Allocation; Child Development; Household Labor Supply

    Reading Elinor Ostrom through a gender perspective

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    This paper concentrates on the scientific work of Elinor Ostrom (1933-2012), who for more than forty years carried out theoretical and empirical research on common-pool resources. Ostrom theorizes that the commons often prevent resource exhaustion more effectively than the state, international institutions, or private owners. However, one of the foundations of commons, as an alternative program to the private/state dualism, ought to be the principle of equality that includes a gender perspective in theory and practice. The goal of this article is to provide thoughtful ways of incorporating gender in economic research from the viewpoint of feminist epistemology and to indicate the place of gender in Ostrom’s work. The methodology of this study could be used for reading economic publications through a gender perspective as well as for inspiring economists to use both gender as a category of analysis and gender-sensitive language in their theoretical and empirical studies

    Full Issue Winter 2017 Volume 12, Issue 1

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    Evolving communication through the inference of meaning

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