Greetje Timmerman

Sexual harassment in northwest Europe - A cross-cultural comparison

A substantial body of research addressing the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace has been developed over the past decade. In this article we consider the complexity of cross-cultural comparisons of the incidence rates of sexual harassment and present the results of our research on sexual harassment in the workplace in 11 northern and western European countries. In 1997 we reviewed 74 surveys and qualitative studies conducted between 1987 and 1997. Sexual harassment appears to be a workplace problem in all countries, although the incidence varies considerably. We argue that differences in incidence rates are not for the most part a reflection of national cultural differences, but are partly true to the definitions and methodology used in the studies. This implies that higher reported incidence figures in one country do not necessarily mean a higher prevalence of sexual harassment compared to other countries. Furthermore, sexual harassment research in the countries reviewed appears to be dominated by a one-sided, uniform and heterosexual power perspective. The implications of the exclusion of cultural background and sexual orientation in theory and policy are discussed.

Incidence and methodology in sexual harassment research in northwest Europe

Abstract A substantial body of research addressing the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace has been developed over the past decade. In this article, we present the results of our review study of research on sexual harassment in the workplace in 11 Northern and Western European countries and consider the complexity of cross-cultural comparisons of the incidence rates of sexual harassment. In 1997, we reviewed 74 surveys and qualitative studies conducted between 1987 and 1997. Sexual harassment appears to be a workplace problem in all countries, although the incidence varies considerably. We argue that differences in incidence rates are not, for the most part, a reflection of national cultural differences, but are partly due to the definitions and methodology used in the studies. This implies that higher reported incidence figures in one country do not necessarily reflect a higher prevalence of sexual harassment compared to other countries. Less speculative is the comparison of incidence figures of sexual harassment from the perspective of organizational culture. Several organizational characteristics seem to facilitate the occurrence of sexual harassment.

Teacher educators modelling their teachers.

The teacher educator is always also a teacher, and as a role model may have an important impact on student teachers’ views on teaching. However, what is the impact of these teacher educator’s own role models on their teaching views and practices? Do teacher educators simply imitate the positive role models and reject the bad? It is already clear that teachers and teacher educators learn more than how to play a role from their role models. Becoming a teacher or a teacher educator is a long‐term process of developing a professional identity, with role models being just one of the contributing factors. This study of 13 teacher educators addresses the impact of schoolteacher role models as part of the socialisation process of becoming a teacher.

A comparison between unwanted sexual behavior by teachers and by peers in secondary schools

This study explores differences and similarities between sexual harassment of students by teachers and by peers. Respondents were adolescents in 22 secondary schools, randomly selected in 2 regions in the Netherlands. Of the 2808 students 512 (18%) reported unwanted sexual experiences at school in the past 12 months: 370 girls (72%) and 142 boys (28%). Using discriminant function analysis we found 2 qualitatively different types of unwanted sexual behavior. Unwanted sexual behavior by school personnel is more often nonverbal in nature, physical, or a combination of different sorts of behavior and is more often directed at girls. Students experience teacher harassment as more upsetting than unwanted sexual behavior by their peers. They also experience more psychosomatic health problems when harassed by teachers. Unwanted sexual behavior by peers is more often of a verbal nature. Students experience less psychosomatic health problems when harassed by peers.

Pedagogical professionalism and gender in daycare

In the Netherlands, moral panic about boys’ education and behavioural problems has led to public concern about the almost exclusively female environment in which young boys in daycare find themselves. Female daycare workers are attacked for creating a feminized culture in daycare centres. In this article we explore the extent to which these media stereotypes about female workers in daycare coincide with their own ideas and experiences of their work. In 2004 we conducted a (preliminary) study involving more than 80 childcare students in an intermediate vocational training programme in Social Pedagogic Work to qualify them to work in daycare centres in the Netherlands. The results of the study do not support the binary stereotypical representation of women’s professional and personal characteristics as an adequate picture of these trainees’ opinions of their work in early childhood care.

Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality): A longitudinal, multi-domain study on sexual development of Dutch adolescents

This study gives an overview of Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality), a four-wave longitudinal study of 1297 Dutch adolescents. First, the sample, measures and four sub-projects are described. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine how key variables from the individual domain (impulsivity), parent domain (parent–adolescent relationship quality), peer domain (involvement with peers) and media domain (time spent on social networking sites), and their interactions predict changes in the experience with sexual behaviour of adolescents across time. Results showed that higher levels of impulsivity, lower quality of relation with parents, more frequent involvement with peers and more time spent on social networking sites at baseline predicted increases in sexual experience of adolescents over a subsequent 1.5-year time period. No interaction effects among the domains were found. The findings highlight the significance of a multi-domain approach to the study of adolescent sexual development.

Teaching reading and writing in local language using the child-centred pedagogy in Uganda

ABSTRACT Uganda introduced the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction in primary schools in 2007. This was meant to promote interaction and participation in the learning process and improve childrens proficiency in reading and writing. Drawing elements of interaction and participation from the socio-cultural theory, the child-centred pedagogy was introduced. This intervention, however, did not yield the expected results. Children taught in the local language still had problems in reading and writing. A participatory action research framework was used to gain insights into the childs learning to read and write within a re-emphasised child-centred pedagogy. In this paper, we argue that involving children at individual and group levels, conducting continuous assessment and using appropriate instructional materials help children to learn and improve their proficiency in reading and writing. Some pupils, however, still find difficulties in reading three syllable words, constructing simple sentences and punctuating their work. For the children to improve their proficiency in reading and writing in their mother tongue, the teachers need to use more instructional materials, carry out continuous assessment in small groups and design learning activities that promote childrens interaction and participation.

Young people’s perceptions of relationships and sexual practices in the abstinence-only context of Uganda

Abstract The Ugandan government has been criticised on several grounds for its abstinence-only policies on sexuality education directed towards young people. These grounds include the failure to recognise the multiple realities faced by young people, some of whom may already be sexually active. In the study reported on this paper, students’ perceptions of relationships and sexual practices were analysed to obtain an understanding of how young people construct and negotiate their sexual agency in the context of abstinence-only messages provided in Ugandan secondary schools and at the wider community level. Ten in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted with students aged 15–19 years (N = 55) at an urban co-educational secondary school. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using grounded theory. Findings show that students engage in sexual activity despite their belief that contraception is ineffective and their fears for the consequences. Students’ age, gender, financial capital and perceived sexual desire further increase risk and vulnerability. To improve their effectiveness, school-based sexuality education programmes should support students to challenge and negotiate structural factors such as gender roles and sociocultural norms that influence sexual practices and increase vulnerability and risk.

Het woord is aan de groepsleiding

De huidige professionalisering van het werk in de kinderopvang komt vooral tot uitdrukking in het toegenomen belang van de educatieve functie. In zijn oratie Van opvang naar opvoeding (2002) wijst hoogleraar kinderopvang Tavecchio op deze verschuiving in orientatie van het beroep van groepsleid(st)er. Het gaat hier om een verschuiving van een zorgorientatie – waarin het oppassen en verzorgen van kinderen centraal staat – naar een pedagogische orientatie, gericht op het ondersteunen en stimuleren van kinderen. De pedagogische functie van de kinderopvang is zo belangrijk geworden dat de kwaliteit van de kinderopvang er mede aan wordt afgemeten (Riksen-Walraven, 2004).