Pre-service Teachers’ False Beliefs in Superstitions and Pseudosciences in Relation to Science and Technology

Science & Education - In order to increase scientific competence within the general population, it is important that teachers and educators have a realistic image of science and scientists,...     

Teachers’ literacy-related knowledge and self-perceptions in relation to preparation and experience

After rating their own literacy-related knowledge in three areas (knowledge about reading/reading development, phonemic awareness/phonics, and morpheme awareness/structural analysis), graduate teacher-education students completed five tasks intended to measure their actual disciplinary knowledge in these areas. Teachers with high levels of prior background (i.e., course preparation and experience) rated themselves as significantly more knowledgeable than did low-background teachers in all areas; high-background participants also significantly outperformed low-background participants on all tasks. However, even high-background teachers scored well below ceiling on the tasks. Regression analyses indicated that teachers’ self-perceptions and knowledge were positively influenced by both level of preparation and teaching experience, although the influences on teachers’ knowledge differed by task. Teachers had some accurate perceptions of their own knowledge, especially in the area of phonics. Results suggest that differentiating levels of preparation may be useful in studying teacher knowledge, and also support the notion of a substantial gap between research on reading and teacher preparation in reading.     

Teachers’ work and positionings in relation to newly arrived students in Sweden

This study analyses how teachers on a language introduction programme describe themselves as teachers, and how they position themselves in relation to newly arrived students and their schooling. We conducted a thematic analysis of interviews and observations with the teachers, using positioning theory. Our findings show that the teachers take four positions: compassionate helper, distancing oneself, reluctant gatekeeper and fostering for Swedishness. Teachers’ work is a balancing act between different dilemmas, positions and decisions, all of which have a significant impact on newly arrived students’ lives.     

Community‐level Responses to Disability and Education in Rwanda

This article explores the meaning of community and perceptions of disability in Rwanda, as revealed through a community‐based ethnographic study. This study took place in Rwanda in an educational policy context driven by international rhetoric about human rights, inclusion and the arguably unachievable Education for All targets. We argue that the emphasis on the inclusion of marginalised groups in Rwanda’s current education policy is a reality on paper, but not in practice. However, we explore the potential for a deeper understanding of community responses to disability, and ways in which the rhetoric and reality gap can be bridged. We consider some of the attitudinal and infrastructural barriers in educational settings and argue that Rwandan communities are resourceful, and can be supported to respond appropriately to children with disabilities.     

Peaceful and Sweet Love in“Song to Celia”

Lyric poetry is typically characterized by brevity,melody,and emotional intensity.In"Song to Celia",Ben Jonson portray images of love with different dictions(choice of words),thus leaving completely distinct impression on the readers’minds.This essay aims to analyze the theme of the poem"Song to Celia"in forms,rhythms,and dictions,which helps the read ers appreciate beauty of music,imagination and implicit love that Ben Jonson shows in the poem.     

The need to know and to understand in Maslow＇s basic needs hierarchy

Despite the fact that the Maslow＇s hierarchy of basic needs has been vastly applied in literatures, a majority of resources has neglected to take the need to know and to understand into account. Moreover, there is a wide disagreement in the rest of resources in situation of that need. This article attempts to show that （1） Maslow has had faith in that need as a basic need; and （2） even though Maslow has not explicitly mentioned the situation of this need in his hierarchy, it is possible to find its situation through implications of Maslow＇s writing and other researchers＇ findings.     

Synthesized Multi-Method to Detect and Classify Epileptic Waves in EEG

In order to sufficiently exploit the advantages of different signal processing methods, such as wavelet transformation (WT), artificial neural networks (ANN) and expert rules (ER), a synthesized multi-method was introduced to detect and classify the epileptic waves in the EEG data. Using this method, at first, the epileptic waves were detected from pre-processed EEG data at different scales by WT, then the characteristic parameters of the chosen candidates of epileptic waves were extracted and sent into the well-trained ANN to identify and classify the true epileptic waves,and at last, the detected epileptic waves were certificated by ER. The statistic results of detection and classification show that, the synthesized multi-method has a good capacity to extract signal features and to shield the signals from the random noise. This method is especially fit for the analysis of the biomedical signals in biomedical engineering which are usually non-placid and nonlinear.     

Responses of ABA and CTK to soil drought in leafless and leafy apple tree

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Mothers’ Implicit and Explicit Attitudes and Attributions in Relation to Self-Reported Parenting Behavior

Objective. Parenting behavior is presumed to be related to the thoughts about child behavior that parents report in a controlled and explicit manner and to more implicit parent cognitions that occur outside of conscious awareness and are less accessible to verbal report. Design. We examined mothers’ attitudes toward their children as correlates of self-reported parenting behavior. We used a combination of a self-report questionnaire and a reaction-time method (the Implicit Association Test) to assess explicit and implicit attitudes, respectively. We also assessed mothers’ implicit and explicit attributions for child misbehavior in relation to parenting, using a questionnaire measure of attributions completed under high-cognitive load (implicit attributions) or under low-cognitive load (explicit attributions). Mothers of 124, 6- to 10-year-olds (52% male) participated. Results. Attitudes assessed by self-report questionnaire and the Implicit Association Test were uniquely associated with negative parenting. The cognitive load manipulation moderated associations between attributions and parenting, such that child-blaming attributions were inversely associated with positive parenting only under conditions of high-cognitive load. Conclusions. Compared to traditional self-report questionnaires, methods such as the Implicit Association Test or cognitive load manipulations may more effectively assess implicit parent cognitions.     

The potential of Supplemental Instruction in engineering education – helping new students to adjust to and succeed in University studies

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a programme that is attached to difficult courses with the objective of increasing student performance and retention. However, an SI programme also has the potential to increase overall student performance and retention during the first critical year if applied to introductory courses. In this study the latter objective is investigated in an engineering educational environment. The study shows that an SI programme attached to difficult first semester courses for new engineering students has substantial positive effects on both first-year student performance and retention. Both male and female students appear to benefit from attending SI to the same extent. Some potential reasons for these improved first-year student performances are that attendance at SI sessions appears to lead to improved self-confidence, a broader network of study partners, improved study strategies and problem-solving skills and an increased ability to critically review material and work with others.     

Pupils’ Participation in and Response to Sustainable Food Education in Swedish Home and Consumer Studies: A Case-Study

The aim of this study is to explore conditioning factors influencing learning opportunities in food-related education taught from a perspective of sustainable development. Over the course of the eighth-grade school year, data were derived from field studies of two classes taught in Home and Consumer Studies with an exploratory case-study design. Data were analyzed using thematic and ideal-type analysis, resulting in four ideal-type portrayals: the Convinced, the Easygoing, the Unable, and the Skeptical, which characterize how pupils participate in and respond to sustainable food education in different ways. The characteristics of each of the four ideal types imply contextual frames that condition unequal learning opportunities in sustainable food education. By identifying, scrutinizing, and accommodating to existing conflicts and related structures, educational policy makers and practicing teachers can increase opportunities for pupils to develop informed reasoning, regardless of their ideal type characteristics.     

Recognition and Toleration: Conflicting approaches to diversity in education?

Recognition and toleration are ways of relating to the diversity characteristic of multicultural societies. The article concerns the possible meanings of toleration and recognition, and the conflict that is often claimed to exist between these two approaches to diversity. Different forms or interpretations of recognition and toleration are considered, confusing and problematic uses of the terms are noted, and the compatibility of toleration and recognition is discussed. The article argues that there is a range of legitimate and importantly different conceptions of both toleration and recognition that are often not clearly distinguished, and that compatibility varies across this range and depending on what one considers the conceptions in relation to.     

Progress in Processes and Catalysts for Dehydrogenation of Cyclohexanol to Cyclohexanone

The dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol to cyclohexanone is a crucial industrial process in the production of caprolactam and adipic acid, both of which serve as important precursors in nylon textiles. This endothermic reaction is constrained by thermodynamic equilibrium and involves a complex reaction network, leading to a heightened focus on catalysts and process design. Copper-based catalysts have been extensively studied and exhibit exceptional low-temperature catalytic performance in cyclohexan...     

Teachers’ student-specific self-efficacy in relation to teacher and student variables

This study aims to show the importance of explicitly identifying student-specific teachers’ self-efficacy. Data from 43 regular teachers who rated their self-efficacy towards 611 fourth-grade students from inclusive classes in Austria were analyzed. In addition, 15 regular teachers and 15 special needs teachers rated their student-specific self-efficacy levels of 136 students. Teachers’ sense of self-efficacy towards individual students was assessed using a short, adapted version of Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy’s Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale. Results of multilevel-regression analysis showed that the higher the teachers’ general self-efficacy the higher was their student-specific self-efficacy. In addition, teachers’ student-specific self-efficacy was lower for students whose special needs regarded learning or behavioural and emotional disorders. The outcomes of the study imply that measuring teachers’ self-efficacy specifically for individual students compared to a teachers’ general self-efficacy towards inclusion is an important addition to previous research.     

Variations in pre-service teachers’ career exploration and commitment to teaching

The purpose of this study was to investigate various career paths pre-service teachers explore and the processes of establishing their commitment to becoming a teacher. A mixed-methods design was employed; 326 surveys measured the levels of pre-service teachers’ career exploration and commitment using occupational identity status (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion), along with resilience and perceived instrumentality. Thirty-two interviews were followed to further explore detailed variations of their career decision-making journey. MANOVA analysis indicated significant differences for resilience and perceived instrumentality based on the four occupational identity statuses. Subsequent qualitative analysis identified various patterns where pre-service teachers differed in their entry motivation, negotiation for their career decision making, and the strength of their commitment to teaching. The findings of this study illuminate iterative and non-linear development of pre-service teachers’ professional identity.     

Who intends to learn and who intends to leave? The intention to leave education early among students from inclusive and regular classes in primary and secondary schools

ABSTRACT

Early school leaving is a serious problem for individual students, especially for students with special educational needs (SEN). This study tests predictors of early school leaving, using data collected among 1,047 students from 60 inclusive and regular classes in primary and secondary schools in Austria with 4th- and 7th-grade students aged 9–11 and 12–14 years. Multilevel regression analyses show that higher school wellbeing and a more positive student–teacher relationship reduce the intention of both 4th and 7th graders to leave school early. Additionally, for 7th graders, having a migrant background and more individualised instruction are predictors of a greater intention to leave school early. School grade, gender, socioeconomic background, SEN, social integration, class climate, school setting (regular class vs. inclusive class), and the heterogeneity of the class composition had no impact on the intention to leave school early.     

Children’s and Adolescents’ Specific Interest in Science and Technology,Participation in Out-of-School Activities and Inclination to Become Scientists

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Recently, the literature has repeatedly reported an interesting decrease in science and technology (S&T) among youngsters, and a drop of...     

Orientations to happiness and subjective well‐being among Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong

This study investigated three orientations to happiness and their relationships with subjective well‐being in a sample of 228 Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong. Confirmatory item factor analyses supported a three‐dimensional model that included constructs represented by a life of meaning, a life of pleasure, and a life of engagement. These three orientations, especially the meaningful life and the engaged life were found to predict life satisfaction and positive emotions as two components of subjective well‐being. Implications of the findings on the relationships between orientations and subjective well‐being for helping teachers to promote a more satisfying life to combat against teacher burnout are discussed.