Proportions in elementary school

Proportion problems were given to pupils in grades 3, 4, and 5. The number structure of the problems was kept at an elementary level and the contexts were varied. The success rates were high, which shows that young children have some understanding of the concept of proportion. Elementary strategies based on addition were often used. Familiarity with the use of ratios in the context, the presence of a mixture, and the use of manipulatives were context variables that influenced performance. The abilities required to solve proportion problems in various contexts were essentially independent from each other. The cognitive characteristics that predict success were found to be different from those that predict use of multiplicative strategies.     

参观日本小学随感

在仙台东北大学国际交流会馆住的许多中国人看来,日本的小学简直可以说是孩子们的游乐场:上课时老师不批评学生,孩子们和老师的关系就是朋友关系,没有家庭作业,班里不设班干部,等等.     

Math-gender stereotypes in elementary school children

A total of 247 American children between 6 and 10 years of age (126 girls and 121 boys) completed Implicit Association Tests and explicit self-report measures assessing the association of (a) me with male (gender identity), (b) male with math (math-gender stereotype), and (c) me with math (math self-concept). Two findings emerged. First, as early as second grade, the children demonstrated the American cultural stereotype that math is for boys on both implicit and explicit measures. Second, elementary school boys identified with math more strongly than did girls on both implicit and self-report measures. The findings suggest that the math-gender stereotype is acquired early and influences emerging math self-concepts prior to ages at which there are actual differences in math achievement.     

Off-task behavior in elementary school children

This paper reports results from a large-scale observational study investigating attention allocation during instructional activities in elementary school students (kindergarten through fourth-grade). In Study 1, 22 classrooms participated while a more diverse sample of 30 classrooms participated in Study 2. This work investigated temporal patterns in children's attention allocation by collecting observational data on children's on- and off-task behaviors at three different time points (i.e., beginning, middle, and end of the school year) [Study 1]. We also investigated whether patterns of attention allocation changed as a function of student characteristics (gender, grade-level, SES), teachers' instructional design choices (instructional format and duration of an instructional activity), and school type (private, parochial, public charter schools) [Studies 1 & 2]. Children's patterns of attention allocation fluctuated over the course of the school year. Female students were found to be more on-task compared to male students. On-task behavior tended to decline as the instructional duration increased. The lowest rates of on-task behavior were observed while children were engaged in whole-group instructional formats. An effect of school type was found with higher proportions of on-task behavior observed in parochial schools. However, the effect of grade-level was equivocal across studies. These findings can begin to form a foundation for the development of research-based guidelines for instructional design aimed to support engagement among students in elementary classrooms.     

Assessing elementary school support for inquiry

Increasingly in elementary schools, there has been a focus on the influence of school-level factors on students’ learning. The way in which the learning environment is organised in schools and classrooms is likely to influence students’ opportunities to carry out inquiry. Most studies have focused on the effects of the amount of schooling, rather than effects attributable to support for inquiry in the school context. This study clarifies aspects of school contexts that support inquiry at the school level and describes the development of an inventory to assess school contexts. The Primary School Characteristics Inventory has three components named Motivation for Student Inquiry, Organisational Structures to Support Inquiry and Structures to Support Inquiry Strategies in School. The instrument was effective for identifying schools with varying levels of support for inquiry, suggesting that some schools might need to modify the school context if students are to carry out inquiry in a self-directed way.     

Migrant preschool children's school readiness and early elementary school performance

Little is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school records were used for longitudinal follow-up. Children improved on age-4 school readiness domains, and although some struggled with emergent English literacy, many performed well on school readiness measures and later coursework. Children quickly became proficient in oral English, and had above-average school attendance. Many scored low on high-stakes tests; however, typically well enough for grade promotion. Students in the sample were comparable to similar students in poverty. School teachers and administrators should have high expectations for students from migrant families because many of them do stay in the public school system, and appear to be quite resilient despite many challenges they face.     

构建本科层次新型小学教师教育体系--基础教育新师资专业化培养的新举措

教育全球化是当今世界发展进程中无法阻挡的历史潮流.根据全球化时代教师教育的特征和我国基础教育改革与发展过程中新师资供求关系的结构性变化,教师教育尤其是本科层次小学教师教育面临着新的困境.创新和构建既具有中国西部边疆少数民族地区特色又能与国际教育接轨的新型小学教师教育体系,是云南省楚雄师范学院初等教育系多年来探索实践的主要课题.这个具有西部民族地区特色和职前职后一体化专业特色的教师培养体系,对高师院校本科层次小学教师教育具有极大的借鉴意义和社会应用价值.     

Guidelines for early admission to elementary school

An early admission procedure is the first step in adjusting formal educational programming to meet the educational, social, and emotional needs of intellectually advanced children. In view of the benefits to the child and potential benefits to society of meeting the intellectually advanced child's needs, it is important that school systems establish early admission policies. This article presents 12 guidelines for processing an early admission applicant.     

Job satisfaction of Jamaican elementary school teachers

This study investigated correlates of job satisfaction among public (N=190) and private (N=100) Jamaican elementary school teachers. Emphasis was on the identification of factors that could be affected through administrative intervention. Results indicated that the quality of school working conditions and respondents' relationships with other teachers were significantly related to satisfaction for both public and private school teachers. School prestige and parental encouragement were also significant predictors for public school teachers; leadership style, organizational structure, and teacher-parent relationships predicted job satisfaction for private school teachers. Implications of these findings for Jamaican education are discussed.

---

Zusammenfassung Diese Studie untersuchte Gründe für Zufriedenheit im Beruf unter Lehrern an öffentlichen (N=190) und privaten (N=100) Schulen in Jamaica. Besonderer Wert wurde auf die Herausarbeitung von Faktoren gelegt, die durch das Einwirken des Verwaltungsapparates beeinflußt werden könnten. Die Ergebnisse wiesen darauf hin, daß die Qualität der Arbeitsbedingungen in der Schule und die Beziehungen zu anderen Lehrern sowohl bei den Lehrern an öffentlichen als auch bei den Lehrkräften an privaten Schulen in besonderem Maße auf die Zufriedenheit im Beruf einwirkten. Für Lehrer im öffentlichen Bereich waren zudem Prestige der Schule und elterliche Anerkennung von großer Wichtigkeit; bei Lehrern im Privatschulbereich lassen Führungsstil, organisatorische Struktur und Lehrer-Eltern Beziehung Zufriedenheit im Beruf erwarten. Die Auswirkungen dieser Ergebnisse auf das Erziehungswesen in Jamaika werden betrachtet.

---

Résumé Cette étude présente une comparaison de la satisfaction professionnelle des enseignants des écoles élémentaires publiques (N=190) et privées (N=100) à la Jamaque. L'accent a été mis sur la détermination des facteurs qui peuvent être touchés par une intervention administrative. Les résultats obtenus ont indiqué que la qualité des conditions de travail à l'école et les rapports des personnes interrogées avec les autres enseignants dépendaient en grande partie de la satisfaction des enseignants des écoles publiques et privées. Le prestige de l'école et le soutien des parents étaient également jugés comme des indices importants pour les enseignants des écoles publiques; le mode de direction, la structure organisationnelle, les relations entre enseignants et parents accusaient la satisfaction professionnelle des enseignants du privé. On examine ensuite les implications de ces résultats pour l'enseignement jamaïcain.