Teachers\u27 Experiences with Integrating Play-based Learning into Standards-driven Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe kindergarten teachers’ experiences with integrating play-based learning into standards-based academic curriculum in a school district in South Carolina. Play–based learning experiences were defined as instances which allow children to engage in active, social learning experiences in classrooms. This study explored the question of how kindergarten teachers describe their experiences with integrating play-based learning experiences in their classrooms, the value of play in their classrooms, their role as the adult during play experiences, and the difficulties that they face in making instructional decisions. The theories guiding this study were Froebel’s early childhood learning theory and Vygotsky’s cognitive constructivist theory as they demonstrate the importance of providing play-based learning experiences for kindergarten children. The sample was gathered through a criterion sampling strategy where teachers from a school district in South Carolina were selected because they have experienced the phenomenon being studied. Data collection included interviews, a focus group, and artifact analysis. The data was transcribed and analyzed using memoing and coding to identify emerging themes. Five themes emerged: academic values resulting from play-based learning, functional values resulting from play-based learning, intentional instructional planning, classroom interactions as a key component, and difficulties with implementing play-based learning. The results of the study will provide information to educators about how to best support kindergarten teachers in their pedagogical decision making

Instrumental Music Learning in an Irish Bimusical Context

This study focuses on bimusical instrumental learning, exploring the perceptions, beliefs and musical practices of students who are simultaneously engaged in learning classical and Irish traditional musics. The literature on bimusicality addresses how it has evolved in various social and educational contexts. This research focuses on the bimusical learning processes and practices of students, aged sixteen to twenty years, as they cross between the different learning modes associated with these two musical traditions in an Irish context. This qualitative study adopts a collective case study approach, using a purposive sampling strategy. Data collected include: videotaped lessons, recorded practice/playing sessions, observations of a range of music-making activities, and interviews with the participants, their parents and teachers. The seven participants were chosen from various formal and informal learning contexts and represent a range of instruments: a saxophonist/traditional flute/uilleann piper; two violinist/fiddlers; a cellist/uilleann pipes/whistle player; a classical/traditional harpist/concertina player; a pianist/flute player; and a pianist/accordion player. The research findings highlight the individuality of these students’ bimusical practices and are suggestive of a more nuanced image of the natural bimusical musician than was perhaps indicated in earlier literature. There is evidence of different levels of immersion, participation, commitment and, to some extent, fluency in the participants’ involvement in the two traditions. The research illustrates how issues such as diversity, choice, ease and ownership are important to these students as they sustain their musical involvements in both traditions. The communal/social dimension of music making receives special attention, particularly in the context of group music making. Such concepts as tradition, innovation and identity also emerge as the thesis explores how these young musicians negotiate the many similarities, confluences and contrasts of their individual bimusical worlds

An evaluation of word recognition exercises for grade I

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University, 1946. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Gender quotas do not pose a threat to “merit” at any stage of the political process

The UK Labour Party has long utilised All-Women candidate shortlists in an aim to ensure that female representation in the House of Commons increases. This has always been controversial, however it has been responsible for a noted increase in the number of female MPs in general and female Labour MPs in particular. Here, Mary Nugent and Mona Lena Krook dispel some of the myths around All-Women Shortlists, and show that gender quotas do not pose a threat to ‘merit’, and that the diversity they have fostered has brought about a number of important democratic outcomes

Not Too Young to Run? Age requirements and young people in elected office

Promoting youth representation in parliaments is a growing global priority. To promote youth leadership and more inclusive politics, youth organizations in Nigeria mobilized successfully for a constitutional reform to lower the eligibility age to run for political office. In this paper, we draw on global data to assess whether lower eligibility ages will in fact lead to higher levels of youth participation. We find that lower age requirements positively affect the representation of the youngest and next youngest cohorts in parliament. We draw on qualitative interviews and gender literature to theorize that lower age limits have immediate and longer-term "mobilizing effects", shifting the calculations of potential candidates in terms of the age at which they first decide to run for office

Journeys to the food bank : exploring the experience of food insecurity among postsecondary students

xi, 304 leaves ; 29 cmFood insecurity is a global issue giving rise to health inequities affecting populations at all life stages. Postsecondary student food insecurity exists, yet is an understudied phenomenon. To provide insight into the perspectives and experiences of food insecurity in the postsecondary population, university students (n=15) who accessed a campus food bank were interviewed utilizing person-centered interviewing. The social determinants of health (SDH) and structural violence theory provided conceptual guidance for the qualitative study. Students were found to lead complex lives, shouldering many responsibilities. They valued their health; however, they lacked the necessary supports to maintain adequate nutritional intake. They employed multiple strategies to mitigate their food insecurity issues, while concurrently making sacrifices and experiencing suffering. Three economic pathways leading students to food bank use included shortfall, cumulative and catastrophic pathways. This research offers increased understanding of food insecurity in this vulnerable population, exposing inequities which must be addressed. Keywords

Not Too Young to Run? Age requirements and young people in elected office

Promoting youth representation in parliaments is a growing global priority. To promote youth leadership and more inclusive politics, youth organizations in Nigeria mobilized successfully for a constitutional reform to lower the eligibility age to run for political office. In this paper, we draw on global data to assess whether lower eligibility ages will in fact lead to higher levels of youth participation. We find that lower age requirements positively affect the representation of the youngest and next youngest cohorts in parliament. We draw on qualitative interviews and gender literature to theorize that lower age limits have immediate and longer-term “mobilizing effects”, shifting the calculations of potential candidates in terms of the age at which they first decide to run for office

Prospectus, April 12, 1989

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1989/1007/thumbnail.jp

The consequences of tobacco tax on household health and fi nances in rich and poor smokers in China: an extended cost-eff ectiveness analysis

Background In China, there are more than 300 million male smokers. Tobacco taxation reduces smoking-related premature deaths and increases government revenues, but has been criticised for disproportionately aff ecting poorer people. We assess the distributional consequences (across diff erent wealth quintiles) of a specifi c excise tax on cigarettes in China in terms of both fi nancial and health outcomes. Methods We use extended cost-eff ectiveness analysis methods to estimate, across income quintiles, the health benefi ts (years of life gained), the additional tax revenues raised, the net fi nancial consequences for households, and the fi nancial risk protection provided to households, that would be caused by a 50% increase in tobacco price through excise tax fully passed onto tobacco consumers. For our modelling analysis, we used plausible values for key parameters, including an average price elasticity of demand for tobacco of –0·38, which is assumed to vary from –0·64 in the poorest quintile to –0·12 in the richest, and we considered only the male population, which constitutes the overwhelming majority of smokers in China. Findings Our modelling analysis showed that a 50% increase in tobacco price through excise tax would lead to 231 million years of life gained (95% uncertainty range 194–268 million) over 50 years (a third of which would be gained in the lowest income quintile), a gain of US$703 billion ($616–781 billion) of additional tax revenues from the excise tax (14% of which would come from the lowest income quintile, compared with 24% from the highest income quintile). The excise tax would increase overall household expenditures on tobacco by $376 billion ($232–505 billion), but decrease these expenditures by $21 billion (–$83 to $5 billion) in the lowest income quintile, and would reduce expenditures on tobacco-related disease by$24·0 billion ($17·3–26·3 billion, 28 income quintile). Finally, it would provide fi nancial risk protection worth$1·8 billion ($1·2–2·3 billion), mainly concentrated (74%) in the lowest income quintile. Interpretation Increased tobacco taxation can be a pro-poor policy instrument that brings substantial health and fi nancial benefi ts to households in China