|
3:30 p.m., Dec. 17, 2002-- Three faculty members of the School of Education are serving as editors of prestigious journals in their fields. Nancy Brickhouse, professor and associate director, is editor of Science Education and professors Ralph Ferretti and Charles MacArthur are coeditors of the Journal of Special Education.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Science Education has been published for more than 70 years and is one of the oldest journals in the field, Brickhouse said. She had previously served on its editorial board before being selected as editor.
 |
| Prof. Nancy Brickhouse is editor of Science Education. |
“Science Education covers the field from kindergarten through the university and college level and is written primarily for those who are researchers in science education, although we also have readers among teachers who are interested in research. Last winter, I worked with a group of teacher educators in Sweden and also plan to work with teachers in Massachusetts who are interested in becoming involved in research in science education,” Brickhouse said.
“One of the important things about Science Education is that it is an international journal. There are six issues a year with about 120 submissions each year, and we use a paperless review process, using the web,” she said.
Brickhouse’s research involves gender issues in science education and how students learn to understand the nature of science. “I am interested in epistemological issues—which basically means how we know what we know,” she said.
A graduate of Baylor University, Brickhouse received her master’s degree in chemistry and doctorate in science education from Purdue University and joined the UD faculty in 1988. She has published several articles and chapters in books on science education and currently has a grant from the National Science Foundation on bringing young girls into science.
The Journal of Special Education is targeted to research in all areas of special education for those with developmental disabilities, ranging from inclusion to approaches to teaching children with severe disabilities, cultural diversity in special education and self-determination by those with developmental disabilities.
 |
| Profs. Charles MacArthur (left) and Ralph Ferretti are coeditors of the Journal of Special Education. |
The Journal of Special Education, published by Pro-Ed in Texas, has been one of the leading international research journals in special education for more than 35 years. It publishes research, scholarly commentary and reviews covering all disabilities and issues in special education.
“Because of our broad scope, we are interested in publishing research on issues that affect the entire field, such as inclusion, self-determination, assessment, cultural diversity and discrimination,” MacArthur said. “We have just accepted a special issue on a series of federally funded studies focused on early intervention in the primary grades designed to prevent later learning problems. Of course, we also publish work specific to disabilities, such as learning disabilities or developmental disabilities.”
Ferretti said, “The field of special education has been under increasing pressure to document its efficacy. In part, this reflects the recent interest at the national and state levels in the quality of education.
“However, there are specific concerns that arise from the perceived inferiority of the instruction opportunities afforded kids with disabilities. Because of this concern, we accepted a special issue that is dedicated to documenting the positive outcomes associated with the provision of special education services.”
Ferretti said that he hopes that “these papers provide some balance to the national discussion about the effectiveness of special education.”
Ferretti’s field of research is academic problem-solving for children with disabilities and the instructional techniques and technological tools that promote the development of their critical thinking. A graduate of Queens College of the City University of New York with a doctorate in psychology and developmental disabilities from the University of Alabama, Ferretti joined the UD faculty in 1984.
MacArthur’s research includes writing instruction for students with learning disabilities and the use of technology to support reading and writing. He currently is working on project-based learning in social studies in inclusive classrooms and developing videos for teacher education courses on literacy problems. A graduate Cornell University, MacArthur has a doctorate from American University and joined the UD faculty in 1993.
Article by Sue Moncure
Photos by Kathy Flickinger and Duane Perry
|
