Secondary school students’ attitudes to practical work in biology,chemistry and physics in England

ABSTRACT

Background: In England, practical work is a major part of secondary school science and yet little research has examined students’ attitudes specifically to practical work.

Purpose: To examine students’ attitudes to practical work in biology chemistry and physics in secondary schools in England.

Sample: The study involved 607 students from Year 7 to Year 10 (aged 11–15) drawn from three state-maintained secondary schools in England. The schools were, broadly speaking, representative of schools in England in terms of academic measures such as GCSE outcomes, value-added performance and socio-economic area.

Design and methods: The research considered students’ attitudes in terms of an established analytical framework incorporating the affective, behavioural and cognitive (ABC) domains and used a mixed methods approach involving questionnaires, lesson observations, and focus group discussions.

Results: Whilst secondary students’ attitudes to practical work were, generally speaking, positive they were not constant and homogenous but change over time. The affective value of practical work was found to vary by subject although in all three sciences this value decreased, albeit at different rates, as students approached their General Certificate in Secondary Education examinations (GCSE) taken at age 16.

Conclusion: The affective value of practical work needs to be considered on a subject by subject basis, rather than, as is often the case currently in school, in terms of a generic attitude to science practical work. Furthermore, the affective value of practical work can be maximised by using more at the start of secondary education (Key Stage 3 – ages 11–14) with a gradual, subject-specific, reduction as students approach their summative public examinations (age 16) when their preference for non-practical, exam orientated, teaching increases.     

高中地理多学科渗透教学研究回顾与展望

对比研究国内外多学科渗透教学,尤其是高中地理教学相关现状,发现国外在此领域的研究多体现在对综合课程的开发与实践,缺乏系统的地理与多学科渗透教学的研究。国内研究虽起步较晚,但发展迅速,且涉及了地理与各个学科间的渗透研究。2017版《普通高中地理课程标准》中突出强调时代性与跨学科性,因此以新课标、新教材为立足点,以满足学生多样化、个性化的学习和发展需要是高中地理多学科渗透教学领域未来的研究重点。     

A Study of Teachers’ Views on Practical Work in Secondary Schools in England and Wales

Many teachers view practical work as an essential feature of science education. This study examined whether there had been any changes in the relative importance of the aims science teachers assign to the use of practical work, across the full secondary age range (11–18), since the last such national survey undertaken by Kerr 46 years ago. A stratified sample of representative schools was used in which 912 teachers were sent a questionnaire on their views towards the use of practical work in science with a total of 393 responses (42.5%) being received. The coefficient of concordance of the various rankings and their significance were calculated, as too were the z‐scores. The findings suggest that whilst there have been substantial changes in teachers’ views about the use of practical work at Key Stages 4 and 5 (age 15–18) there have been no substantial changes at Key Stage 3 (age 11–14). Furthermore, the results are remarkably similar across subject specialism, teacher gender, and years of teaching experience although this paper will only focus on subject specialism. It appears that changes to the assessment criteria, notably the introduction of Science Investigation (Sc1) at Key Stage 4, and a growing desire amongst educational policy‐makers to improve the image of science, have had an effect on how those in the teaching profession perceive the value and aims of practical work particularly at Key Stages 4 and 5.     

传统文化融入小学英语教学的实践研究

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SEBD inclusion research synthesis: a content analysis of research themes and methods in empirical studies published in the journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties from 1996–2014

The present paper reports on findings from a systematic journal review study exploring research strategies to investigate inclusive education for pupils with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties. From a total of 384 articles, published in 19 volumes of the journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties between 1996 and 2014, 39 research reports matched inclusion criteria. The sample consists of 22 qualitative, 8 mixed-method, and 9 quantitative studies analysed in terms of research designs, methodological issues, and content-related themes. The findings are discussed with a focus on perspectives for future research strategies.     

高职学生校园暴力行为及应对方式的调查研究

对五年制高职一、二年级300名学生经历的校园暴力行为及应对措施进行调查得知:在对自己半年内是否有相关暴力行为的评估方面,有与人吵架行为的学生最多;其次,有作弄或取笑人这类行为的人数居第二;有通过武力或武力相威胁、抢劫、索要他人钱财或强迫他人做不愿做的事情的人数所占比例最少.五年制高职男女学生暴力行为的差异主要表现在一年级,而一年级学生所报告的暴力行为比二年级学生多;学生在经历暴力事件后倾向于不报告成人,二年级学生尤其突出.     

Developments and trends in synthesizing diverse forms of evidence: beyond comparisons between distance education and classroom instruction

This paper describes a range of models and methods for synthesizing diverse forms of research evidence. Although this topic is applicable to many contexts (e.g. education, health care), the focus here is on the research traditions of distance education and online learning. Thirteen models and methods are described, and seven examples from distance education and online learning are used to illustrate them. The models are classified as systematic, purposeful, and mixed and are described and compared in terms of purpose, methodological aspects, and expected outcomes.     

论中小学教育科研中的"小题大作"原则

中小学教师应从自己的工作实际出发,实施校本研究,在教育科研中坚持“小题大作”的原则,选取自己实践体悟深刻而具体的认识和操作问题,进行全面而深刻的研究,使自己的研究达到“小题大作”的水平。     

我国学校特色研究的现状与问题

为了促进我国教育事业的改革和发展,改变教育同质化的现状,党和政府大力提倡学校办出特色。与之相应,学校特色研究自然构成我国教育研究的一个新兴领域。研究者围绕学校特色的概念,创建途径、方式、策略、原则,影响因素、误区等进行了大量探讨。随着学校特色研究进一步向深度和广度发展,其研究的实践针对性、理论对应物、概念兼容性等问题日益突出且亟待解决。     

20年来内地新疆高中班研究述评

内地新疆高中班作为一项具有国家战略意义的少数民族教育政策,自2000年开班以来,已经引起了学界的广泛关注与讨论。文章对内地新疆高中班研究情况从政策研究、教育教学研究、内高生适应性与认同问题研究和纪实叙述性实践研究四个方面进行系统梳理、总结与评析,可以为该领域研究的进一步发展提供有益参考与指导。     

社会工作专业实践教学体系的思考与建构

社会工作是以解决现实社会问题为主的应用性学科,实践性、实务性是其最本质的属性和最突出的特征。社会工作专业的实务性取向使实践教学成为培养学生运用理论知识、掌握工作技巧、内化职业伦理的重要环节。社会工作专业实践教学的四大体系——内容体系、平台体系、师资体系和管理体系是构建社会工作专业实践教学模式的主要内容,也是培养社会工作专业创新人才的有益尝试。     

基于核心素养理念的初中英语阅读教学实践研究

素质教育的不断发展,引起了教师的思考,教师的教学理念发生了转变,培养学生的核心素养开始进入教师视野。而英语教学中最能有效培养学生核心素养的方法就是英语阅读,而如何利用英语阅读培养学生的核心素养,就是我们需要共同探讨的问题。本文首先分析初中英语阅读教学现状,然后探讨基于核心素养理念的初中英语阅读教学实践方法。     

我国“农村寄宿制学校”问题研究述评

我国农村寄宿制学校问题研究的发展经历了萌芽探索和深化发展两个重要阶段。研究的主要内容涉及了学校建设的合理性与存在的意义、建设中存在的问题以及对策建议等。目前农村寄宿制学校的研究已经有了一定的成果,但存在着研究缺乏深度,多停留在宏观层面;研究方法单一,忽视多学科视角的研究;建学标准模糊,没有相应的监测评估体系等问题。     

中学文学社团研究综述

中学文学社团是培养学生的文学兴趣、提升语文综合素养的重要途径。近年来,学界对中学文学社团进行了初步研究,成果集中于＂中学文学社团活动特性与基本内容＂＂中学文学社团与语文教学的关系＂＂中学文学社团对素质教育及学生未来发展的影响＂＂中学文学社团的推进策略＂四个方面。提升关注度、找到理论与实践的契合点、注重活动研究、拓展研究视野,是进一步研究中学文学社团的值得关注之处。     

行动研究:教师科研新方法

本文论述了中小学教师应如何使用行动研究的方法进行科研,并认为行动研究可以加速教育科研“产业化”。行动研究以合作的定性研究为主,实地研究和反思是行动研究的关键,日记是重要的环节。本文以笔者正在研究的一个课题为例对行动研究的方法作了详细的介绍。