Self-determination perceptions and behaviors of diverse students with LD during the transition planning process

Transition models include components of student self-determination during transition planning meetings. Researchers acknowledge that cultural identity may influence both transition decisions and self-determination strategies. Yet the appropriateness of these approaches for culturally and linguistically diverse students with learning disabilities (LD) remains unknown. This study examined self-determination perceptions and behaviors of European American, African American, and Hispanic American male adolescents with LD. Data were collected during focus group and individual interviews, observations, and document reviews. Qualitative data analysis provided information about students' behaviors and perceptions during postsecondary transition planning. The findings indicated that differences within this group of diverse participants were subtle. Students identified themselves and family members--rather than teachers--as key players in transition planning. Students perceived that self-determination efforts were thwarted in school contexts, whereas self-determination opportunities in home contexts were more accessible and productive.     

Changes in secondary teachers' perceptions of barriers to portfolio assessment

Portfolio assessment has become a popular medium for merging classroom assessment with large-scale testing, but adoption of portfolios in the classroom for external assessment purposes may be difficult because the use of such portfolios may require changes in the curriculum, instructions, and assessments used by teachers. As a result, there are numerous potential barriers to the adoption of portfolios that can be used for large-scale assessment purposes. This study investigates how secondary teachers' perceptions of portfolio implementation barriers changed when teachers participated in a 1-year portfolio implementation effort. Survey results are analyzed with a Rasch rating scale model. Results suggest that teachers' apprehension about portfolio barriers increased slightly, but that this increase can be attributable to teachers with little portfolio experience. Furthermore, teachers' concerns about the amount of time required to develop and score portfolios increased substantially while concerns about the availability of resources and resistance from parents decreased.     

Student perceptions of ePortfolio integration in online courses

This study explored students’ perceptions regarding the integration of electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) in two online graduate‐level courses at a small research university in the western United States. Researchers investigated student perceptions of communication, connectedness, value, and perceived student learning through ePortfolio integration and formative peer review to support a sustained community of learning. Data was collected from 40 students with a Web‐based questionnaire and a threaded discussion forum. Results indicate ePortfolios positively impacted some students’ perception of communication, connectedness, and learning. Most participants also valued ePortfolios. Prior ePortfolio experience and gender were responsible for minor differences in student perceptions, whereas lack of prior reflective experience impacted student perceptions significantly. Researchers conclude that ePortfolios can foster learning communities in online graduate programs.     

Nurse managers’ perceptions of barriers to the mentoring of early career nurses

ABSTRACT

Mentoring is a unique educative workplace relationship which holds the potential to support the skill, knowledge, social and emotional needs of both new and experienced staff members. As promotion of mentoring in the nursing workplace can improve workforce retention and cohesion, understanding of nurse managers’ perceptions of the barriers to the mentoring of early career researchers in hospitals can offer insights that enhance the efficacy of mentoring in these dynamic contexts. In-depth interviews with 20 nurse managers were conducted to identify these barriers, with interpersonal conflict, competing priorities for time and financial resources, and lack of training emerging as recurring themes raised by participants. We explore how these barriers can be mitigated to strengthen the contemporary mentoring quality and opportunity in acute care hospitals.     

Young children's perceptions of due process in schools’ disciplinary procedures

This study explored how children of lower primary school grades perceive due process in schools’ disciplinary procedures. While many studies have explored how adolescents perceive school discipline, only a few studies have examined the perceptions of primary school pupils, and no study has investigated lower primary school grades. The qualitative research design was based on semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with 70 children, aged 7 to 10, recruited from 19 public schools in Israel. In addition, we recruited a children's advisory group that participated in the research process. The findings revealed that while many of the study participants had internalised a formalistic approach to due process (i.e. meting out uniform punishments in similar cases, in accordance with a closed system of rules), others objected to this approach, providing various reasons for their concerns. Participants’ criticisms of a formalistic due process policy included lack of compassion and lack of understanding of pupils’ social, academic or other difficulties, disregard of pupils’ voice, the complex task of discerning the truth, apprehension over a uniform punitive system and low efficacy of punishments. We argue that the right to due process in schools lies at the intersection of legal and educational narratives. Even young children are able to recognise the inherent incongruity of these narratives, as they constitute a significant part of their daily routine in school. We also argue that this incongruity engenders a distorted due process, thus imparting faulty lessons about the right to due process and its justifications.     

城乡基础教育一体化的文化逻辑与现实冲突

随着人类社会的不断进步与文明程度的不断提高,基础教育公共品对社会经济发展的重要性也是日益显现.受二元经济结构影响,我国城乡之间基础教育发展存在明显差距,城乡基础教育差距的存在和扩大是我国当前教育发展的严峻现实.城乡教育一体化是城乡一体化的重要组成部分,是保障城乡教育均衡发展、促进教育公平的必然要求.然而,在城乡基础教育一体化的进程中却出现了众多的冲突,其中在文化的互动与磨合中,冲突尤为明显,不可忽视,集中表现在观念文化、制度文化和方式文化等方面,跨越这些文化藩篱对推进我国基础教育一体化具有重要的意义.     

Student perceptions of the situational,institutional, dispositional and epistemological barriers to persistence

Ethnography was used to elucidate barriers to completion in natural resource sciences distance education. The aim was to increase understanding of those variables associated with persistence and withdrawal, particularly to discern better the role of disciplinary content in these phenomena. The courses provide exemplars of epistemological stances that are broadly relevant. Both withdrawal and persisting students experienced situational, institutional, dispositional and epistemological problems that posed barriers to completion. Elucidation of the epistemological problems makes it evident that course content itself cannot be ignored in any theoretical or practical consideration of distance education attrition.     

Teacher perceptions of facilitators and barriers to implementing classroom physical activity breaks

Abstract

Physical activity plays an important role in childhood development and is associated with positive health, social, emotional, and academic benefits. Despite this, children are often sedentary for most of their school day and fail to meet daily activity recommendations. Incorporating physical activity breaks into the classroom can achieve many positive outcomes, however has not been widely adopted. This study used the diffusion of innovation theory as a framework to examine teacher perceptions of barriers and facilitators to incorporating physical activity breaks into their elementary classrooms. Teachers perceived compatibility with teaching philosophy and observability of benefits to most students as strong facilitators. They struggled to reconcile relative advantage and trailability, primarily due to classroom management issues associated with just a few students. Lack of complexity facilitated implementation, however upper grade teachers felt a strong need to connect activity to academics which threatened complexity. The authors conclude with recommendations to increase adoption.     

Parent and student perceptions of classroom learning environment and its association with student outcomes

This research is distinctive in that parents’ perceptions were utilised in conjunction with students’ perceptions in investigating science classroom learning environments among Grade 4 and 5 students in South Florida. The What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire was modified for young students and their parents and administered to 520 students and 120 parents. Data analyses supported the WIHIC’s factorial validity, internal consistency reliability and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Both students and parents preferred a more positive classroom environment than the one perceived to be actually present, but effect sizes for actual-preferred differences were larger for parents than for students. Associations were found between some learning environment dimensions (especially task orientation) and student outcomes (especially attitudes). Qualitative methods suggested that students and parents were generally satisfied with the classroom environment, but that students would prefer more investigation while parents would prefer more teacher support. The study provides a pioneering look at how parents and students perceive the science learning environment and opens the way for further learning environment studies involving both parents and students.     

Parent and teacher perceptions of NAPLAN in a sample of Independent schools in Western Australia

Stories appear frequently in the Australian media regarding parent and teacher perceptions and attitudes towards the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy. However, thorough empirical investigations of parent perceptions are sparse. This study presents a survey of 345 parents across Years 3 and 5 from a sample of Independent schools in Western Australia. A representative sample of teachers from these schools were also surveyed in order to compare and contrast parent and teacher perspectives about the transparency and accountability associated with testing, the usefulness of results for helping individual students, and the perceived clarity of communication of results. Findings reveal mixed positive and negative views that reside within an overall prevailing low opinion of the testing. Some ways for improving the perception of the testing with the general public are discussed.     

Deconstructing barriers: perceptions of students labeled with learning disabilities in higher education

This phenomenological study investigated barriers to higher education faced by 11 college students labeled with learning disabilities (LD) using their voice as the primary data. Data were analyzed and interpreted through a disability theory perspective revealing barriers stemmed largely from external social causes rather than individual pathology. Barriers included being misunderstood by faculty, being reluctant to request accommodations for fear of invoking stigma, and having to work considerably longer hours than nonlabeled peers. Findings indicated barriers could be overcome through raising faculty awareness about LD issues, engaging the assistance of the college LD specialist, and participation in a LD democratic empowerment community on campus.     

Parent involvement: perceptions of recent immigrant parents in a suburban school district,Minnesota

The study aimed to examine the perceptions of immigrant parents regarding their school’s efforts to encourage three types of parent involvement: Parenting, Communicating, and Learning at Home. The sample includes 106 immigrant parents with children who were enrolled in English Language Learners programmes at 10 schools in a suburban school district in Minnesota, USA. The results showed that depending on their ethnicities, the children’s school levels and the father’s educational level, the perceptions of the parents were significantly different in terms of the “Parenting” and “Learning at Home” involvement types. Mother’s educational level was significantly correlated to the languages used at home and to their children’s academic achievement in English. Results indicated that schools should consider ethnic backgrounds and educational levels of parents, and languages used at home to instil as collaborations between immigrant parents and schools.     

Taiwanese primary school teachers’ perceived enablers for and barriers to the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning

Educational Studies in Mathematics - This study is part of the international survey studies on teachers’ beliefs concerning the integration of children’s literature in mathematics...     

一体化进程中的欧盟职业教育培训计划

随着欧盟经济的发展和社会的进步，职业教育得到了越来越多的关注。本文主要分析自20世纪90年代以来．欧盟职业教育与培训计划的缘起产生、主要培训计划及其实施的特点。     

The perceptions of first-year undergraduate Malawian students of the essay writing process

Abstract

A good command of written English is essential for tertiary students in Malawi. Notably, their academic success is largely dependent on their mastery of the written language but, in addition, recent years have seen more employers in Malawi emphasising the need for excellent communication skills in both the national language (Chichewa) and English. This article analyses Malawian first-year undergraduate perceptions of the essay writing process. A study in which 200 students from the faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences were surveyed was carried out at the University of Malawi's Chancellor College in 2006. The results indicate that students find it very challenging to obtain sufficient and relevant source text information, paraphrase or summarise information, and use an appropriate academic writing style. It appears that essay writing is challenging for first-year undergraduates — partly due to lack of thorough and timely training in essay writing.     

Education and the overcoming of evil

Abstract

In this essay, I try to make sense out of Kant’s unusual concept of grace, particularly as regards its uneasy relationship to education within the context of the effort to overcome evil. The key to the puzzle, I argue, lies in what I call ‘moral receptivity’. Part of education’s job is to make us morally receptive to grace by preparing us for its possibility.     

Teachers' perceptions of the barriers to the implementation of a pedagogic innovation: A South East Asian case study

This paper summarizes the results of a study designed to determine why teachers did not use a teaching approach which was recommended by curriculum planners. The study indicated that teachers assessed the innovation with regard to itsefficiency for covering the syllabus, itscongruency with the expectations of significant others and whether its use entailed anyundesirable consequences. Each of these criteria was directly influenced by the overall need to select pupils in Hong Kong, which was manifested in the importance attached to the public examination. These findings are discussed in the light of available models for explaining how teachers react to innovations and with reference to the strategy of curriculum development utilized in Hong Kong.

---

Zusammenfassung Dieser Bericht faßt die Ergebnisse einer Studie zusammen, deren Sinn es war, herauszufinden, warum ein von Curriculumplannern entworfenes Lehrprogramm von den Lehrern nicht benutzt wurde. Die Studie ergab, daß die Lehrer die Innovation hinsichtlich ihrerWirksamkeit bewerteten, den Lehrplan vollständig zu behandeln, ihrerÜbereinstimmung mit den Erwartungen von anderen maßgeblichen Seiten und ob ihre Anwendung irgendwelcheunerwünschte Folgen mit sich brachte. Jedes dieser Kriterien wurde unmittelbar beeinflußt durch das allgemeine Bedürfnis, in Hong Kong Schüler auszuwählen, was sich aus der Bedeutung, die öffentlichen Prüfungen beigemessen wurde, ergeben hatte. Diese Befunde wurden in Hinblick auf verfügbare Modelle diskutiert. Diese sollten der Klärung der Frage dienen, wie Lehrer auf Innovationen und auf Strategien der Curriculumentwicklung in Hong Kong reagieren.

---

Résumé Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude menée pour savoir pourquoi les enseignants n'ont pas fait usage d'une approche d'enseignement recommandée par les planificateurs du curriculum. L'étude a révélé que les enseignants ont évalué l'innovation par rapport à son efficacité à respecter le programme, sa conformité aux attentes des autres, et au fait de savoir si non usage entraînait des conséquences inattendues. Chacun de ces critères a été directement influencé par le besoin général de sélectionner des élèves à Hong Kong, besoin qui se manifestait dans l'importance attachée à l'examen du public. Ces résultats sont examinés en vue de trouver des modèles valables permettant d'expliquer pourquoi les enseignants ont telle ou telle réaction envers les innovations et par rapport à la stratégie de développement du curriculum mise en place à Hong Kong.

     

Teaching the process of science: faculty perceptions and an effective methodology

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy.