Promoting Pre‐experimental Activities in High‐school Chemistry: Focusing on the role of students’ epistemic questions

In high‐school chemistry the pre‐experimental phase of inquiry cycles often remains neglected. According to a procedural model, which is described in the text, this phase begins with an observation that stimulates students’ prior factual knowledge, the formulation of a research question for further elaboration (epistemic questions), the anticipation of a hypothetical answer, and the planning of experimental steps for deciding on the hypothetical answer. These activities were explicitly prescribed in an experimental group of 28 10th‐graders. Raising the quality of students’ epistemic research questions by providing structured help was a special focus of the intervention. Hypothesised motivational and cognitive effects were measured and compared with a group of 25 students (control group) who engaged in non‐structured pre‐experimental activities. The intervention provided to the experimental group resulted in stronger preferences for a more open and non‐recipe type of experimentation, in more intense cognitive activities (thoughts), and, most importantly, in increased skills for formulating causal epistemic questions. Supporting such procedural skills in classrooms may contribute to transforming labwork into intentional activities and students into active learners by helping them focus on further elaborating their knowledge.     

The Effects of Computer‐assisted Systematic Observation on the Attitudes and Efficiencies of Pre‐service Teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of computer‐assistance during systematic observation on the attitudes of pre‐service teachers towards systematic observation and on the time required to analyze the data gathered. During their field experience, pre‐service teachers were randomly assigned to conduct systematic observation in a computer‐assisted group or traditional ‘pencil and paper’ group. Results indicated that pre‐service teachers who used computer‐assisted systematic observation required significantly (alpha – 0.01) less time to perform quantitative analysis. The data also revealed several significant differences in attitudes between the pre‐service teachers who used computers and those who used the traditional ‘pencil and paper’ methods of systematic observation.     

The Effect of Teacher–Child Race/Ethnicity Matching and Classroom Diversity on Children's Socioemotional and Academic Skills

Mounting evidence suggests teacher–child race/ethnicity matching and classroom diversity benefit Black and Latinx children's academic and socioemotional development. However, less is known about whether the effects of teacher–child matching differ across levels of classroom diversity. This study examined effects of matching on teacher-reported child outcomes in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of teachers and children, and classroom diversity moderation using multilevel models. Data were drawn from a professional learning study involving 224 teachers (M_age = 41.5) and 5,200 children (M_age = 7.7) in 36 New York City elementary schools. Teacher–child race/ethnicity matching was associated with higher child engagement in learning, motivation, social skills, and fewer absences. Classroom diversity moderated matching such that teacher–child mismatch was related to lower engagement, motivation, social skills, math and reading scores in low-diversity classrooms, but not in high-diversity classrooms. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Universality of Socio‐moral Development: a cross‐sectional study in Poland

The concept of friendship has had a great deal of attention within recent years from philosophers. However, this attention restricts itself to friendship between adults and rarely considers the issue of friendship between children. The issue of friendship and how we socialise with others ought to be an important concept for education, yet schools rarely take the forming, nurturing and nourishing of friendship beyond helping to deal with disputes between friends when they disrupt school life. I wish to argue that whilst friendship is critical to the development of character and can properly be seen as part of ‘an invitation to the moral life’, it also has value in and of itself as part of the flourishing life.     

The Genesis and Evolution of Pre‐vocational Education: England

Abstract

In the following article, the author attempts to provide a skeleton overview of the movement for pre‐vocational education, stressing that present concern regarding such issues as the purpose of education and the extent to which a utilitarian approach is acceptable, school‐to‐work transition, and emphasis on particular work‐related skills have, in fact, formed a recurring debate dating back at least a century. Anxiety regarding Britain's hegemony over Europe, particularly Germany, has always featured in the debate, as has the issue of education versus training. Key educational legislation provides four key stages in the development of the debate, culminating in close examination of the implications of the Education Reform Act of 1988 for the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI).     

Primary Children's Perspectives on the World of Work: A Cross‐Cultural Comparison

Abstract

This paper presents a ‘political arithmetic’ of women in post‐ compulsory education and training in Wales, illustrating that, although there has been some ‘catching up’ in participation and qualifications achieved, essentially education and training systems are reinforcing the highly rigid pattern of gender segregation that characterises the Welsh labour force. Wales is in danger of consolidating its position as a low wage low skill economy unless this situation is addressed. Changes in the administrative frame work of post‐compulsory education and training in Wales allows the opportunity to develop such a strategy, but so far the main actors in the field appear to be taking a ‘gender‐neutral’ stance.     

The Effect of Mother–Child Reading Time on Children's Reading Skills: Evidence From Natural Within-Family Variation

Children's exposure to book reading is thought to be an influential input into positive cognitive development. Yet there is little empirical research identifying whether it is reading time per se, or other factors associated with families who read, such as parental education or children's reading skill, that improves children's achievement. Using data on 4,239 children ages 0–13 of the female respondents of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study applies two different methodologies to identify the causal impact of mother–child reading time on children's achievement scores by controlling for several confounding child and family characteristics. The results show that a 1 SD increase in mother–child reading time increases children's reading achievement by 0.80 SDs.     

The Interplay of the Classroom Learning Environment and Inquiry‐based Activities

This quasi‐experimental study investigates how the classroom learning environment changed after inquiry‐based activities were introduced and student questioning was encouraged. Three science teachers and three classes of fifth graders (n=92) participated in this study. The analysis of covariance reveals that although the experimental group students perceived that their teacher’s support was significantly lower than that for the comparison group did (p< 0.05), they were significantly more involved in learning (p< 0.05) than their counterparts. Classroom observations of student questioning and inquiry activities revealed that those students with high quality levels in asking or responding to questions outperformed their counterparts in the inquiry ability of designing experimental procedures.     

The effect of culture on the learning of science in non‐western countries: the results of an integrated research review

Abstract

An increasing number of researchers are investigating the effect of students’ prior knowledge and beliefs on their development of scientific concepts. Much of this research is taking place within the framework of constructivism, and is attracting the attention of science educators in non‐western countries. This integrative research review has been undertaken to help researchers and practitioners to identify issues for further investigation and reflection. The results suggest that ‘cosmetic’ attempts to nationalize western science curricula in non‐western countries are likely to prove ineffective because the problem, from the students’ perspective, is one of poor ‘fit’ between their world‐views, language meanings and prior beliefs and those inherent in the subject. A constructivist paradigm seems to offer good prospects for both understanding the problem and formulating learning strategies in science education which are better suited to non‐western cultures. Nevertheless, constructivist pedagogies imported from the West should be examined for their cultural appropriateness.     

The Role and Activities of NGOs on Young Faculty Development in Teachers College at Chinese Impoverished Region

This paper presents the results of a formative evaluation of young faculty development scholarship program conducted in teachers colleges at Chinese impoverished areas. In the paper we describe the implementation of the program, the utilization of scholarship by recipients, recipients＇ satisfaction, and outcome data. Based on these data we discuss the successes and barriers of the program thus far. Several data collection methods were used in the evaluation： a longitudinal random survey of recipients, group interviews with their students, directors and colleagues, in-person interviews with individual recipient, interviews with representatives of provider agencies, and the data base in provider agency. The findings reported in this paper are primarily from the recipients＇ survey. Key findings from the group interviews and representatives＇ interviews are also included. As a whole, the findings suggest success in terms of recipients＇ knowledge and use of advanced training, and high levels of satisfaction with individual development and the organization level. Continuing challenges to the faculty training and development program include long-standing barrier to recipients＇ involvement （e.g. low levels of networking） and resident uncertainty to retain in the colleges to take the social role that the program framed.     

The Role of Child Interests and Collaborative Parent–Child Interactions in Fostering Numeracy and Literacy Development in Canadian Homes

Children’s involvement in home literacy and numeracy activities has been linked to school achievement, but the subtleties in the home environment responsible for these gains have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine how children’s interests and collaborative parent–child interactions affect exposure to home literacy and numeracy activities. Parents of 170 four-to-five year old children completed a survey about their child’s home learning environment. They rated their children’s interests in 14 activities, and the extent of parent–child collaboration on a cooking and card-making task. Follow up interviews were also initiated with four mothers to provide validation of the survey data in numeracy. Factor analyses reduced the number of survey items. Parents whose children preferred exploratory, active or crafts activities reported frequent engagement in literacy and numeracy activities. Parents seeking a collaborative approach during activities reported increased exposure to home literacy and numeracy activities than families with less collaborative involvement. Interview data confirmed that parents of children with high numeracy scores were exposing their children to rich numeracy activities during play. The findings suggest that children’s interests and collaborative parent–child involvement impact literacy and numeracy exposure in the home.     

A Study of The Effect of Preschool Children’s Participation in Sensorimotor Activities on Their Understanding of the Mechanical Equilibrium of a Balance Beam

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in sensorimotor activities by preschool children involving their own bodily balance while walking on a beam over the floor has an effect on their understanding of the mechanical equilibrium of a balance beam. The balance beam consisted of a horizontal stick balancing around its center of mass (middle point), while carrying equal-weight objects on either side of it. The study utilized a two-group design, and was conducted in three phases (pre-test, treatment and post-test). The results of the study provide evidence that there was such an effect, since the children (who participated in the sensorimotor activities) could select out of a number of objects those two with the same weight regardless of their shape, size or colour, in order to balance the stick. This effect also can be seen when a comparison is made with a second group of children, which had previously participated in a hands-on activity regarding the equilibrium of a similar balance beam, and which (children), therefore, had a definite advantage over the other children who had participated in the sensorimotor activity. A Chi Square Test showed no significant differences between the two groups on both an immediate and a delayed post-test, while the McNemar Test for the Significance of Change showed a statistically significant difference (that is, a negative change in performance between the first and the second post-test) only within the hands-on group. This difference represents evidence that the children from the sensorimotor group remembered better the rule they were applying (i.e., selecting equal-weight objects) in order to balance the beam.     

The development of a criterion‐referenced profile: the Hertfordshire English Project

Many developments in profiling are taking place at present and a considerable number use a criterion‐referenced assessment model. This study reports the experiences of a local curriculum development project which has developed an English course and summative profile for lower‐attaining pupils. The way in which criterion‐referenced assessment was incorporated into the development of the profile is described, together with the results of a small‐scale survey of teachers’ views of the use of such a profile. Key issues for those developing such profiles in English and other subjects are identified.     

Child‐Rearing: On government intervention and the discourse of experts

For Kant, education was understood as the ‘means’ to become human—and that is to say, rational. For Rousseau by contrast, and the many child‐centred educators that followed him, the adult world, far from representing reason, is essentially corrupt and given over to the superficialities of worldly vanity. On this view, the child, as a product of nature, is essentially good and will learn all she needs to know from experience. Both positions have their own problems, but beyond this ‘internal debate’, the change in the content of education (i.e. child‐rearing and schooling) is now furthermore due to a radical pluralism that has swept the world. Moreover, there may be differences in value between individual parents and between values held within the family and those held in society at large. Among other reasons this has put more generally children's (and parents’) ‘rights’ on the agenda, which differs from thinking of education in terms of a ‘practice’. The paper develops this latter concept and the criticisms to which it has been subject and argues that there is no necessary incompatibility between initiation into an existing practice and transforming that practice in some way, if it is emphasized how practices are learned and enacted. It then turns to the tendency in education and child‐rearing, as in other spheres of human interaction, for more laws and codes of conduct and to call upon experts for all kind of matters. It argues that performativity rules on the level of the practitioner, of the experts, and even on the level of educational research. It argues that many governments have adopted in matters of schooling the language of output and school effectiveness and that something similar is now bound to happen in the sphere of child‐rearing (with talk of parenting skills and courses). This is made credible due to a particular model of educational research, i.e. an empiricist quasi‐causal model of explaining human behaviour. The paper then discusses the problems with this stance and argues that we should part company from the entrepreneurial manipulative educator to open up a sphere of responsiveness for the child and that for these reasons, the concept of the ‘practice of child‐rearing’ should be revisited. Insisting on the complexities that have to be taken into account and thus surpassing a discourse of effectiveness and output as well as of codes of conduct and rulings of courts of law, may help us to focus on what is really at stake: to lead a meaningful life, to be initiated into what is ‘real for us’ and what we value. It concludes that thus restoring a place for child‐rearing as a practice will do justice to the responsiveness to which each child is entitled.     

The impact of inter‐generational change on the attitudes of working‐class South Asian Muslim parents on the education of their daughters

This paper presents the findings of ethnographic research into inter‐generational attitudinal change of parents towards the education of young British Muslim women. Based on in‐depth interviews with parents of different generations, given social class and ethnicity, there is a universal belief in the importance of education for young Muslim women per se, with economic and cultural factors significant in shaping this sentiment. A range of important differences in attitudes towards Islamic schooling and mainstream education, and questions relating to marriage, however, were found. There are complex issues of identity and religion among Muslims in relation to educational issues, but there has been a move towards Islamisation among both generations; the first generations through a form of cultural traditionalism and the second generations through Islamic conservatism. Although this finding is based on a study of a relatively small and isolated working‐class Muslim community in a declining post‐industrial town in the West Midlands, it is argued that this Islamisation places both particular risks and opportunities in relation to young Muslim women in education in such isolated and disaffected communities which have a wider conceptual, theoretical and policy impact.     

The impact of standards‐based reform on teachers: the case of ‘No Child Left Behind’

Standards‐based reform is a trend affecting the educational systems of nations around the world, driven by desires to create educational systems suited to increasing economic productivity. In the USA, The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 includes goals of reducing achievement gaps and getting ‘highly qualified’ teachers in all classrooms. Critics warned the legislation could exacerbate achievement gaps and actually drive quality teachers out of the field. To assess these arguments, we surveyed all K‐8 teachers in one school district, using both standardized items and an open‐ended question. Survey responses indicate that instructional time and professional development opportunities in non‐tested areas are being reduced and that future teacher retention and recruitment may be problematic for this district. Open‐ended responses reveal numerous sources of dissatisfaction and stress for teachers, allowing us to make connections between NCLB's outcomes and teacher dissatisfaction. Importantly, these effects and relationships are not limited to high‐minority or low‐income schools, but exist in all schools in this district. Such findings suggest unintended consequences for the legislation as well as failure to achieve its stated goals.     

Walking on egg shells: the significance of socio‐cultural factors in the mentoring of primary school students

In this article I present evidence based on primary student teachers' accounts about the way in which socio‐cultural factors in placement schools affected the quality of their experiences. I examine the proposition that school culture has a significant impact upon performance, and that the strain of adjusting to school values and expectations can lead to stress and loss of confidence for a significant minority of students. I suggest that effective mentoring needs to take close account of students' socialisation into the school culture, as failure to do so may adversely influence their teaching effectiveness and well‐being.