‘Boys don’t rule us’: exploring Rwandan girls with disabilities’ resistance to masculine dominance in school

Although a great deal of previous literature has explored the ways in which social class affects parental engagement in educational processes, there has been surprisingly little discussion of the way in which social class shapes the parent–professional interaction that occurs in school exclusion processes specifically. School exclusion processes are complex and those parents who become involved in them have to negotiate not only the formal processes that surround the use of permanent and fixed-term exclusion but also the less well-regulated and increasingly favoured processes that are associated with the use of alternatives to exclusion from school. This paper draws on the perspectives of professionals working in a wide variety of roles and contexts in one local authority in England and on those of a small number of mothers of children with longer and more complex histories of involvement in school exclusion processes. It argues for greater recognition of the impact of social class on parent–professional interaction in school exclusion processes because of the way in which it helps to perpetuate an intergenerational cycle of social and educational disadvantage.     

Policy making processes with respect to teacher education in Finland and Norway

This article examines policy making processes in the area of teacher education (TE) in Finland and Norway. Particular attention is given to the roles different actors play in these processes and the potential effects of their involvement on the TE programs in the two countries. Contemporary policy processes are analyzed through a set of interviews with profiled and experienced policy makers in the area in question. The analyses show that TE policy processes in Norway rely heavily on political actors and changes in political conditions, while Finnish TE policy processes rely more on academic expertise in the development of TE policies.     

Intellectual Disability and Developmental Risk: Promoting Intervention to Improve Child and Family Well‐Being

Initial intervention processes for children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) largely focused on direct efforts to impact core cognitive and academic deficits associated with the diagnosis. Recent research on risk processes in families of children with ID, however, has influenced new developmental system approaches to early intervention. Recent risk and resilience processes are reviewed that connect stress, family process, and the high rates of behavioral problems in children with ID that have substantial influence on child and family outcomes. These models are linked to emerging evidence‐based intervention processes that focus on strategic parent skill training and mindfulness interventions that reduce parental stress and create indirect benefits for children's behavioral competencies. A family‐focused developmental systems approach (M. J. Guralnick, 2011) is emphasized.     

Cultural diversity in teachers’ group-centered beliefs and practices in early childcare

The present study examined the relation between teachers’ cultural backgrounds, their beliefs regarding group processes, their actual support of group processes, and children's behavior in center-based childcare in the Netherlands. For this purpose, 57 teachers of native Dutch and immigrant Moroccan-Dutch, Turkish-Dutch, Surinamese-Dutch, and Antillean-Dutch backgrounds were interviewed about their teaching beliefs and observed while engaging in a constructive play activity with small groups of children. Clear cultural differences in beliefs and corresponding behavior were found. In the interviews, the Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch teachers mentioned concepts relating to group processes more often than the Dutch and Surinamese- and Antillean-Dutch teachers did, and they showed higher support of group processes during play. Moreover, the degree to which teachers expressed beliefs in group processes was significantly correlated with support of group processes by the teacher and with levels of collaboration and cognitive engagement in children's play. Structural equation modeling was applied to test direct and indirect effects, confirming the hypothesis that comparatively elaborate beliefs of teachers on group processes result in practices supporting group processes as well as more collaboration and cognitive engagement in children's play.     

The antecedents of teacher satisfaction with professional development programs

Literature has shown that on-the-job professional development programs are most beneficial when they are long-term, focused on students’ learning, and linked to the curricula. We hypothesized that the higher the control teachers have over job professional development processes, and the greater the resemblance of these processes to the typical teaching culture in classrooms, the greater the teachers’ satisfaction with job professional development processes. The findings of this study demonstrate that the main factors affecting teachers’ satisfaction with the instructional programs are related to their desire to maintain instructional processes “close to home”, and to shape these processes in accordance with their needs and expectations. The implications of the study are discussed with relation to decision-makers in the school setting and at the local authorities’ level.     

Metacognition, Self-Regulation, and Self-Regulated Learning: Research Recommendations

Much research has been conducted on metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning, but the articles in this special issue make it clear that we still have many unanswered questions. Recommendations for research include providing clear definitions of processes, identifying relevant theories, ensuring that assessments clearly reflect processes, linking processes with academic outcomes, conducting more educational developmental research, and tying processes firmly with instructional methods. Collectively, these recommendations will enhance our understanding of metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning and will lead to solid implications for educational policy and practice.     

Recognising and promoting collaboration in an online asynchronous discussion

This paper reports on a study involving the identification and measurement of collaboration in an online asynchronous discussion (OAD). A conceptual framework served for the development of a model which conceptualises collaboration on a continuum of processes that move from social presence to production of an artefact. From this model, a preliminary instrument with six processes was developed. Through application of the instrument to an OAD, the instrument was further developed with indicators added for each process. Use of the instrument to analyse an OAD showed that it is effective for gaining insight into collaborative processes in which discussants in an OAD do or do not engage. Use of the instrument in other contexts would test and potentially strengthen its reliability and provide further insight into the collaborative processes in which individuals engage in OADs. Analysis of an OAD using the instrument revealed that participants engaged primarily in processes related to social presence and articulating individual perspectives, and did not reach a stage of sharing goals and producing shared artefacts. The results suggest that the higher‐level processes related to collaboration in an OAD may need to be more explicitly and effectively promoted in order to counteract a tendency on the part of participants to remain at the level of individual rather than group or collaborative effort.     

Reading the graphics: what is the relationship between graphical reading processes and student comprehension?

Research on comprehension of written text and reading processes suggests a greater use of reading processes is associated with higher scores on comprehension measures of those same texts. Although researchers have suggested that the graphics in text convey important meaning, little research exists on the relationship between children’s processes prompted by the graphics in informational text and their overall comprehension of the same texts. In this study, 30 second-graders read 2 informational texts, were prompted to share their thinking whenever they looked at a graphic, retold each text in their own words, and answered 8 comprehension questions about each text. Correlations between students’ scores on the post-reading comprehension measures and the reading processes prompted by the graphics suggested that: (1) the number of times any process was prompted by the graphics was significantly correlated with scores on the retelling measure for one book, but not for the retelling measure of the other book or for the comprehension question measure for either book; (2) there were no significant correlations between the number of different processes prompted by the graphics and students’ scores on any comprehension measure; (3) a number of individual processes were positively correlated with retelling and/or comprehension question scores.     

Online reflective writing mechanisms and its effects on self-regulated learning: a case of web-based portfolio assessment system

The purpose of the present study was to design reflective writing mechanisms in a web-based portfolio assessment system and evaluate its effects on self-regulated learning. Participants were two classes of juniors majoring in data processing and taking a course called “Website design” at a vocational high school in Taiwan. One class was randomly selected and assigned as an experimental group (41 students) reflecting on learning processes through a web-based portfolio assessment system, whereas the other class was assigned as a control group (41 students) reflecting on learning processes through a paper-based portfolio. The result revealed that students who were highly satisfied with online reflective writing mechanisms significantly outperformed students who were less satisfied with online reflective writing mechanisms in self-regulated students reflecting on learning processes through a web-based portfolio assessment system significantly outperformed students reflecting on learning processes through a paper-based portfolio in self-regulated learning.     

基于工作过程的秘书写作教学观

基于工作过程的秘书写作教学是一种融教学过程和写作过程于一体的新型秘书写作教学方法。它要求按秘书成长规律和工作实际确定教学内容,按工作过程设计、组织情境教学,并构建与之一致的教学评价体系。     

转子流量计流量公式推导方法的商榷

大多化工教材在推导转子流量计流量公式时没有将研究对象分析清楚,并且在分析受力时同时引入了压差力和浮力两个性质相似的力,阴差阳错地得出了正确的流量公式.文章分别以转子及转子周围的流体作为整体研究对象,从压差力的角度和以转子为研究对象,从浮力的角度出发得出了正确的结论.     

Understanding randomness and its impact on student learning: lessons learned from building the Biology Concept Inventory (BCI)

While researching student assumptions for the development of the Biology Concept Inventory (BCI; http://bioliteracy.net), we found that a wide class of student difficulties in molecular and evolutionary biology appears to be based on deep-seated, and often unaddressed, misconceptions about random processes. Data were based on more than 500 open-ended (primarily) college student responses, submitted online and analyzed through our Ed's Tools system, together with 28 thematic and think-aloud interviews with students, and the responses of students in introductory and advanced courses to questions on the BCI. Students believe that random processes are inefficient, whereas biological systems are very efficient. They are therefore quick to propose their own rational explanations for various processes, from diffusion to evolution. These rational explanations almost always make recourse to a driver, e.g., natural selection in evolution or concentration gradients in molecular biology, with the process taking place only when the driver is present, and ceasing when the driver is absent. For example, most students believe that diffusion only takes place when there is a concentration gradient, and that the mutational processes that change organisms occur only in response to natural selection pressures. An understanding that random processes take place all the time and can give rise to complex and often counterintuitive behaviors is almost totally absent. Even students who have had advanced or college physics, and can discuss diffusion correctly in that context, cannot make the transfer to biological processes, and passing through multiple conventional biology courses appears to have little effect on their underlying beliefs.     

Modeling complexity and difficulty in measures of fluid intelligence

This article applies structural equation modeling to the simultaneous study of task complexity and difficulty in measures of fluid intelligence. The interrelation between 3 tests of fluid intelligence, 2 experimental tasks, and age is examined. Each experimental task is decomposed into 4 subtasks, with the most intellectually demanding ones being measures of fluid intelligence, and the remaining 3 levels constructed to be gradually simpler. The findings suggest that the experimental manipulations produced systematic changes in 3 sets of parameters. These are: (a) the mean intercept parameters of the structural equation model—interpreted as “pure test difficulties” reflecting task‐specific demands placed on elementary cognitive processes of the “same kind” (b) factor loadings on 2 subtask‐specific narrow factors (SWAPS and TRIPLETS) that reflect demands placed on processes of “similar kinds,” that is, processes common to variations within the same experimental task; and (c) factor loadings on a fluid intelligence factor (Gf) that reflect demands placed on processes of “diverse kinds,” which are common to measures of a broad range of different cognitive tasks. The results indicate that as task requirements become more demanding, cognitive processes of the same kind, which are involved in solving the easier subtasks, are no longer critical to performance, but the demand on processes of similar and diverse kinds is increased. It is suggested that for human subjects, increase in task complexity may be associated with lapses of attention in the course of carrying out a series of interconnected steps.     

Making sense of learning for work. Towards a framework of transitional learning

In this article a framework is presented to understand the changing character of individual learning processes and of educational practices related to work and employment. Based on two research projects - a research on women's biographical learning in relation to work and a European research on the socio-economic integration of young adults - a perspective of transitional learning is developed. It is argued that nowadays individual learning processes can be understood as processes of transitional learning aimed at creating meaningful connections between individual life and society via work and adult education. This interpretation, together with the changing educational landscape, calls for a reconsideration of the interventionist role of the adult educator. In order to stimulate and support these learning processes, guidance, training and counselling are becoming reflexive activities in need of interpretive professionals.     

Word recognition and basic cognitive processes among reading-disabled and normal readers in Arabic

This study investigated word identification inArabic and basic cognitive processes inreading-disabled (RD) and normal readers of thesame chronological age, and in younger normalreaders at the same reading level. The studyfocused on the word identification processes ofphonological decoding and orthographicprocessing and the cognitive processes ofsyntactic and morphological awareness, workingmemory, and visual processing. RD children werecompared with normal readers on a battery oftests developed in Arabic on the basis of thoseavailable in English and Hebrew. The presentresults revealed deficiencies among the RD childrenin phonological decoding, in contrast torelative strengths in orthographic processing. These data were consistent with English-languagefindings. The analysis of basiccognitive processes indicated significantdeficiencies in morphology, working memory, andsyntactic and visual processing, with the mostsevere deficiencies observed for phonologicalawareness. The results are discussed in lightof international RD findings and the nature ofArabic orthography.     

Do the processes engaged during mathematical word-problem solving differ along the distribution of word-problem competence?

Conventional research methods for understanding sources of individual differences in word-problem solving (WPS) only permit estimation of average relations between component processes and outcomes. The purpose of the present study was instead to examine whether and if so how the component processes engaged in WPS differ along the spectrum of WPS performance. Second graders (N = 1130) from 126 classrooms in 17 schools were assessed on component processes (reasoning, in-class attentive behavior, working memory, language comprehension, calculation fluency, word reading) and WPS. Multilevel, unconditional quantile multiple regression indicated that 3 component processes, calculation fluency, language comprehension, and working memory, are engaged in WPS differentially depending on students’ overall word-problem skill. The role of calculation fluency and language comprehension was stronger with more competent word-problem solving ability. By contrast, the role of working memory was stronger with intermediate-level than for strong problem solving. Results deepen insight into the role of these processes in WPS and provide the basis for hypothesizing how instructional strategies may be differentiated depending on students’ overall level of WPS competence.     

基于“学习设计”开发支持过程与活动的ICT教育应用模式

学习设计是教育技术领域最近最有意义的发展之一。它关注E-learning中的学习过程和活动,旨在描述各种各样的教学方法及过程,并能适应教学方法的不断更新。学习设计与教学设计存在着联系和区别,它通过教学设计进入教育实践应用中,为教师表达教学思想提供一个过程框架。它也可以帮助我们更好地理解信息技术在传统学校教育中的应用,为设计和开发支持过程与活动的ICT教育应用模式提供有效的途径。     

A review of the foundational processes that influence beliefs in climate change: opportunities for environmental education research

Recently, many organizations involved in environmental education have initiated programs that aim to educate visitors or other publics who interact with nature-based resources about the impacts and landscape transformations occurring because of climatic changes. However, many psychological, human-evolutionary, and social–ecological processes that impede individuals’ ability to notice or respond to (e.g. adaptation and mitigation behaviors) climate impacts in nature-based areas, or in their urban-based home communities, may influence the educational process. By reviewing and examining these foundational processes and their potential influence on an audience’s attitudes and beliefs towards climate change, we outline and explain their importance for research. Based on these important psychological, human-evolutionary, and social–ecological processes, the authors conclude by identifying how researchers can investigate the influence of these processes and their potential impacts on environmental education outcomes.     

Insights into Vocational Learning from an Applied Learning Perspective

A theoretical framework for understanding applied learning processes is now warranted given the frequency with which these processes are now being utilised. Drawing in part from the literature on applied education in schools as well as theories of vocational learning such a framework is offered here that seeks to explain these learning processes in terms of the interplay of multiple accounts of influences at micro, meso and macro levels. This framework integrates current and emerging theories around practical learning, and provides insights into vocational and workplace education processes. We clarify how features of our framework complement broader current debates and concepts in the literature on vocational and work-related learning, particularly focusing on influences for that learning at the micro level of individuals’ experiences and understandings entailed in embodied cognition, or knowing through practice. Moreover, the value of this framework is demonstrated through its application to two very different case studies of learning processes in workplace settings. In conclusion, some implications for further theoretical and practical work in this area are advanced.