Through the use of some purposeful anachronisms, Tom Stoppard uses his 1993 play "Arcadia" to explore the effects on man's psyche of the transition from Newton's Laws to the laws of thermodynamics and from thermodynamics to chaos theory. However, remarkably similar reactions to these changes are also reflected in works from the actual time periods…

This paper explores some key findings from the recent two-year evaluation of a national pilot to introduce Restorative Practices (RP) in Scottish schools. A Restorative approach emphasises the human wish to feel safe, to belong, to be respected and to understand and have positive relationships with others. It recognises the fundamental importance…

This paper attempts to discuss behaviorism and the construction of knowledge. This review investigates whether behaviorism methodology has any advantages in learning a language in our classroom. This assessment also observes the critics of behaviorism and its weaknesses in a learning environment. This inquiry concentrates on the view point of B.F.…

Any study of the history of psychology must first determine what is to be considered psychology, whether to stick to the relatively continuous Western tradition or to include others (e.g., Eastern, Oriental), and whether to investigate the impact of the socio-cultural events of the time on the views of that period or consider those views in a…

Outlines learning theories and their implications for the role of educational technology: (1) post-Skinner neobehaviorism; (2) Piaget's constructivism; (3) Vygotsky's social constructivism; and (4) situated cognition. (SK)

This article continues a dialogue about the nature of environmental education research by establishing the behaviorist nature of the dominant approach to environmental education research and exploring implications for environmentalism of one aspect of the politics of methods of this dominant behaviorist approach--the tendency to individualize the…

Defines behavioral medicine as multidisciplinary field that combines research methods from behavioral and biomedical sciences. Examines the role of behavior theory in behavioral medicine. Uses new advances in basic research on learning to illustrate that findings from behavioral science have implications for the field of contemporary behavioral…

Discusses behaviorism and the gradual shift to a theory of selectionism. Highlights include the development of behaviorism as a part of psychology, including Skinner's theories; varieties of behaviorism, including behavioral analysis; behaviorology in other disciplinary settings; effects of contingencies upon behavior; and the prospects for…

This article attempts to trace the origins of competency-based training (CBT), the theory of vocational education that underpins the National Training Framework in Australia. A distinction is made between societal and theoretical origins. This paper argues that CBT has its societal origins in the United States of America during the 1950s, 60s and…

Analysis of the key educational concepts of behaviorism contrasts those concepts with parallel thoughts drawn from more humanistic educators and concludes that behaviorist psychology's attempts to reduce complex human learning to simple animal learning prevents educators from recognizing and helping humans to develop their unique inner resources.…

Analyzes associative structures underlying goal-directed behavior using well-developed techniques for studying Pavlovian conditioning. Identifies the roles of the stimulus, response, and reinforcer in instrumental learning. A response and its reinforcer must be associated for acquisition and maintenance of instrumental behavior. (Author/LHW)

A study following five new nurses during the first 6 months of practice explored development of conceptual, theoretical, and practical knowledge. Participants had been educated in a behaviorist paradigm emphasizing task performance over critical thinking. Thus, they did not critically challenge assumptions or question theoretical constructs…

Discussion of formative evaluation focuses on the history of its use by behavioral psychologists, and refutes the notion that it is a new idea. Names that have been used for the evaluation process are reviewed, and examples of formative evaluation in a variety of settings are given. (11 references) (LRW)

Kaufman attempts to identify essential characteristics that distinguish behavioral from nonbehavioral research in industrial relations. He argues that they are distinguished by the psychological model of man that is contained in the theoretical framework used to deduce or test hypotheses. Comments from Lewin, Mincer, and Cummings with Kaufman's…

The narrowly behavioristic model used by the competence movement is part of a New Right process of culture change aimed at displacing the prevailing professional ethic and culture. The competency method oversimplifies the nature of organizations and work as well as social relations. (SK)