The effects of sex,structure and social interaction on preschoolers' play behaviors in a naturalistic setting

Play behavior of preschool children was observed in their natural environment. The study focused on the general demographic of free-play behavior, sex differences in the uses of various play areas, the effect of different play areas on the incidence of make-believe versus exploratory play, and the differential influence of play area on social interaction. Results indicated that both boys and girls used areas that have been thought of traditionally as sextyped. For example, both sexes appeared with equal frequencies in the household area and the block and truck area. Within these areas the sexes apportioned their time equally in terms of play activities. Overall, the household area elicited more make-believe play and social interaction than did the other play areas.     

Dimensional comparisons in subject-specific academic self-concepts and achievements: A quasi-experimental approach

Even though marks in different subjects are substantially correlated, the corresponding self-concepts often display a very weak association. The “Internal–External Frame of Reference Model” (I/E-model; Marsh, H. W. (1986). Verbal and math self-concepts: an internal/external frame of reference model. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 129–149) explains this finding: social comparisons (resulting in positive correlations of the self-concepts) and dimensional comparisons (resulting in negative correlations of the self-concepts) are confounded. A rarely tested hypothesis derived from the I/E-model is that the dimensional comparison process only affects the self-concepts, if the students achieve differently in the corresponding subjects. In a sample of N = 1508 students (grades 7 and 8), low correlations of the self-concepts for four subjects could be observed only in students displaying different school-marks in the corresponding subjects. In students who have the same marks in different subjects, the self-concepts showed a substantial positive correlation.     

The social fabric of elementary schools: a network typology of social interaction among teachers

While researchers are currently studying various forms of social network interaction among teachers for their impact on educational policy implementation and practice, knowledge on how various types of networks are interrelated is limited. The goal of this study is to understand the dimensionality that may underlie various types of social networks in schools. We assessed seven types of social interaction using social network data of 775 educators from 53 Dutch elementary schools. The quadratic assignment procedure, multidimensional scaling and network visualisations were used to discern underlying dimensions that may explain the interrelatedness of these seven types of social networks. Findings suggest small to moderate similarity between the seven forms of social interaction. Results support a distinction between instrumental and expressive networks and suggest a second dimension of mutual in(ter)dependence to explain differences in social interaction among teachers. Implications for practice and research on teacher collaboration are discussed.     

The influence of social interaction on meaning construction in a virtual community

As proposed by social constructive theorists, meaningful learning and individual development were achieved through social interaction. To foster social interaction among students, this study formed an online learning community in which they played multiple roles as writers, editors and commentators. In playing different roles, they read peers' texts, edited peers' errors, evaluated peer editors' corrections and finally reconstructed their own texts. Results of this study showed that the multiple roles they played allowed them to have opportunities to view their own texts from others' perspectives. Based on these perspectives, they were more willing to acquire information from and contribute information to peers. All of this extensive information acquisition and contribution resulted in meaning construction of texts as active students improved their final drafts in both local revision (grammatical correction) and global revision (the style, organisation and development of a text) after receiving and evaluating feedback from peer editors. Their final drafts were very different from those of passive students whose first and final drafts were almost the same despite some grammatical revisions. This study suggests that, rather than relying only on an examination of students' final drafts, there may be benefits in teachers encouraging students to actively participate in social interaction by reading peers' texts, editing peers' errors and evaluating peer editors' corrections during text revisions.     

Visualizing the learning patterns of topic-based social interaction in online discussion forums: an exploratory study

Educational technology research and development - Online discussion forums are common features of learning management systems; they allow teachers to engage students in topical discussions in...     

The effects of token reinforcement on delinquents' classroom behavior

The effects of a token reinforcement program on the classroom behavior of 19 delinquent boys in a correctional institution were investigated. Appropriate classroom behavior was defined in terms of four component categories: on-time/in-seat, on-task, social interaction, and assignment completion. A measure of total appropriate classroom behavior was calculated by summing the frequency of target response occurrence for each component behavior. Withdrawal and reinstatement of token reinforcement procedures demonstrated experimental control of total appropriate classroom behavior; however, considerable variability of component behaviors was observed. Token reinforcement control was most clearly demonstrated with on-time/in-seat behavior; assignment behavior was similarly influenced but showed greater variability; on-task behavior was noticeably affected but exhibited an ascending trend during the reversal phase; and social interaction behavior showed fluctuations which appeared unrelated to reinforcement contingencies. These findings suggest that the use of global, composite measures may mask program effects on important component behaviors.     

From a social to a cultural approach in the study of cognitive activities: The fundamental role of semiotic systems

The consideration of the semiotico-cultural dimension of cognitive development has failed to appear in most of the studies conducted in the psychosociology of cognitive constructions. The theoretical and epistemic implications which follow from it are discussed in relation to the contribution of the pragmatic and dialogical approaches of Peirce and Vygotsky. Recent research on the cognitive effects of the social signification of tasks can provide evidence of the semiotic dimension of social contexts of the knowledge insertion and thus introduce the notion of ‘virtual social reality’. A new interpretation of the effects of the performance transfers, observed in this kind of studies is proposed. The traditional explanations in terms of social experience and social marking are questioned through original research that whose results illustrate the fundamental role of the use and self-appropriation of sign systems.     

An attributional analysis of students' interactions: The social consequences of perceived responsibility

Recent research on why some children are disliked by their classmates, why students do or do not help one another, and how children manage to get along with teachers and classmates is reviewed in this article. A motivational approach focusing on attribution theory is used to examine these questions. Inferences of responsibility and feelings of anger and sympathy are documented to impact students' negative social responses (rejection and neglect) as well as their willingness to help their classmates. Students' understanding of the responsibility-emotion-behavior links is proposed to influence their self-presentation strategies, such as excuse giving and seeking social approval.     

From censure to reinforcement: developmental changes in the association between aggression and social status

Developmental changes were examined in the associations among physical and relational aggression, and sociometric and perceived popularity based on peer nominations. Participating in the longitudinal study were 905 children (440 girls, 465 boys) from ages 10 to 14. Associations between the forms of status and between the forms of aggression decreased over time. Relational aggression increasingly predicted high social prominence but low social preference; physical aggression was increasingly less disliked but decreasingly predictive of prominence. The effect of relational aggression on perceived popularity was strong for girls. Perceived popularity preceded physical and relational aggression for both genders. Implications for the attainment of high status, processes of peer influence on antisocial behavior, and gender differences in the meaning of status are discussed.     

The effects of reticence on group interaction

Research regarding the effects of reticence on group interaction reveals that reticence does not necessarily impede the group process; however, reticent individuals are seen as less effective participators due to their limited vocal activity, and they are less likely to emerge as the group's leader.

Research on the effects of reticence on group interaction is reviewed and suggestions are made to instructors of the small groups course regarding helping reticent students participate in the small group.     

Environmental learning in regions: a social capital based approach. The case of Latvia

How do people learn about the environment and behave accordingly? What is the cognitive process at the base of this learning mechanism? The present paper is a pilot work investigating the dynamics of individual environmental knowledge on the basis of social capital theory. Using Tsai and Ghoshal’s findings, a well known framework widely accepted in organizational studies which supports the existence of a relationship between structural, relational and cognitive dimensions of social capital, and between social capital and knowledge exchange, these dynamics are then tested in the context of environmental behaviour studies. The quantitative analysis is carried out by means of a structural equation model based on data collected in the Republic of Latvia. Results support main theoretical hypotheses, but several effects are found to be highly sensitive to control variables (residence place dimensions, ethnic affiliation, age, personal income), leading to hypothesise a strong dependency of environmental learning patterns on the socio-demographic, socio-economic and cognitive context.     

Integrating moral and social development within middle school social studies: a social cognitive domain approach

Eleven teachers and 254 urban middle-school students comprised the sample of this study examining the social and moral development outcomes of the integration of social cognitive domain theory within regular classroom instruction. Participating teachers were trained to construct and implement history lessons that stimulated students’ moral reasoning and conceptions of societal convention. In comparison with baselines and controls, teachers reduced didactic instruction and increased the proportion of class time devoted to small group discussions. Student engagement in transactive discourse significantly increased in participating classes with significantly greater post-test levels of moral reasoning, concepts of social convention, and cross-domain coordination. Student production of operational versus representational transacts through transactive discussion was associated with growth in moral and societal concepts. Teachers continued teaching lessons constructed in the project a year after the research ended.     

教育软件对学习效果的影响--基于38项实验和准实验的元分析

随着教育信息化的不断推进,教育软件在学与教过程中的应用也越来越广泛。为考察教育软件对学习效果的影响,采用元分析研究方法,对十多年来国内外有关教育软件对学习效果影响的38项研究进行梳理、分析和评价。研究发现教育软件对学习效果的综合效应值为0.996,表明教育软件的应用对学生学习有积极的促进作用,提高了学生的学习效果。具体来说,教育软件的应用对学生认知方面的学业成绩、问题解决能力、认知能力和自我调节能力有显著的正向影响,对非认知方面的学习态度、学习兴趣有显著的正向影响。但教育软件的学习效果促进作用受到学段、学科、知识类型等调节变量的影响。基于研究结果,就增强教育软件对学业成就的促进效应,以及提高在小学阶段、英语教学、游戏化教学中的促进作用进行了思考。     

Improving classroom dynamics to support students' learning and social inclusion: a collaborative approach

In this article, Mary Doveston and Marian Keenaghan discuss their work with teachers and students in developing more effective and satisfying interpersonal relationships in the classroom. Their approach focuses on increasing the capacity of a classroom community to address and measure its progress in the social and emotional competencies which that community has identified as being important. The principles of Appreciative Inquiry and Solution Focused Thinking underpin their approach to working with students and teachers, with the researchers supporting teachers to facilitate student participation in a process which they have described as ‘Growing Talent for Inclusion’ (GTi).     

The interaction between social goals and self-construal on achievement motivation

The motivational effects of mastery goals and performance goals have been widely documented in previous research on achievement motivation. However, recent studies have increasingly indicated a need to include social goals so as to gain a more comprehensive understanding of achievement motivation. The purpose of the present research was to examine how social goals predicted achievement motivation among students with different self-construals (independent versus interdependent). In Study 1, 134 Chinese 8th graders completed a questionnaire on self-construal, social goals, and avoidance behaviors. In Study 2, the causal effect of self-construal and social goals on students’ willingness to take a course for improvement after failure was examined with experimental manipulation. Participants were 121 Chinese 7th graders. Results demonstrated that social goals yielded higher report of avoidance behaviors (Study 1) and lower willingness to improve after failure (Study 2) for students with independent self-construal, but lower report of avoidance behaviors (Study 1) and higher willingness to improve after failure (Study 2) for those with interdependent self-construal. The research sheds light on the theoretical framework of achievement motivation that goes beyond mastery and performance goals.