BOO K REVIEWS 

Aldrich, Richard. School and Society in Victorian Britain: Joseph Payne and the New 
World of Education. New York and London: Garland, 1 995. xxvi + 3 1 7p. ISBN 0-

8 1 53- 1 5 58-9 (hardcover) 

This surprisingly readable text is an excellent combination 
of biography, educational theory and history of education. 

In Victorian England, government funding of education did 
not begin until 1 838 with a derisory grant to voluntary bodies of 
less than the annual grant for the upkeep of the royal stables. A 
national system of publicly funded schooling did not materialise 
until the Education Act of 1 870. Hence, for most of the century, 
the history of schooling in England is the history of private 
provision ranging from schools established by the main religious 
denominations to Dickensian-type, individual initiatives by 
persons often barely literate themselves. Though clearly 
inadequate to supply the educational demands of a burgeoriing 
industrial population, these private initiatives did occasionally 
give birth to a surprising variety of innovative contributions to 
the theory and practice of education. One such was the work of 
Joseph Payne. 

Of humble parentage in Suffolk, but of formidable 
intellectual capacity, Payne was largely self educated, 
mastering the Classics and several modem languages. He 
became a teacher in London at the age of nineteen, established 
his own grammar school at Denmark Hill in partnership with 
his mentor, David Fletcher, and eventually became a founder 
member of the College of Preceptors (the first professional 
association charged with responsibility for licensing 
schoolmasters under its Royal Charter of 1 849) as well as its 
first Professor, the first Professor of Education in England. 
He also wrote tirelessly on the theory and practice of education, 
thus supplementing a meagre income from teaching into a 
comfortable living in a four storey house at Kildare Terrace in 
Basyswater. 

Several chapters focus on Payne's work as Professor of 
Education and the theory of educational practice which he 
articulated in his lectures for the College of Preceptors. As a 
young teacher he had experienced the work of Jean Joseph 
Jacotot, a French educationist, one of the many continental 
scholars working in the Enlightenment spirit of Helvetius '  
conclusion that "L'education peut tout": a fifty page pamphlet 
on Jacotot's ideas bad been Payne's first profitable publication 
at the age of twenty two, and tlie source of his subsequent 
influence. 

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Payne's work in education was what we would now call 
'inclusionist, '  especially with reference to religion (he was a 
Congregationalist), class and gender. Believing that "the mind 
has properly no sex," he was a critic of the intellectually 
impoverished schooling usually provided for middle and upper 
class girls, with its excessive emphasis upon ' accomplishments, '  
and was an early advocate o f  co-educational schools. He was a 
vigorous critic of the exclusiveness of the great English Public 
Schools like Eton. Though not wanting their abolition, he was 
an advocate of reform, deploring both the corruption of their 
everyday academic and leisure routines, and the privileged access 
of their graduates to power and influence in the life of the nation. 
He was equally critical of the elementary schools provided for 
the majority of working class children, castigating them for the 
low attainment of many of their 'graduates' and looking to the 
improvement of popular education through innovations in 
pedagogy and a raising of the professional standards ofteachers. 
It was this which was his central preoccupation at the College of 
Preceptors. As himself a practitioner of private education, he 
nevertheless recognised the dark side of complete free enterprise 
in education, when "any man or woman, indeed any boy or girl, 
however ignorant, however lacking in moral principles or 
business acumen, could set up a school." 

Though Payne's writings were influential at the time in the 
wider educational milieu in England and, posthumously, in the 
United States, he has largely been neglected by mainstream 
historians of education, possibly because he remained an outsider 
so far as the English political and educational Establishments 
were concerned. However, unusually for a history of education, 
this book reads like a novel. Alongside the clear and scholarly 
exposition of Payne 's educational theory, the accounts of his 
early life as a teacher, of his successful marriage and family life, 
of the politics of his time at the College of Preceptors are also 
clearly sketched in a work which will be of interest to anyone 
concerned with the work of schools. 

Harold Entwistle is Professor Emeritus of Education at 
Concordia U niversity, Montreal, Quebec, Canada , and has 
written widely on education .  

Education Libraries • Vol 1 9, No. 2 



Shimaha ra, Nobuo K. and Akira Sakai, Learning to Teach in two cultures: Japan and 
the United States (Reference Books in International Education; vol. 27. Garland 
Reference Library of Social Science; vol. 870) New York : Garland, 1 995, 259p. 
(includes bibliographical reference and index) ISBN-0-8 1 53- 1 08 1 -1 ($42); 0-
8 1 53- 1 923- 1 (pbk.) ($ 1 8.95) 

Shim ahara and Sakai's well-researched book is part of a 
series dealing with comparative and international education. 
How do beginning teachers in both cultures learn to teach? 
The authors' assumption is that "learning to teach is a culturally 
patterned process." Their ethnographic study focuses on 
beginning elementary schoolteachers in the United States and 
Japan. The introductory chapter presents their aims and 
research methodology while the body of the book is split into 
two parallel parts reflecting their American and Japanese 
narratives. 

The authors present detailed case studies that look at 
classroom management, patterns of control and the development 
of teaching strategie# in both countries. Throughout, however, 
similarities and differences in teaching between the two are noted. 

Social interaction and cooperation among students in Japan 
contrast with American emphasis on "the individualization of 
learning and . .. dialogue only between students and the 
instructor." The Japanese elementary school teachers balance 
subject matter, special activities, and moral education. (The 28 
moral education themes at this level are discussed on p. 164.) 

The Japanese cultural theory of teaching, ethnopedagogy, 
stresses close interpersonal relationships between teacher and 
students, in contrast to American students who are expected to 
be independent and self-disciplined. 

The case studies are embedded in a broader context that is 
historical, cultural, and particular tci each country. The 
concluding chapter compares American and Japanese schools 
and teaching, and touches briefly on teacher education and its 
problems. The reference list is extensive and reflects publications 
in both countries. 

This is not an easy book to read but it is well worth the 
effort. Its obvious audience is the beginning elementary 
schoolteacher but because of its scope, scholarship and wealth 
of information it will provide a resource to interested scholars 
and professionals in related fields.� � 7 

Marika Asimakopulos, a former high school teacher, is now 
a reference librarian at the Physical Sciences & Engineering 
Library, McGi l l  University, Montreal, Canada . 

McAllister, Elizabeth A. New Teachers Helping New Teachers : Preservice Peer 
Coaching. Bloomington, IN : ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and 
Communication : EDINFO Press, 1 995. 1 1 9 p. ISBN 1 -883790-1 4-X 

This book is the result of a two-and-one-half-year-long study 
of preservice peer coaching with 135 preservice teachers at 
Towson State University (Maryland). Peer coaching is defined 
as in-class assistance provided to a pre-service teacher by a fellow 
practicing teacher as opposed to the sponsor teacher or academic 
teacher educator. The research concludes that peer coaching is 
a highly successful method for helping pre-service teachers. 
Benefits include the application of new skills learned in on­
campus methodology courses, reflective thinking, adaptation of 
instruction and encouragement of collegial analysis as a means 
of continued professional growth. 

The authors provide examples of actual coaching scenarios 
and explain the necessary steps needed to train for coaching. Also 
included are observations concerning coaching, such as the 
benefits, the problems, and the preparation of supervising sponsor 
teachers. A helpful "New Teachers Peer Coaching Workbook" is 
included that makes application of this method straightforward. 

Education Libraries • Vol 1 9, No. 2 

The authors did an excellent job in presenting the practical 
applications of their research; however, more findings and 
discussion from the authors concerning the prevalence of peer 
coaching and teacher educator remedies for problems 
encountered by students in the classroom would have 
strengthened the chapter entitled "Reflections on Pre service Peer 
Coaching". As a former teacher, I believe that the addition of 
this experience would be an improvement in teacher preparation 
and even a benefit to the experienced teacher. 

This title represents new and interesting ideas about the 
art of teaching and is highly recommended for college and 
university libraries. 

Deanna Britton is Education B ibl iographer and Head of the 
Socia l  Sciences Department, The University of Georgia 
Libraries, Athens, Georgia .  

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Schmitz, C.M., & Gray, R.A. (Comps.). ( 1 995). Smoking: The Health Consequences of 

Tobacco Use: An Annotated Bibliography with Analytical Introduction (Science 
and social responsibility series, no. 2). Ann Arbor, Ml:  Pierian Press. ISBN: 0-
87650-343- 1 ,  320pp., paper. 

Cecilia Schmitz and Richard Gray have compiled this 
extensive annotated bibliography on the post 1980 bio-medical 
evidence related to smoking and the corresponding health 
consequences of tobacco use, published in the English language. 

In their Introduction, Schmitz and Gray state that they had hoped 
to achieve three main objectives in the preparation of this source: 
the primary aim was to review the bio-medical evidence relating _ 

to nicotine as an addicting drug and to the ingestion of tobacco 
as a major cause of disease, as a contributing cause of disease, 
and as a complicating factor in the production of disease; 

secondly, they sought to gather the social science evidence 
relating to what might be called a collective portrait of smokers, 
particularly in the United States; and finally, to review the 

literature on smoking cessation and cessation techniques. The 
compilers expect that this tool will be used primarily for the 

benefit of those who wish to understand the scientific basis for 
the surgeon general's warnings, that smoking causes cancer, 
cardiovascular diseases, and chronic obstructive lung diseases, 

in addition to the many diseases, defects, and elevated risks of 
mortality that are consequent on maternal smoking during 
pregnancy. 

Schmitz, with Auburn University, and Gray, a senior editor 
at Pierian Press as well as a former smoker and heart by-pass 

surgery patient, have done an admiral job in attempting to meet 
these objectives. This resource certainly reveals the scientific 
basis for the surgeon general 's warnings proclaimed on every 
package of cigarettes. What is especially impressive is the fact 

that each of the 1 06 entries includes an extremely lengthy 
synopsis of the study (2-3 pgs. on average), thus reducing the 

need to consult the actual publication. The bibliography is 
organized in a useful manner: Gray's analytical Introduction 
provides a historical chronology of the literature, followed by 
the main body of the bibliography which is arranged in a 

classified order. Chapters include : Addiction; Cancer; 
Cardiovascular diseases; Chronic obstructive lung diseases; 
Women, smoking, and pregnancy; Tobacco-related diseases, 
weight gain, and smokeless tobacco; Nutrition and environmental 
tobacco smoke; Psychology and fertility; Smoking career; and 
Smoking cessation. Author and title indexes are included. 

The only criticisms this reviewer has is the lack of reference 
to the sources used to retrieve the material included within this 

bibliography; for example, what databases and/or indexes were 
consulted and the various search strategies utilized for each. It 

is stated that all the books, articles and reports included in this 
resource are significant bio-medical and social science studies 
on tobacco use and health. A definition within the Scope Notes 
of what constitutes "significant" would also have been helpful. 

Aside from this, it is expected that Smoking: The h ealth 
consequences of tobacco use: will serve as a useful resource for 

those performing research in the area, and will be a worthwhile 
addition to the collections of school, public, and academic 

libraries. Finally, this book is sure to help convince those who 
are debating about quitting smoking after they read the 
overwhelming and consistent scientific evidence related to the 
health risks of this addictive drug. 

This publication may be ordered from: Pierian Press, Box 1808, 
Ann Arbor, MI 48106; Tel:  (800) 678-2435; Fax: (3 13)  434 6409. 
Cost: $30 (a postage and handling charge may apply). 

Anne Wade is Assistant Professor of Library Studies, and 
Manager of the Information Resource Centre, Centre for 
the Study of Classroom Processes, Education Dept., at 
Concordia University, Montreal. 

Kuhlthau, Carol D., ed. Assessment and the School Library Media Centre. ( 1 994). 
Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited. 

Assessment of student learning, the measurement of 

students ' progress and performance, is an important concern for 
those involved and committed to library media education. 
Concurrently, it is a central issue across disciplines and at all 

levels of education. As our society evolves through the nineties 
into the information-based economy, the library media centre is 
becoming a critical component of the information age school in 
providing students with the resources, technology, and processes 
for learning from information. A ssessment and the School 
Library Media Centre is a compilation of articles addressing 

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the issue of assessment relevant to school library media centres. 
The editors have selected previously published articles from 
School Library Media Annual ( 1993) and other literature and 
have added one new article. As an information educator and 
critical reviewer, with the interest of readers in mind, I expected 
and hoped to find new research results and ideas in this book, 

not only reprints of previously published material. The outcome 
is an overview of the "state of assessment in school library 
media programs," covered from the perspectives of many 
authors. 

Education Libraries • Vol 1 9, No. 2 



A history of assessment is presented and some of the current 
trends relating to assessment are represented including: alternative 
assessment, authentic assessment, performance assessment, 
portfolio assessment and the link between assessment and 

accountability. There are also several practical articles that address 

library information skills and standardized tests, measures of 
effectiveness in school library programs and assessment of the 

library research process. Most of the articles provide further 
references. However, the article contributed by editor Kublthau, 
"Assessing the Library Research Process," did not provide 
references nor did it report on research. This was disappointing 

to me as I have relied on her research in the past. 
The editors have compiled relevant, timely literature that will 

assist practitioners committed to improving their assessment practices 

and developing their theoretical knowledge regarding assessment 
in the school library media centre. For example, 'The Growth of 
Assessment" by Madaus and Tan provides an overview of the history 
of assessment in the United States. They discuss reasons for the 
growth in testing and make suggestions for future directions in testing. 

In "Assessment of Student Performance," Stripling describes specific 

characteristics of and conditions for four types of authentic 

assessment including tests, portfolios, performances and persona 
contact with the student within the classroom environment. Shi 

also provides ideas for involving the library media specialist in th( 

assessment process and includes an extensive list of professiona 
resources. Striplings' article entitled: "Practicing Authentic 
Assessment in the School Library" provides specific examples of 
learning processes and student research projects that will increase 
thinking skills through authentic assessment. She describes her 
REACTS: A Taxonomy of Research Reactions and illustrates how it 
can be applied to gradually worlc students to higher levels. Use of 

this taxonomy has implications which require changes to the role of 

the library media specialist and these changes are outlined 

Catherine E .  Wilkins, Ed .D . ,  is Director of the J .A. Turner 
Professional Libra ry, Peel Board of Education, Mississauga, 
Ontario, Canada. 

Missar, Charles D., Editor. Management of Federally Sponsored Libraries, Case Studies 
and Analysis. Binghamton, N.H. The Haworth Press, 1 995. ISBN 1 -56024-395-3. 

There is a dearth of public ations dealing with the 
management of federal libraries, therefore, this book is a 
welcome addition to the field. It brings together, at the request 
of editor Missar (whohas 30 years experience working in various 

federal libraries and information centers), a very interesting 
selection of federal libraries some of which are less known than 
others, allowing the reader to glean a great deal of useful 
information from the way these libraries were set up historically, 

are managed today and are planning their future. 

What is most appealing about the case studies is the variety 
and the type of approach that each library manager demonstrates 

in his or her field. While this creates some unevenness in the 
book, as each person concentrates on different aspects of their 
operation, it also shows the tremendous effort that goes into the 

government libraries of the United States and the positive support 
they get from their constituencies. Nowhere was there any 

mention of budget cuts or budgetary constraints ! 
The case studies cover various types of libraries, such as 

the United States Senate Library (not to be confused with the 
Library of Congress) the Circuit Court Libraries and the 

Department of Defense-Army libraries that serve a very select 
clientele, making their approach more inward-looking, while 
libraries such as the ones found at the Redstone Scientific 

Information Center (RSIC), (serving scientists and engineers 
across the United States), The National Library Service for the 

Blind (reaching out to the blind and physically handicapped 

everywhere), the Federal Reserve (serving the financial 

community at home and abroad), and the National Library of 

Medicine (networking with health care institutions all over the 
world in addition to the U.S.) are more outward-looking. The 

Education Libraries • Vol 1 9, No. 2 

latter appears to have the broadest mandate by reaching out to 
the individual practitioner located in small rural communities to 

create a special link offering them the facilities of the largest 
research library in medicine available today. 

Moreover, the informative description of both the internal 
operations of the libraries covered, pointing in some instances 
to new and innovative managerial techniques as well as the leap 

into the electronic age with the introduction of the electronic 

super highway and the changing role of the librarian/information 
specialist, because of their universal applicability, will be useful 

to librarians not only in government setting but also in non­

governmental operations. 
While each chapter is followed by a succinct "Statistical 

Information" page, there is some unevenness as some have Notes 
(Chapter II and VITI), some have References (Chapter V), a 
Conclusion (Chapter VI), a Conclusion and Notes (Chapter II), 
a Summary (Chapter VII), and some have nothing, (Chapters I, 
III and IV). This creates some confusion for the reader. 

Marlceting is mentioned as an important aspect by RISC. 
Unfortunately, none of the other case studies cover this topic. 

Other neglected topics are preservation and disaster planning, 
which are on everybody 's mind, but barely touched upon. On R 

positive note, however, the non-sexist language is refreshing. 

Missar's overview at the back is succinct and to the point, 
summing up the role and function of the director of a government 

library. Perhaps it should have been at the front as an Introduction. 

Anne M .  Gal ler, Associate Professor of Library Studies, 
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada . 

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VI D EO REVI EW 

Clues to Good Reading: A Program to Teach Parents How to Help their Children Read 
at Home. Video produced by Beth Hutchinson. Oak Ridge, Tenn: Oak Ridge 
Educational Services, 1 993. 

Phonics, whole language, grammar, context: how will 
Johnny - or Jill - ever master the complicated process we call 
reading? This 1 5-minute video presentation by Oak Ridge 
Educational Services of Tennessee attempts to take the mystery 
out of learning to read. 

Read, read, read so that children understand that print has 
meaning; that is the basis of its advice. Educational buzz words 
are avoided. The parent is advised to take the child through four 
simple steps using sound out clues, story clues, word type clues 
and pictures as the pointers to meaning. Each of the steps is 
presented with clear examples. 

Sound out clues: There seems to be an assumption that 
parents will favour phonics. A reading specialist warns of some 
of the pitfalls of relying on sound out clues. Many words, for 
example ' circus,' are simply not "sound outable." She concedes, 

however, that the simplest phonic rules are helpful and do make 
reading easier. 

Story clues: Parents are reminded that what is happening 
in the story is important. The child must not lose the meaning of 
the whole in the attempt to decode an individual word. 

Word type clues: The video manages not to be patronising 
even when giving a quick reminder of the roles of adjectives, 
nouns and verbs. Grammar is not allowed to become a bogeyman 
but is presented as an ally in the child's quest for understanding. 

Picture clues: Illustrations are crucial to the understanding 
and enjoyment of many children's books. The producers of this 
video encourage parents to look through the whole book with 
their children before starting to read it and to get the child to 
imagine what the story is about. This might spoil any surprise 
intended by the author. Parents could take a lower key approach 

- 30 

by pointing at any pictures that would help with the decoding of 
a word. 

Just as important as these four clues is the atmosphere of 
learning. The camera enters a home where Mom and Dad both 
have the time and patience to sit down with their children every 
day, to read with them, to write short notes to them. The child 
snuggles up to the parent, clearly confident of acceptance and 
eager for success. (How to achieve this idealized version of 
family life is never explained!)  

The tone of the video is positive: you can teach your child 
to read with this common sense approach. This is a convincing 
presentation of the whole language approach to reading, one 
that makes reading seem natural and, therefore, attainable. 

That it was produced in the United States should not be a 
problem for viewers from other countries. That it shows only a 
white upper middle class image, reminiscent of the 50's, may 
limit its acceptability in the very areas where it would be most 
useful. 

Nonetheless, it could be a useful tool for elementary schools 
wishing to encourage active parental participation in the reading 
process. It could also be used by librarians in the training of 
volunteer reading coaches. The message is a good one: Johnny 
and Jill can learn to read and parents can help them achieve that 
goal. 

Jeannie Hazel is presently teaching Adult Basic Education 
in Mont rea l for the C ECM (Commission des Eccles 
Catholique de Montreal ) .  

Education Libraries • Vol 1 9 ,  No. 2