Honouring the incomparable: honours in Australian universities

The Honours undergraduate degree in Australia is unlike that in most other countries. It has taken on a particular significance as a qualification, as a pathway to and a pre-requisite for direct entry into doctoral programs. This paper explores the outcomes of a study that suggests that the aims, outcomes, curriculum, pedagogical practices, purposes and enrolment patterns of Honours vary substantially across disciplines and university types. It addresses the questions about the diverse nature of Honours programs and questions what this diversity means for Australian higher education in the context where global standardisation of awards is rapidly occurring. Honours is seen variously as a qualification, an experience, or a program. These variations are discussed and it is demonstrated that Honours globally has not one, but many meanings. These meanings are often poorly understood within, and outside the academy. These multiple meanings create confusion about what Honours stands for and inhibit communication about the role and purpose of Honours both within Australia and in a global context.     

Wider access and progression among full-time students

By 2010 the UK government intends to widen access and provide experience of higher education to half of those aged up to 30. Unlike many institutions, University of Paisley (UP) has exceeded its individual target on access. It has done this by providing entry routes for students with ‘non-traditional’ qualifications. It is feared that low entry qualifications will adversely influence performance and progression statistics as wider access is pursued. Drawing on a student-attrition theory, performance and progression are investigated using data for students enrolling at UP for the first time in 2000. At UP non-traditional entry coincided with the enrolment of many students over 21. The relationships between age and performance and between age and progression are nonlinear and involve interactions with gender. Also, there are interactions between entry qualification and field of study. These relationships and interactions could complicate the important task of translating wider access into academic success.     

国家教师资格考试:必要性、导向及问题思考——基于对浙江、湖北两个试点省份首次考试情况的统计分析

国家教师资格考试的实施是我国教师教育发展的使然之需,教师资格制度发展的应然之求。首次试点考试区分度良好,信度ɑ≥0.7的科目占83.3%,取得了圆满成功。国家教师资格考试的导向功能体现在四个方面:多元化导向、专业化导向、能力导向和实践导向。实施过程中应处理好三个问题:入门与选拔的关系、能力与知识的关系以及笔试与面试的关系。     

Stigma Hauptschulabschluss?

Graduates of vocational training with or without an exit qualification from the German lower secondary school called ??Hauptschule?? have an above-average chance of being unemployed at the next level. Using a data set which includes both school exit qualifications and the marks from vocational training, we show that this increased probability of unemployment can be explained by the enduring stigmatization of graduating school with a low qualification level and by weaker performance in the final examination from vocational training. This leads to additive disadvantages at the next stage in a young person??s career. The attainment of a vocational qualification is, therefore, an insufficient basis for successful entry into the labor market. At a stage, when their integration into the labor market appears to have been secured??despite a problematic start?Cthese youths are, in fact, confronted with an increased risk of unemployment and a precarious start in their working career.     

职业资格证书制度实施问题及解决意见

分析当前实施职业资格证书制度过程中所出现的问题，建议：强化劳动准入制度，发挥行业协会作用，考虑职业资格标准的动态性和及时性，完善职业资格证书考核管理，推进其与国际接轨，加大对职校实习设备经费投入，加强实习指导教师队伍建设，完善职业鉴定标准。     

高校"两课"教学:应切实提高学术品位

过低的学术品位是造成高校“两课”教学实效性差的最直接原因。影响高校“两课”教学学术品位提高的因素有三：观念、管理及“两课”教师自身素质。提高“两课”教学学术品位,是由“两课”的科学本性和大学教学的本质特点决定的。学术品位是“两课”教学魅力之所在,是解决马列主义“进脑子”的关键。提高其学术品位就要弘扬“教学自由”理念,营造宽松学术氛围。高校“两课”教师应努力提高自身理论修养并强化教学与科研相结合的意识。     

The Influence of Social Background on Application and Entry to Higher Education in Scotland: a Multi‐Level Analysis

This paper assesses the influence of social background on application and entry to higher education among Scottish school leavers using multi‐level modelling. The context for the study is long‐standing policy interest in widening access to higher education for under‐represented groups. The analysis indicates that those from less advantaged backgrounds are disadvantaged at three stages in the process of entry to higher education: qualification, application and entry. The results support the need for explanations and interventions encompassing both individual and structural levels. Government initiatives aimed at widening access are discussed in light of the findings.     

Problem-solving Ability and Cognitive Maturity in Undergraduate Students

In this study, questions relating to problem-solving ability and cognitive maturity in undergraduate students were investigated: (1) Is there a relationship between age, gender, highest academic qualification or year of study, and problem-solving ability? (2) Is there a relationship between cognitive maturity and problem-solving ability? (3) Are there any changes in problem-solving ability and cognitive maturity from first-year to third-year undergraduates? One hundred and seventy-three undergraduate students at the University of Canberra, Australia, were administered a survey comprising 15 multiple-choice problems. Results suggested that the greatest differences in problem-solving ability were related to year of study, and existing academic qualification. Subjects aged 30 years and over were better problem solvers than those aged under 30; subjects who had just completed their secondary schooling performed better than subjects who had recently received a technical college qualification. Relationships between the number of variables to be manipulated in a problem and its successful solution, and between cognitive maturity and problem-solving ability, were observed. The ramifications of these results for the teaching of undergraduate students are discussed.     

高师音乐教育专业面临的问题及对策

扩大招生后，高师音乐教育专业在生源质量、师资力量等方面面临诸多挑战。为此，试图通过招考策略、质量观念、资源调配、课程结构、教学模式等五个方面的探讨，来改善目前的境况并提高新形势下音乐教育专业的办学效率和教育质量。     

Anxiety in Science Classrooms: its measurement and relationship to classroom environment

This paper considers the role of a new vocational science qualification in the UK (Intermediate General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) science) and how it relates to science-based employment. Studies into employers' requirements are reviewed and found to indicate that an ability to understand and evaluate scientific evidence is valued highly. This part of science is not currently taught explicitly either in GNVQ or elsewhere in the science curriculum. The authors report the results of a small intervention study in which ideas about evidence were explicitly taught within Intermediate GNVQ science. The findings suggest that it is feasible to incorporate such teaching into the qualification but that, if it is not part of the formal assessment process, the teaching tends to be undervalued by the students. By contrast, the teaching staff involved in the project recognised that these ideas fill a gap in the qualification and valued the teaching materials developed for this purpose. A means of incorporating the assessment of such understanding into the current assessment procedures is put forward. Such a modification to the assessment process would add rigour to the qualification and provide a better preparation for employment in science-based industry.     

关于村委会成员候选人资格条件问题的思考

我国对候选人规定高于一般选举人的资格条件,是一个相当普遍的现象;宪法所规定的选举权和被选举权不分离、相统一原则的适用范围为县乡人大代表的直接选举;对村委会成员候选人规定高于村委会选举一般选民的资格条件并不违宪。在法规中对村委会成员候选人规定高于村委会选举一般选民的资格条件,不仅不与民主和村民自治的原则相矛盾,而且是使农村基层民主和村民自治健康发展的必然选择。县乡人大与村委会不同,对县乡人大代表候选人和村委会成员候选人的要求也应不同。现行省级法规大多只是从积极的肯定的方面规定了村委会成员的资格条件,指标不具体,缺乏硬约束,无法或不太好进行资格审查,应着重从消极的否定的方面规定村委会成员候选人的限制性资格条件。     

新形势对高校学报编辑的要求及现代化

加入WTO的新形势对高校学报提出了新要求 ,编辑素质、编辑网络化、编辑学者化专业化都成为编辑自身发展的新要求 ,编校合一的可行性和高校学报内部的管理建设也是新形势下学报界需要解决的问题     

发达国家职业教育资历框架建设的先进经验及启示

发达国家资历框架的建设取得了显著的成就,具体表现在架起了职业教育人才培养制度与企业聘用制度之间的桥梁,畅通了技术技能型人才的上升通道;进一步完善了职业教育人才培养体系;有力地推动了职业教育的课程改革和产教融合。总结发达国家资历框架建设的先进经验,可归纳为:基于学习成果导向构建资历框架标准体系、彰显证书整合功能、吸引多元利益相关者参与、注重职业资格与学历资格等值沟通。我国应借鉴发达国家建设经验,建立以学习成果为导向的综合性资格框架标准体系,推进多元主体参与的国家资格框架组织建设,完善非正规与非正式学习认证制度,构建普职等值机制。     

Of human bodies in scientific communication and enculturation

This paper argues against a view of curriculum as a means for moulding students into, and making teachers accountable for, something pre‐determined and singularly governed by qualification demands of the labour market. It makes a case for the value of inter‐subjective teacher–student relationships in education and addresses the significance of negotiations and their open‐endedness. This paper draws its empirical material from case studies for which interviews were the main source for gathering data. The data analyses were made using the AtlasTi software designed for qualitative analysis. In the empirical material were found instances of negotiations in which inter‐subjective relationships are established and maintained; negotiations that are rendered obscured or even invisible from a qualification purpose but that influence the educational processes. The results show that teachers and students creatively use potentials within contextual conditions to attain relationships which sometimes constitute a precondition for education.     

Women into science and engineering? Gendered participation in higher education STEM subjects

This paper considers gendered patterns of participation in post‐compulsory STEM education. It examines the trajectory of learning that takes students from A‐level qualifications, through undergraduate work and into employment or further study. It also uses a long‐term view to look at the best available evidence to monitor participation and attainment over an extended period of time. The findings suggest that almost three decades of initiatives to increase participation in STEM subjects have had little noticeable impact on the recruitment data and gendered patterns of participation persist in several subject areas. This is despite more women entering HE and little gender difference in the entry qualifications for STEM subjects. While more women are studying science, as broadly conceived, than ever before, recruitment to key areas, namely physics and engineering remains stagnant. However, for those women who do remain in the ‘science stream’ patterns of employment in graduate careers and further study appear relatively equitable.     

对证施教教学模式的效果分析

对证施教教学模式将职业资格证书规定的知识、能力、素质要求,嵌入到人才培养方案中,以职业课程构建为切入点,在课程设计、教学实施过程中实现人才培养的工学结合。教学实践证明,对证施教促进了学生技能提高,促进了学生就业,促进了专业建设。     

The Economic Benefits of Adult Learning to Low-Qualified Young Adults: Do Participation and Qualification Decrease the Risk of Unemployment?

Policymakers worldwide consider participation in adult learning beneficial for employability, in particular for specific target groups. However, still little is known about the effect of adult learning pursued by low-qualified young adults on their employment prospects. On the basis of a Flemish longitudinal database, we study the determinants and effects of work-related adult learning and adult learning not related to work. We make a distinction between formal learning and informal learning and between enrolment duration and qualification attainment. We control for background characteristics, human capital, school leaving age and entry into the labor market and run two path models. The analysis results contradict the general observation that adult learning is primarily a matter of high-qualified people. Among the low-qualified, lack of human capital does not hamper but encourages participation in adult learning. In addition, gender differences exist in participation in adult learning with men participating more often in work-related adult learning and women being more likely to attain a qualification in adult learning not related to work. Finally, our results indicate that participation but not qualification attainment in adult learning has an impact on employment prospects for low-qualified young adults.     

基于最近邻法的Skyline查询研究

Skyline查询就是要查找数据集中不被其他点支配的所有点。由于Skyline查询在涉及多维空间数据库的应用领域中起着非常重要的作用,因而Skyline的计算受到了很大关注,特别是无需访问所有的数据点就能很快的返回Skyline点的算法。论文研究一种基于最近邻法Skyline查询方法,并对其作了分析。算法采用了R-树及堆结构,通过对目标数据集进行索引,存放最可能为Skyline点的数据于算法优先扫描的位置,这使得算法能高效计算出数据集的Skyline;同时,算法所采用的分枝界定法可以使所访问的空间数据点数目大大减少;再者,算法扫描一个点时,只需和当前已发现的Skyline点进行比较即能判断该点是否为Skyline点,保证了算法的渐进性。     

日本对中小学校长资格问题的研究及启示

日本校长资格研究自20世纪80年代起步,逐渐从历史和制度本位转向对实践和个体的关心。本文在对研究视角进行简要划分的基础上,结合相关的历史与实践背景介绍了日本校长资格研究的发展动向与主要成果,并对我国进一步研究校长资格进行了思考。     

Teacher shortage in mathematics and physics: some possible solutions

Mathematics and physics have long been recognised as hard shortage subjects in secondary school staffing. It appears that we have now reached a critical position where recruitment to PGCE courses, the main route into secondary school teaching, is in a state of rapid decline. The number of entrants to PGCE courses in September 1985 showed a 13% decrease in mathematics and a 20% decrease in physics on the previous year. The figures for 1984 entry compared to 1983 were 13% down in mathematics and 12% down in physics. Applications for places on PGCE courses commencing September 1986 are presently down by 32% in mathematics and 28% in physics on corresponding figures for Setember 1985 entry. This downward trend in applications is in part offset by falling rolls in secondary schools, but mathematics and physics are subjects where specialist staffing is already a scarce resource. Recent surveys have shown that 38% of all mathematics teaching and 22% of physics teaching in the 11‐16 age range is in the hands of unsuitably qualified teachers. In addition teacher wastage is high in these key areas with many teachers leaving the profession for better paid jobs in industry or commerce. In this paper I consider a range of possible solutions to the shortage problem, some of which have been attempted, while others are merely proposals at this stage. It is not suggested however, that each proposed stategy should operate in isolation.