Pupils in Control: Sex Talk as an Educational Resource

Education for citizenship is now recommended for all primary schools. Whilst primary teachers have long covered social and moral education, they have been less likely to cover teaching about community and political literacy (including the discussion of topical, controversial issues). This paper reports research findings on current practice and identifies key areas for discussion. It argues that there is great scope for enriching and enlivening the primary curriculum through the introduction of education for citizenship, by extending current practice in social and moral education and incorporating the newer themes of community and political literacy into existing teaching.     

三参数等级反应模型及其信息函数的应用

项目反应理论（Item Response Theory,IRT）是现代教育心理测量领域中最有影响的一种测量理论,它的一个明确目标是扩展模型的种类以至于能够处理实际测试中任何形式的反应数据。在已有的各种模型研究中,对于多级评分项目,只考虑到项目区分度和难度。但在实际测验中,此类项目还可能存在猜测度。本研究基于Samejima等级反应模型,将项目猜测度融合到多级评分模型中,提出了三参数等级反应模型（Three-parameter Graded Response Model,3PL-GRM）。由于忽略多级反应项目的猜测度会使得该项目的信息量虚假升高,本研究还进一步将3PL—GRM的信息函数应用到试卷质量分析中。     

Research into literacy and technology in primary classrooms: an exploration of understandings generated by recent studies

While much has been written about the implications for ‘literacy’ of practices surrounding digital technologies, there has been surprisingly little research investigating new literacies in primary classrooms. This review examines the kinds of understandings that have been generated through studies of primary literacy and technology reported during the period 2000–2006. It uses Green's distinction between ‘operational’, ‘cultural’ and ‘critical’ dimensions of primary literacy to investigate the focus and methodology of 38 empirical studies. It explores ways in which research may be informed by assumptions and practices associated with print literacy, but also highlights the kinds of studies which are beginning to investigate the implications of digital texts for primary education. The paper concludes by arguing for further ethnographic and phenomenological studies of classroom literacy practices in order to explore the complex contexts which surround and are mediated by digital texts.     

农村中小学教师教育科研状况与策略

目前,开展教育科研,已经成为农村中小学教师的一种追求。调查结果表明:教师有比较强烈的科研意识,显现出前所未有的科研积极性,学校领导也越来越重视教育科研。教育科研的氛围正在形成。然而,教师的科研能力还比较薄弱,研究能力有待提高,科研成果不多,遇到困难不少。因此,要进一步提高教师的科研意识,加强指导,提高科研能力,处理好教学与科研的关系,帮助教师解决科研中的困难,使农村中小学教师教育科研得到持续、健康的发展。     

Stress among higher education students: towards a research agenda

This article has two primary aims. Firstly, it provides a critical review of previous studies into student stress and identifies several important issues that, as yet, have not been explored. There has been no consideration of the effect of students maturing during their studies on the stress that they experience and how they cope with that stress. Secondly, the article highlights limitations in the past and present literature base, where there has been a concentration on a quantitative approach, and focus on a narrow range of subject groups. There is also a need to undertake longitudinal research to investigate individuals’ stress experiences during the period they study at university. Overall the key assertion here is that thus far research into student stress has not offered a complete account and explanation of students’ stress experiences.     

Learning environment,learning styles and conceptual understanding

In recent years there have been many studies on learners developing conceptions of natural phenomena. However, so far there have been few attempts to investigate how the characteristics of the learners and their environment influence such conceptions. This study began with an attempt to use an instrument developed by McCarthy (1981) to describe learners in Malaysian primary schools. This proved inappropriate as Asian primary classrooms do not provide the same kind of environment as US classrooms. It was decided to develop a learning style checklist to suit the local context and which could be used to describe differences between learners which teachers could appreciate and use. The checklist included four dimensions — perceptual, process, self-confidence and motivation. The validated instrument was used to determine the learning style preferences of primary four pupils in Penang, Malaysia. Later, an analysis was made regarding the influence of learning environment and learning styles on conceptual understanding in the topics of food, respiration and excretion. This study was replicated in the Philippines with the purpose of investigating the relationship between learning styles and achievement in science, where the topics of food, respiration and excretion have been taken up. A number of significant relationships were observed in these two studies. Specializations: science education, primary science, educational research and measurement, educational management.     

Citizenship in the Primary School: Going Beyond Circle Time

Education for citizenship is now recommended for all primary schools. Whilst primary teachers have long covered social and moral education, they have been less likely to cover teaching about community and political literacy (including the discussion of topical, controversial issues). This paper reports research findings on current practice and identifies key areas for discussion. It argues that there is great scope for enriching and enlivening the primary curriculum through the introduction of education for citizenship, by extending current practice in social and moral education and incorporating the newer themes of community and political literacy into existing teaching.     

Changes in primary science over the past decade: Implications for the research community

During the early 1980s in Australia there was a new wave of expectancy about primary science as new curricula were being considered or introduced and research findings were beginning to identify new directions for both teaching and research. In an expression of this, six authors were invited to present papers to a symposium on primary science held in 1984 to address the question: “What do you believe should be the state of primary science (in Australia) in 1995 and what are the steps which need to be taken to achieve the desired state?” This study set out to identify what had been said at that time, to compare that with actual developments, and to identify possible future directions for research. Relevant publications includingResearch in Science Education were analysed as a means of comparing what had happened since 1984 with the hopes of those authors. It was only in the latter half of the decade that some of the scenarios painted by the authors in 1984 began to emerge. A key implication for the research community drawn from the analysis shows that science education researchers have tended to neglect working in collaboration with education departments and authorities for the improvement of primary science education.     

Why Practice Recommendations Are Important in Use-Inspired Basic Research and Why Too Much Caution Is Dysfunctional

Robinson et al. (Educ Psychol Rev 25:291–302, 2013) have suggested refraining from practice and policy recommendations in primary educational research articles, in particular because primary research journals are not the appropriate outlet for such recommendations, the evidence provided by one research article is usually not sufficient, and making bold statements about practice in primary research trivializes the challenges of practice implementations. This commentary on Robinson et al. is a plea to continue providing such recommendations in primary research journals because much of educational research is not only theoretically but also practically grounded (i.e., use-inspired basic research). Contributions to the discourse on practice and theory are an intrinsic and productive part of educational research, even if some recommendations may turn out to be oversimplified or even wrong in further research. Nevertheless, there is agreement with Robinson et al. that we should usually not formulate general, sweeping recommendations. More modest and, therefore, legitimate types of practice recommendations are proposed, and conditions are discussed when such recommendations in primary research journals seem to be justified. Finally, some thoughts on how to communicate practice recommendations to practitioners were outlined.     

Are we exacerbating students’ learning disabilities? An investigation of preservice teachers’ attributions of the educational outcomes of students with learning disabilities

While claims of the importance of attribution theory and teachers’ expectations of students for student performance are repeatedly made, there is little comprehensive research identifying the perceptions preservice teachers have of students with learning disabilities (LD). Accordingly, 444 Australian preservice primary school teachers were surveyed using vignettes and Likert-scale questions, to ascertain their responses to students with and without LD. It was found that preservice primary school general education teachers held a negative attribution style towards students with LD. Preservice primary teachers perceived students with LD as a lacking ability in comparison to others in the class. Recommendations for research and training programmes conclude the paper.     

教师专业化发展现状及保障机制建设实证研究——基于对合肥市中小学教师的抽样调查

随着我国教师专业化发展的全面推进,对中小学教师专业化发展也提出了更高的要求,探索如何有效的促进中小学教师专业化发展也成为当前教师教育理论和实践的一个重要课题。为全面了解合肥地区中小学教师的专业化发展现状及其相关保障机制建设的情况,进而尝试构建一套具有科学性、针对性和可操作性的有效促进中小学教师专业化发展的制度保障体系,以期更有效的促进中小学教师专业化发展,为此,研究者对此展开了一次问卷调查。通过调查与分析,指出合肥地区中小学教师专业化发展在制度层面亟待解决的问题,并以此为例。提出了有效促进中小学教师专业化发展的几点对策和建议。     

Curriculum Continuity and Transfer from Primary to Secondary School: the case of history

The transfer of children from primary school to secondary school has long been seen as a problematic area. The National Curriculum was depicted as offering a solution to some of the transfer problems by providing for curriculum continuity across the primary-secondary divide. This paper reports the results of a study of curriculum continuity in one subject, history, now that a National Curriculum has been in place for several years. It reports that teachers continue to see problems with the transfer and that secondary school teachers still incline to a ‘fresh start’ approach to year 7 pupils. There is also some evidence of a lack of curriculum consistency within the secondary schools involved in the research, there are differences between primary and secondary schools in the range of teaching and learning methods employed, there is some decline in pupils’ ratings of their experience of secondary education across year 7 and there are signs of some gender differences in these ratings. The conclusion is that there is a case for saying that the new arrangements have not alleviated the problems associated with the transfer.     

Primary science teacher confidence revisited: ten years on

Background This paper compares the findings from a recent, large-scale UK-wide survey of primary teachers' confidence in teaching science with the results of a seminal report carried out 10 years ago by Wynne Harlen in Scotland. Recent reports from across the UK have indicated there are still serious concerns relating to primary teachers' confidence and ability to teach science effectively.

Purpose The main research aims were to provide a clear, evidence-based analysis of the current issues facing primary science in the UK; explore primary teachers' confidence in science teaching and to evaluate the impact of science initiatives taking place in UK primary schools.

Sample The sample for the study comprised: telephone interviews with 300 primary teachers from all UK regions; seven focus groups of primary teachers held in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to further explore the issues raised in the telephone interviews; and workshops from a two-day conference of 75 stakeholders in primary science from all UK regions (approximately half the delegates were teachers; also represented were teacher educators (initial and continuing professional development), curriculum developers and policy-makers). In addition, 100 teacher education institutions were surveyed in relation to their participation in primary science initiatives.

Design and methods The methodology for both studies comprised qualitative and quantitative elements (see sample details, above). All data were collected between June and September 2004.

Results The findings indicated that there are improvements in some areas of primary teachers' confidence in teaching science. However, the study showed that half of the teachers surveyed cited lack of teacher confidence and ability to teach science as the current issue of major concern in primary science. This paper also reports on some of the professional development initiatives carried out by higher education institutions in primary science.

Conclusions The paper concludes that there has been some progress in developing teacher confidence in primary science over the past 10 years. However, the situation is still critical for all stakeholders. Half of the teachers surveyed in the UK for the present study identified lack of teacher confidence and ability to teach science as the major issue of concern in primary science. Higher education institutions need to enhance the preparation of new primary teachers to ensure that they are all confident and effective teachers of science. They could also increase their partnership work with schools and other continuing professional development (CPD) providers in relation to primary science. The evidence demonstrates clearly that there is a need for substantially increasing science professional development for primary teachers. It also shows that such professional development could be more effectively targeted at specific aspects of science teaching that are more challenging for teachers. Further, the study shows that professional development in science works, in that teachers who have experienced science continuing professional development (CPD) are much more confident to teach science than those who have not.     

关于中小学教育科研的几个问题

当前基层学校开展中小学教育科研或校本研究存在六大问题:(1)中小学教育科研即等于做课题研究;(2)"两张皮"现象;(3)与教育教学任务冲突、矛盾增大、增多;(4)课题获得不均衡现象突出;(5)支撑条件不到位,而多重机构及其指挥的"负面"作用显现;(6)"写科研"或"写研究"的问题。通过梳理,客观呈现基层学校对中小学教育科研的认识和看法;通过分析,则发现这些问题的根源,早已存在于中小学教育科研或校本研究的开展起点上,并通过与宏观环境和科研体制的共振而将问题激发了出来。也可以说,在中小学教育科研或校本研究的目标和定位上,就已存在了一定的错位。     

面向创新思维培养的小学课程学习活动设计

近年来,中小学生创新思维的培养受到了越来越多的重视,如在信息技术课程中,不少中小学通过增加Scratch编程模块来培养创新思维能力和提高信息素养。但相关的系统研究比较缺乏,特别是在如何有针对性地设计相应的学习活动方面缺少深入研究。有鉴于此,文章在讨论相关支撑理论和梳理总结相关研究的基础上,形成了面向创新思维培养的学习活动设计原则,并基于这些原则构建了小学生面向创新思维培养的、由“准备”“创造”和“分享”3大环节及“先导”“创意”“设计”“实现”和“总结”5个小环节为主要框架构成的学习活动组织程序的理论模型,然后以信息技术课程中的Scratch编程模块为依托,通过行动研究使模型得到了发展。研究结果发现,学生在创造力倾向测验的冒险性、想象力、好奇性和挑战性等维度上都有显著提高。学生对所学课程的兴趣也逐渐浓厚,有创意且独立完成任务的人数逐渐增加,一系列数据支持研究提出的相关模型和具体实施办法的有效性。     

关于在职教师培训的几点思考

世纪之交我国的师范教育开始转型,开始考虑教师职前职后教育的一体化。在当前多种具有培训方式并存的情况下,教育学院应与师范大学、中小学一起,探讨在职教师的培训,走研训一体的科学道路。     

关于学前儿童习惯的国内研究综述

以"CNKI中国期刊全文数据库"所收录的论文作为综述对象,对学前儿童习惯的国内研究进行综述。已有研究呈现的总体特点为研究对象和研究内容广泛,研究视角和研究方法多样,研究主体呈学科背景特点,不同历史时期的研究重心有所变化。已有研究的贡献包括对相关基本概念进行了界定,肯定了培养习惯特别是在童年早期培养习惯的重大意义,从多个角度分析了影响习惯的因素,并提出了一些富有启发和借鉴意义的良好习惯培养和不良习惯矫正方法,同时对本领域的研究方法也进行了积极探索。其主要不足在于相对其他年龄对象而言,对学前儿童习惯的实证性和系统性研究不充分,尚缺乏一个比较系统的研究框架。今后有必要加强对不同地区不同文化背景学前儿童习惯特别是社会性习惯的研究。     

A Quintessentially Feminine Domain? Student Teachers' Constructions of Primary Teaching as a Career

The prevailing construction of primary teaching in the UK and elsewhere is that of a feminised occupation. In popular discourse, male teachers have been variously depicted as 'unusual', 'ambitious', 'odd' or even 'deviant'. Such constructions have engaged policy makers, academics and practitioners. Although previous research has suggested that working with younger children is more likely to be viewed as a 'woman's job', no large-scale investigation has been conducted into the factors influencing male entry to lower and upper primary teaching. In this paper, the findings of a recently completed survey of gender differences in graduate students' images of primary teaching as a career--undertaken in England and Wales--are presented. As well as drawing comparisons between male and female student teachers, detailed consideration is given to the perceptions of men planning to work with younger children and older children respectively. The paper concludes with an exploration of the policy implications of the research.     

Evaluation Research: A Pragmatic,Program-Focused,Research Strategy for Decision-Makers

Human resource development (HRD) practitioners frequently need to gather and organize data to support decisions about programs. Unfortunately, in many work environments there is a short time available to gather data in support of the decision-making process. Yet the ability to develop or use data or to convince others to use data has become the prime concern of decisionmakers. The evaluation research strategy contains four primary features—utility, feasibility, proprietorship, and accuracy. With a philosophical foundation grounded in pragmatism, evaluation research follows a four-level decision-making hierarchy: purpose, techniques, plan, and implementation. In addition, there are nine major purposes. There are two primary participants in evaluation research: the researcher and the stakeholder group. The stakeholder group is included because of the belief that people who have a stake in an evaluation research outcome should be actively and meaningfully involved in shaping that research effort, thus increasing the likelihood of utilization. Evaluation research may be goal-driven; or it may focus on evaluation questions, concerns and issues, program rationales, decisions or problems, or organization (client) needs.     

The Issue of Class Size for Young Children in Schools: what can we learn from research?

abstract

The debate over class sizes in schools has become more heated in recent years. Over the past decade or so, class sizes at primary level have increased, and without action to the contrary look like they will continue to rise. In the face of this, educational pressure groups and others have made increasingly strong recommendations about the need to reduce class sizes in primary schools. Government spokespeople drawing on accepted wisdom about research, say there is no proven link between school class size and pupils’ progress. Yet recent research evidence from the USA, and an accompanying debate over the findings and the use of public funds, have improved our understanding about the effects of class size. This paper examines the most recent documentary and research evidence in an attempt to answer three questions: how have class sizes changed over the past decade, what is known about the link between class size and educational attainment, and what, in terms of classroom processes, might explain the link. It is concluded that there is now firm evidence of a link, but only in the early years and only with classes smaller than 20. The evidence supports the reduction of class sizes in the first years at school, especially with disadvantaged pupils, but much still needs to be researched.