THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH‐‐II

Recent work aimed at involving parents more in the teaching of reading by encouraging parents to hear their children read school reading books at home has created a great deal of interest. But to what extent does it depart from normal school practice?

Little is known about schools’ attitudes to parental involvement in home‐based, as opposed to school‐based, educational activities. Therefore a study was made of a sample of 16 infant and first schools. Interviews were carried out with head teachers, all teachers of seven‐year‐olds, and some of their pupils. It was found that whilst there was general support for the idea of parental involvement in the teaching of reading this stopped short of helping parents hear their own children read at home. An examination of the schools’ practice suggested that at present comparatively few children regularly take school reading books to read at home.     

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER‐‐I

This study constitutes an assessment of the relation between the number of students leaving school (dropouts) and the magnitude of teacher life changes in conjunction with selected teacher performance variables in terms of pair‐wise and multiple correlation procedures.

Findings support the thesis that the selected teacher performance variables taken in conjunction with teacher life changes and the number of student dropouts are significantly associated.     

THE MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY‐‐III

During 1963, arrangements were made by the then Ministry of Education for a national experiment in foreign‐language teaching to be carried out in selected primary schools in England and Wales. The main purpose of the experiment, which came to be known as the Pilot Scheme for the teaching of French in primary schools, was to discover whether it would be both feasible and educationally desirable to extend the teaching of a foreign language to pupils who represented a wider range of age and ability than those to whom foreign languages had traditionally been taught. Under the Pilot Scheme, French was to be introduced into the primary school curriculum on an experimental basis from September 1964 onwards. The choice of French as the language to be taught was virtually inevitable, since it would have been impossible to provide an adequate teaching force for the implementation of the experiment if any language other than French had been chosen. In most of the schools taking part in the Pilot Scheme, French was to be taught throughout the primary stage of the experiment by class teachers who had received special in‐service training, rather than by specialist teachers of French. Arrangements were made to provide continuity of teaching at the secondary stage, so that all the pupils taking part in the experiment would be able to continue learning French without interruption for at least five years.

Once the experiment had been set up, it was agreed that its effects should be evaluated over a period of years by the NFER. In the event, the NFER evaluation spanned the period 1964‐1974, taking the form of a longitudinal study of three age‐groups or ‘cohorts’ of pupils attending the schools taking part in the experiment. The sole criterion on which pupils were chosen for inclusion in one of the experimental cohorts was their date of birth. In the first instance, French was to be taught to all eight‐year‐old pupils in the selected primary schools from September 1964 onwards; thereafter, the teaching of French was to be extended to a further year‐group each autumn, until it involved all pupils in the 8‐11 age‐range. Thus, the first cohort to come under study was composed of all pupils in the large primary schools taking part in the experiment who fell within the age‐range 8‐0‐8#lb11 on 1st September 1964 and all pupils in the small primary schools who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐9#lb11 on that date: this provided a sample of approximately 5.700 pupils. (A wider age‐range was sampled in the small primary schools, to avoid the creation of unworkably small groups.) The second cohort was composed of all pupils in the large primary schools in the sample who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐8#lb11 on 1st September 1965: this provided a sample of approximately 5,300 pupils. Pupils in the small primary schools were not represented in the second cohort, since most children of an appropriate age had already been included in the French classes set up for the first cohort.

Originally, the NFER evaluation was to have been based entirely on a longitudinal study of the pupils forming the first two experimental cohorts. It was hoped that the results of this study would provide sufficient information to enable valid conclusions to be drawn regarding the feasibility and advisability of teaching French at the primary level. As the experiment progressed however, it became clear that the pioneer status of the first cohort had entailed an atypical introduction to French. During the first year of the Pilot Scheme, for instance, difficult staffing problems were encountered which had not always been foreseen: in some primary schools, French teachers were absent without replacement for a whole term in order to attend intensive language courses in France; in others, no trained staff were available to teach French during the first term of the experiment, with the result that the first cohort pupils in these schools started to learn French one term later than the others in their age‐group. The first year of the experiment could therefore be regarded with some justification as an essentially exploratory period, calling into question the validity of using the results obtained from the study of the first cohort as a basis for future comparison. In view of these circumstances, it was considered advisable to extend the evaluation to a third cohort of pupils: those who would begin their study of French in September 1968. The third and final cohort to come under study was thus composed of all pupils in the large primary schools still taking part in the experiment who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐8#lb11 on 1st September 1968 and all pupils in the small primary schools who fell within the age‐range 8#lb0‐9#lb11 on the same date: this provided a sample of approximately 6,000 pupils. Inclusion in the experimental sample was again determined solely by the age of the pupil. This meant that the sample was drawn from all the socioeconomic strata normally represented within the national educational system and, in consequence, was characterized by a wide range of ability.

The time‐span of the evaluation did not allow all the pupils taking part in the experiment to be studied for an equal period of time. The pupils in the first and third cohorts were under study for a total of five years: three years in the primary school and two years in the secondary school. The pupils in the second cohort were under study for a longer period: three years in the primary school and five years in the secondary school. During the ten‐year period of the evaluation, the main aims of the study were: (i) to investigate the long‐term development of pupils’ attitudes towards foreign‐language learning; (ii) to discover whether pupils’ levels of achievement in French were related to their attitudes towards foreign‐language learning; (iii) to examine the effect of certain pupil variables (such as age, sex, socio‐economic status, perception of parental encouragement, employment expectations, contact with France, etc) on level of achievement in French and attitude towards foreign language learning; (iv) to investigate whether teachers’ attitudes and expectations significantly affected the attitudes and achievement of their pupils; (v) to investigate whether the early introduction of French had a significant effect on achievement in other areas of the primary school curriculum.

The main findings to emerge during the earlier years of the evaluation were published in two interim reports (Burstall, 1968, 1970); the recent publication of the final report (Burstall et al., 1974) brought together both the earlier and the later findings and provided an overall view of the effects of the experiment during both its primary and secondary stages. What follows is an attempt to review briefly the research evidence presented in the final report, but it must be borne in mind that limitations of space will inevitably impose a certain selectivity on this review.

     

OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE LAWS AND THE CREATION OF EDUCATIONAL NEEDS: A NEW ROLE FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES?

The authors describe how growing state occupational license laws that require candidates to pass pencil and paper examinations create a large demand for education. In building contracting, insurance, and real estate, for example, that demand often is met by profit‐seeking examination preparation schools. The paper reports research from a large sample of applicants of the more than 20,000 each year who take the California contractors’ license examination. Some prepared for the examination, which is primarily business and law, through examination preparation schools, while others prepared on their own. Results show that while those who attended a license‐preparation school were somewhat less advantaged than those who prepared on their own, they had a somewhat higher probability of passing the examination. The paper also reports, however, that a large minority of license candidates were dissatisfied with their method of preparation, often expressing a need for a more comprehensive educational program in business and law, rather than in rote drill offered by many license schools. Added evidence is presented suggesting the need for more thorough preparation of license candidates that could result in greater social equity, indicating an important role for public community colleges in meeting this emergent demand.     

CURRICULUM RESEARCH IN SWEDEN IV‐‐THE GYMNASIUM AND PRE‐UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

Fifty‐six children between the ages of two years four months and four years ten months were given tests relating to the acquisition of both ‘specific’ and ‘generic’ concepts. Several tests of concept acquisition (HAPCAT) ^{1 1}The tests may be obtained from the NFER (Guidance and Assessment Service) to whom inquiries should be addressed. were devised by the authors utilizing pictures drawn on card. A number of the children (N=29) were also given some ‘Piagetian questions’ concerning class inclusion.

The results conflict with the widely held view (following the writing of Jean Piaget) that preschool children cannot form generic concepts. Nearly all the children were able to identify the specific concepts as presented in the HAPCAT items and about half the group responded appropriately to the HAPCAT items involving an understanding of generic concepts. There was a clear and statistically significant relationship between the number of correct answers given to the HAPCAT items and the age and ability levels of the children. This was not the case, however, with the Piagetian test questions which showed no discriminatory power in these respects. It is argued that the Piagetian questions do not represent a sensitive or meaningful measure of concept acquisition at this age level whereas the HAPCAT items do appear to present pre‐school children with intelligible tasks which allow many of them to demonstrate an understanding of generic concepts involving class inclusion.

     

THE IMAGE OF THE HUMAN BEING IN ISLAMIC AND “SECULAR HUMANISTIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT

Our moral awareness directs our attention to salient ethical cues. This article discusses how mistaken presumptions about the ways faith can inform moral awareness can cloud our understanding of the role of religious convictions in public discourse. The article then explores how an understanding of the dynamics of moral awareness can enable people to ground their moral outlooks in their faith commitments while at the same time remaining open to dialogue with people of other faith commitments so that they are able to discuss moral issues in the religiously diverse public places (the public squares) of our global, postmodern age.     

CITIZENSHIP,EDUCATION AND THE NATION‐STATE. THE INCLUSIVENESS OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE NETHERLANDS

The aim of the author is to estimate the heuristic value of Meyer's (et al., 1985) social theory on citizenship, education and the nation‐state, in relation to F. Ringer's three dimensions of educational systems (i.e. ‘inclusiveness’, ‘segmentation’, and ‘progressiveness'). Rupp's thesis is that the inclusiveness and expansion of educational systems is related to the processes of the formation of nation‐state and citizenship institutions; their progressiveness and segmentation, however, to other socio‐political developments. It is suggested that national differences correspond to differences in centralized or decentralized polities.     

THE TAYLOR EXPANSION OF A FUNCTION OF FUNCTIONS

ＴＨＥＴＡＹＬＯＲＥＸＰＡＮＳＩＯＮＯＦＡＦＵＮＣＴＩＯＮＯＦＦＵＮＣＴＩＯＮＳＳｏｎｇＢａｉｓｈｅｎｇ（宋柏生）（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＭａｔｈｅｎｉａｔｉｃｓａｎｄＭｅｃｈａｎｉｃｓ）ＴＨＥＴＡＹＬＯＲＥＸＰＡＮＳＩＯＮＯＦＡＦＵＮＣＴＩＯＮＯ...     

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH OF SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY

Southeast University,located at central part of ancient capital city of Nanjing nearbeautiful Xuan Wu Lake,is one of the key universities operated direclty under the StateEducation Commission of China.Southeast University is one of the oldest institutions ofhigher learning in China.Its origins go back to 1902.Southeast University,with fullrange of disciplines and strong faculties,comprises of Graduate School,Faculty of Arts,Faculty of Sciences,15 individual departments of Engineering,Management School,Adult Education School and one Satellite College in Wuxi.It has 22 departments,43 un-     

THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF EDUCATION,RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY−THE ISRAELI EXPERIENCE

This article examines the multidimensionality of education, research, and training in gerontology through a discussion of the significance and implications of developments in this area based on the Israeli scene. The discussion focuses on the issue of whether gerontology is an academic discipline based on the development of specialized knowledge, along with education and training, in a distinct academic framework, or whether it constitutes part of professional training in a variety of academic fields. The article begins with a presentation of milestones in the development of gerontology in Israel, focusing mainly on social gerontology. It then offers a definition of an academic discipline and of a profession and distinguishes between them by examining the development of curricula in the field of aging in two contexts: social work studies, on the one hand, and specialization in gerontology toward a Master's degree in this area at Haifa and Ben-Gurion Universities, on the other. A model is presented that examines the mutuality among the evolutions in technology, demography, and information, and their significance in the development of standards in education, training, and the dissemination of gerontological knowledge.     

THE ROLE OF SPEAKING IN ENGLISH TEACHING

This essay discusses the role of speaking in English teaching and the qualities promoted by spoken in-teractive exercises.     

THE ROLE OF SPEAKING IN ENGLISH TEACHING

This essay discusses the role of speaking in English teaching and the qualities promoted by spoken interactive exercises.     

THE ROLE OF SELF-ACCESS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

For English language learners who are in the college level, learning knowledge and skills from the teachers, the course books and the classroom activities can not 100 percent satisfy their individual needs or meet their various learning styles. In order to compensate this limit, they need to do self-access after class. In this paper, I will describe the relative background knowledge first and then try to illustrate the role of self-access in one＇s language learning process. Finally I will try to discuss the ways of making self-access more useful and feasible in students＂ practical study. The purpose of the present essay is to emphasize the important part self-access plays in ELT.