THE RAVEN PROGRESSIVE MATRICES: IMPLICATIONS FOR FOSTERING ABILITIES

The RPM exhibit the same scale properties for children from a wide variety of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. At any point in time, the norms for many different cultures are similar. Yet the scores have increased dramatically over time – and in such a way as to demonstrate that the current differences between ethnic groups are alterable. The increase is probably due to improved nutrition, welfare, and hygiene. Conventional education has little effect on scores. Nevertheless, involvement in democratic childrearing practices and open education does increase scores. The RPM correlates only about .5 with verbal ability. Thus, even within the “cognitive” area, it is important to think about abilities rather than ability. This huge variance in children's scores, both within and between tests, poses serious problems for educators in general and for those who proffer traditional forms of gifted education in particular. It is necessary to change the educational process radically, so as to nurture the wide variety of talents that are present in every classroom.     

THE PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION MOVEMENT AND CHARACTER EDUCATION

If we may attempt a summation of the “progressive” movement as regards character education, we would say that these educators are of the earnest group which is seeking a new discipline for the individual and society. The old control of command and threat of punishment is giving way.

“Europe, like America, is discarding the traditional idea of discipline through coercion or blind obedience, and is looking for a new technique through which children may be helped to become self‐directing personalities using freedom intelligently.” ¹⁴ 14. Sidonie M. Gruenberg, Progressive Education, Vol. 4, p. 126.

It is not merely a question of interest and of project method. It is a problem of developing a new system of control in place of the old paternalistic and militaristic discipline that finds its last resort in the employment of force. In place of the domination by force, the newer “voice of conscience” says to give every individual a chance to develop an inner control. In place of punishment for those who do not abide by the norm of society, it seeks to substitute diagnosis. Seek first for an understanding of the individual, giving to the genius large leeway in working out! his original ideas, and, to the sub‐normal person, treatment such as the doctor gives to his patient.

“Progressive” educators are, of course, not the only ones contending for this new discipline, but they seemingly have taken the lead in working out a process of education to secure it. In this process the work of the teacher is not minimized but greatly exalted. In this undertaking to produce a more finely integrated person, the teacher must enter as a highly skillful guide and friend. What more “religious” conception of the function of the teacher can be found than this given by a “progressive” educator.

“It is the teacher's business to live with the child, as the refreshing shadow of a great rock in a weary land, as a spring of water for a thirsty soul, as an ever‐present help in time of trouble, as a lamp in the darkness, as a guide to little feet that stumble, and to little hearts that err; as a loving local Providence winning their affection and loyalty.”

     

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND SELF-CONCEPT AS A FUNCTION OF ACHIEVEMENT-VARIABILITY1

The relationship of achievement-variability (standard deviation of grades) to changes over time in academic achievement and self-concept of academic ability was investigated. Compared were 112 students having near average grade point averages (GPAs) but very high or very low achievement variability (AV) indices. The high AV group showed a significantly greater drop (17 less than .05) in both GPA and self-concept of academic ability over the 5-year period. There were no significant differences between the groups in intelligence scores or socio-economic status ratings.     

EFFECTS OF AGE,SEX, AND STATUS ON PERCEPTION OF THE UTILITY OF EDUCATIONAL PARTICIPATION

This study investigated the influence of age, sex, and socioeconomic status on the perception of participants in adult education that their participation is useful. Two forms of utility were postulated: instrumental and expressive. An instrument containing scales of perceived utility, needs, goals, time orientation, and enjoyment was administered to selected classes at various educational institutions in the Chicago metropolitan area and, for comparison, a class in Florida. The results permitted inferences that needs, goals, and time orientation partially determine perception that participation is instrumentally useful and that age, status, and femaleness tend to favor perception of expressive utility. The findings supported previous research indicating that adult educational participation is complex behavior involving more than subject matter interests and motivational orientations and opened a new line of attack on the problem.     

SEX AS PREDICTIVE OF SALARY AND STATUS ON A UNIVERSITY FACULTY

An investigation of the existence and extent of sex-based inequities in rank and pay on a University faculty yielded several suggestions of discrimination against women. Data on professional experience, publications, honors, rank and pay were collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to 372 faculty members. Within a sample of 128 who answered all requisite items, sex added significantly to the predictability of salary beyond that achieved by multiple measures of merit and experience, including mean salary for rank and department. Sex itself did not predict rank or a measure designed to reflect speed of advancement through the ranks. Terms reflecting interactions of sex and merit were capable of improving prediction of all three status measures, however, suggesting differences in the reward structure for the sexes.     

PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM SOLVING AS A FUNCTION OF COMPREHENSION AND ARITHMETIC SKILLS

Many factors influence a student’s performance in word (or textbook) problem solving in class. Among them is the comprehension process the pupils construct during their attempt to solve the problem. The comprehension process may include some less formal representations, based on pupils’ real-world knowledge, which support the construction of a ‘situation model’. In this study, we examine some factors related to the pupil or to the word problem itself, which may influence the comprehension process, and we assess the effects of the situation model on pupils’ problem solving performance. The sample is composed of 750 pupils of grade 6 elementary school. They were selected from 35 classes in 17 Francophone schools located in the province of Quebec, Canada. For this study, 3 arithmetic problems were developed. Each problem was written in 4 different versions, to allow the manipulation of the type of information included in the problem statement. Each pupil was asked to solve 3 problems of the same version and to complete a task that allowed us to evaluate the construction of a situation model. Our results show that pupils with weaker arithmetic skills construct different representations, based on the information presented in the problem. Also, pupils who give greater importance to situational information in a problem have greater success in solving the problem. The situation model influences pupils’ problem solving performance, but this influence depends on the type of information included in the problem statement, as well as on the arithmetic skills of each individual pupil.     

试论传统道德在师范德育中的作用

本文分析了在社会主义市场经济条件下 ,师范学校德育的目标定位、教学内容、教学方法以及教学评价方面存在的问题 ,提出在师范德育中弘扬传统道德 ,对于培养新时代具有崇高师德的教师起到的作用。     

THE PERFORMANCE OF ADMINISTRATION ON AGING MULTIDISCIPLINARY GERONTOLOGY CENTERS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The Administration on Aging (AoA) Multidisciplinary Gerontology Centers (MGC) play an important role in the history and development of aging in educational institutions. As MGCs are institutions that form a key part of the educational foundation of gerontology, it is important to document and assess their development. This study analyzed the historical development of the original set of twelve MGCs that were awarded developmental grants by the AoA in 1976; it assessed the organizational performance and success of MGCs by evaluating compliance with Older Americans Act guidelines; and it determined factors and patterns that contributed to the successful development of MGCs. Results indicate compliance with AoA guidelines alone could not assure or predict the continuing support and cooperation of MGCs in educational settings. Creation of a strong foundation based on multiple budgetary and environment components was the critical factor that predicted the continuing success of an individual MGC.     

网络时代思想道德教育探索

当前社会,互联网正以空前的广度和深度渗透到人们生活当中.互联网给人们带来文明进步的同时,也有相当的负面效应黄毒泛滥、版权侵犯、计算机病毒传播、垃圾邮件、黑客骚扰等一系列极端不道德的网络犯罪行为不一而足.提倡网络道德,加强道德自律,应成为当前德育工作的重要内容.     

教育功能及其演进

教育功能就是教育系统内部各要素之间及教育系统与外部之间相互联系和作用的能力。教育功能分为对内功能和对外功能两大方面。从教育的历史演进来看，古代教育功能，僵固单一；近代教育功能，日益分化；现代教育功能，逐渐完备；未来的教育功能将更加细化。     

论社会主义核心价值体系在大学生思想政治教育工作中的引领作用

社会主义核心价值体系是社会主义意识形态的本质体现。坚持以社会主义核心价值体系为引领,是进一步提升大学生思想政治教育工作水平的现实需要,也是关系党和国家未来前途命运的重要工作。高校要以社会主义核心价值体系作为大学生思想政治教育的主要内容,坚持马克思主义的指导地位,加强大学生理想信念教育,弘扬民族精神和时代精神,逐步提高大学生的思想水平和道德修养。     

POWER AND TRUST IN THE PUBLIC REALM: JOHN DEWEY,SAUL ALINSKY,AND THE LIMITS OF PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION

Throughout the twentieth century, middle‐class progressives embraced visions of democracy rooted in their relatively privileged life experiences. Progressive educators developed pedagogies designed to nurture the individual voice within egalitarian classrooms, assuming that collective action in the public realm could be modeled on the relatively safe small‐group interactions they were familiar with in their families, schools, and associations. Partly as a result, they remained blind to (and often denigrated) the democratic aspects of working‐class organizations, such as unions and community action groups, which found strength in solidarity. In this article Aaron Schutz argues that progressives must integrate into their models the often brutal lessons about power learned by those with less privilege. Until they do so, their approaches to democratic education will continue to have limited capacity to support social transformation and empowerment in the world as it is.     

NOTE ON THE PEARSON r AS A FUNCTION OF THE BIVARIATE DISTRIBUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS1

Methodological difficulties inherent in the estimation of bivariate relationships due to distortions caused by distributional irregularities were investigated empirically. The data represented the performance of 700 Ss between two and ten years of age on nine ITPA subtests and the Stanford-Binet scale. The results indicated that scaling errors of one type or another caused considerable discrepancy in the measurement of underlying relations, but the effect of non-normality was minimum.