Anxious girls and laid-back boys: teachers’ and study counsellors’ gendered perceptions of students

ABSTRACT

Efforts to reach gender equality in education in Finland have been extensive. Both teacher education and policy documents for schools have focused on gender equality and gender-neutral treatment of students. The aim of this study is to explore if and how these efforts are manifested in upper secondary school teachers’ and study counsellors’ perceptions of students’ self-belief, academic emotions, study habits and behaviour at school. Twenty-three interviews were conducted and analysed qualitatively through inductive content analysis. The results revealed that teachers and study counsellors perceive that girls’ low self-belief and high achievement expectations affected their academic performance, while boys’ insecurity or need for support was rarely mentioned. The teachers ascribed the students several gender-stereotypical attributes: girls were perceived as diligent and hard-working while boys were perceived as being indifferent towards school and achievements. The implications of these results for students’ self-belief and for teacher education are discussed.     

Development of self-belief for employability in higher education: ability,efficacy and control in context

Self-belief is argued here to be a key aspect of employability development that has been largely under conceptualisation in terms of what the construct may mean and how it may be developed through higher education (HE) study. This paper proposes three fundamental beliefs that need to be fostered in order to develop student self-belief: (1) that ability can be improved; (2) that one has the ability to achieve one's goals; and (3) that the environment will allow for goal attainment. Self-belief needs to be developed within the HE curriculum in the context of disciplinary knowledge and skills. The factors that may influence the development of these beliefs within the curriculum will be explored along with implications for practice that may support the development of self-belief and contribute to the production of employable graduates from HE.     

Self-theories of intelligence of engineering students

A questionnaire is developed to gauge the disposition of students towards either an incremental (malleable) or entity (fixed) view of intelligence. The relationships between this self-belief and views on group work/learning and creativity are also evaluated using the questionnaire. Attention is also given to any relationship which may exist between an intelligence self-belief and the general student receptivity to courses which address issues on personal and social awareness, i.e. tuition in psychology principles. The results of the study indicate that there is considerable variation in the self-beliefs of intelligence of the sample group considered, and that an incremental view of intelligence is more likely to lead to favourable views of the benefits of group (team) work and some psychological understanding, as well as a more optimistic view of, and nurture orientation towards, the creative potential in a science and engineering context. Thus, in terms of the transferable skills training of engineering students, the findings suggest that opportunities to re-address any fixed (limiting) self-beliefs may improve the efficacy of any subsequent skills training programme.     

Confidence: A better predictor of academic achievement than self-efficacy,self-concept and anxiety?

In this paper we report the results from a study that assessed confidence together with scales measuring self-belief – i.e., self-efficacy, different kinds of self-concepts, and anxiety – among the 15-year old students from Singapore. A distinct confidence factor was identified in the domains of mathematics (N = 1940) and English (N = 1786). Our results show that confidence is: a) a robust individual differences dimension; b) that can be combined with accuracy information to obtain bias scores that may be useful for group comparisons and for identification of misconceptions about particular topics. Confidence as studied in our work to date has been c) the best predictor of achievement in both mathematics and English; d) is related to both cognitive and self-belief measures; and e) it captures much of the predictive variance of other self-beliefs that are, in turn, among the best known predictors of achievement.     

关注与促进青少年的自我信念——自我效能理论的重要启示

作为自我结构中的核心成分,自我信念和自我效能密切关联。本文首先介绍自我效能理论的内涵、心理结构、功能和影响因素等;然后分析自我效能理论对当代青少年心理发展的重要影响,并探析自我效能理论对青少年自我信念形成与发展的启示作用。     

Self-beliefs in organic chemistry: Evaluation of a reciprocal causation,cross-lagged model

This study is designed to test a reciprocal causation, cross-lagged model of self-concept, self-efficacy, and achievement in a postsecondary STEM course. Both self-efficacy and self-concept are known to be related to achievement; however, there is a need to untangle the relationship between the two constructs as well as their association to achievement across time to best direct future research efforts. To achieve this research interest, a longitudinal measurement strategy was used to measure chemistry self-concept and self-efficacy for learning and performance before and after achievement measures (i.e., two term examinations) in a postsecondary organic chemistry course context. A reciprocal causation, cross-lagged model best fits the data as a representation of the relationships between these three measures over time as compared to autoregressive, performance effects, and self-belief effects models. Significant paths in the reciprocal causation, cross-lagged model include the first self-concept measure to the first achievement measure as well as from the second self-concept measure to the third self-efficacy measure. Relationships from achievement to each subsequent self-belief measure were also significant. This study demonstrates the ability of longitudinal measurements of multiple constructs in postsecondary STEM educational research to collect nuanced information that is overlooked when pre-measure designs of single constructs are used. In the classroom, an initial measure of self-concept can inform instructors of the likelihood of students to succeed on an initial achievement measure, at which point they may choose to implement some of the targeted intervention strategies from literature.     

如何在英语教学中开展人本主义学习活动

文章的核心是如何在英语教学中积极开展人本主义学习活动以促进个人发展,分析了人本主义活动与其它类型活动的区别.通过人本主义学习活动,学生对自己、对目的语以及对同学的态度都发生了积极的变化,而且教师的自我信念和自我认识也得到了升华.     

Institutional Art Education: Curriculum,Teacher and Learner

The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree to which institutional structures and their rationales affect educational opportunity in art. The meaning of educational opportunity is explored to disentangle individual learning which is negotiated within it. Curriculum is limited in its effectiveness unless it is accompanied by appropriate teaching where silent voices may be made audible. A swing of power in knowledge, methods, or skills from a teacher or curriculum-centred to a traditional learner-centred approach is insufficient. Individualised learning, leading to personal empowerment, is seen in the construction of self-belief that allows the learner to question the tenets of the teacher, the institution, and the politics of education, i.e., to see the system not in order to succeed within it, but in order to question its validity. The paper is in four sections – contexts and problems, art and curriculum, art and teaching, and individual learning.     

英语课程标准的特点研究

《英语课程标淮》在内容、目标、要求和编写体系等方面与现行大纲不同。《英语课程标准》把情感、策略、文化作为英语教学的重要内容与目标，把培养学生的学习兴趣、态度和自信心放在首位，把学生的学习策略和良好的学习习惯作为教学的重要组成部分，要求学生学会学习、自我监控、自我评价。同时，把文化渗透到爱国主义教育和增强世界意识之中，从根本上确立了学生的学习主体地位，展现了“以人为本”的教育思想。     

A systematic review on test anxiety in children and young people with learning difficulties

This systematic review explores test anxiety in children and young people (CYP) with learning difficulties. Research has found that students with learning difficulties experience higher levels of anxiety about school compared to peers without learning difficulties. One area of school that has had little research is test anxiety, therefore further exploration is needed. Nine papers resulted from the systematic search. It was found that CYP with learning difficulties can experience test anxiety. There are a variety of internal and external factors which have an interactional relationship with test anxiety. A model was developed to illustrate these factors including characteristics of tests, perceptions of support, self-belief and cognition and learning skills. This can be used to explore potential reasons for test anxiety in CYP with learning difficulties and to provide subsequent support.     

Humanitas,Metaphysics and Modern Liberal Arts

There is a new myth of the heterogeneous that is reducing the concept of humanity to a sinful enlightenment. In this article I investigate the contribution that a renewed understanding of liberal arts education might offer for the idea of a humanist education and for the concept of humanity; and this at a time when not only the concept of humanity per se, and of a humanist education in particular are suspected of Western imperialism and rational logocentrism, but also, in England at least, when the tuition fees of humanities students have trebled. I argue that within a concept of modern metaphysics first principles are re-formed to have their universality in instability and struggle. This instability and struggle is the modern culture of rational education, and speaks of a non-abstract comprehension of two of modernity’s most contested terms: freedom and humanity.     

Widening access to writing support: beliefs about the writing process are key

Abstract

Universities’ performance indicators for scholarly outputs depend on academics having productive and sustainable writing behaviours. Research shows that writing programmes can increase research output, but less is known about which writing processes are productive. A project was initiated at a university which widened access to writing support to include staff who were not included in these performance targets, but who might be in the future. Following a writing for publication workshop, 36 academics were offered a place at a structured writing retreat. The evaluation aimed to increase our understanding of participants’ perceptions of their writing skills and processes before and after the retreat using a transactional model. We found that participants’ perceptions of their writing abilities were greater than their perceptions of their ability to employ effective writing practices. Both scores improved after the retreat. This finding confirms that a structured writing retreat provides an environment and structure for academics to practise effective writing. It enhances self-belief in the processes and skills required to produce output. Widening access to writing support for academics is essential for success in performance-based systems. Writing support must provide opportunities for academics to develop strong performance beliefs by practising writing skills and productive and sustainable writing processes.     

网络自主学习中的英语听说焦虑研究

本研究对非英语专业大学生在网络自主学习情境下的英语听说焦虑进行了调查。通过对问卷调查和访谈所得数据的分析发现:(1)学生英语听力焦虑和口语焦虑都属于中等程度,其中因子"听力自我信念"引起的听力焦虑达到高等程度,因子"低自尊"引起的口语焦虑达到高等程度;(2)听力焦虑不仅与听力成绩相关,还影响口语成绩;同样口语焦虑不仅与口语成绩相关还与听力成绩相关,即听说焦虑与听说成绩存在交叉相关性;(3)听说焦虑呈现出新的焦虑现象,如学生不仅担心自身成绩、教师的评价,还担心情感缺失及自制力的松懈。研究发现对英语听说自主学习有一定的意义。     

Conceptions and Expectations of Mentoring Relationships in a Teacher Education Reform Context

Researchers indicate that prior experience and beliefs about learning and teaching held by practicing and pre-service teachers contribute significantly in shaping their mentoring relationships and, more broadly, their career outlook and aspirations. While mentoring is commonly seen as a form of support for pre-service teachers, mentoring can be pivotal in the creation of enabling environments in which collaborative, professional dialogs are undertaken. Yet, there lies a tension between enculturation into the norms of schools and promoting self-belief, participation, and collaboration. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, in this study we focused on the conceptions and expectations of classroom mentoring within the context of a teacher reform initiative in Scotland. Findings indicated that participants in the study held a mixture of beliefs regarding mentoring practices. Implications for partnership arrangements in initial teacher education and teachers’ career development were discussed.     

Identifying divergent foster care careers for Danish children

Foster care children who experience placement disruption and foster care instability are at elevated risk for a host of poor outcomes, yet little work considers what these unstable foster care careers look like or what causes them. In this article, I start by using previous studies on foster care drift, instability, and placement disruptions to define the unstable foster care career as a subset of foster care careers. I then use administrative data on 30,239 Danish children born 1982–1987 who entered foster care to generate nine foster care careers, two of which meet the criteria for an unstable career. Children with a high number of risk factors associated with foster care entry were also the most likely to enter an unstable career. I end by discussing implications for recent studies of the effect of foster care on children's later life outcomes and the relevance of the findings for practitioners.     

Beginning and end of the internship: student teachers’ interpersonal profiles and the accuracy of their self-beliefs

An important purpose of internships in teacher preparation programmes is to develop competence through experience. The research questions in the present study concern student teachers’ interpersonal profiles (i.e. patterns of their interpersonal behaviour as perceived by students) and the accuracy of their self-belief regarding the interpersonal relationship with students at the beginning and end of the internship. Participants were student teachers (n=34) of a one-year teacher education programme. There were fewer student teachers with preferable interpersonal profiles at the end of the internship than in the beginning. Self-beliefs at the beginning indicated that the majority of student teachers were underestimating themselves; at the end of the internship most of them were overestimating themselves. About two-thirds had more accurate self-beliefs at the end of the internship than at the beginning. Overestimating oneself seemed negatively related to more accurate self-beliefs at the end of the internship and student teachers with more preferable profiles had more accurate self-beliefs.     

The effect of context on student engagement in engineering

The self-belief, motivation, tendency to procrastinate and learning styles of engineering students are discussed. It is proposed that engineering has developed an idiom and a learning approach that favours the dominant client, i.e. men, while simultaneously undermining the self-efficacy and motivation of women. Thematic coherence and teaching within a context that is familiar to students have been shown previously to be effective approaches for engaging students and are extended here to utilise the common experiences of all students to initiate the learning cycle. These approaches are combined with a template for teaching that uses the 5Es (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate) in order to render the fundamentals of engineering more accessible to all students. This methodology can be introduced by individual instructors, who will be rewarded by students who are more engaged, more motivated and more likely to give a higher rating to the instructor and the course.     

Becoming a PI: From ‘doing’ to ‘managing’ research

While achieving research independence by becoming a principal investigator (PI) is a key aspiration for many postdocs, little is known of the trajectory from PhD graduation to first PI grant. This interview-based study examined how 16 PIs in science, technology engineering, mathematics or medicine, in the UK and continental Europe, prepared for and dealt with this career transition. Individuals demonstrated commitment to lengthy periods of postdoctoral work in a range of institutions (often involving international mobility) to achieve PI-status. Their emotionally laden journeys required resilience and self-belief, since getting a grant was conceived as partly luck. Once individuals had their grant they faced new challenges that distanced them from actively researching. Still, individuals navigated their intentions in a sustained fashion to create a distinct intellectual profile in the face of challenging circumstances. The results highlight the centrality of emotion in the journey, as well as curricular imperatives for both doctoral and postdoctoral learning.     

What factors promote student resilience on a level 1 distance learning module?

Resilience is understood to be the ability to adapt positively in the face of adversity. In relation to new students on a distance learning module, this can mean how they adapt and make sense of the demands of their chosen study to enable them to persist in their studies. This article reports a small-scale study involving semi-structured telephone interviews with students on a level 1 distance learning module at the UK Open University. Students identified the challenges they experienced such as carving out time to study alongside other commitments, as well as developing their academic writing. Students also identified factors that enabled them to adapt to these challenges and be successful in continuing to study. Students rated highly the support they received from tutors in the form of tailored, detailed feedback on their assignments. Other factors that enabled students to persist in their studies were time management, self-belief and motivation.     

From science teacher to ‘teacher scientist’: exploring the experiences of research-active science teachers in the UK

We explore the professional identities of UK-based secondary science teachers who actively participated in science research for at least six months. The study uses thematic analysis to analyse semi-structured interviews with 17 participants across England and Scotland, from a variety of educational/socio-economic contexts. We found that through participation in research projects, teachers develop a multi-faceted sense of professional identity that includes the roles of teacher, scientist/researcher, mentor and coach. Teachers who are research-active develop complex professional networks that have a positive impact upon their sense of professional worth and self-belief. Through participation in research, teachers identified as both science teachers and scientists and this has been encapsulated in this research as a transition in professional identity to ‘teacher scientist’. The key enabling factor in identification as a ‘teacher scientist’ is a teacher’s positive interaction with scientists/researchers. Teachers are motivated to participate in research projects in response to the enthusiasm of their students and a desire for students to contribute to research that could provide solutions to real-world challenges. This understanding of the capacity of science teachers to become ‘teacher scientists’, and recognising teachers' altruistic motivations, could contribute to teacher retention and recruitment strategies that are less focused on financial incentives.