Educational Achievement of Immigrant Adolescents in Spain: Do Gender and Region of Origin Matter?

This study explores the educational achievement of immigrant youth in Spain employing data from 3 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Families and Childhood (Pànel de Famílies i Infància), a representative sample of children in Catalonia first interviewed at ages 13-16 in 2006 (N = 2,710). Results suggest consistent disadvantage in achievement among first-generation students. Differences in achievement between the second and third generations are apparent in bivariate analyses, but are explained by observable characteristics in multivariate analyses. Gender-specific analyses uncover a large achievement gap between first-generation girls and their third-generation counterparts, but no equivalent gap for boys. Region-of-origin differences are modest, with the exception of Latin American adolescents who exhibit the lowest educational outcomes. The significance of perceptions about school on achievement are discussed.     

The Smoking Behaviors of Adolescents and Their Friends: Do Parents Matter?

Objective. This study examines relations among adolescent smoking, parental authoritativeness, parental disapproval of smoking, parental smoking, friends' self-reported smoking, and friends' reports of their parents' authoritativeness. Design. 317 adolescents (12-15 years of age) gave saliva samples and completed questionnaires concerning their own smoking behavior, aspects of their parents' parenting behaviors (used to construct a measure of authoritative parenting), their parents' smoking behaviors, and parental disapproval of smoking. Independent reports obtained from friends were used to calculate measures of friends' smoking and levels of friends' parents' authoritativeness. Results. Higher levels of authoritative parenting and parental disapproval of smoking along with lower levels of parental smoking were associated with a lower likelihood of smoking during adolescence. Friends' smoking was positively associated with adolescent smoking, and it mediated the association between parental smoking and target adolescents' smoking. Friends' parents' authoritativeness did not mediate the association between friends' smoking and adolescent smoking. Conclusions. Along with friends' smoking, parental authoritativeness and parental disapproval of smoking are important influences on adolescent smoking. Consideration of the conjoint influence of the family and the peer group, rather than either in isolation, improves understanding of adolescent smoking behavior.     

How Do Academic Achievement and Gender Affect the Earnings of STEM Majors? A Propensity Score Matching Approach

The United States government recently enacted a number of policies designed to increase the number of American born students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially among women and racial and ethnic minorities. This study examines how the earnings benefits of choosing a STEM major vary both by gender and across the distribution of academic achievement. I account for the selection into college major using propensity score matching. Measures of individual educational preferences based on Holland’s theory of career and educational choice provide a unique way to control for college major selection. Findings indicate that the earnings benefit to STEM major choice ranges from 5 to 28 % depending both on academic achievement and on gender and that high-achieving students benefit more from STEM major choice. Further, high achieving men benefit more from STEM majors than high-achieving women. Earnings differences in major choice may play an important role in explaining the underrepresentation of women in STEM major fields, especially among high achieving students.     

Participation in Advanced Mathematics: Do Expectation and Influence of Students, Peers, Teachers, and Parents Matter?

Using six waves of data (Grades 7 through 12) from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), this study investigated the effects of expectation and influence of students, peers, teachers, and parents on participation in advanced mathematics. Results of survival analysis indicated a significant decline in participation rate in the transition from Grades 11 to 12. Students with higher future expectation were more likely to participate in advanced mathematics. Peer influence and teacher expectation did not have strong effects, and the effect of student future expectation was independent of peer and teacher effects. The effect of parent expectation and parent college plan for children were strong, and in their presence, the effect of student future expectation declined. Mathematics achievement and attitude toward mathematics were the most important factors affecting participation in advanced mathematics. With control over achievement and attitude, (a) the effect of student future expectation declined, (b) the effects of peer influence and teacher expectation disappeared, and (c) the effects of parent expectation and parent college plan for children were reduced. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

How Much Do They Understand? Lectures,students and comprehension

A recent study into tertiary literacy (Reid, Kirkpatrick, & Mulligan, 1998) found that many students have problems with comprehension and note-taking in lectures and that students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) reported particular difficulty. Despite the increase in the number of international students attending Australian universities over the past decade, it seems that many lecturers are still failing to accommodate the cultural and linguistic diversity of the classes they teach. The study reported here aimed to determine the nature and extent of problems experienced by NESB students in comprehending lectures and found significant gaps in understanding: slightly fewer than 1 in 10 NESB students was able to understand the content and intent of their lectures very well. More disturbingly, almost one-quarter of them had not understood much of the lectures at all. The paper offers some suggested strategies for change—for those who prepare students for university study, for the students themselves, and for the lecturers who teach them.     

The Influence of Student Characteristics and the Community College on Bachelor’s Degree Attainment

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in baccalaureate degree attainment among transfer students with associate’s degrees, transfer students without associate’s degrees, and university-native students. The study also investigated if demographic characteristics or academic preparation characteristics (i.e., transfer cumulative grade point average [GPA], transfer hours earned, cumulative overall grade point average, and cumulative credit hours earned) predicted graduation rates. Participants included transfer students from all community colleges and native students from one university in one southeastern state. The study utilized a causal-comparative research design. The chi-square test of independence was used to determine if differences in graduation rates existed, and logistic regression was used to determine if demographic characteristics and academic preparation predicted graduation rates. Community college students graduated at higher rates than native students. The academic preparation variables made a significant contribution in the prediction of graduation, with the strongest predictor being the cumulative overall GPA.     

The Influence of 16‐year‐old Students’ Gender,Mental Abilities,and Motivation on their Reading and Drawing Submicrorepresentations Achievements

Submicrorepresentations (SMRs) are a powerful tool for identifying misconceptions of chemical concepts and for generating proper mental models of chemical phenomena in students’ long‐term memory during chemical education. The main purpose of the study was to determine which independent variables (gender, formal reasoning abilities, visualization abilities, and intrinsic motivation for learning chemistry) have the maximum influence on students’ reading and drawing SMRs. A total of 386 secondary school students (aged 16.3 years) participated in the study. The instruments used in the study were: test of Chemical Knowledge, Test of Logical Thinking, two tests of visualization abilities Patterns and Rotations, and questionnaire on Intrinsic Motivation for Learning Science. The results show moderate, but statistically significant correlations between students’ intrinsic motivation, formal reasoning abilities and chemical knowledge at submicroscopic level based on reading and drawing SMRs. Visualization abilities are not statistically significantly correlated with students’ success on items that comprise reading or drawing SMRs. It can be also concluded that there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students in solving problems that include reading or drawing SMRs. Based on these statistical results and content analysis of the sample problems, several educational strategies can be implemented for students to develop adequate mental models of chemical concepts on all three levels of representations.     

The Characteristics of Speech Act Theory and TEFL

In this presentation, a brief introduction sgiren to the speech act theory through examples.Lights are thrown on the importance of speech act theory in TEFL to develop the students communicative competence.     

How do pre-kindergarteners spend their time? Gender,ethnicity, and income as predictors of experiences in pre-kindergarten classrooms

The current paper considers how children spend their time in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and how time use relates to ethnicity, gender, and family income, based on the assumption that how time is spent in pre-kindergarten is relevant for the programs’ success in narrowing achievement gaps. Classroom observations of 2061 children in 652 pre-k programs in 11 states were analyzed. Findings indicated that the pre-kindergarten day was roughly equally divided among free choice, teacher-assigned activities, and meals/routines. Children spent much of their time in language/literacy, social studies, and art, and less time in math and gross motor activities. Much of the pre-k day was spent in ‘no coded learning activity.’ Children in classes with lower proportions of Latino and African American children and higher average income-to-need ratios were generally engaged in richer and more stimulating experiences. The child-level variables of ethnicity and income were generally unrelated to how children spent their time, above and beyond the effects of classroom-level ethnicity and income. There were generally small, but significant gender differences – always in the gender-stereotyped direction – in how time was spent, especially during free choice time.     

The Gender Gap and Classroom Interactions: Reality and rhetoric?

This paper examines the gender gap at GCSE in eight contrasting English secondary schools, and discusses the reality and rhetoric of classroom interactions, focusing on the views of teaching staff, the perspectives of Year 11 students, and observations of teacher-student interactions in the classroom. In an earlier paper (British Journal of Sociology of Education, 17 (3)), the authors examined the extent to which there was less positive teacher-support for the learning of boys than for the learning of girls, and this issue is reviewed in differing school contexts. Research in this broader context suggests that most teachers believe that they give equal treatment to girls and to boys, particularly in support of their learning, but focus group interviews with students and classroom observation suggest that this is rarely achieved; in most schools, boys appear to dominate certain classroom interactions, while girls participate more in teacher-student interactions which support learning. If the underachievement of some boys is to be addressed successfully, these patterns of interaction need to be challenged, to enable boys to begin to develop the very learning strategies which many girls employ effectively to enable them to learn.     

How Do You Know You're Old? Gender Differences in Cues Triggering the Experience of Personal Aging

In order to evaluate the gender differences on the experience of aging, 142 individuals 50 years of age and older completed an interview regarding experiences with another individual conveying the message that they were “old.” Interviewees were asked about the type of situation, the age and gender of the response person, and the perceived intent and feelings associated with the experience. Results showed that 72.3% of the experiences could be classified into one of three categories: discount/benefit, physical features/appearance, and performance. While no gender differences were found in the location/setting of the incident, the response person, or the age of the response person, findings indicated that for men, the incident was classified as a “benefit/discount,” while for women it was classified as “physical features/appearance.” In addition, the presumed intent of the situation was viewed as negative and hurtful by women, and both genders reported that the incident made them feel self-conscious and/or elicited a negative self-assessment. These results illustrate that the self-reported experiences that make one feel old and potentially change an individual's identity are important to understand in the context of growing older as a gendered experience.     

How Do we Measure Implementation of Inclusive Education in the Pacific Islands? A Process for Developing and Validating Disability-Inclusive Indicators

In recent years, countries of the Pacific have been moving strongly towards enhancing inclusive educational practices within a previously segregated education system. Through the Pacific Education Development Framework (PEDF) approved by 14 Pacific Island Education Ministers in 2009, the implementation of regional policies of inclusive education is a priority. To ensure that progress is measurable, these countries have been working collaboratively with several Australian institutions to develop a set of contextually appropriate indicators for measuring disability-inclusive education. This article describes the process adopted in developing these indicators and initial findings regarding the key outcomes. The research is guided by three key principles of collaboration, a need for systemic change and ‘nothing about us without us’. The process adopts a three-stage approach which is outlined and key issues and implications discussed.     

How was the Bologna Process in Poland,the Netherlands and Flanders implemented?

The Bologna Process is an important factor which has had an impact on higher education in Europe. In this paper the implementation of the Bologna Process in Poland, the Netherlands and Flanders is discussed, to show how the different contexts influenced its realization. In order to study the transformation of higher education, new institutionalism and resource dependence theory were applied. Research focuses on six case studies – different universities, which are seen as organizations operating in a specific context and which respond to changes in this context.     

Model-Based Teaching and Learning with BioLogica™: What Do They Learn? How Do They Learn? How Do We Know?

This paper describes part of a project called Modeling Across the Curriculum which is a large-scale research study in 15 schools across the United States. The specific data presented and discussed here in this paper is based on BioLogica, a hypermodel, interactive environment for learning genetics, which was implemented in multiple classes in eight high schools. BioLogica activities, data logging, and assessments were refined across this series of implementations. All students took a genetics content knowledge pre- and posttests. Traces of students' actions and responses to computer-based tasks were electronically collected (via a log file function) and systematically analyzed. An intensive 3-day field test involving 24 middle school students served to refine methods and create narrative profiles of students' learning experiences, outcomes, and interactions with BioLogica. We report on one high school implementation and the field test as self-contained studies to document the changes and the outcomes at different phases of development. A discussion of design changes concludes this paper.     

How Well Do Undergraduate Research Programs Promote Engagement and Success of Students?

Assessment of undergraduate research (UR) programs using participant surveys has produced a wealth of information about design, implementation, and perceived benefits of UR programs. However, measurement of student participation university wide, and the potential contribution of research experience to student success, also require the study of extrinsic measures. In this essay, institutional data on student credit-hour generation and grade point average (GPA) from the University of Georgia are used to approach these questions. Institutional data provide a measure of annual enrollment in UR classes in diverse disciplines. This operational definition allows accurate and retrospective analysis, but does not measure all modes of engagement in UR. Cumulative GPA is proposed as a quantitative extrinsic measure of student success. Initial results show that extended participation in research for more than a single semester is correlated with an increase in GPA, even after using SAT to control for the initial ability level of the students. While the authors acknowledge that correlation does not prove causality, continued efforts to measure the impact of UR programs on student outcomes using GPA or an alternate extrinsic measure is needed for development of evidence-based programmatic recommendations.     

Positive Peer Support or Negative Peer Influence? The Role of Peers Among Adolescents in Recovery High Schools

Evidence from previous research suggests that peers at times exert negative influence and at other times exert positive influence on drug and alcohol use among adolescents in recovery. This study explores recovery high school staff members’ perceptions of peer support among students in recovery high schools using qualitative interview data. Themes of peer support are discussed in terms of positive peer support, negative peer influence, peer relationships, and sense of community. In general, recovery school staff members discuss peers in the school as sources of positive support and peers outside the schools as sources of risky influence. Themes and quotes are presented to highlight the diverse ways that staff members discussed peer influence. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

What Kind of Research Culture Do Teacher Educators Want,and How Can We Get It?

This article describes a collaborative research journey involving nine teacher educators. Their common purpose was to find a research identity in a university department with a strong commitment to the education and training of student teachers but which existed within a university that prided itself on maintaining a reputation for research excellence. The methodology was inextricably linked to the decision to take a journey as a group. The journey, both route and progress, became the focus of our self-study through a number of exchange platforms including collaborative meetings, agendas which embraced equity and social justice, a shared blog space for self-reflection, and engagement with others through partnership conferences. Data were qualitative and focused on the ambitions, frustrations, and achievements of the participants as revealed through personal writing on a blog. Key findings of this study include: (i) the discovery of hurdles, false starts and frustrations that were common to all members of the group but hitherto had remained hidden and private; (ii) the tension between an identity as educator with a sense of responsibility to students and that of an active researcher; and (iii) issues of time and work balance between teaching and researching.