Service learning and the practice of social justice and care

The values of a social justice pedagogy in teacher education are assumed to be firmly established in South African higher education. This article discusses how serviced learning (SL) can provide practical experience of caring and serve the promotion of the ideals of social justice in two initial teacher education programmes. However, an analysis of data in this case study shows that, although SL practice has served as a platform for social justice and for care as two basic educational values, participants were not yet able to verbalize and theorize these values. They were also not able to embed these values in their reflection about service as an inherent component of education. With data from different role players in a number of SL projects, we show that the students’ discourse of what it means to be a caring teacher in a just society has not yet been developed despite the successful practical experience. It was found that, although the students had been building a practice ‘platform’ for service, they had not yet been able to articulate the conceptual intersect of care and social justice clearly. With this epistemological notion in mind, two main themes from the data analysis are discussed: 1) How SL shifted student learning from ideas ‘about’ service to implemented service, and 2) how the practical experience promoted reciprocity in inter-institutional and inter-generational communities of practice.     

'Good Enough Parenting': parental disability and child protection

This paper presents the findings of research into Children's Court practice in Victoria (Australia) regarding child protection matters involving parental disability. The research examined Court records of hearings and considered the practices of the Court in the light of the particular needs of parents with a disability. The research found that such parents were often unrepresented and that formal Court interventions only infrequently made recommendations regarding the support, training and advice such parents needed in order to retain or regain care of their children. The anecdotal experience of parents with a disability that their capacity to care was likely to be more harshly judged than that of non-disabled parents, was supported. The research also suggested that the assumption of a nexus between parental disability and inability to care must be challenged, given the imperatives of legislation and child protection philosophy.     

Statistical Classification Methods in Consumer Credit Scoring: a Review

Credit scoring is the term used to describe formal statistical methods used for classifying applicants for credit into 'good' and 'bad' risk classes. Such methods have become increasingly important with the dramatic growth in consumer credit in recent years. A wide range of statistical methods has been applied, though the literature available to the public is limited for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Particular problems arising in the credit scoring context are examined and the statistical methods which have been applied are reviewed.     

Research Notes the Relationship Between Admissions Criteria and Academic Performance in an MSW Program

The authors report on an investigation of the correlation between admissions criteria and academic performance at one state university. The admissions data used in this study were collected from 654 MSW students who attended the school from 1985 to 1992. Test scores on a comprehensive exam taken by these MSW students prior to graduation were used as the measure of academic performance. The authors found that two admissions criteria, undergraduate GPA and GRE score, and two applicant characteristics, gender and race, were significantly correlated with academic performance.     

Family,Work, Work‐Family Spillover,and Problem Drinking During Midlife

Using ecological theory as a theoretical framework, this study systematically examined the associations between multiple dimensions of family relationship quality, work characteristics, work‐family spillover, and problem drinking among a national sample of employed, midlife adults (n= 1,547 ). Multivariate analyses confirmed that work and family microsystem factors were associated with problem drinking above and beyond individual characteristics. Consistent with previous research, results indicated that a higher level of marital disagreement and more work‐related pressure were associated with higher odds of problem drinking. Results also indicated that a higher level of positive spillover from family to work was associated with lower odds of problem drinking, whereas a higher level of positive spillover from work to family was associated with higher odds of problem drinking. Psychological well‐being did not account for the association between work and family factors and problem drinking. Associations were similar for men and women.     

Secrecy Surrounding the Physical Abuse of Child Athletes in Australia

Over the past two decades there has been a growing awareness that sport may not be a positive experience for all children. For example, we know that some children experience sexual abuse in the context of organised sport, and that these offences are often committed by trusted adults, including coaches and club officials. However, less attention has been given to the physical abuse of child athletes. This paper presents a study that explored children's experiences of organised sport, as recounted by young people between the ages of 18 and 25 years in Australia. The study explored the experience of child physical abuse in organised sport including violence, overtraining, and training while injured. A mixed methods research design produced 107 survey responses and 10 in-depth interviews with young adults. Most respondents reported the positive impact that participating in sport had had on their development, but more than a third of the respondents also described experiences of overtraining, being forced to train when injured or of direct physical violence. Drawing upon a thematic analysis of the qualitative data, a conceptual model has been developed and is presented to assist in the understanding of the dynamic of secrecy, which may facilitate ongoing physical harm to children in this context.     

Good Intentions - Unpredictable Consequences

A commendable degree of success has been achieved in relocating people with learning disabilities from residential institutions into ordinary community settings. Nevertheless, a challenging task remains if people with all levels of learning disabilities are to be enabled to become meaningfully involved in ordinary community activities. The author argues that a structured day service has a vital role to play in this process, but that, unless the underlying problems that have continued to frustrate the development of a coherent national day care strategy are objectively reappraised and addressed, the true potential of the 'care in the community' policy will not only never be realised, but could actually become imperilled. This paper offers evidence to support the view that current policy trends are based on normalisation theories that, although sound and commendable in principle, have been misunderstood and misused. Consequently, the premises upon which these policy trends are based are fundamentally flawed.     

Causes of Placement Breakdown for Foster Children Affected by Alcohol

A sample of 63 licensed foster parents who had fostered a child who was diagnosed with a disorder in the fetal alcohol spectrum were asked “What would make you consider ending a placement with a child who has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?” The responses to this question were grouped together by foster parents. The grouping data were subjected to multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Results indicated that foster parents would consider ending a placement if they felt they were being taken for granted, burned out, had insufficient information about the child, or if the child had serious behavior problems, caused harm to others in the home, or did not comply with household rules and routines. Discrepancies between the literature and study results were described and suggestions for future research were made.