Action research and democracy

This contribution explores the relationship between research and learning democracy. Action research is seen as being compatible with the orientation of educational and social work research towards social justice and democracy. Nevertheless, the history of action research is characterized by a tension between democracy and social engineering. In the social-engineering approach, action research is conceptualized as a process of innovation aimed at a specific Bildungsideal. In a democratic approach action research is seen as research based on cooperation between research and practice. However, the notion of democratic action research as opposed to social engineering action research needs to be theorized. So called democratic action research involving the implementation by the researcher of democracy as a model and as a preset goal, reduces cooperation and participation into instruments to reach this goal, and becomes a type of social engineering in itself. We argue that the relationship between action research and democracy is in the acknowledgment of the political dimension of participation: ‘a democratic relationship in which both sides exercise power and shared control over decision-making as well as interpretation’. This implies an open research design and methodology able to understand democracy as a learning process and an ongoing experiment

Punishing childhoods: contradictions in children’s rights and global governance

The article considers efforts to eradicate corporal punishment as an aspect of the global governance of childhood and raises problems relevant to global governance more broadly. The article analyses contradictions in children’s rights advocacy between its universal human rights norms and implicit relativist development model. Children’s rights research is influenced by social constructivist theories, which highlight the history of childhood and childhood norms. Earlier social constructivist studies identified the concept of childhood underpinning the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as a Western construction based on Western historical experiences, which excluded the experiences of childhood in developing countries. More recent social constructivist approaches emphasise how childhood norms are constructed and therefore can be reconstructed. The article outlines problems with attempts to globalise childhood norms without globalising material development. The article discusses the softening of discipline norms in Western societies historically. It indicates problems with children’s rights advocacy seeking to eradicate the corporal punishment of children globally without globalising the material conditions, which underpin the post-industrial ideal of childhood embodied in the CRC

Towards a global paradigm for research in early childhood education

Early years education is now a global activity, as school systems expand and diverse programmes become established in countries throughout the world. We inherit a rich legacy of theories, methodologies and evidence, from the vision of early childhood pioneers to the latest empirical research. I want to step back from particular initiatives and research evaluations to consider the underlying images of the child that inform early childhood research and practice. What would be an appropriate child development paradigm for promoting quality early years education in a global context? I question the adequacy of much theory and research to encompass global childhoods, especially the dangers inherent in current knowledge-imbalances. I ask about the way child development is conceptualised within early childhood work, and the potential of a sociocultural perspective. Finally, I ask about the status of young children themselves within early education research and practice; whether they are viewed as subjects in a child development project, as participants in a process or as consumers of a service. For each theme, I will argue that we are witnessing a paradigm shift which takes us beyond idealisations about normal development, children's nature and their needs. An alternative paradigm emphasises the plurality of pathways through childhood, the respects in which early development and education is a sociocultural process, and the status of children as active participants, with their own perspective on issues in their lives

Do I know you? How brand familiarity and perceived fit affect consumers' attitudes towards brands placed in movies

The present study uses Associative Network Theory to construct a model that explains effects of brand placement in movies. Based on a field experiment (n = 167), we investigate the effects of plot connection and prominence on brand attitude, as well as the mediating role of brand-movie fit and the moderating role of brand familiarity. Results show that more closely connecting a brand to the plot of a movie positively impacts brand attitude by increasing the perceived fit between the brand and the movie. Brand familiarity moderates the effect of the interaction between a placement's plot connection and prominence on brand attitude. When brand familiarity is high, there is no significant effect of plot connection on brand attitude, nor is this effect moderated by the prominence of the placement. However, when brand familiarity is low, both prominently and subtly connecting the brand to the plot of the movie positively influences brand attitude. More importantly, the effect of plot connection is significantly stronger when an unfamiliar brand is prominently placed, than when it is subtly placed