On spirituality and education

It is a mistake to ignore the scientific study of spirituality. Research examining the structure and function of concepts such as “spirit” and “spirituality” is likely to reveal new insights into the relationship between a functional spirituality and other thinking skills, including creativity. The study of spirituality should not stand alone as a discrete, somewhat eccentric, focus of enquiry. There should, instead, be an effort at synthesis with mainstream psychological science and basic and applied research in the field of education. There should be some effort made to examine the functional significance of a functional spirituality. Educational researchers should feel free to consider spirituality as a focus for dialogue and exchange with colleagues and students alike. The students in my class, and some of my colleagues, may have at first recoiled slightly when I began asking them for their thoughts on spirituality, but the dialogue has been truly stimulating, interesting, and enlightening.     

South Dakota's Model for Career and Life Planning

This article provides information about how a rural state manages its resources to deliver a well-coordinated career and life planning system for students in grades 9–12. It provides information on statewide initiatives and programs, resources, and tools, and gives examples of best practices and model programs. Inherent throughout all initiatives and programs is the concept of integrating academic, vocational technical, and employability competencies so that students achieve both academic and occupational skills. It is a comprehensive effort of students, staff, parents, business/industry, and the community to assist individuals in making career and life planning decisions     

Futures of Teaching in American Education

This article argues that factory model schools, created for a time when most individuals were being prepared for relatively low-skilled jobs, are not adequate to the task of educating most citizens for the knowledge work that will increasingly characterize economies of the 21st century. Although many important reforms have been launched over the last decade, countries that have not invested in the development of sophisticated teaching that can adapt to the needs of students and the demands of more challenging content have reached an impasse. Every aspect of school reform – the creation of more challenging curriculum, the use of more performance-based assessments, the implementation of decentralized management, the invention of new model schools and programs – depends on highly-skilled teachers. Policies aimed at developing a quality teaching system include (1) enacting meaningful standards for teachers as well as students, (2) overhauling teacher education and professional development, (3) addressing teacher recruitment problems and placing qualified teachers in all schools, (4) rewarding teacher knowledge and skills, and (5) redesigning schools so that they support teaching and learning. This article describes successful strategies in each of these areas and paints a picture of the alternative futures for education that rest on policies yet to be decided.     

Acquiring information from simple weather maps: Influences of domain-specific knowledge and general visual–spatial abilities

The influences of domain-specific meteorological knowledge and general visual–spatial abilities on the comprehension of simple weather maps were examined in a regression-based study involving a sample of participants with relatively low meteorological knowledge and in an experiment involving a contrast between samples of higher- and lower-knowledge participants. Results from the first study indicated that the roles of domain-specific knowledge and visual–spatial abilities for lower-knowledge individuals were strongly influenced by the presence of supporting geographic information (i.e., city locations) in the weather maps being interpreted. Results from the second study underscored the importance of domain-specific meteorological knowledge and map familiarity and, surprisingly, pointed to a single visual–spatial ability (speed of closure) that mediated both of these influences.     

Windows into the mind

As faculty, our goals for students are often tacit, hidden not only from students but from ourselves as well. We present a conceptual framework for considering teaching goals – what we want our students to achieve – that encourages us to think more broadly about what we mean by achieving in our knowledge domains. This framework includes declarative knowledge (“knowing that”), procedural knowledge (“knowing how”), schematic knowledge (“knowing why”) and strategic knowledge (“knowing when, where and how our knowledge applies”). We link the framework to a variety of assessment methods and focus on assessing the structure of declarative knowledge – knowledge structure. From prior research, we know that experts and knowledgeable students have extensive, well-structured, declarative knowledge; not so novices. We then present two different techniques for assessing knowledge structure – cognitive and concept maps, and a combination of the two – and provide evidence on their technical quality. We show that these maps provide a window into the structure of students declarative knowledge not otherwise tapped by typical pencil-and-paper tests. These maps provide us with new teaching goals and new evidence on student learning.Based on an invited address, Facoltá di Ingegneria dell’Universitá degli Studi di Ancona, June 27, 2000. This research was supported, in part, by the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (Grant R117G10027), and by the National Science Foundation (Nos. ESI 95-96080). The opinions expressed here represent those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agency.     

The myth of literacy relapse: Literacy retention among Moroccan primary school leavers

The issue of literacy retention is central to the educational policy concerning of most developing countries. It has been variously suggested that 4–6 years of primary education may serve as an inoculation against ‘relapse’ into illiteracy in the Third World. This paper reports on one of the first longitudinal studies designed to address this question, by investigating the nature of literacy and cognitive retention in a sample of 72 adolescents two years following fifth grade departure from primary school in Morocco. The present study found that these school leavers, when reassessed two years later, showed a significant increase in performance in first literacy (Arabic), modest gains in second literacy (French), no change in cognitive skills, and a decrement in math skill. Furthermore, urban leavers gained more literacy than rural leavers, and girls more than boys. The present findings do not support the hypothesis of literacy ‘relapse’ or loss of academic/cognitive skills after five grades of primary schooling. It was also found that girls retained more academic skills than boys, but were much less likely to be employed, a finding which calls into question certain claims about the impact of schooled knowledge and literacy on employment in developing countries.     

The role of sentence recall in reading and language skills of children with learning difficulties

The present study explores the relationship between sentence recall and reading and language skills in a group of 7–11-year-old children with learning difficulties. While recent studies have found that performance on sentence recall tasks plays a role in learning, it is possible that this contribution is a reflection of shared resources with working memory. In order to investigate whether sentence recall was uniquely associated with reading and language skills, differences associated with IQ and working memory capacity were statistically controlled. A sample of 72 children was tested on measures of verbal complex memory, verbal short-term memory, sentence recall, expressive vocabulary, verbal and performance IQ, reading and language skills. Both sentence recall and verbal complex memory shared unique links with reading skill, and sentence recall was uniquely associated with language skills. This finding indicates that resources in long-term memory also play an important diagnostic role in reading and language abilities. The implications for educational practice are discussed.     

Promoting the Emotional Development of Preschoolers

This paper looks at evidence pertaining to the emotional development of preschoolers. The issues talked about include a synopsis of emotional expression, emotional understanding, the regulation of emotions, and their developmental significance. Furthermore, the role of the caregiver–child relationship as indicated by the security of attachment is provided. It is argued that caregivers influence the emotional development of children as they model, coach, and contingently respond to children. The implications of emotional development and the quality of the caregiver–child relationship for teachers as they pertain to affective displays, negotiation skills, affect regulation, and expectancies of children are discussed. Finally, some strategies for enhancing emotional development are suggested.     

Preschoolers’ use of count information to judge relative quantity

We examined preschool children's use of count information in making quantity judgments. Study 1 involved 35 children 3–5 years old using a balance-scale task to judge relative quantity with or without count information provided. Study 2 replicated and extended the exploration as 54 children 3–4 years old judged relative quantity in multiple counting contexts. Children who were given count information successfully used count information in quantity evaluation when visual cues were not useful. Limited experience of counting skills, strategy choice, and limited processing capacity are each discussed as potential explanations. Implications for early childhood practice and teacher education, as well as directions for future research are explored.     

Learner and instructor identified success factors in distance education

To better understand their perceptions of optimal tools and strategies for success, this research analyzed the experiences of learners and instructors in an online distance education environment. A qualitative constant comparative analysis methodology supported by an appropriate conceptual framework guided the study. Data were collected over multiple years and from multiple stakeholders. The study identified the following significant conclusions: the availability of multiple tools added flexibility to the learning environment; technology tools should appeal to multiple learning styles; collaboration, reflection, and building a learning community were important strategies supported by multiple tools; and participant satisfaction, appropriate prerequisite skills, and faculty and administrative involvement ensured programmatic success. According to this study, optimal distance education environments should address factors identified in the conceptual framework.     

市场失灵与政府在技工培养中的作用

技工培训的人力资本投资主体有个人、企业和政府，由于专业化技能具有很大的外部性，以及给技能所有者带来的负心理收益，个人缺乏对学习技能进行投资的积极性；企业之间在技工培训投资方面博弈的结果是都不培训员工。技工培训投资方面存在严重的市场失灵。解决技工短缺问题，克服市场失灵，必须由政府出面，通过建立合理的投资机制并进行一系列的制度创新，保证个人和企业技工培训投资的人力资本收益。     

The Effects of a Coping Skills Training Program on the Coping Skills, Hopelessness, and Stress Levels of Mothers of Children with Autism

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of a coping skills training program on stress, and hopelessness levels and coping skills of mothers of children with autism the age range of children was 12–19 for the experimental group and 11–17 for the control group. Twenty mothers of children with autism were assigned to a treatment group and a no treatment control group. A pre-test- post-test no-treatment control group design was undertaken. After completion of the program, interviews were conducted with the mothers in the experimental group to get some qualitative data about the effectiveness of the program. The results revealed differences in hopelessness levels and the use of social support as a coping strategy; however, there was no significant difference in the use of avoidance and problem solving as a coping strategy and stress levels of mothers. Moreover, the interviews conducted with mothers indicated a positive effect of the program on the mothers of children with autism. The generalization of the results is limited as the sample consisted of ten mothers and long-term follow-up data were not collected.     

Lexical- and sentence-level processes in comprehension of written sentences

Two experiments and three measures of lexical skills (word finding, rapid automatized naming, receptive vocabulary) were administered to 24 third and 24 fifth graders. Each experiment included two between-subject variables (grade and sex) and four within-subject variables (mode of sentence presentation – one word and one-sentence-at-a-time; word type – orthographic, phonological and semantic foils; position of foil in sentence – beginning, middle, and end; and sentence type – meaningful and nonsense). The experiments contrasted on reading comprehension task: receptive sentence acceptability (Experiment 1) or expressive sentence reproduction (Experiment 2). One-word-at-a-time presentation, which highlights the lexical unit, resulted in better accuracy on the expressive task that required verbatim reproduction than on the forced choice receptive task. Word finding and rapid automatized naming that require active production of phonologically-referenced name codes, but not receptive vocabulary, were correlated with measures of word recognition and reading comprehension in the experiments and on the psychometric tests. These results are consistent with Perfetti's contention that a phonologically-based name code is the heart of lexical access.     

When are poor reading skills a threat to educational achievement?

The cut-off levels of insufficient literacyskills used in national and internationalliteracy studies have not been validated. Thus,it remains uncertain whether adult poor readersare handicapped by insufficient reading skillsin everyday life, i.e. in job-related oreducational activities. The primary purpose ofthe study was to identify a minimum level belowwhich insufficient reading skills proved ahandicap to adults in their educational efforts. One hundred and eighty-nine adults in formal adult education participated in the study. The adults' reading comprehension, decoding skills, primarylanguage, level of exam, student and teacherratings of the adults' reading skills, and theadults' exam grades for courses in formal adulteducation were obtained. Exam grades below themean were taken as documentation of educationalfailure. Adults in the lowest 10thpercentile in reading skills only managed toobtain exam grades below the mean in coursesplacing heavy demands on their reading skills,indicating that poor reading skills were infact a threat to the adults' educationalachievements. Possible causes of insufficientreading skills were further examined. Adults inthe lowest 10th percentile suffered fromvery poor decoding skills. Even though a largervariation was seen in the exam grades foradults in the 10–25th percentile, theytoo, were handicapped by poor readingcomprehension. The decoding skills andsocio-economic data of these adults indicatedthat improved reading skills might increasetheir chances of getting an education.     

Exploring the structure of the Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal: One scale or many subscales?

Critical thinking (CT) has been of longstanding interest among scholars, educators, and others who are concerned with thinking skills. The Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) is the oldest and among the most widely used and studied CT measure. It was constructed around five subscales (or CT skills): inference, recognition of assumptions, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments. This paper describes a two part analysis of the psychometric properties of the WGCTA, based on 13 sets of subscale inter-correlations and 60 sets of subscale means retrieved from published studies. We performed a meta-analysis on the inter-correlations of the10 combinations of subscales and found that all of the average correlations that resulted were significant, but that all but one was significantly heterogeneous. Subsequently, we conducted principal components analysis on 60 subscale means of two different versions of the WGCTA. Each produced a one-factor solution, accounting for 82.69% and 79.55% of the total variance, respectively. Together these two parts of this study suggest that the WGCTA should be viewed as a measure of general competency, and that the subscales should not be interpreted individually.     

Integrating into Chemistry Teaching Today's Student's Visuospatial Talents and Skills,and the Teaching of Today's Chemistry's Graphical Language

Today's out-of-school learning is dominated by PC games, videos, and TV. These media provide children with optimal conditions for nurturing their visuospatial intelligence. In chemistry and biochemistry, over the past 125 years, thinking has shifted from the logical–mathematical to the logical–visuospatial. In chemistry visuospatial thinking has never been so dominant as today. Thus in chemistry, a truly international, pictorial language has evolved. Yet, the founding and growth of chemical education as a separate discipline has resulted, albeit unintended, in an alienation of chemistry educators from these dramatic changes in chemistry. By confining themselves in their teaching of chemistry to the logical–mathematical and the verbal, teachers and chemical educators are conveying a false and abandoned conception of chemistry in the class rooms. And, they fail to address the most important developed intelligence of our young.     

A comparison between the time-management skills and academic performance of mature and traditional-entry university students

Time-management skills are acknowledged to be important but there has been little actual research on this topic with students. In this study we examined the scores obtained from 293 first-year students of psychology on a British version of an American time-management scale. The students were divided into three age groups: traditional-entry students - aged less than 21 years (N = 172); borderline mature students - aged 21–25 years (N = 50) and older mature students - aged more than 25 years (N = 71). Our analyses indicated (i) that women students in general reported significantly greater time-management skills than did men students, and (ii) that our older mature students reported significantly better time-management skills than did the other two groups. Academic performance, however, was only modestly predicted by age and scores on one component of the time-management scale.     

The effects of a developmentally appropriate music and movement program on motor performance

Basic motor skills development is achieved through the implementation of different types of physical education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate and to compare the effect of a developmentally appropriate music and movement program and of a developmentally appropriate physical education program on the development of jumping and dynamic balance in children ages 4–6 years. Ninety children, 42 girls and 48 boys, participated. Fifty of them were in an experimental group and followed the music and movement program, which lasted 2 months. The rest served as the control group and followed the physical education program, for the same period of time. Children's level in jumping and dynamic balance was assessed with the MOT 4–6 [Zimmer, R. & Volkamer, M. (1987). Motoriktest fuer vier-bis sechsjaehrige kinder. Manual, Belz: Weinheim]. Data were analyzed with the multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures. The results showed that the experimental group improved significantly in both jumping and dynamic balance. It can be concluded that a developmentally appropriate music and movement program can positively affect jumping and dynamic balance of preschool children.     

Work skills for disadvantaged and unprepared youth and adults

The paper considers vocational preparation and career guidance for individuals who are disadvantaged and otherwise unprepared for employment. From the vocational counselling literature, suggestions are taken for an expanded role for counsellors, and models are considered which have emphasized the need to focus on both personal and social skills as well as work skills, in training and retraining. From the vocational rehabilitation literature, the importance of work skills training, and identification of necessary skills for training are examined, with particular reference to the research of Mueller (e.g., 1988) and his associates. Thus, both the vocational counselling and vocational rehabilitation fields provide guidance for the vocational training of disadvantaged and unprepared youth and adults.The two reported studies were carried out as part of the second author's doctoral dissertation under a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship and were funded in part by Western Industrial Research and Training Centres. More detail on survey inventories and results can be obtained from the second author: Dr. H.H. Mueller, Psychology Department, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, 10230 — 111 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5G 0B7.