Cognitive Style and Problem Behaviour in Boys Referred to Residential Special Schools

The paper considers aberrant behaviour in the context of cognitive style with reference to both diagnosis and treatment.

Aims.

The aims of the study were to investigate whether the style of pupils with behaviour problems was different from that of children with no reported problems, and also to consider how pupils of different style manifested their problem behaviours.

Sample.

The sample comprised 83 male pupils aged 10‐18 years from two residential special schools.

Method.

The sample were given the Cognitive Styles Analysis to assess their positions on the Wholist‐Analytic and Verbal‐Imagery style dimensions. The pupil records of the special school pupils who were at the extreme of the style dimensions were also examined.

Results.

When their style characteristics were contrasted with a Comparison Sample of 413 12‐16‐year‐old males attending 10 secondary schools, the special school pupils had a significantly higher proportion of both Wholists and Verbalisers, than the Comparison Group. Further, the inspection of the records indicated that the types of social behaviour and behaviour problems exhibited varied with style, and particularly on the Wholist‐Analytic dimension.

Conclusion.

The results were considered to have implications for the origins and treatment of problem behaviour.     

The Professional Development of Adult Educators: Some Structural and Methodological Considerations

The case is stated for a scheme of professional training for adult educators, which should at once be

_____ comprehensive and unified;

_____ able to take into account the particular possibilities of individual adult educators; and

_____ easily adjustable to the particular needs within the community.

Such a scheme can only be realized through the application of a modular structure. A scheme like this is being developed at Gwent College of Higher Education for a professional training programme which will give a Certificate in Continuing Education, conferring full teacher status in adult and further education. This development is used to illustrate the points the author wants to make. The development of a programme on such a scheme raises considerable structural and methodological problems, which are discussed and compared with what is done elsewhere.     

Woman and family in the African diaspora—mother and the sewing machine in Caribbean literature

‘… Miss Caroline

tell me how you spend your time

I spend all my time

around the Singer machine…’

These lines from a popular song of the nineteen forties sum up what was for many women a new reality. This paper identifies the space at the sewing machine as mother's space and the sewing machine as an important element in the psychological and financial liberation of the woman, here the Caribbean woman of the twentieth century. Evidence in support of this claim is offered predominantly from Caribbean creative writing, where artists have noted the importance of that invention in the lives of their mothers and in the achievements of their families.     

The educational philosophy of Greek extensionists vis-à-vis contemporary extension thinking: a critical appraisal

Purpose: The current paper aims at the classification of Greek agronomists/extensionists in adult education philosophical frameworks; the exploration of frameworks’ changes in the last 40 years; and the assessment of their relevance vis-à-vis the current developments.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The research addressed a purposive sample of 30 agronomists divided into two groups (older - younger). Questionnaire-based survey was followed by a semi-structured interview.

Findings: The views of both groups of agronomists follow the same orientation and revolve around the progressive and behaviourist philosophies. In terms of practice, the intervention of older agronomists mainly relates to the progressive, the liberal and the behaviourist philosophy while that of younger agronomists around the liberal framework; evidence shows a small turn of younger agronomists towards participatory extension.

Practical Implications: The current piece of work puts forward the gaps and weaknesses of Extension in Greece both in terms of rhetoric and practice; notably, Greek agronomists do not seem capable to support bottom-up processes.

Theoretical Implications: Research detected the espoused orientation of extensionists and the ways they assist their constituencies in practice.

Originality/Value: The work reported here is considered one means of raising the awareness of the field’s needs in documenting extensionists’ educational philosophies and how they guide practice.     

Tradition,Pathways and the Renegotiation of TAFE Identity in Victoria

The territorial imperative is as blind as a cave fish, as consuming as a furnace, and it commands beyond logic, opposes all reason, suborns all moralities, strives for no goal more sublime than survival.

—Robert Ardrey (1972), The Territorial Imperative, Fontana

London, p. 257     

The development of the nature of science view scale (NOSvs) at university level

Background: Determining individuals’ views of the nature of science is quite important for researchers since it is both a component of scientific literacy and a fundamental aim of science education.

Purpose: This study aims to develop a NOSvs for assessing prospective teachers’ views of the nature of science and to analyse their psychometric properties.

Sample: A total of 565 prospective teachers participated in the study.

Design and methods: The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) Index and Bartlett’s Sphericity Test were used in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine the construct validity of the scale. Cronbach’s Alpha (α) coefficient was calculated for the reliability of the study.

Results: It was consequently found that the KMO was larger than .50. That Bartlett’s Sphericity Test was also statistically significant. The items with item-total correlations smaller than .30 were removed from the scale. Cronbach’s α values calculated for each sub-scale were above .70. In consequence of the first CFA performed, fit indices were found to be below the expected level. For this reason, three more items with the least item-total correlations were removed from the scale. Following the CFA, the final form of the scale included 36 items and five sub-scales.     

Agricultural information and knowledge network in rural India: a case of Bihar

Purpose: The key informants in a village setup were studied to understand the existing social and knowledge systems of farmers, their structure, and relationships between different actors. The purpose is to identify different channels of information and use them as a means to disseminate agricultural technologies and related information to farmers.

Design: We use the network map analysis in a case study approach as a tool to demonstrate the linkages between the key actors and stakeholders in the information network of farmers.

Findings: The government institutions are well networked among themselves but have limited interactions with non-government sources. Farmers in Bihar have strong linkages with few network actors, who are important nodes in the social knowledge network. The study showed heterogeneity and complexity in the network shape and structure across different districts.

Practical Implications: Knowledge networks and social networks are the drivers of information sharing and play a significant role in the diffusion of agricultural technology and related knowledge. Understanding these networks provides a platform for introducing the agricultural technologies and getting connected to a wider group of farming communities.

Theoretical Implications: The study shows that the network is formed by different actors and their role determine the nature and shape of the network. Knowledge of this heterogeneity is important in designing or revamping agricultural information systems.

Originality: Information and knowledge networks are least explored in the agricultural information dissemination process. Some studies have shown the role of actors and social networks, but this study uniquely explores and presents the heterogeneity of these networks.     

Research capacity for local innovation: the case of conservation agriculture in Ethiopia,Malawi and Mozambique

Purpose: The limited uptake of improved agricultural practices in Africa raise questions on the functionality of current agricultural research systems. Our purpose is to explore the capacity for local innovation within the research systems of Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique.

Design/methodology/approach: Using Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a case study, we qualitatively explore with 26 locally based agricultural researchers the context of CA research and promotion, including their perceptions on persistent research gaps and issues in closing them.

Findings: Respondents identified that CA was not yet a finished product, with concerns regarding the benefit, feasibility and relevance of CA implementation. They asserted that while further adaptation was required, they were unable to do this due to institutional constraints within their research, extension and policy contexts.

Practical implications: We find that CA continues to be considered a donor-driven intervention in its current form and requires substantial further adaptation to local contexts before researchers will deem it ready for farmer uptake. The five research gaps identified by respondents highlight practical areas where further adaptations must occur.

Theoretical implications: Our findings suggest a lack of participatory research and extension most likely reflects limited financial, human and social capital to implement more participatory approaches. Without addressing these capacities, widespread adoption of complex farming systems change appears unlikely.

Originality/Value: Whilst many studies have identified a need for local innovation to enable CA utilisation, few have qualitatively explored directly with local researchers the capacity of such systems to do so. We address this gap in the literature.     

Evaluating and comparing Singaporean and Taiwanese eighth graders’ conceptions of science assessment

Background: Researchers have indicated that assessment practices and methods should support learners’ construction of meaningful understanding of knowledge. Understanding students’ conceptions of assessment will enable us to construct more realistic, valid and fair assessments. Learners’ conceptualization of assessment would be imperative to serve as an essential reference to evaluate their learning progress.

Purpose: This study evaluated and compared the Singaporean and Taiwanese middle school students’ conceptions of science assessment. Within-country gender comparisons were also explored.

Sample: 424 Taiwanese and 333 Singaporean eighth graders were invited for a cross-country comparison.

Design and methods: The participants completed a questionnaire named Conceptions of Science Assessment.

Results: The findings showed that the summative assessment dominates in the Taiwanese classrooms, while formative and summative assessment are usually perceived in Singaporean classrooms. The Singaporean students had a greater tendency than their Taiwanese counterparts to perceive the purpose of assessment as a way of reproducing knowledge, and the formative assessment as improving learning, problem-solving, and critical judgment. No gender differences were found among either the Singaporean or the Taiwanese students.

Conclusions: Educators in both countries should provide learners with more opportunities to experience process-oriented science assessment activities and de-emphasize the usage of examination-oriented practices to achieve the sophistication of conceptions.     

Spatial concepts and young children

This presentation looks at how young children learn basic geometrical concepts. Piaget's developmental levels will be examined to determine how they fit into the current research project. These will be compared with materials from the Soviet States that have recently become available from the NCTP in the USA.

The research project was constructed in a number of early childhood centres in a variety of socio‐economic areas. All of these centres had an early intervention program in operation so that special needs or ‘exceptional’ children could be observed along with mainstream children.

The researcher is investigating children's learning styles to determine the children's preferred learning styles when exploring spatial concepts. The question of whether exceptional children progress through the same stages and in the same order as the mainstream children is also being considered.

Spatial concepts in early childhood is an area that seems to have been neglected by researchers in favour of the development of number concepts. This research project aims to add to our knowledge of how young children learn spatial concepts.

     

Practical Skills Training in Agricultural Education—A Comparison between Traditional and Blended Approaches

Purpose: In this article the use of blended learning multimedia materials as an education tool was compared with the traditional approach for skills training.

Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was conducted in Ireland using a pre-test, post-test experimental design. All students were instructed on how to complete two skills using either a traditional or blended methodology. They were subsequently assessed to determine their ability to perform the practical skills.

Findings: The findings stressed the suitability of blended learning not only when it was found that there was no significant difference between method of teaching and skill acquisition but also when it was revealed that student demographics had no major influence on skill acquisition.

Practical Implications: It can be concluded that blended learning can be used effectively for the instruction of a diverse range of practical skills in agricultural college and benefit in the successful knowledge transfer to a growing and diverse student population with more emphasis placed on the students taking charge of their own learning environment.

Originality/Value: The article demonstrates the value of blended learning as a successful medium for practical skill attainment within the agricultural college environment.

Findings: The findings stressed the suitability of blended learning not only when it was found that there was no significant difference between method of teaching and skill acquisition but also when it was revealed that student demographics had no major influence on skill acquisition.

Practical Implications: It can be concluded that blended learning can be used effectively for the instruction of a diverse range of practical skills in agricultural college and benefit in the successful knowledge transfer to a growing and diverse student population with more emphasis placed on the students taking charge of their own learning environment.

Originality/Value: The article demonstrates the value of blended learning as a successful medium for practical skill attainment within the agricultural college environment.     

Determining the factors that influence parents’ views about science and technology

Background: Children generally adopt the behaviours and attitudes they see in their home environment. Because of this, education provided in the school can be effective, as long as it is supported at home and by extension to the entire environment where the child interacts. Isolating the family from school influences the continuance of the school’s educational impact. In this sense, families do have a significant impact on their child’s attitude about.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to determine how parents view science and technology, the factors that influence their views (gender, age, educational level), and the relationship between these opinions and the students’ science academic achievement.

Sample: The present study was conducted with the parents of 169 students attending randomly chosen primary schools in a city in western Turkey.

Design and methods: The ‘Scale for Determining Views of Parents regarding Science and Technology’ (SFDVPAST) was developed by the researchers and used in the present study. The scale’s reliability was 0.88. Data obtained from SFDVPAST were analysed with SPSS 11.5 using frequency (f), percentage (%), average (X), standard deviation (SD), one-way MANOVA, a univariate ANOVA for each dependent variable as a tracking test, and simple linear regression analysis to determine the relationships.

Results: At the completion of this study, findings indicated that gender does not have an impact on how parents view science and technology, but age and educational level do impact parents’ views on this topic. The science academic achievement of the student correlates with the views of his/her parents on science and technology.

Conclusions: Parents’ views towards science and technology have affected their age and education level, but have not affected their sex. In addition, parents’ positive view towards science and technology has affected their science academic achievement of the students.     

Knowledge systems and value chain integration: the case of linseed production in Ethiopia

Purpose: This study uses data from a sample of 150 oilseed farming households from Arsi Robe, Ethiopia, to assess the impact of different knowledge bases (education, training and experience) and their interactions on linseed productivity.

Methodology: A multiple regression analysis was employed to assess the combined effect of the knowledge bases, factors such as age of the household head, land size, marketing channels and geophysical factors (such as land slope) on linseed productivity.

Findings: The findings reveal no differences in productivity between trained and untrained farmers. They further show that training and the interaction between training and experience positively influence productivity. Our findings, however, reveal farmer education to have an inverse yet insignificant effect on productivity. Furthermore, we found that factors such as the slope of the land and the choice of marketing channel also play an important role in influencing productivity.

Practical implications: Moving away from the traditional top-down approach could be the answer to avoid a mismatch between the information given by trainers and what the farmers actually need.

Theoretical implications: The study used interaction variables of knowledge bases, and attempted to demonstrate the importance of a tacit knowledge base, which is often not well documented and therefore neglected in research.

Originality/value: The research demonstrates the combined effects that interactions between several knowledge bases have on the productivity of linseed farmers.     

The effectiveness of hybrid dynamic visualisation in learning genetics in a Hong Kong secondary school

Background: A teaching method to improve students’ ability to communicate ideas in genetics across the macro–micro levels of organisation was investigated in this study.

Purpose: It is designed to help students deconstruct the level of organisation of each tier of a genetic diagram, as the symbols used in such diagrams (i.e. lines and letters) can be too abstract to serve as hints for students to identify the level of organisation.

Design and method: The method employs hybrid dynamic visualisation, which combines static (e.g. a genetic diagram) and dynamic visualisations (e.g. meiotic cell division, fertilisation). The method also addresses the learning problem wherein students isolate the conceptual components of the processes of meiotic cell division and fertilisation from the procedural components of genetic diagrams. The new pedagogy was trialled in a voluntary enrichment course with 22 Secondary Six (or 12th grade) students.

Results: The results of conceptual assessments and individual interviews show that the participating students, in general, provided more explanations at the molecular level, although there is considerable room for improvement in making a smooth macro–micro transition. Students also had a better grasp of the symbolic representation and mathematical concepts of genetics. In addition, their responses in individual interviews revealed that they shared a restricted understanding of the term ‘recessiveness’.

Conclusion: Possible scaffolds for revisiting the concept of recessiveness in regular teaching are suggested.