Race And Ethnicity: Powerful Cultural Forecasters Of Science Learning And Performance

This article addresses the impact of race and ethnicity on students' science learning in US schools. Specifically, it discusses (a) the constructs of race, ethnicity, and culture, and the racial and ethnic student composition in US public schools; (b) effective classroom practices for curriculum, instruction, and assessment related to race and ethnicity; and (c) future policy and practice regarding race and ethnicity in science education. We discuss the science learning and teaching of African American, Latino, and Asian American students. Even though Asian American students are viewed as the model minority, some struggle with science learning, because their languages and cultures are seen as hurdles. As there is little defendable science education research related to Native Americans at the precollege level, we remain silent in this area.     

What drives US competitiveness in mathematics and science?

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that US school students have a lower level of achievement than students from many East Asian countries. Therefore, media, researchers and policy‐makers in the United States have often argued that US competitiveness in mathematics and science will decline. This paper aims at verifying this conclusion by analysing data on medallists at the International Olympiads for high school students. The analysis suggests that US competitiveness may not be endangered.     

A Cross‐Cultural Comparison of East Asian and American Higher Education Criminal Justice Student Learning Preferences Using the VARK Questionnaire

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between learning preferences of East Asian and American higher education students. A review of the literature revealed a body of qualitative studies suggesting a stereotypical perception of an Asian learning preference influenced by cultural variables and the historical roots of Confucianism. The pedagogical implications of this stereotypical perception are obvious to faculty engaged in teaching and learning with Asian international students in America or abroad. The authors surveyed 233 higher education students from Hong Kong and America using the VARK Questionnaire. The authors used a two‐way contingency table analysis and chi‐square statistical tests to conduct their cross‐cultural comparison on their variables of interest including age, gender, and country.     

Why do East Asian children perform so well in PISA? An investigation of Western-born children of East Asian descent

A small group of high-performing East Asian economies dominate the top of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings. This has caught the attention of Western policymakers, who want to know why East Asian children obtain such high PISA scores, and what can be done to replicate their success. In this paper I investigate whether children of East Asian descent, who were born and raised in a Western country (Australia), also score highly on the PISA test. I then explore whether their superior performance (relative to children of Australian heritage) can be explained by reasons often given for East Asian students’ extraordinary educational achievements. My results suggest that second-generation East Asian immigrants outperform their native Australian peers by approximately 100 test points. Moreover, the magnitude of this achievement gap has increased substantially over the last ten years. Yet there is no ‘silver bullet’ that can explain why East Asian children obtain such high levels of academic achievement. Rather a combination of factors, each making their own independent contribution, seem to be at play. Consequently, I warn Western policymakers that it may only be possible to catch the leading East Asian economies in the PISA rankings with widespread cultural change.     

Online support service quality,online learning acceptance,and student satisfaction

This paper examines potential differences between Korean and American students in terms of their perception levels regarding online education support service quality, online learning acceptance, and satisfaction. Eight hundred and seventy-two samples, which were collected from students in online classes in the United States and Korea, were analyzed using factor analysis, structural equation model techniques, independent sample t-test, and logistic regression. The following results were obtained from this analysis: 1) There were significant differences between the perceptions of Korean and US students with regard to online education support service quality. In this context, Korean students held a significantly higher perception of online support service quality. 2) Perception of online support service quality was a significant predictor of online learning acceptance and satisfaction for both Korean and American students. It appears that a majority of the students in the two countries, irrespective of the differences in their perceptions of online support service quality, believe that the acceptance of online classes would benefit them.     

Motivation and Mathematics Achievement: A Comparative Study of Asian-American, Caucasian-American, and East Asian High School Students

This study examined the motivation and mathematics achievement of Asian-American, Caucasian-American, and East Asian students. Subjects were 304 Asian-American, 1,958 Caucasian-American, 1,475 Chinese (Taiwan), and 1,120 Japanese eleventh graders (mean age = 17.6 years). Students were given a curriculum-based mathematics test and a questionnaire. Mathematics scores of the Asian-American students were higher than those of Caucasian-American students but lower than those of Chinese and Japanese students. Factors associated with the achievement of Asian-American and East Asian students included having parents and peers who hold high standards, believing that the road to success is through effort, having positive attitudes about achievement, studying diligently, and facing less interference with their schoolwork from jobs and informal peer interactions. Contrary to the popular belief that Asian-American students' high achievement necessarily takes a psychological toll, they were found not to report a greater frequency of maladjustive symptoms than Caucasian-American students.     

Misconceptions about the learning approaches, motivation and study practices of Asian students

There is a common perception that Asian students relyupon rote learning and prefer passive forms oflearning, though, this appears to be incompatible withevidence of their high levels of achievement. Thisapparent dichotomy is explained by showing thatmemorisation can occur in conjunction with theintention to understand. It could also result fromstudents learning material by heart because theyperceive that is what the course and assessmentrequire. Evidence from over 90 action researchprojects is used to disprove the common assertionsthat Asian students prefer passive learning and resistteaching innovations. It is argued that motivationdisplayed by Asian students is not well described byconventional definitions in psychology textbooks.Courses which provide good career preparation are asource of motivation but it is not an extrinsic formof motivation which depresses intrinsic motivation.There are high levels of achieving motive, but itfrequently has a collective nature rather than beingindividual and competitive.     

Homework and students' achievement in math and science: A 30-year meta-analysis, 1986–2015

In the current investigation, research conducted since 1986 were synthesized to examine the homework – achievement relationship in math/science, and to examine a range of factors that could have moderated this relationship. Our investigation revealed that there was an overall small and positive relationship between homework and academic achievement in math/science. Our investigation further revealed that the homework – achievement relationship in math/science was stronger for elementary and high school students than for middle school students. In addition, the homework – achievement relationship in math/science was shown to be the strongest in the studies involving US students, whereas it was the weakest in the studies involving Asian students. We discussed possible explanations for these and other findings, and the implications for future research directions.     

Chinese and US Middle-School Science Teachers' Autonomy,Motivation, and Instructional Practices

This study examined Chinese and US middle-school science teachers' perceptions of autonomy support. Previous research has documented the link between teachers' perceptions of autonomy and the use of student-oriented teaching practices for US teachers. But is not clear how the perception of autonomy may differ for teachers from different cultures or more specifically how motivation factors differ across cultures. The survey measured teachers' motivation, perceptions of constraints at work, perceptions of students' motivation, and level of autonomy support for students. Exploratory factor analysis of responses for the combined teacher sample (n?=?201) was carried out for each of the survey assessments. Significance testing for Chinese (n?=?107) and US (n?=?94) teachers revealed significant differences in teachers' motivation and perceptions of constraints at work and no significant differences for perceptions of students' motivation or their level of autonomy support for students. Chinese teachers' perceptions of constraints at work, work motivation, and perceptions of student motivation were found to significantly predict teachers' autonomy support. For the US teachers, teacher motivation was the only significant predictor of teachers' autonomy support. A sub-sample of teachers (n?=?19) was interviewed and results showed that teachers in both countries reported that autonomy was important to their motivation and the quality of science instruction they provided to students. The primary constraints on teaching reported by the US teachers related to materials and laboratory space while the Chinese teachers reported constraints related to the science curriculum and standards.     

Behind the High Achievement of East Asian Students

Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore are the only East Asian countries in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), but students in these 4 countries outperformed their counterparts in the TIMSS mathematics test. An examination of the student background information showed that there was little commonality among the 4 countries which can be used to explain the superior achievement of their students. The only common background data for the 4 places were their high population density and large class size, which are, in general, not considered favorable factors for achievement. An investigation of the TIMSS attitude data also failed to locate common attitudes that were unique to the 4 countries and which can be used to explain the high achievement of their students. The questionnaire data however indicated that the superior results of the East Asian students might have been achieved at the expense of other aspects of the development of the students. The results also showed that students in the 4 countries displayed relatively negative attitudes towards mathematics, including the lack of confidence in doing mathematics. The predominant Confucian culture in the 4 countries will be discussed in an attempt to explain the negative attitudes of the East Asian students, but it is not clear how these cultural values can be used to explain their superior achievement.     

Supporting Latino high school students’ science motivational beliefs and engagement: examining the unique and collective contributions of family,teachers, and friends

Abstract

High school underrepresented minority students in the US are at an increased risk of dropping out of the STEM pipeline. Based on expectancy-value theory, we examined if Latino students’ perception of support from parents, siblings/cousins, teachers, and friends in 10th grade predicted their science ability self-concepts and values, which in turn predicted their classroom engagement. Survey data were collected from 104 Latino high school students and their science teachers. The findings suggest that adolescents’ perceptions of overall support and home-based support predicted adolescents’ science ability self-concepts at 10th grade while controlling for their 9th grade self-concepts. Although adolescents reported high support from teachers, teacher or school-based support alone was not a strong correlate of their motivational beliefs. Perceived support was indirectly related to classroom engagement through adolescents’ ability self-concepts. Feeling supported across home and school may be necessary to sustain adolescents’ science motivational beliefs and, in turn, their science classroom engagement.     

A comparative analysis of noss profiles on nigerian and American preservice,secondary science teachers

In this study American preservice science TEACHERS' responses on Kimball's Nature of Science Survey (NOSS) were used as a basis for analyzing the sense of the nature of science held by a group of Nigerian preservice science teachers. From an item-by-item comparison two salient differences were noted. These differences are quite interesting and important, and one would expect to see replication attempts in the near future. The primary difference was that the Nigerian students were much more inclined to see science as a way of producing useful technology. Given the national interests of a developing nation this is an understandable perception and one common among government policy makers. Nevertheless, it is a view with potential long-range dangers if this view of science is effectively transferred from teacher to student. For example, such a view is likely to raise false expectations in the general population, which when not achieved could result in widespread rejection of science. The second distinctive of the Nigerian students' sense of the nature of science had to do with the openness of science. These students perceived scientists as nationalistic and secretive about their work. This finding is troubling and indicates an important line of investigation: What image of science, especially Western science, is carried in the international media? How is that image understood in non-Western nations? What are the implications for international scientific cooperation?     

Learning contexts,black Cultural Ethos,and the science achievement of African American students in an urban middle school

As other countries vigorously promote rapid advancement in science, optimizing the participation of all students in the United States in science is imperative. This study focused on African American students and examined their science achievement in relation to Black Cultural Ethos (BCE), a construct rooted in psychology. Via qualitative and quantitative data obtained from a non‐random control group design, the study addressed three questions: (1) With respect to BCE, what characterizes the natural instructional contexts of two middle school science teachers? (2) What characterizes the achievement of African American students in contexts that incorporate BCE and contexts that do not? (3) What achievement patterns, if any, exist in BCE and non‐BCE instructional contexts? With regard to the natural contexts, the teachers did not incorporate BCE even when the opportunities were available to do so. Within these non‐BCE contexts, the group's mean scores on the study‐specific test that aligned with instruction decreased from pretest to posttest with approximately one‐third of the students' scores improving. When a context was altered with a moderate effect size of 0.47 to include BCE, the group's mean scores on the aforementioned test increased from pretest to posttest with two‐thirds of the students' scores improving. An illustration of the interplay between BCE and context and a consideration of the interplay as a mediating factor in research involving African American students encapsulate the significance and implications of the study's findings. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 665–683, 2008     

Will that be on the test? Perceived task demands and test performance in a classroom context

Departing from a realistic classroom context, this study focuses on the relationship between students’ perception of task demands and their learning performance. History teachers (N=20) and their 11th-grade students (N=375) rated the relative importance of sections of an instructional text on which teachers would be giving a test. In addition, test grades were collected. It was hypothesized that the degree of correspondence between ratings of individual students and those of their teacher would reflect the accurateness of students’ perception of task demands and therefore would be positively related with test grade. Multilevel analysis revealed partly support for this hypothesis. Students with higher grades more consistently showed a relative close correspondence with their teacher than students with lower grades. Nonetheless, a substantial number of students who showed a relatively close correspondence with their teacher, obtained a low test grade. This suggests that a more accurate perception of task demands did not guarantee a higher test performance.     

汇率制度、路径依赖与东亚货币合作

布雷顿森林体系崩溃后东亚国家（地区）所实行的实际钉住美元汇率制度是引发1997年亚洲金融危机的主要根源，但近两年东亚部分国家（地区）又重新恢复了这种汇率制度安排；同时由于欧洲货币合作的成功示范，也大大激发了东亚国家（地区）对于实现区域货币合作的广泛兴趣，重归实际钉住美元的汇率制度只是各国（地区）在危机后过渡时期内的次优选择，东亚国家（地区）短期内努力的方向应该是选择实际钉住货币篮子的汇率制度，而从长远趋势来看，通过对欧洲货币合作动力机制的经验考察，东亚国家（地区）的当务之急应当是积极为推动实现区域货币合作创造有利条件。     

The influence of instruction,prior knowledge,and values on climate change risk perception among undergraduates

We evaluated influences on the climate change risk perceptions of undergraduate students in an introductory Earth Science course. For this sample, domain‐specific content knowledge about climate change was a significant predictor of students' risk perception of climate change while cultural worldviews (individualism, hierarchy) and political orientation were not. These results contrast with previous studies highlighting worldviews as a dominant influence on risk perception. At the beginning of the semester, students' climate change content knowledge was relatively low, with average scores on a 21‐item test less than 50%. Post instruction results indicated that students learned climate change science during the course, and their perceptions of risks associated with climate change increased. Unlike most prior research evaluating links between climate change knowledge and risk perception, our measure of content knowledge was a validated assessment specific to climate change. Use of this specific climate knowledge test may be one reason that we detected a relationship between climate knowledge and risk perception whereas most of the previous research has not. Another—possibly complementary—explanation may be a generational shift between our study sample and prior samples. Undergraduates today, having grown up with more exposure to climate change in schools and the media than previous generations, may be diverging from average adults in that learning climate science appears to also increase their perceptions of the risks climate change poses. Undergraduate courses with embedded climate‐related activities present an opportunity to both increase climate science knowledge and risk perceptions of future decision makers.     

The Academic Achievement of Adolescents from Immigrant Families: The Role of Family Background, Attitudes, and Behavior

The goal of this study was to determine the relative impact of family background, parental attitudes, peer support, and adolescents' won attitudes and behaviors on the academic achievement of students from immigrant families. Approximately 1,100 adolescents with Latino, East Asian, Filipino, and European backgrounds reported on their own academic attitudes and behaviors as well as those of their parents and peers. In addition, students' course grades were obtained from their official school records. Results indicated that first and second generation students received higher grades in mathematics and English than their peers from native families. Only a small portion of their success could be attributed to their socioeconomic background; a more significant correlate of their achievement was a strong emphasis on education that was shared by the students, their parents, and their peers. These demographic and psychosocial factors were also important in understanding the variation in academic performance among the immigrant students themselves.     

Quality lies in the eyes of the beholder: A mismatch between student evaluation and peer observation of teaching

Abstract

The study described in this article was prompted by the poor performance of students in an ‘at risk subject’ in a science faculty at a university in South Africa. Teacher performance could contribute to poor performance among students, therefore the performance of one of the science teachers whose students were performing poorly was evaluated by his students and through peer observation of his teaching. The article draws on a merger between Bernstein's ideas on framing as well as deep and surface approaches to learning to form a theoretical framework that underpinned the study. Peer observation showed that the teacher employed predominantly teacher-centred, passive approaches to teaching, and the facilitation of active learning was minimal, that is, framing was strong. Students, however, evaluated their teacher positively, indicating that he was an ‘effective’ teacher. Therefore, the perception of what constitutes ‘quality teaching’ is viewed differently by peers and students. This is most likely due to the incompatibility between peers' conception of teaching and students' conception of learning. Therefore, students' feedback on teaching is not necessarily accurate or useful.     

Gender and the pipeline metaphor in computing

Using the pipeline metaphor as the conceptual framework, the current paper presents gender differences in computer science (CS) and computer engineering (CE) students’ study aspirations in elementary and high schools, the extent to which they hold a study-related job while in college and their career aspirations after graduating from college. It highlights some of the weak joints of the pipeline and suggests a number of implications to improve representation of women in computing field. It is based on 150 interviews with undergraduate male and female students belonging to five major ethnic/racial categories (White, African-American, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American) from seven institutions in the USA.     

从国际评估计划剖析东亚地区的教育质量与均等问题

根据三期学生能力国际评估计划的研究成果,剖析东亚地区的基础教育成效,研究结果显示:中国香港、韩国及日本等东亚国家和地区的十五岁学生在阅读、数学和科学方面的表现均相当出色,而且来自不同社会经济阶层的教育成果亦相当均等;中国澳门在数学方面的表现相当出色,阅读及科学方面的表现稍逊,但教育成果十分均等;中国台湾在数学及科学方面的表现亦相当出色,阅读方面的表现稍逊,而来自不同社会经济阶层的教育成果间的差异十分大。