CURRICULUM RESEARCH IN SWEDEN II‐‐MATHEMATICS AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

In Study 1, eight‐ and 11‐year‐old children's participation in playground activities was examined by means of direct observations. At both ages, the two most common categories of behaviour engaged in were sociable activities and rule games. The older children spent significantly more time in rule games and significantly less time alone than the younger children. Girls spent significantly more time in sociable activities and significantly less time alone than boys. The proportion of time spent in these and other categories of behaviour was not found to differ from the beginning to the end of playtime. A more detailed analysis revealed the proportion of time spent in some more specific games and activities, as well as other age and sex differences. Many activities were found to be typically single sex and/or single age affairs, although others were more often played in mixed sex and/or mixed age groups. Some of the reasons for why this was the case were explored in Study 2, along with the children's feelings at being excluded by other groups. It appeared that the older boys were largely responsible for the lack of mixed age and mixed sex play on the playground.     

THE ROLE OF TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND PRACTICES ON UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS�� MATHEMATICS SELF-EFFICACY IN NYANZA PROVINCE OF KENYA: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

The study identified two dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and practices and five dimensions of students’ mathematics self-efficacy and sought to determine the extent to which teacher characteristics and practices can enhance secondary school students’ self-efficacy. Data were collected from 13,173 students in 193 teachers’ classrooms from 141 schools in the 10 districts of Lake Victoria Region of Kenya. Two-level hierarchical linear model revealed that teachers’ frequent use of mathematics homework, their level of interest and enjoyment of mathematics, as well as their ability and competence in teaching mathematics were found to play a key role in promoting students’ mathematics self-efficacy. Teachers’ ability and competence in teaching were also found to be effective in narrowing the gender gap in students’ self-confidence and competence in mathematics. The study recommends that teacher training colleges emphasize such teacher practices and values in order to enhance students’ mathematics self-efficacy, reduce their level of anxiety and fear of mathematics, and consequently, enhance their achievement in mathematics. Professional development opportunities should also be made available to in-service teachers to continually update their knowledge and skills and develop new strategies for teacher effectiveness.     

ATTITUDES TOWARD MATHEMATICS,LEVEL OF MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCY,AND RELATIVE GAINS IN COMPETENCY IN TWO‐ AND FOUR‐YEAR COLLEGES: A COMPARISON

An attitude toward mathematics questionnaire indicated no real difference in attitudes between two‐ and four‐year colleges. No differences in mathematical competencies, as measured by the Beckmann‐Beal Mathematical Competencies Test for Enlightened Citizens, existed between two‐ and four‐year colleges. The gain in mathematical competency due to taking one precalculus mathematics course was only 1.48 questions, or an increase of only 4.1%.     

CLASSROOM RESEARCH AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: THREE SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES‐THE IMPACT OF STUDENT WRITING IN LEARNING ACCOUNTING

As the knowledge base in all disciplines continues to grow, professors face the problem of incorporating even more essential, difficult, technical material into their already content‐filled courses. Furthermore, companies are hiring more selectively than ever, requiring not only superior technical skills but also good writing skills of the people they hire. How can faculty add more technical material plus extra writing practice into already bulging courses?

One solution may be to supplement typical homework problems with daily written journals. In using these journals, the students would think about and better understand difficult concepts that are not being fully understood through homework problems. Also, a byproduct of writing in daily journals would be extra writing practice and, presumably, better writing skills.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of research done in the Collin County Community College District in which four Principles of Accounting classes were used in an experiment involving writing to learn. Two classes were conducted in the traditional accounting class format in which student participation was through homework problems. The other two classes also wrote in daily journals, using a few minutes of class time to individually summarize difficult concepts presented during that class. Final grades and attrition rates of the experimental groups were compared at the end of the semester with promising results.     

DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMATIC PLAY IN YOUNG CHILDREN AND ITS EFFECTS ON SELF‐REGULATION: THE VYGOTSKIAN APPROACH

The necessity for parents and teachers to work together collaboratively to optimize children’s learning and development in early childhood education is well recognized. Yet, ways in which initial teacher education programs might prepare teachers for professional relationships with parents are rare in the literature. This paper reports on the use of field experience in family homes that occurred in the 1^st year of a teacher education program. A case study of two student teachers is discussed to illustrate the potential of such an approach to this aspect of teacher preparation. These student teachers experienced the realities of the daily lives of families with young children. Six months later, their experiences appeared likely to have had a positive influence on their understanding of parenting and their attitudes towards establishing and maintaining effective partnerships with parents in their future professional role.     

AN EVALUATION OF NEW FUNDING MECHANISMS IN BRITISH HIGHER EDUCATION: SOME MICRO‐ECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES

This paper summarizes some results of a programme of study of recent and proposed changes in the methods of funding higher education in the United Kingdom and in a number of other OECD countries. It considers the advantages and disadvantages for institutional efficiency of alternative models of funding, the extent of changes in the patterns of finance, and the management and academic responses of the institutions affected by these changes, and in doing so, it examines a set of higher education establishments in transition from an elite university led system towards the much more varied array of institutions and activities that constitute mass higher education.

     

THE EFFECTS OF EPISTEMIC BELIEFS IN SCIENCE AND GENDER DIFFERENCE ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SCIENCE-TEXT READING: AN EYE-TRACKING STUDY

The primary purpose of this study was to explore not only the effects of epistemic beliefs in science on science-text reading but also the gender differences in epistemic beliefs and the reading process. The interactions between gender and epistemic beliefs during reading were also explored. A total of 25 university students, 13 male and 12 female, were paid to participate in the study. The scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs) questionnaire was used to probe the subjects’ epistemic beliefs in science, while the eye-tracking method was employed to record their science-text reading process. It was demonstrated that the participants in the study had developed sophisticated SEBs. Complicated SEBs were associated with higher cognitive attention to the reading of data-related information but less mental effort to fact, scientific explanations, and the microview photos. As for the gender difference, female students displayed less mental effort in comprehending scientific explanations, but attended more to data and the microview graphic. It is argued that female learners are better at processing textual information. Interactions between SEBs and gender were found and discussed.     

PRESERVICE MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHERS IN AN INTEGRATED TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM FOR GRADES 7–12: A 3-YEAR STUDY OF ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS RELATED TO INTEGRATION

The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to describe a unique teacher licensure program for grades 7–12 that integrates mathematics, science, and technology education and (b) to explore the attitudes and perceptions related to the integration of mathematics, science, and technology education of three cohorts of preservice teachers enrolled in the first 3 years of the program. Eighty-one preservice teachers responded to a semantic differential to measure attitudes and perceptions related to “mathematics, science, and technology education integration.” Principal components and internal consistency reliability analyses were computed to provide validity and reliability evidence. Preservice teachers also responded to one open-ended, free-response written question, “What does the integration of mathematics, science, and technology education mean to you?” Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance with repeated measures and Pearson cross-tabulation chi-square analyses were computed to identify pretest–posttest differences for the value and difficulty scales, identified by the principal components analysis. Analytic inductive methods were used to identify emergent themes in student written responses to the open-ended question. Results indicated no change in preservice teacher attitudes and perceptions related to the value of integration—they clearly valued integration at the onset and completion of the program, often citing student benefits. However, a significant change in preservice teacher attitudes and perceptions related to difficulty was noted. Upon completion of the program, preservice teachers perceived integration to be more difficult and identified barriers and challenges—demonstrating a more realistic, practical, and cautious approach to the integration of mathematics, science, and technology education.