A Study of the Problems in College Students’ Oral English Practice

In recent years,as we all know that English is spreading and using widely in china.It has developed from monotonous language and knowledge to multiple and compositive language and knowledge.For example,the level four and the level eight test of English major and the level four and level six text of non-English major is also reforming.They usually major in reading before,but with the time going on,they need all the students to apply the ability of listening,reading,writing and speaking all in one.Spoken language is the most unsubstantial link all of these days.Of cause,it’s reflected in English teaching,it makes spoken language an unsubstantial link in College English Teaching.     

Predicting College Students’ Intergroup Friendships Across Race/Ethnicity,Religion, Sexual Orientation,and Social Class

This study seeks to expand the literature on predicting friendship diversity beyond race/ethnicity to include religion, social class, and sexual orientation. Survey packets elicited information regarding up to four close friendships developed during college. Additional measures assessed pre-college friendship diversity, participation in college activities and diversity education, intergroup attitudes, and interpersonal communication apprehension. A total of 588 friendships (213 intragroup and 375 intergroup) were reported by 151 college students. Pre-college friendship diversity was the primary predictor of college friendship diversity across each intergroup dimension. Implications for prejudice reduction are discussed.     

Problems with College Students’English Listening and Speaking and Their Solutions-from the Perspective of Sociolinguistics

This study surveyed what problems and puzzles college students have in English speaking and listening. A question?naire survey was conducted among 157 English-major students in South-Central University...     

Differentiating the Sources of Taiwanese High School Students’ Multidimensional Science Learning Self-Efficacy: An Examination of Gender Differences

The main purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese high school students’ multi-dimensional self-efficacy and its sources in the domain of science. Two instruments, Sources of Science Learning Self-Efficacy (SSLSE) and Science Learning Self-Efficacy (SLSE), were used. By means of correlation and regression analyses, the relationships between students’ science learning self-efficacy and the sources of their science learning self-efficacy were examined. The findings revealed that the four sources of the students’ self-efficacy were found to play significant roles in their science learning self-efficacy. By and large, Mastery Experience and Vicarious Experience were found to be the two salient influencing sources. Several gender differences were also revealed. For example, the female students regarded Social Persuasion as the most influential source in the “Science Communication” dimension, while the male students considered Vicarious Experience as the main efficacy source. Physiological and Affective States, in particular, was a crucial antecedent of the female students’ various SLSE dimensions, including “Conceptual Understanding,” “Higher-Order Cognitive Skills,” and “Science Communication.” In addition, the variations between male and female students’ responses to both instruments were also unraveled. The results suggest that, first, the male students perceived themselves as having more mastery experience, vicarious experience and social persuasion than their female counterparts. Meanwhile, the female students experienced more negative emotional arousal than the male students. Additionally, the male students were more self-efficacious than the females in the five SLSE dimensions of “Conceptual Understanding,” “Higher-Order Cognitive Skills,” “Practical Work,” “Everyday Application,” and “Science Communication.”     

Evaluating Chinese College Students’ English Compositions:Different Writing Corrective Feedbacks between a Chinese Teacher and a Foreign Teacher & the Attitudes of College Students

The study aims to uncover the differences between a Chinese writing teacher and a foreign writing teacher in evaluating Chinese college students’ English compositions and find out students’ attitudes towards different kinds of feedbacks. The data collection method, sample analysis and questionnaire have been implemented to probe for the results. The results are supposed to give some suggestions to the English writing class in Chinese universities.     

Understanding Students’ Perceptions of the Nature of Science in the Context of Their Gender and Their Parents’ Occupation

Science & Education - A thorough understanding of the concept of the nature of science (NOS) is essential to the development of scientific literacy among students, as it provides the students...     

Analysis of the Students’Pronunciation Problem /θ//s/ in Baoji

This paper is meant to analyze student’ s problems in pronouncing English fricatives /s//θ/in Baoji,analyze the fea tures of English fricatives /s//θ/,by comparing their features with mother language Chinese,and help students to overcome the negative phonetic transfer and promote the study of English phonetics /s//θ/by dealing with language transfer theories,analyz ing the factors affecting language transfer.     

Gender Neutralities, Dichotomies and Hidden Inequalities: Analysis of Vocational Teachers’ Reflections on Gender in the Profession

This article analyses how Finnish vocational teachers make sense of the meanings of gender in their work. The context of the study consists of the two most gender segregated environments of vocational education: the female-dominated Sector of Health and Social Services and the male-dominated Sector of Technology and Transport. Our analysis draws on 23 teacher interviews conducted in two vocational institutions, offering vocational upper secondary education and training to both young and adult students. The data is analysed from post structural and material feminist theoretical positions, using various conceptualizations of gender. Our findings suggest that both male and female teachers have adopted the idea of gender neutrality, whilst they simultaneously provide dichotomical and hierarchical perceptions of men and women as vocational teachers. Consequences of minority position in the staff room are different for females and males. In the field of technology and transport, women in the minority, on the other hand, need to struggle continuously with masculine vocational hierarchies to gain professional respect.     

When the “Burden of Acting White” is Not a Burden: School Success and African American Male Students

In this article, the author reports the “voices” of four academically successful African American men, in their early 20s, as they explicitly respond, in retrospect, to questions regarding the applicability of the burden of acting White theory to their schooling experiences—responses made after reading research articles written by Signithia Fordham and John Ogbu. In general, the responses from the four men illustrate that they successfully negotiated the burden of acting White, even as they revealed instances in which the theory might have been applied to their schooling experiences. The author argues that the various interpretations and uses of Fordham’s and Ogbu’s (single- and co-authored) theories—and, in part, the theories themselves—failed to escape the lure of oversimplification. In that, the (mis?)interpretations and (mis?)uses often oversimplified the theories, and, in turn, the schooling experiences of Black students (and historically marginalized students in general).     

Students’ evaluations of the use of e-learning in a collaborative project between two South African universities

Online learning is increasingly being used in Higher Education, with a number of advantages to online learning being identified. One of these advantages is the suggestion that online learning provides for equality of opportunity. This article reports on students’ evaluations of the use of e-learning in a collaborative project between two South African universities. The results highlighted both positive and negative evaluations of the use of e-learning. The positive aspects identified were that e-learning provided for ease of communication between parties, and easy access to information and learning material. Negative aspects identified were that it presented some technical challenges; online communication was disjointed; there was unequal access to computers between students from the two universities; students felt that more face-to-face interaction is needed. The issue of unequal access to computers and the internet is highlighted as a crucial issue for e-learning in the South African context, and for the fostering of a democratising educational discourse.     

Students’ perceptions of teaching behaviour in Turkish secondary education: a Mokken Scaling of My Teacher Questionnaire

Learning Environments Research - Teacher behaviour has significant impact on student learning and outcomes and determines the teaching quality in learning environments. The My Teacher Questionnaire...     

Multivariate Assessment of Middle School Students’ Interest in STEM Career: a Profile from Turkey

Research in Science Education - According to a report by the Turkish Industry and Business Association, Turkey will need approximately 1 million individuals to be employed in Science Technology...     

High School Students’ Accuracy in Estimating the Cost of College: A Proposed Methodological Approach and Differences Among Racial/Ethnic Groups and College Financial-Related Factors

High school students’ accuracy in estimating the cost of college (AECC) was examined by utilizing a new methodological approach, the absolute-deviation-continuous construct. This study used the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) data and examined 10,530 11th grade students in order to measure their AECC for 4-year public and private postsecondary institutions. The findings revealed that high school students tended to overestimate the cost of college, especially 4-year public in-state tuition. Second, this investigation explored AECC differences across racial/ethnic groups. Lastly, this research examined how AECC differed based on racial/ethnic and college financial-related factors (importance of cost on college enrollment, knowledge of and intent to complete FAFSA, and eligibility for financial aid). This examination is important because it is the first critical analysis of AECC and is timely given the data were collected immediately after the Great Recession.     

“I am in School!”: African American Male Youth in a Prison/College Hybrid Figured World

Educational programs are seen as a vehicle for improving the educational experiences and life outcomes for youthful offenders. In 1998 North Carolina started the Workplace and Community Transition Youth Offender Program (YOP). The program offers youth post-secondary educational courses. Our study examines 2007–2009 data from YOP youth participating in the program. Using students’ voices our study shows that YOP not only decreases recidivism drastically, but has a personal impact in the youth participants’ lives. YOP provides a space of change that is not prison or a traditional college. The hybrid figured world provides an opportunity for African American male youth to re/author themselves creating new hybrid identities. The youth author themselves as students versus inmates. These new identities and educational competencies have potentially long term benefits for youth offenders and for communities.     

Comparing the Utility of the 2000 and 2005 Carnegie Classification Systems in Research on Students’ College Experiences and Outcomes

This study compares the explanatory power of the 2000 edition of Carnegie Classification, the 2005 revision of the classification, and selected variables underlying Carnegie’s expanded 2005 classification system using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement’s spring 2004 administration. Results indicate that the 2000 and 2005 classifications generally offer comparable explanatory power for measures of self-reported gains and student engagement, but the new variables from the 2005 system are more strongly related to cognitive outcomes and engagement than were the two categorical groupings. The variables most consistently related to outcomes and engagement are graduate-undergraduate coexistence, residential character of the campus, and arts and sciences share of undergraduate majors. Implications of the findings for research and assessment are discussed.

“Wait,What Do You Mean by College?” A Critical Race Analysis of Latina/o Students and Their Pathways to Community College

ABSTRACT

As a group, Latina/o students are more likely to experience a substandard K–12 education complete with underresourced schools, high teacher turnover, and fewer college-preparatory courses. It is this same inferior education that denies many Latina/o high school students the opportunity to engage in college-choice—leading to their disproportionate enrollment in community colleges over 4-year colleges or universities. In California alone, approximately 75% of Latina/o students in higher education can be found in the community college sector—making this an important pathway for many Latina/o students. This qualitative study incorporated a Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Education framework to focus on the racialized K–12 experiences of four Latina/o graduate students who started their postsecondary career at a community college. This study was undertaken to better understand what led Latina/o students to enroll in community colleges after high school. Exploring the pathways of Latina/o students from high school to community college is imperative to community college practitioners (i.e., faculty, staff, and administrators) when considering best practices for their large Latina/o student body, as is found in California. The initial findings suggest that racism in K–12 in the forms of tracking, limited college information, and low expectations from academic personnel had a direct impact on the postsecondary experiences and opportunities available to Latina/o students. Lastly, the findings challenge prevailing portrayals where Latina/o students passively accept their marginalized position in education by highlighting their voice, resiliency, and agency in the face of systematic racism, as evidenced by their successes in academia.     

Is Creativity Masculine? Visual Arts College Students’ Perceptions of the Gender Stereotyping of Creativity and Its Influence on Creative Self-Efficacy

This study investigated visual arts college students’ perceptions of the gender stereotyping of creativity and the influence of this stereotyping on creative self-efficacy. The sample consisted of 1198 Chinese visual arts college students. The results showed that (a) both male and female students identified stereotypically masculine traits as more important to creativity than stereotypically feminine traits are, (b) male students demonstrated higher creative self-efficacy than their female counterparts did, and (c) students’ gender significantly moderated the effect of the gender stereotyping of creativity on creative self-efficacy. Specifically, the gender stereotyping of creativity had a positive effect on male students and a negative effect on female students. These findings revealed that gender stereotypes dominate concepts of creativity in Chinese art education and may hinder female students’ development of creative self-efficacy, resulting in gendered inequality in the visual arts field. The implications of these findings for visual arts education in China are discussed.     

Self-Determination and Goal Aspirations: African American and Latino Males’ Perceptions of Their Persistence in Community College Basic and Transfer-Level Writing Courses

This Grounded Theory study utilized Self-determination Theory to analyze the interview results of 18 community college African American and Latino males. The goal was to learn what helped participants to succeed and persist in developmental and transfer-level writing courses despite the obstacles that they faced. Three major themes emerged: (a) Male students of color continued to take and complete English courses because they were determined to achieve their academic goals; (b) they sought assistance and guidance from their English professors, from the writing lab attached to the basic skills course and from the writing tutoring staff; and (c) when they felt overwhelmed and considered dropping their English classes, their determination to achieve their goals and the assistance they received from faculty and other writing staff ultimately kept them from doing so. Therefore, first, community colleges should encourage students’ ability to be autonomous. Second, they can help students develop a sense of relatedness by providing a better sense of belonging. Third, institutions should develop strong faculty networks within the college to increase student motivation and self-determination by providing mentoring opportunities. Finally, institutions should consider utilizing faculty and other institutional agents to help students by providing information regarding various student support services that may help address issues students may be encountering.     

Teachers’, Students’ and Parents’ Attitudes Towards Disruptive Behaviour Problems in High School: a case study

The present study maps the attitudes towards students’ disruptive behaviour as part of the school discipline. Research studies on the subject usually examine the attitudes of one or two groups of relevant subjects, that is, teachers, parents or students. As teachers, students and parents do share a common milieu, the relationship of their attitudes towards student misbehaviour is important in the crystallisation of such discipline. The present study is innovative in that all three groups were examined simultaneously in one school. A standardised questionnaire was designed for all three groups which identified typical disruptive behaviour by adolescent students. The study was conducted in a centre for technological education in Central Israel which caters, especially, for low‐achieving students. Findings reveal large gaps among the three groups. While teachers seem to agree among themselves as to the severity of most of the disruptive behaviour problems at school, students and parents were found to disagree among themselves on the severity of most of the examined issues. Differences among the groups indicate a possible source for the emergence of student disruptive behaviour problems. Findings also suggest that there is a need for increased involvement of both parents and students in discipline‐related issues in the school.