柳州市公众科学素养状况分析——2006年柳州市公众科学素养调查研究报告之一

按照中国科协制定的科学素养测试体系和问卷模式,采取分层抽样方法,对柳州市3000名18岁~69岁公众进行抽样调查。统计结果显示:柳州市公众具备基本科学素养的比例仅为0.55%,远低于全国和广西平均水平。这一状况应引起政府有关部门高度重视,采取积极对策提高柳州市公众科学素养。     

幼儿科学素养培养方法探析

幼儿科学教育是科学启蒙教育,学习科学的过程是幼儿主动探索的过程。幼儿科学素养培养方法的科学合理性至关重要,直接影响幼儿科学素养培养的成效。对科学素养内涵的认知和幼儿园科学教育的目标解析是幼儿科学教育方法的基础。观察法和模拟实验法是幼儿期孩子科学素养培养的主要方法,这些方法的实施必须遵循安全性、兴趣性、时空性和持续性原则。     

Group composition and National Curriculum assessment at seven years

This paper presents the initial findings of a long-term study to examine whether the introduction of compulsory school science for pupils in UK schools in 1991 is effective in raising the general level of scientific literacy. The use of the term 'scientific literacy' in the literature is considered and a definition of the term as it is applied in this study is offered. The scientific literacy level of two groups of initial teacher training studentswith contrasting experiences of school sciencewas compared. Students completed a simple science test that had been originally written for 11-year-old children. The average test score of students who had experienced compulsory school science from the ages of 11 to 16 was found to be significantly higher (p = 0.014) than that of students for whom school science was optional at secondary level. The study also highlights specific areas of conceptual difficulty in basic science experienced by almost all of the students tested. Test questions relating to the circulatory system, light and sound produced very low scores from almost all students, regardless of their science background. The paper considers the implications of these findings for science teachers and policymakers in both the primary and secondary sectors.     

Early Warning Signs of Functional Illiteracy: Predictors in Childhood and Adolescence

Early childhood, middle childhood, and early adolescence determinants of functional literacy in adulthood are investigated, using 20-year longitudinal data from a sample of black children of teenaged mothers from the Baltimore metropolitan area. Document literacy was assessed by a test that consisted of a subset of items of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) adult literacy test. The Baltimore sample is compared to the NAEP sample. Family environmental factors, early childhood developmental level, and educational career factors were considered as predictors of young adulthood literacy. Preschool cognitive and behavioral functioning is highly predictive of literacy in young adulthood, even when the effects of family environmental characteristics, including living arrangements, the quality of the home environment, maternal education, and income, are controlled. Grade failure in elementary school is also associated with literacy, but this effect disappears when the measure of preschool abilities is controlled. Family environmental factors that are predictive of literacy include maternal education, family size in early childhood, maternal marital status, and income in middle childhood and early adolescence. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Developing a Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS): Measuring Undergraduates�� Evaluation of Scientific Information and Arguments

Life sciences faculty agree that developing scientific literacy is an integral part of undergraduate education and report that they teach these skills. However, few measures of scientific literacy are available to assess students’ proficiency in using scientific literacy skills to solve scenarios in and beyond the undergraduate biology classroom. In this paper, we describe the development, validation, and testing of the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOSLS) in five general education biology classes at three undergraduate institutions. The test measures skills related to major aspects of scientific literacy: recognizing and analyzing the use of methods of inquiry that lead to scientific knowledge and the ability to organize, analyze, and interpret quantitative data and scientific information. Measures of validity included correspondence between items and scientific literacy goals of the National Research Council and Project 2061, findings from a survey of biology faculty, expert biology educator reviews, student interviews, and statistical analyses. Classroom testing contexts varied both in terms of student demographics and pedagogical approaches. We propose that biology instructors can use the TOSLS to evaluate their students’ proficiencies in using scientific literacy skills and to document the impacts of curricular reform on students’ scientific literacy.     

科学构建高职学前专业学生科学探究活动设计的平台

幼儿园科学探究活动是实现幼儿科学教育,激发科学潜能的主要方式。本文结合幼儿园科学探究活动,探讨如何为高职学前专业学生构建幼儿科学探究活动设计的平台,从而有效提升学生的自然科学素养,为幼教事业输送高素质的人才     

Hope for the Future and Literacy Achievement in a Sample of Impoverished South African Primary School Children

This article reports on a study that investigated the problem of hope for the future and literacy achievement in a sample of impoverished South African primary school children. data was collected through a quantitative survey that was administered to 160 learners from four classes of grades 5 to 7 at a school in Soweto township, Johannesburg, South Africa. The survey comprised five literacy tests that were standardised by Do-IT Profiler, an institute based in the United Kingdom (UK), and Shape the learner, a South African based consultancy. The results showed a statistically significant relationship between hope for the future and literacy scores, with learners who had less hope for the future scoring significantly lower on the literacy tests used in the study. Specifically, learners with less hope for the future performed noticeably lower in the real word test, followed by spelling, words spelt correctly, reading fluency, and non-word spelling. Based on social constructivist learning theory, positive psychology, and hope theory, the author discusses the implications of the findings for literacy achievement in children living in poverty. Several important recommendations are made, namely: the use of a methodological tool to identify specific literacy skills in children; the support that could be provided by educators and school psychologists; and a multilevel focus in targeting poverty eradication.     

Effectiveness of bilingual education in Cambodia: a longitudinal comparative case study of ethnic minority children in bilingual and monolingual schools

There is little research in the developing countries of South East Asia on the effectiveness of bilingual education programmes that use first language instruction for ethnic minority children. This study investigated the effectiveness of a bilingual education programme involving ethnic minority children in Cambodia by comparing their performance in mathematics, Khmer literacy and oral Khmer to their ethnic minority peers whose education is in the national language only. The findings show that students in the bilingual schools performed better in mathematics than their peers in the monolingual schools, but the differences in Khmer literacy and oral Khmer test scores were statistically insignificant. The study suggests that bilingual education using first language instruction could benefit academic development among ethnic minority students in Cambodia, at least in terms of mathematics achievement.     

Using the Scientific Method to Guide Learning: An Integrated Approach to Early Childhood Curriculum

Researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how early childhood programs prepare young children for science. Due to a number of factors, including educators’ low self-efficacy for teaching science and lack of educational resources, many early childhood classrooms do not offer high-quality science experiences for young children. However, high-quality science education has the potential to lay an important foundation for children’s knowledge and interest in science as well as reinforcing and integrating critical language, literacy, and math readiness skills. This paper examines the current research on science in preschool classrooms and provides suggestions on how to teach science that supports children’s development across domains. Using the scientific method to explore science with young children provides a systematic model for engaging children in observation, questioning, predicting, experimenting, summarizing, and sharing results. These processes encourage children’s use of language, literacy, and mathematics skills in authentic ways. Suggestions are provided for teachers to use the scientific method as their guide for generating scientific discovery in their classroom.     

高中生科学素养的培养被强化还是被弱化--基于北京市和山东省高考新政前后的调查

高考新政在全国范围内逐步推广,新政前后高中生的科学教育发生哪些变化?这些变化导致高中生科学素养的培养被强化还是被弱化?这些问题亟须探讨。研究建构科学素养理论框架,编制高信度效度的高中生科学素养测试卷,结合访谈,采用纵向调查设计,分别从科学知识、科学思维、科学探究三个维度调查北京市和山东省一流、较好、一般三层次高中参加老高考的2016级和参加新高考的2017级学生。研究发现:与新政前相比,高考新政后两省市高中生科学素养整体水平下降,科学知识与科学思维下降最为明显,此系两省市新老高考方案对科学科目要求差别较大造成;不同层次高中科学素养变化程度不同,一流层次学校高中生变化较小,一般层次学校下降幅度较大,此系不同层次学校教学管理水平及学生学习主动性差异造成;新政带来的积极变化是男女生选考文理科的界限被打破,科学素养差距显著缩小,但所付出的代价是男生比女生科学素养降低幅度更大,其原因并非女生科学素养的提高所致;随着两省市首批考生新高考的结束,“选科博弈”或将加剧,上海市和浙江省遇到的困境或许会重现,高中生科学素养的培养有可能被进一步弱化。据此,研究提出了若干政策建议。     

Fathers' involvement in young children's literacy development: Implications for family literacy programmes

Relatively few studies of family literacy programmes have investigated parents' experiences and whilst a number of such programmes have been specifically aimed at fathers, little is known about the involvement of fathers in programmes which target both mothers and fathers. This article reports fathers' involvement in a family literacy programme and their home literacy practices with their young children. The article provides a definition of family literacy and describes the context of the study, which was carried out in socio‐economically disadvantaged communities in a northern English city. Fathers' participation in their children's literacy was investigated through interviews at the beginning and end of the programme (n = 85) and home visit records made by teachers throughout the programme. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of these data indicate that, while fathers' participation in the family literacy programme was not easily visible, almost all fathers were involved to some extent in home literacy events with their children. During the programme, teachers shared information about literacy activities and the importance of children having opportunities to share literacy activities with their parents. Data indicate that fathers who were not mentioned by mothers as having been involved in their children's literacy were significantly more likely to be on a low income than those who were reported as being engaged with their children in home literacy activities. Fathers in the study were involved in providing literacy opportunities, showing recognition of their children's achievements, interacting with their children around literacy and being a model of a literacy user. Although involved in all four of these key roles, fathers tended to be less involved in providing literacy opportunities than mothers. While fathers and sons engaged in what might be described as traditionally ‘masculine’ literacy activities, fathers were more often reported to be involved with their children in less obviously gendered home literacy activities. The article concludes with discussion of implications for involving fathers in future family literacy programmes.     

Relationship between home literacy environment and reading achievement in children with reading disabilities

Past research has indicated that a significant relationship exists between young children's early home literacy environment and their reading-related skills. However, this relationship has rarely been investigated among older children with reading disabilities (RD). In the present study, the relationship between parent and child home literacy activities and children's academic functioning was investigated with a sample of 65 elementary-age children with RD. The results indicated that children's home literacy activities were not significantly related to any of their academic abilities, whereas parents' home literacy activities were significantly related to children's passage comprehension and spelling scores. However, relationships between home literacy environment and reading may be different for children with and without RD.     

The Home Literacy Environment Is a Correlate,but Perhaps Not a Cause,of Variations in Children’s Language and Literacy Development

The home literacy environment is a well-established predictor of children’s language and literacy development. We investigated whether formal, informal, and indirect measures of the home literacy environment predict children’s reading and language skills once maternal language abilities are taken into account. Data come from a longitudinal study of children at high risk of dyslexia (N = 251) followed from preschool years. Latent factors describing maternal language were significant predictors of storybook exposure but not of direct literacy instruction. Maternal language and phonological skills respectively predicted children’s language and reading/spelling skills. However, after accounting for variations in maternal language, storybook exposure was not a significant predictor of children’s outcomes. In contrast, direct literacy instruction remained a predictor of children’s reading/spelling skills. We argue that the relationship between early informal home literacy activities and children’s language and reading skills is largely accounted for by maternal skills and may reflect genetic influences.     

A structural model of the effects of preschool attention on kindergarten literacy

Factors that lead to poor achievement in literacy are evident prior to a child beginning kindergarten. In the present study, we examined the importance of including attention in a model for predicting emergent literacy in prekindergarten and subsequent reading abilities in kindergarten. The sample was 250 children attending public prekindergarten and kindergarten. Structural equation modeling was used to test our hypothesis that children??s early literacy skills mediate the relationship between preschoolers?? attention and kindergarten decoding abilities. Using early literacy as a mediator between early attention and later decoding provided a good model fit. Results suggest that attention was integral to the fit of the model and that attention in preschool is related to the development of early literacy skills above and beyond the contribution of maternal education to these skills. The implication of our study is that attention in early childhood should be considered an important part of literacy development.     

A study of the relationship between American sign language and English literacy

This article presents the findings of a study of the relationship between American Sign Language (ASL) skills and English literacy among 160 deaf children. Using a specially designed test of ASL to determine three levels of ASL ability, we found that deaf children who attained the higher two levels significantly outperformed children in the lowest ASL ability level in English literacy, regardless of age and IQ. Furthermore, although deaf children with deaf mothers outperformed deaf children of hearing mothers in both ASL and English literacy, when ASL level was held constant, there was no difference between these two groups, except in the lowest level of ASL ability. The implication of this research is straightforward and powerful: Deaf children's learning of English appears to benefit from the acquisition of even a moderate fluency in ASL.     

Scientific Literacy,Environmental Issues,and PISA 2006: The 2008 Paul F-Brandwein Lecture

In today’s world, scientific literacy has become essential to full participation of citizens. Certainly, important components of scientific literacy include resource use and environmental quality. The 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) centered on scientific literacy and included resources and environments as two contexts for the test and student questionnaire. The article first introduces PISA 2006, and then provides a general overview of results. Using two released units from PISA 2006, I then turn to results and a discussion of students’ science competencies and attitudes relative to environmental and resources issues. The article concludes with a discussion of educational policies for science education programs and teaching practices.     

Parent and child attitudinal factors in a model of children's print‐concept knowledge

The present study investigates the role of attitudinal variables, such as children's literacy interest and parents’ reading beliefs, in conjunction with home literacy activities (HLA), in predicting children's print‐concept knowledge. The objective of the study is to test a theoretical model describing the relationship among these variables. This study involved 551 low‐income preschool children. Structural equation modelling was used to test the model. The model was a good fit for the data when parental teaching of reading/writing was used as the measure of HLA. In the model, negative parent reading beliefs and parent teaching predicted print‐concept knowledge. Results suggest that practitioners should consider not only the literacy activities children and parents participate in, but also their attitudes towards those activities.     

儿童识字能力与汉字规则意识关系研究

采用测验的方法考察了小学儿童汉字识字能力与汉字规则意识的关系,被试为1—4年级的小学儿童。结果发现:(1)对汉字中的规则意识得更早的儿童有更高的识字能力。(2)声旁意识的差异导致了低年级儿童识字能力的差异,形旁意识对中年级儿童识字能力的继续发展更加重要。由此推论,汉语阅读获得是语音技能、语义技能交互作用的结果,它们一起保证了儿童识字能力的发展。     

A developmental continuum of phonological sensitivity skills

A large body of evidence supports the link between acquisition of phonological sensitivity skills among young children and their later literacy achievement. This literature review presents a synthesis of the developmental nature of phonological sensitivity skills as assessed among typically developing children over the past 30 years. Phonological sensitivity is composed of both phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, each representing a distinct set of skills that emerge in a general developmental sequence among typically developing children. Yet, insufficient attention is being paid to the developmental nature of phonological sensitivity skills in our efforts to identify and remediate early literacy difficulties among children. This article presents the array of skills that constitute phonological sensitivity, ordered in a developmental continuum based on research evidence in order to create a bridge between scientific evidence and school‐based practices. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Investigating First-Year Chemistry Learning Difficulties in the South Pacific: A Case Study from Fiji

The learning difficulties for new entrant chemistry students from a multi-national, regional, tertiary education institution in the South Pacific were investigated using a purpose-designed diagnostic instrument. The instrument contained 25 items distributed across three themes: scientific reasoning, numeracy and scientific language literacy. The research findings suggest that the main learning difficulty facing these students is in numeracy with students able to interpret numerical data presented in graphical form and to complete rudimentary numerical calculations, but unable to use numerical data or perform calculations involving ratios. Targeted remedial tutoring, based on the results of this diagnostic test instrument, rather than content-driven extra tutorials, are suggested for remediation of learning difficulties.