Toward a Programmatic Pragmatism: A Response to Naoko Saito

Naoko Saito has made a good case for emphasising the 'tragic' dimension within Dewey's pragmatism. My response suggests ways in which Saito has not gone far enough. She does not adequately move beyond 'procedural pragmatism' to a 'programmatic pragmatism' which offers substantive articulations about the human good. In addition, her emphasis on 'Emersonian perfectionism' is misguided. Both the language of 'perfectionism' and the figure of Emerson are unsuitable for the project she intends. Speaking more concretely of a 'tragic–comic meliorism' allied to the novelist Hawthorne, it is suggested, provides a more fruitful path.     

A Pastoral Care Teacher's Theory of Action, Interactive Thinking and Effective Teaching Practice

Through the employment of a hybrid research model blending concept mapping and stimulated recall methodologies, this study explored the nature of a Pastoral Care Teacher's theory of action; the relationship between those beliefs and ideals and interactive thinking; and specific actions in effectively teaching a Pastoral Care issue. In undertaking the research a group of Year Eight boys at the Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) provided the context. The study shows that: (i) the teacher possessed a broad knowledge and understanding of the nature of Pastoral Care at Churchie; and (ii) the lessons undertaken, the pedagogy employed, and the knowledge elicited closely resembled the teacher's philosophies and thinking.     

Engaging Students with Learning Disabilities in Instructional Discourse: A Commentary on the REACH Papers

The four articles on instructional discourse contributed by the members of the REACH project offer rich examples of the learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities (LD) in upper‐elementary and middle‐school content classrooms. In this commentary, I highlight possible reasons for variations in instructional engagement within and across the studies, discuss the challenges to engaging students with LD in discipline‐based instruction, and stress the value for the LD field of greater attention to instructional discourse.     

Early Literacy Skills in African-American Children: Research Considerations

The poor reading achievement of African-American children in urban schools is well established. African-American children from low-income homes may be at particular risk for reading difficulties, although middle-income children often fare poorly as well. Intervention efforts have focused on children in kindergarten through fifth grade. This article suggests that prevention efforts must begin prior to kindergarten entry. Several key variables that may influence young children's performance, including poverty, general oral language skills, dialectal variations, home literacy practices, standardized testing bias, and teacher expectations, are explored. Future directions for research addressing emergent literacy in African-American children are discussed throughout.     

Basic skill requirements for selected Army occupational training courses

This study investigated the basic cognitive skills soldiers must possess before entering the Army, skills that are needed for successful completion of entry-level training. Judgments of 126 instructors from 25 military occupational specialties were obtained on 129 candidate skills, which resulted in the identification of 55 basic skills. Factor analysis of these 55 skill items resulted in 11 interpretable factors. Mean scores on the factors were compared across factors and across Army training schools. The results of the study suggest that, for all occupational specialties studied, skills related to the learning process are as crucial as traditional academic skills for successful training course completion. These results have important implications for training for the Army as well as for industry.     

汉字英词:英汉语言的本质特征差异探讨

从语源上看，汉英相去甚远，两种语言最大的差异是汉字英词。汉语和英语分属汉藏和印欧语系。但汉英又同属曲折变化较少的分析性语言，也都不是典型的综合型语言。它们之间既有不同之处，也有共通的东西。本文研究的主要是差异性。     

Financing Universities in the Federal Republic of Germany

Financing universities in times of increasing demands in all fields of public expenditure is a problem of nearly all European counnies not least because of the ongoing process of European integration. Comparing the different national systems of financing universities may be a means to foster cooperation and competition in a step by step growing network of universities in the European Community. This paper tries to give some insights into the German system; special considerotion is given to its federal structure and its implications for the universities' financthg system, because these problems may be of interest to other countries also. Of course this survey cannot be complete; details must be left to detailed information. The first part of the paper gives a survey of the higher education system in the Federal Republic of Gennany. The second part deals with the sources of funds, including the structure of mong streams to the universities. The third part refffs to the restrictions in using state money in the universities and the problems resulting; the fourth and final part concentrates on problems of the future, especially getring third party finds, and the diversifiation. of financing.