Computer-assisted remedial reading intervention for school beginners at risk for reading disability

The aim of the longitudinal study was to investigate whether a computer application designed for remedial reading training can enhance letter knowledge, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling of at-risk children. The participants, 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N=166), were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) regular remedial reading intervention (n=25), (b) computer-assessed reading intervention (n=25), and (c) mainstream reading instruction (n=116). Based on the results, computer-assisted remedial reading intervention was highly beneficial, whereas regular type of intervention was less successful. The results indicated that at-risk children require computer-based letter-name and letter-sound training to acquire adequate decoding and spelling skills, and to reach the level of their non-at-risk peers.     

Response to intervention with secondary school students with reading difficulties

The authors summarize evidence from a multiyear study with secondary students with reading difficulties on (a) the potential efficacy of primary-level (Tier 1), secondary-level (Tier 2), and tertiary-level (Tier 3) interventions in remediating reading difficulties with middle school students, (b) the likelihood of resolving reading disabilities with older students with intractable reading disabilities, (c) the reliability, validity, and use of screening and progress monitoring measures with middle school students, and (d) the implications of implementing response to intervention (RTI) practices at the middle school level. The authors provide guidance about prevailing questions about remediating reading difficulties with secondary students and discuss future directions for research using RTI frameworks for students at the secondary level.     

Associations between reading achievement and independent reading in early elementary school: a genetically informative cross-lagged study

This study used a cross-lagged twin design to examine reading achievement and independent reading from 10 to 11 years (n = 436 twin pairs). Reading achievement at age 10 significantly predicted independent reading at age 11. The alternative path, from independent reading at age 10 to reading achievement at age 11, was not significant. Individual differences in reading achievement and independent reading at both ages were primarily due to genetic influences. Furthermore, individual differences in independent reading at age 11 partly reflected genetic influences on reading achievement at age 10. These findings suggest that genetic influences that contribute to individual differences in children's reading abilities also influence the extent to which children actively seek out and create opportunities to read.     

The impact of an online intervention (Brainology) on the mindset and resiliency of secondary school pupils: a preliminary mixed methods study

This preliminary study investigated the impact of the online interactive programme Brainology (which aimed to encourage a growth mindset) on the mindset, resiliency and sense of mastery of secondary school pupils. A quasi-experimental pre-, post- and follow-up mixed-methods study was carried out with 33 participants aged 13–14?years. The measures were Dweck’s theories of intelligence scale and Prince-Embury’s resiliency scales for children and adolescents. Quantitative data were analysed using analysis of variance. Qualitative data from focus groups were categorised and coded. The programme led to a significant increase in pre- to post-mindset scores for the intervention group. However, there was a significant decline at follow-up and the initial impact of the intervention was not sustained. There were no significant changes in mindset for the comparison group. There were no significant changes in resiliency or sense of mastery for either group. The significant short-term impact of Brainology and non-significant follow-up findings are discussed. The present study has limitations such as small sample size, which has implications for generalisability. Future research should investigate the longer term effectiveness of educational interventions in schools.

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.     

创建中职体育特色教育学校研究

中职教育是当前教育发展中一个重要方面,本文主要就创建中职体育特色教育学校的意义及策略进行研究,希望通过本文的研究为中职体育教学的改革提供一些参考。     

Factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions of Chinese secondary school students: an empirical study

The ideal stage to learn about and foster positive attitudes toward entrepreneurship is believed to be during childhood and adolescence. However, most entrepreneurial studies examine college rather than secondary school students (SSS). Based on a modified theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study used stratified cluster sampling and a questionnaire to review current entrepreneurship education in secondary schools. In addition, the effects of entrepreneurship education, personal traits, and demographics on attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and entrepreneurial intentions (EI) on 1018 SSS in China were studied. Differences, correlations, and structural equation modeling analysis indicated the following. (1) Most SSS had never received entrepreneurship education, likely resulting in lowered entrepreneurial intention and perception of entrepreneurial behavioral performance as unrealistically easy. (2) Cognitive bias existed in SSS’s perceptions of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial behaviors were regarded as external cause-oriented activities. (3) Gender and entrepreneurial experience of family member also influenced EI and related variables. (4) Entrepreneurship education and personal traits (locus of control and innovativeness) were significantly positive predictors of EI, and (5) their effects on EI were completely mediated by PBC. The findings supported the TPB predictions, and the results offered some implications for entrepreneurship education in Chinese secondary schools: (1) developing entrepreneurial personal traits while eliminating examination-oriented education, (2) enhancing SSS’s entrepreneurial confidence so entrepreneurial behaviors are perceived as easier and more achievable, and (3) constructing systematic entrepreneurship courses to guarantee transition from secondary to higher education.     

On the effects of motivation on reading performance growth in secondary school

This research aimed at identifying unique effects of reading motivation on reading performance when controlling for cognitive skills, familial, and demographic background. We drew upon a longitudinal sample of N = 1508 secondary school students from 5th to 8th grade. Two types of intrinsic reading motivation (reading enjoyment, reading for interest), one type of extrinsic reading motivation (competition), and reading self-concept were measured by self-report questionnaires. Cognitive skills (reasoning, decoding speed) and reading performance were assessed using standardized tests and background variables were collected using student and parent questionnaires. Applying latent growth curve modeling, positive unique effects of reading enjoyment and reading self-concept and a negative unique effect of competition on the initial level of reading performance were recorded. Moreover, a positive unique effect of reading for interest on reading performance growth was recorded. One may conclude that enhancing students’ interest might be fruitful in terms of nurturing reading performance.     

Extending pre‐school experience as preventive intervention: Relationships with later reading achievement

This study investigated the predictive validity of decisions made by a pre‐school teacher concerning the cognitive and social maturity of her pupils to enter formal schooling, based on their performance on the Neale Scales of Early Childhood Development.Thirty‐five children selected from the rolls of a Melbourne pre‐school which had maintained records over a ten‐year period were followed up in primary school and their reading ability assessed. Findings showed that subjects who had undertaken an additional pre‐school year following advice based on their Neale Scales’ performance were reading significantly better than those who had displayed similar developmental anomalies but who bad not been exposed to further pre‐school experience; moreover, the former were reading as well as or better than children selected on the basis of their pre‐school profiles as being ready for school.     

Non‐at‐risk adolescents' attitudes towards reading in a Singapore secondary school

In this paper, we examine the various nuanced dimensions of adolescents' dispositions towards reading in one secondary school in Singapore, where a high‐stakes examination culture often threatens to colonise the practices of leisure reading. Our focus is on the better and more avid readers as they were the ones that developed the more negative attitudes towards reading at the end of their first year in secondary school. Our analysis found that there were no significant differences between boys and girls in their declining attitudes, and that for both ‘intrinsic motivation’ saw the greatest decline. However, attitudes related to learning orientation remained stable, suggesting both the impact of constraints in an exam‐oriented educational structure as well as possibilities for developing reading pedagogy and adolescent reading programmes. We argue that the more educators are aware of the multidimensionality and complexity of the attitudes and values that students bring to their reading, the more effectively they will be able to design and implement programmes and pedagogy to foster positive attitudes and promote a lifelong love for reading.     

小学生课外阅读指导的目标取向

在《语文课程标准》和新教材的实验推广过程中 ,课外阅读是语文教育的重要组成部分已成为广大语文教育工作者的共识。许多教师把课外阅读作为语文教学改革的重要手段 ,以实现培养学生语文素养 ,提高语文教学质量的目的。但是 ,现实中老师们满腔热血地花大力气提倡、指导学生进行课外阅读实践活动 ,而离开教师后 ,在课外多数学生并没有相应的阅读激情和自觉阅读行为。其主要原因是教师在学生的课外阅读指导中目标取向存在着盲目性和随意性。《现代汉语词典》对“目标”的解释是 :要想达到的境地或标准。课外阅读犹如茫茫大海 ,小学生驾驭着自…     

中等专业技术学校电子阅览室的建设初探

随着计算机信息技术、网络通讯技术的迅速发展,计算机广泛应用于图书馆的各个工作环节,全国公共图书馆、高等院校、中等专业技术学校基本都建立了本馆自动化集成系统。结合自身的建设实践,谈谈电子阅览室的环境与布局、电子阅览室的类型、网络拓朴结构及设备配置、信息资源建设等方面对中小型电子阅览室建设的几点看法。     

Teacher development under curriculum reform: a case study of a secondary school in mainland China

In 2003, a curriculum reform of education was initiated in mainland China to improve the quality of senior secondary education. The major purpose of this reform was to move from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach in teaching. In order to find out how teachers coped with the challenges of the reform and how their work was affected, an in-depth study was conducted at a senior secondary school in City B, Guangdong, using qualitative research. While the curriculum reform was found to offer teachers an opportunity for re-professionalisation, teacher development in the sample school was revealed as having changed towards an assigned professionalism. In addition, teaching research officers limited themselves to instruction on practical teaching techniques. Furthermore, the existence of teacher leadership on a subject panel was heavily dependent on the panel head’s leadership style. On the whole, the tendency was for teachers to be explicitly instructed to partake in contrived collegiality and imposed reflection.     

Teacher development under curriculum reform: a case study of a secondary school in mainland China

International Review of Education - In 2003, a curriculum reform of education was initiated in mainland China to improve the quality of senior secondary education. The major purpose of this reform...     

Sustaining continued acceleration in reading comprehension achievement following an intervention

Schooling improvement initiatives have demonstrated that moderate but significant achievement gains are possible with well designed interventions, but there is little research into whether these gains can be sustained. The present study examines the extent to which acceleration in achievement made during a three-year literacy intervention and the associated school-based practices were continued. Statistical modelling showed continued acceleration in student achievement (four months in addition to expected progress) at a rate similar to the intervention. The school-based practices associated with sustainability were part of a process of change (rather than a specific instructional programme) comprising two dimensions — organisational learning through ongoing inquiry into solving problems arising from teaching and learning and the development of professional learning communities to promote organisational learning. Effectiveness was enhanced by schools embedding the process into their normal school routines as part of a coherent instructional programme and the availability of expertise.

A case study of integration and destreaming: Teachers and students in an Ontario secondary school respond

The direction that secondary school reform should take has become a contested question in the province of Ontario, Canada, during the 1990s. This case study of one secondary school examines some of the issues surrounding the transition years. Two policies, destreaming and integration, mandatedbythe OntarioMinistryof Education in 1993, and fully implemented by 1995, are examined by means of interview and survey. Administrators, teachers and students commented on the transition from elementary to secondary school. We discuss questions related to destreaming (especially how teachers contend with mixed-ability classes) and integration (with a particular focus on mathematics, science and technology).