Gender and physics

Unlike many other countries, physics is highly popular in secondary education in Scotland, with large numbers opting for study at the Higher Grade on which entry to higher education is based. This paper reports a project that explored the attitudes and perceptions of Scottish girls and boys towards physics over the age range of 10-18 years old. Towards the end of primary school, attitudes towards science are very positive and both boys and girls are looking forward to studying more science in secondary school, although there is no evidence that the introduction of primary science has been a factor. By the end of the second year of secondary school, these positive attitudes have declined quite markedly and a significant decline of girls' attitudes towards science relative to boys' attitudes was clearly observed. The success of the Standard Grade physics course (a 2-year course taken in third and fourth year, ages 14-16 approximately) is easy to observe in terms of the restoration of positive attitudes of boys and girls again as the pupils move through third and fourth year. This process is especially clearly marked among girls. Surprisingly, over 90 per cent of the observed fourth year pupils wanted to continue studies in physics but a marked decline in attitude is observed during the Higher Grade course (a 1-year course which follows Standard Grade), this being more marked for boys. If the number of girls in physics is an issue for concern within the structure of Scottish system, then the focus of attention should be the structure and nature of the science course in the early secondary school.     

The Scottish school history curriculum and issues of national identity

ABSTRACT

The Scottish curriculum operates through broad guidelines that allow a good deal of freedom to shape the curriculum. This article reports the findings of an investigation into the attitudes towards, and knowledge of Scottish history of 16‐year‐old pupils in Scottish schools. The pupils’ responses to questions about aspects of Scotland's past revealed a very large degree of ignorance about important people, events, circumstances and dates as well as a number of misconceptions about major historical aspects. The content of the school history curriculum has an important part to play in the development of a sense of national identity. The findings are discussed at a time when there is a resurgent sense of national identity, with the people in Scotland recently voting in a referendum for the setting up of a Scottish parliament. The minimal place history occupies in the curriculum may partly explain the lack of pupils’ knowledge. There is a lack of detailed evidence on this issue, both within Scotland and from other nations. A major debate about what matters in Scotland's past is needed, for Scotland has avoided establishing a prescribed history curriculum: a well‐informed teaching profession has to make critical decisions about what to include.     

Gender-related effects of computer and information literacy education

In the school year 1993-94 a new subject, Information and computer literacy' (ICL), was introduced in lower secondary education in the Netherlands. This article reports on a study of the effects of the curriculum materials used and of teaching behaviour in ICL lessons on changes in girls' and boys' attitudes towards computers, knowledge about ICL , and future plans. A second question focuses on the gender-linked ideas about the subject developed by pupils during ICL lessons. Students appear to enter the classroom with gender-linked patterns of behaviour and attitudes, but education plays an important role. After the course the differences in knowledge between girls and boys have diminished. However, the course was not able to remove gender differences in attitudes. Moreover, for students who worked with a non-genderinclusive method, gender differences in attitudes increased. The events and experiences in the classroom contribute to the extension of gender-specific repertoires of pupils.     

SOCIAL CLASS AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

The effect of higher education upon student attitudes is one of increasing liberality and decreasing authoritarianism. In this study of 345 women students in a college of education similar trends were recorded concerning teacher‐role expectations during a three‐year period of anticipatory professional socialization. The early part of the course is seen as particularly significant in changing attitudes. The nature of the change is complex, for whilst on home‐school relationships, curriculum, organization and motivation students become more ‘open’ in their teacher‐role expectations, a hardening of attitudes was seen towards corporal punishment and teachers’ leisure time involvement with their school children. Some changes may be attributed to the orientation of the college towards certain professional beliefs and practices. The process of professional socialization is marked by increasing differentiation among students at different stages of their course on questions relating to teachers’ instrumental (task‐centred) roles. Further, this college's stress upon primary education may be responsible for only slight differences developing between the role‐concepts of groups training for different levels of school.     

Grade 10 Students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science

Grade 10 students' perceptions of classroom practices and activities, as well as their attitudes toward science teaching and school science, were assessed in the Westend School District (pseudonym) in British Columbia, using both quantitative (statistics of Likert-type scales) and qualitative (critical interpretive analysis of interview data) methods. The major findings of the study were that students do not appreciate the most prevailing contemporary practices in science classes, perceived by them as mainly the copying of the teacher's notes, and that they prefer science teaching and learning in which they take an active and responsible part. Additionally, teaching style appears to be the major determinant of high school students' attitudes toward science and science teaching. No change in students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science (in 1989 compared with 1986) could be detected in spite of the impact made by the recently advocated constructivist and science-technology-society (STS) approaches on science curriculum and science education. It is argued, therefore, that more emphasis must be placed on the science teachers' role and their teaching style if an educational change in the constructivist/STS direction is to be achieved.     

Influence of teachers and schools on students' civic outcomes in Latin America

The authors investigated to what extent teachers' practices and school characteristics can influence students' civic knowledge, civic attitudes, and future participation in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico and how this can be related to their specific curricular structures and educational content. It uses data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study. The results show that in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, teacher practices and attitudes relate to the civic outcomes. Although teachers' practices and attitudes significantly predict students' civic knowledge, this relationship does not seem relevant for students' expected participation and students' attitudes toward diversity. Still, the democratic environment of the school is a relevant variable in the case of expected participation of students and their attitudes toward diversity, which shows a possible indirect influence of teachers through the school environment. The results are discussed in relation to the civic education curriculum in place in the countries analyzed.     

Swedish primary‐school teachers’ attitudes to inclusion – the case of PE and pupils with physical disabilities

Teachers play a decisive role in making inclusive education a reality. The particular case of inclusion in physical education (PE) poses a specific challenge to teaching practice. How PE teachers view inclusion may provide special insights into teachers’ general attitudes toward inclusion and inclusive practices in the general school curriculum. The aim of this study is to investigate Swedish PE teachers’ attitudes to inclusion of pupils with physical disabilities in mainstream PE classes at primary school. The sampling frame was members of the Swedish Teachers’ Union who had registered themselves as PE teachers and who indicated a current e‐mail address (n = 560). Respondents were invited to complete an e‐mail questionnaire with questions covering demographics, general attitudes, support from school management and staff, possible hindrances and personal experiences of inclusion. A total of 221 teachers (39%) responded, equal numbers of males and females with a bimodal age distribution (means of 28 and 44) with an average of eight years of service. On average, Swedish PE teachers are very positive to inclusion of pupils with physical disabilities into general PE. Gender, age, years of service and work satisfaction had no impact on general opinions of inclusive PE. PE teachers with actual previous experience of teaching pupils with physical disabilities were slightly more positive to inclusive PE. Stepwise multiple regressions were used to establish a predictive model of positive attitudes to inclusion based on: (1) having adequate training; (2) having general school support (from management and staff); and (3) demands on resources. This yielded an adjusted R ² that explained 33% of variation in attitudes.     

构建促进学生空间观念发展的几何课程——基于小学生空间观念发展水平的研究

课程改革中小学几何课程目标与内容的变化要求我们对小学生空间观念发展的水平和规律进行研究。从课程的角度出发设计和编制测试卷是本研究的基础,对500多名小学生进行测试并分析其结果后发现,二、三年级学生和四、五、六年级学生的空间观念发展水平分属两个不同的阶段,在不同的测试内容中他们分别达到不同的水平;同时还发现与概念有关的任务一般要到四年级才可以较好地完成。所得结果及建议可为课程改革和实施提供实证研究的基础。     

Inclusive practice? Supporting isolated bilingual learners in a mainstream school

This paper is based on action research carried out in a primary school in Scotland where few bilingual learners shared their home language with classmates or staff. It investigated the educational experiences of bilingual children in the early stages of primary school, in which there were often practical difficulties supporting isolated learners in using their home language in school. It tracked a cohort of isolated bilingual learners over a period of two years and considered how theories of support for bilingual learners can be applied to isolated learners. It identified two themes: support for new arrivals who are at the early stage of acquisition of English and how monolingual schools can show that they value home languages and promote bilingual skills. The research reveals techniques for tackling the very real social issue of bilingual learners in monolingual classrooms, a topic of currency in today’s climate. It engages with concepts of pupil difference, practices of social justice and inclusion, as well as consideration of a quality curriculum for all students. The study reflects on practical arrangements for new arrivals, working with parents unfamiliar with the education system and creating opportunities for pupils to use and share their home language within school.     

Student Choices and Values in England

What do students in England think about school? This article examines the findings of educational research in England on the aspirations and expectations of young people themselves, and how well these are met through schooling. It focuses on the following issues: liking for school; attitudes towards schoolwork; disaffected pupils; attitudes towards teachers; views on the purposes of education; perceptions of parental interest and support; educational aspirations; students’ views on the curriculum; and absence and related factors. It concludes by bringing together and discussing those findings which might well be regarded as positive and those which might instead be regarded as cause for concern. In order to set these research findings in context, a brief overview of schooling in England is given, followed by information on ways in which educational research is funded and conducted.     

Physics in canadian secondary schools: Intentions,perceptions, and achievement

This article examines secondary-school physics teaching with respect to three levels of curriculum. These are the curriculum as designed by educational authorities and intended for school guidance, as perceived by teachers and translated into classroom practice, and as internalized by students and expressed by achievement on physics tests. In keeping with international usage we refer to these levels of curriculum as the intended, the translated and the achieved. The article is based upon the analysis of curriculum documents and guidelines, teacher assessments of opportunity provided students to learn, and student achievement on a comprehensive physics test. The context for analysis is provided by an ongoing international study of science education in which some 30 participating countries analyze the three curriculum levels and attempt to draw conclusions concerning possible relationships among them. The article reports limited but nevertheless significant relationships found among intentions, translations, and achievement in the teaching of physics in Canadian secondary schools.     

Pupil guidance: An integral part of teacher education and development in Scotland?

Many schools throughout the UK are experiencing challenging behaviour from pupils and high levels of absence and exclusion as they seek to implement initiatives aimed at raising pupil attainment [National Audit Office (2005). Improving school attendance, London: The Stationery Office]. These initiatives often presuppose that pupils will receive adequate levels of guidance and support to help them make curricular, personal, social, and health decisions. However, little is heard from teachers and students undertaking initial teacher education courses on how they have been prepared for this extended role of supporting increasing diverse student populations; nor do we know how they define guidance/pupil support and integrate this with their concept of the professional role of a teacher. This article presents evidence from a one-year study of pupil support in Scotland commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department. The study provided evidence for The National Review of Guidance Provision in Scotland [Scottish Executive (2003). The national review of guidance. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive; Scottish Executive (2005). Happy, safe and achieving their potential. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive]. The study explored the views of all 32 local authorities in Scotland, a sample of students in training in two universities and teachers, headteachers and pupils in eight case study schools, and also a sample of their parents. This article focuses specifically on the findings relating to teachers and students in training. It identifies the ways in which they support pupils and how well they think they have been prepared for that task. Two dominant models of pupil support emerge from these data: an embedded and a specialist approach, and these vary according to school and education sector. Primary school teachers were more likely to embed pupil support into their concept of being teachers, whereas secondary teachers perceived it to be a separate, specialist function, which many were reluctant to undertake. Some implications for teacher education are highlighted.     

The effectiveness of structured co-operative teaching and learning in Greek primary school classrooms

This study focuses upon the effectiveness of structured co-operative group work on primary school students, aged between 8.5 and 9.5 years old, regarding their content knowledge, attitudes towards co-operative group work, experiential learning and open-ended curriculum as well as students' social and learning behaviour during co-operative group work. A cross-curricular educational programme was implemented within the curriculum area of environmental studies entitled ‘traffic education'. The methodology applied in this study was the experimental and the case study research designs. The findings of the present study support the view that pupils can gain benefits through structured group work co-operation in obtaining content knowledge and group work skills, as well as in developing positive attitudes towards group work, experiential learning, open-ended curriculum and the co-operation with their peers with learning difficulties (LDs). Changes in the relationships with the peers were not affected after the implementation of the educational programme.     

The Effects of Dichotomous Attitudes toward Science on Interest and Conceptual Understanding in Physics

The literature on students' attitudinal constructs in science education asserts that students hold dichotomous attitudes toward science (AS). For instance, studies from the Relevance of Science Education project reveal that students possess negative attitudes in terms of their favourableness toward school science, preference toward scientific careers, and emotional states toward science (negative intrinsic AS), despite their positive perception that science is important for society (positive extrinsic AS). The issue demands in‐depth examination, since not enough science educators have studied the effects of the dichotomous AS on science education. Rather, they have attempted to improve the uncategorised AS for stimulating student achievement in science education. Hence, the aim of this study is to clarify how the dichotomous attitude (intrinsic AS and extrinsic AS) relates to the two educational products in science: interest inventory and conceptual understanding. One hundred and sixteen physics learners in Japan were sampled for fitting the structural equation model in this study. Our final model validated by LISREL suggests that intrinsic AS exclusively stimulate students' interest and conceptual understanding in physics, while extrinsic AS fail to play their expected role. Finally, features of the sampled 10th‐graders and their dichotomous AS are further interpreted with the prevalent concept of the hidden curriculum.     

Collaboration and Comparisons: A bilateral study of mathematics performance in Scotland and France

This study was set up as an adjunct to national assessment programmes undertake independently in Scotland and France in 1994. The stated aim was to compare Scottish pupils' performance in mathematics at Primary stages P4 and P7 with that of French pupils at stages CE2 and 6è. Issues of comparability which have arisen from multinational surveys are identified and compared with those found in the bilateral study to consider suggestions that it might provide a model for future European comparisons. Methodological issues addressed include the comparability of samples and the selection of and curriculum coverage of common items. Some findings on relative performance are reported and differences in test motivation discussed. Changes in national policies for survey organisation and design needed to minimise perceived difficulties are identified with attention drawn to the differing status and purposes of two national programmes and to cultural differences between two education systems.     

PARENTS' ATTITUDES AND PERSONALITIES OF PUPILS WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

The family context is a crucial factor shaping children's personalities, and despite enrichment of the immediate environment with increasing age, it remains the basic determinant of personal development for young people. Family relations — especially the influence of mothers' and fathers' attitudes on children's personalities in the context of school — have not been examined clearly enough. In the present study an attempt has been made to show the interdependence between mothers' and fathers' attitudes as perceived by children and the personalities of pupils with different results at school. Subjects were pupils attending the first classes of secondary school The basic research group was 56 persons with poor results at school who dropped out, the first comparison group 55 children with high marks, the second 57 average achievers. Results showed that the attitudes of fathers and mothers of pupils who dropped out differed from those of pupils with high marks. The personalities of pupils who were successful at school differed from those of pupils with average results.     

Girls and Science: Does a core curriculum in primary school give cause for optimism?

The low numbers of students, particularly girls, pursuing science after the age of 16 continues to give cause for concern, despite the inclusion of science as a core subject in the curriculum of primary schools in England and Wales. This article explores the perceptions of primary pupils with regard to science since its introduction as a compulsory component of the curriculum. The findings tend to replicate those of earlier studies, indicating that primary pupils, both girls and boys, view science positively while at primary school and look forward to science at secondary school. However, results show that, within science, girls' and boys' preferences are different. Girls have greater preference for biological topics while boys demonstrate a wider range of interests. Furthermore, the introduction of the National Curriculum appears to have had negligible effect in broadening the interests of girls. It is argued that intervention strategies are needed in order to make all fields of science attractive to girls and that this should begin in the primary phase of education.     

Primary Student Teachers' Ideas about Teaching a Physics Topic

This study examines Finnish and English primary student teachers' ideas when planning to teach a physics topic during their science education studies. Many primary student teachers lack sufficient subject knowledge, which prevents them from constructing the scientific pedagogical content knowledge that enables them to concentrate on pupils' thinking and process skills needed in a physics topic. Therefore they will have problems constructing learning environments that encourage pupils to take active control of their learning. In order to develop effective pedagogical content knowledge it is of the utmost importance that the science educators responsible for physics courses pay special attention to the promotion of favourable attitudes towards the teaching of physics topics. This can be done by focusing on how to teach some basic familiar topics. Quality, not quantity, is important in focusing on both subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The construction of pedagogical content knowledge is a complex interrelationship of attitudes, subject, and pedagogical knowledge. All three of them need to be developed to enable students to confidently and effectively teach young children.     

Evaluating efforts to enhance health and wellbeing in Scottish secondary schools

Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland outlines a policy vision of a more progressive, integrated and holistic form of education; a commitment which contains an obligation for health and well-being (HWB) to be a responsibility of all teachers. A critical policy analysis approach was utilized in order to review school-level progress in different stages of policy development, i.e. policy formulation, legitimation, implementation and evaluation. Evidence was collected through 15 semi-structured interviews with head teachers, teacher education academics and staff with national and local authority quality improvement remits. Questions focused on: aims and curriculum goals; school culture; learning and teaching; partnership relationships and evaluations of practice. Findings suggest a high degree of support for curriculum aims, however, there were often problems communicating policy expectations (policy formulation). Thus, despite impressive examples of innovative practice in relation to school ethos, wider achievement and pupils’ broader general education (policy legitimation), there were also examples of HWB being constrained by senior school examinations and the backwash effect this had on curriculum planning and engagement with interdisciplinary learning approaches (policy implementation/evaluation). These findings have implications in terms of policy to practice coherence as well as highlighting the need for further more specific research evaluations.     

谈物理新课标具有的社会教育和思想文化功能

本文通过真实的问题情境解读了高中物理新课标所反映的理念,体现了一线物理教师认识的升华和对物理新课标的理解。即如何在教学实践中提高学生科学素养和加强情感态度与价值观培养,为学生们终身学习和应用奠定基础。