The academic achievement of students in a New Zealand university: Does it pay to work?

There is growing concern about the detrimental effect of term-time employment on university students’ academic success. We report results from an online survey of 1837 students of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, whose responses were later matched to their academic records for a semester. The majority of employed students reported working out of financial necessity. There was no difference in grades between employed and non-employed students, but hours worked had a direct negative linear effect on the grades of employed students. Subsequent analysis suggested that employed students might have had significantly higher grades than the non-employed subsample if they had not worked. Mediating and moderating effects on the relationship between hours worked and academic performance were identified, and a model of the work–achievement relationship developed. Universities could do more to accommodate the reality of part-time work by their students.     

Behavior problems in elementary school among low-income boys: The role of teacher–child relationships

The authors identified trajectories of teacher–child relationship conflict and closeness from Grades 1 to 6, and associations between these trajectories and externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 11 years old among low-income, urban boys (N = 262). There were three main findings. Nagin cluster analyses indicated five trajectories for conflict with all children evidencing increases in conflict, and four trajectories for closeness with all children demonstrating decreases in closeness. Trajectories with higher levels of conflict and lower levels of closeness were associated with higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at 11 years old. Moreover, conflictual teacher–child relationships exacerbated the effects of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in early childhood; children with conflictual teacher–child relationships had higher levels of behavior problems in middle childhood relative to children with low conflictual teacher–child relationships. Implications of targeting teacher–child relationships as interventions to help prevent behavior problems are discussed.     

The role of vocabulary depth in predicting reading comprehension among English monolingual and Spanish–English bilingual children in elementary school

The present study investigated the role of vocabulary depth in reading comprehension among a diverse sample of monolingual and bilingual children in grades 2?C4. Vocabulary depth was defined as including morphological awareness, awareness of semantic relations, and syntactic awareness. Two hundred ninety-four children from 3 schools in a Mid-Atlantic district and 3 schools in a Northeastern school district participated in the study and were assessed at the beginning and end of one school year on a wide variety of language and literacy measures. Bilingual children were assessed in English and Spanish. A latent difference score model that assessed change in a latent indicator of English reading comprehension from Time 1 (Fall) to Time 2 (Spring) was tested with results showing that vocabulary depth measures made significant contributions to initial status, but not change, in reading comprehension over and above between-subjects factors (grade, ethnicity, language status) and baseline control within-subject factors (word identification and vocabulary breadth). There was no added contribution of Spanish language measures to English reading comprehension among the bilingual students.     

Does having vulnerable friends help vulnerable youth? The co-evolution of friendships,victimization, and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents' social networks

This study examined whether having vulnerable friends helps or hurts victimized and depressed (i.e., vulnerable) adolescents and whether this depends on classroom supportive norms. Students (n = 1461, 46.7% girls, 93.4% Han nationality) were surveyed four times from seventh and eighth grade (M_age = 13 years) in 2015 and 2016 in Central China. Longitudinal social network analyses indicated that having vulnerable friends can both hurt and help vulnerable adolescents. Depressed adolescents with depressed friends increased in victimization over time. Victimized adolescents with victimized friends increased in victimization but decreased in depressive symptoms. These processes were most likely in classrooms with high supportive norms. Having friends and a supportive classroom may hurt vulnerable adolescents' social position but help victims' emotional development.     

Psychological and physical intimate partner violence and young children’s mental health: The role of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms and parenting behaviors

Young children are at significant risk of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), and vulnerable to exposure-related psychopathology, yet few studies investigate the effects of exposure to IPV on children under the age of 5 years. The current study investigated the role of maternal PTSD symptoms and parenting strategies in the relationship between mothers’ IPV experiences and psychopathology in their young children, ages 3–6 years in a community-based cohort of 308 mother-child dyads at high risk for family violence. Data were collected from 2011 to 2014. IPV history and maternal PTSD symptoms were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Children’s symptoms were assessed with a developmentally-sensitive psychiatric interview administered to mothers. Punitive/restrictive parenting was independently-coded from in-depth interviews with mothers about their disciplinary practices. Hypothesized direct and indirect pathways between physical and psychological IPV, maternal PTSD, maternal parenting style, and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined with mediation models. Results indicated that neither physical nor psychological IPV experienced by mothers was directly associated with children’s symptoms. However, both types of victimization were associated with maternal PTSD symptoms. Examination of indirect pathways suggested that maternal PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship between mothers’ psychological and physical IPV experiences and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mothers’ restrictive/punitive parenting mediated the relationship between mothers’ psychological IPV and children’s externalizing symptoms. In addition, there was a path from maternal physical IPV to child externalizing symptoms through both maternal PTSD symptoms and restrictive/punitive parenting. Findings highlight the importance of supporting parents in recovering from the sequelae of their own traumatic experiences, as their ensuing mental health symptoms and parenting behaviors may have a significant impact on their children’s emotional health.     

Twitter as an informal learning space for teachers!? The role of social capital in Twitter conversations among teachers

Twitter can contribute to the continuous professional development of teachers by initiating and fostering informal learning. Social capital theory can aid to analyze the underlying communication processes and outcomes. Yet, previous research has largely neglected teachers and the role of social capital on Twitter. The present study addresses this shortcoming by analysing a hashtag conversation among German speaking teachers. Using social network analysis, we are able to show the relevance of the structural dimension of social capital in Twitter conversations among teachers.     

Does homework design matter? The role of homework's purpose in student mathematics achievement

This study used a randomized pretest–posttest clustered design to examine the effect of 3 homework purposes (i.e., practice, preparation, and extension) on 6th graders' mathematics achievement and how this relationship was modulated by the amount of completed homework. A total of 27 mathematics teachers and their 638 students participated in this study. Once a week for six weeks, the teachers assigned tasks that had a specific type of homework purpose according to their treatment condition. At the end of the six weeks, the students completed a non-standardized mathematics achievement test. The results of multilevel modeling showed that after controlling for student characteristics and class-level variables, extension homework positively impacted students' mathematics achievement, while practice and preparation homework did not. These findings were not related to the amount of homework that was completed by the students. The findings highlighted the importance of the teacher's role in the first phase of the homework process (i.e., designing homework with a specific purpose) and provide important data for teachers and school administrators to reflect upon when conducting actual homework practices.     

The role of academic competences and learning processes in predicting Bachelor’s and Master’s thesis grades

Writing an academic thesis is an important and complex task and the thesis grade should reflect students’ academic competences. The present study aims, firstly, at exploring how Bachelor’s and Master’s students self-evaluate their academic competences and approaches to learning and whether their evaluations differ from each other. In addition, the study aims at investigating how academic competences and approaches to learning are related to the thesis grades of Bachelor’s and Master’s students. The data consisted of 1 019 Bachelor's and Master’s students, all of whom completed an electronic questionnaire at the time of their graduation. The results imply that Bachelor’s students already possess a considerable number of academic competences. It seems that students’ organising skills should be supported, especially in the Bachelor phase. Finally, the present study raises the question of what the thesis grade actually measures if its relations to both learning processes and academic competences are questionable.     

Does teachers' cognitive self-regulation increase their occupational well-being? The structure and role of self-regulation in the teaching context

Cognitive self-regulation is assumed to foster teachers' occupational well-being (their level of emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction), which directly impacts the quality of their work. We investigated (1) the factor structure of teachers' cognitive self-regulation, (2) whether self-regulation fosters teachers' job satisfaction by reducing emotional exhaustion, and (3) whether this relationship is moderated by gender and school track. Structural equation modeling (N = 664 German secondary mathematics teachers) confirmed the hypothesized second-order factor structure of teacher self-regulation. The positive effect of cognitive self-regulation on job satisfaction is mediated by emotional exhaustion and can be generalized across gender and school track.     

Does Practical Work Really Work? A study of the effectiveness of practical work as a teaching and learning method in school science

Many within the science education community and beyond see practical work carried out by students as an essential feature of science education. Questions have, however, been raised by some science educators about its effectiveness as a teaching and learning strategy. This study explored the effectiveness of practical work by analysing a sample of 25 ‘typical’ science lessons involving practical work in English secondary schools. Data took the form of observational field notes and tape‐recorded interviews with teachers and students. The analysis used a model of effectiveness based on the work of Millar et al. and Tiberghien. The teachers’ focus in these lessons was predominantly on developing students’ substantive scientific knowledge, rather than on developing understanding of scientific enquiry procedures. Practical work was generally effective in getting students to do what is intended with physical objects, but much less effective in getting them to use the intended scientific ideas to guide their actions and reflect upon the data they collect. There was little evidence that the cognitive challenge of linking observables to ideas is recognized by those who design practical activities for science lessons. Tasks rarely incorporated explicit strategies to help students to make such links, or were presented in class in ways that reflected the size of the learning demand. The analytical framework used in this study offers a means of assessing the learning demand of practical tasks, and identifying those that require specific support for students’ thinking and learning in order to be effective.     

The role of perceived autonomy support in predicting university students’ academic success mediated by academic self-efficacy and school engagement

This research analysed relationships between perceived teachers’ autonomy support and academic success, with self-efficacy and school engagement acting as mediators. This was a survey of 870 students from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), with a mean age of 26.99 years (SD = 5.09), 50.6% were men. Factor structure for measures was established. Then a structural equation model based on theoretical considerations was estimated. Final outcomes were grades and subjective well-being. Self-efficacy and school engagement were considered mediators, and the exogenous variable was perceived teacher’s autonomy support. This initial model fitted the data well, but several theoretically driven modifications were made and a final model was established. Teacher’s autonomy has important direct effects on engagement and self-efficacy, and it also was a direct predictor of subjective well-being. Self-efficacy and engagement had direct effects on subjective well-being. Grades were explained by the effects of self-efficacy, cognitive, and emotional engagement. As a conclusion, the main chain of effects hypothesised among the variables fitted the observed data well, and can, therefore, be tentatively supported: self-efficacy and engagement mediate the effects of autonomy support on academic achievement.     

Does Religious Education as an examination subject work to promote community cohesion? An empirical enquiry among 14- to 15-year-old adolescents in England and Wales

This study begins by examining the way in which, in both England and Wales, Religious Education has become implicated in political discussion regarding the role of education in promoting community cohesion. The relationship between taking Religious Education as an examination subject and attitude towards religious diversity (as an affective indicator of community cohesion) is then explored among 3052 14- to 15-year-old students. After controlling for contextual factors (school type and geographical location), personal factors (sex and age), psychological factors (psychoticism, neuroticism and extraversion) and religious factors (Christian affiliation, worship attendance, personal prayer and belief in God), a small but significant positive association was found between taking Religious Education as an examination subject and attitude towards religious diversity. This finding may be interpreted as supporting the view that Religious Education works to promote community cohesion, although the wider debate that the community cohesion agenda has generated among religious educators needs further exploration.     

Constructing new identities? The role of gender and education in rural girls' life aspirations in Peru

This paper focuses on rural and indigenous girls and their mothers in Peru, examining how they position schooling and education in their current life and future aspirations, in order to better understand girls' increasing participation in education. It is argued here that the high educational aspirations girls and their families have are not only related to the desire to overcome poverty and marginalisation but also to oppressive gender relations. The widening of female roles available to young rural women is impacting on their identities and life projects. The paper shows that these processes are not purely individual but intertwined with intergenerational agreements, family projects, and shared understandings of the changes needed to improve the life of young women, revealing important transformations in rural and indigenous families. The paper analyses qualitative data from boys and girls in three settings and focuses in more detail on three in-depth case studies.     

Medicine as a calling among male and female medical students in Israel: Does it make a difference?

This study focused on the perception of medicine as a calling and its associations with medical training satisfaction, career certainty, career satisfaction, career commitment, and well-being among 176 Israeli medical students. Participants replied to an online questionnaire including the Brief Calling Scale (Duffy and Sedlacek in Career Dev Q 59:27–41, 2010) and measures related to medical training, a medical career, and well-being. Calling was positively associated with all outcome measures, and gender moderated these associations, which were stronger for female medical students in comparison with male medical students. The importance of taking these gender differences regarding calling under consideration for career counseling is discussed.     

The role of scientific terminology in research and teaching: Is something important missing?

The recent discussion between Lewis and Linn (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 335–337, 1996) and Pushkin (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 223–224, 1996) concerning the definitions of terms relating to heat raises the broader issue of the nature of scientific terms and their role in instruction. We illustrate that in just two significant examples (heat and electricity) it is easy to illustrate from the literature that there is not agreement as to the meaning of the terms among scientists and that between texts, even within texts, terms are used in such inconsistent ways that there is no logical way to sort out the meanings of the terms. Hence, if “standard interpretations of scientific knowledge to be taught” do not actually exist, then how can the teaching of standard interpretations of scientific knowledge be established as a goal to be accomplished? © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 655–660, 1997.     

How does it work,and who benefits? The distribution of scientific knowledge in South Africa

This paper deals with the distribution of scientific knowledge through formal education in South Africa, and links it with the representation of the population in science-related occupations. Using a pipeline-mainline metaphor it traces how science education at the tertiary and secondary levels sifts out some students, and prepares others to form the pool of potential science-related workers. The conclusion is that these occupations are overwhelmingly dominated by white South Africans. The paper further analyses science classroom factors that may help us to understand why this is so.

---

Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel behandelt die Verbreitung wissenschaftlicher Kenntnisse durch formale Erziehung in Südafrika und stellt eine Verbindung her zur Repräsentanz der Bevölkerung auf wissenschaftlich-orientierten Arbeitsplätzen. Mittels einer Pipeline-Mainline Metaphor (gehobener Bildungsweg, mittlerer Bildungsweg) weist er nach, wie eine wissenschaftlich orientierte Ausbildung auf Tertiar- und Sekundarebene einige Studenten aussiebt und andere darauf vorbereitet, das Sammelbecken für künftige wiesenschaftsbezogene Arbeitskräfte zu bilden. Das Ergebnis ist, daß diese Stellen fast ausschließlich mit weißen Südafrikanern besetzt sind. Der Artikel analysiert außerdem die Gestaltung der wissenschaftlich genutzten Unterrichtsräume was uns helfen könnte, die Gründe für diese Situation zu verstehen.

---

Résumé Le présent article traite de la distribution du savoir scientifique par l'éducation formelle en Afrique du Sud et établit un lien entre celle-ci et la représentation de la population dans les professions relatives à la science. En s'appuyant sur une métaphore de canalisation principale, il retrace la manière dont l'enseignement des sciences écarte certains élèves aux niveaux secondaire et tertiaire pour en préparer d'autres à former le pool des scientifiques potentiels. Cet article aboutit à la conclusion que les métiers en question sont, en grande majorité, exercés par des Blancs. On analyse ensuite les facteurs des classes de science qui peuvent nous aider à comprendre pourquoi il en est ainsi.

     

Why do experts disagree? The role of conflict topics and epistemic perspectives in conflict explanations

The present study examined the role of conflict topics and individual differences in epistemic perspectives (absolutism, multiplism, and evaluativism) in students' explanations of expert conflicts. University students (N = 184) completed an epistemic thinking assessment and a conflict explanation assessment regarding two controversies in biology and history. Additionally, thirty students were interviewed and provided detailed conflict explanations that were used to interpret and extend the quantitative results. In the biology problem, conflicts were predominantly attributed to topic complexity and to research methods. In the history problem, conflicts were also predominantly attributed to topic complexity, but also to researchers' personal backgrounds and motivations. Epistemic perspectives were related to specific conflict explanations, suggesting that these perspectives have a role beyond topic differences. Thus, both conflict topics and epistemic perspectives shape lay explanations of experts' conflicts. The findings highlight differences in students’ interpretations of the roles experts play in knowledge construction.     

Why do learners who draw perform well? Investigating the role of visualization,generation and externalization in learner-generated drawing

In two experiments, we investigated which of the factors generation, visualization, and externalization mainly contribute to the benefits of learner-generated drawing. We also examined whether benefits of drawing were more pronounced in delayed rather than in immediate testing. To this end, Experiment 1 (N = 121) focused on the comparison of the factors visualization and generation, whereas Experiment 2 (N = 204) focused on the role of externalization in generative learning activities. In both experiments, participants were asked to read an expository text about biomechanics in human swimming behavior. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed either to construct drawings, to write summaries, to learn with multimedia material, or to only read. In Experiment 2, participants were instructed either to construct drawings, to mentally imagine the content, or to observe a multimedia presentation evolving gradually. Learning outcomes were measured with a recognition, transfer, and drawing test. In Experiment 1, the tests were administered immediately and after one week (within-subjects), whereas in Experiment 2 time of testing was manipulated between subjects. The results of both experiments revealed effects of experimental conditions for transfer and drawing performance, but not for recognition performance. Taken together, the findings indicate that visualization and externalization are the main contributing factors: The drawing and multimedia conditions outperformed the summary and text-only conditions (Exp. 1), thereby supporting the role of visualization, whereas the drawing and observation conditions outperformed the imagery conditions on the drawing test (Exp. 2), thereby emphasizing the role of externalization. There is little evidence that drawing constitutes a desirable difficulty.