The attribution of success and failure: The subject/object contrast

160 secondary school teachers were administered questionnaires on attributions for success and failure in students familiar to them. Student profiles were obtained by a 2 (success or failure) x 2 (extreme or moderate grades) design. The list of attributions employs classic dimensions (internal/external), stable/unstable, controlable/non controlable) plus a new dimension (academic/non academic) shown to be relevant in two preliminary surveys. The results indicate an interaction between the two independent varables as a function of the internal/external dimension. Responses characterizing for success and failure reveal a specific dimension termed subject/object, that parallels the a-priori academic/non academic dimension.     

The relations between the student–teacher trust relationship and school success in the case of Korean middle schools

This study examined relations between the student–teacher trust relationship and school success, including school adjustment, academic motivation and performance. Data were collected from 318 7th‐grade Korean middle school students (170 males, 148 females). All intercorrelations were positively correlated and correlation coefficients were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that the student–teacher trust relationship uniquely contributed to students’ performance through school adjustment and academic motivation. This discussion examines theoretical, empirical and practical implications of the trust relationship as a key predictor of adolescents’ school adjustment, academic motivation and performance.     

Belonging,school support and communication: Essential aspects of school success for students with cerebral palsy in mainstream schools

PurposeInvestigate successful school experiences for students with cerebral palsy (CP); identify and describe learning and participation at school.MethodsA phenomenologically-informed qualitative study using in-depth interviews with students (n = 7), parents (n = 11), teachers (n = 10), principals (n = 9), and allied health (n = 10) was conducted to investigate multiple perceptions. Thematic analysis occurred within and between groups.ResultsThree themes were identified: Students belong and benefit; Classroom enablers that help; Communication is crucial.ConclusionsStudents’ school experiences are enhanced by innovative classroom solutions that support classroom learning and involvement. Students rely on a diverse team that communicate well and implement individualised solutions that enable success.     

The interactive whiteboard in primary school science and interaction

The findings of the research literature about the necessity and contribution of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) are not unequivocal and are sometimes contradictory. The study aimed to examine the interactive attributes in lessons with an IWB and the students’ attitudes. Methodical structured observations of 26 science lessons were conducted in elementary schools in Israel. The results showed that the teachers frequently used the diverse IWB tools, but most of the learning took place in frontal, whole class learning. Most of the interaction was under the teacher’s control and the dialogic interaction was limited. The attitudes of 62 pupils showed that despite already studying with an IWB for five years, their enthusiasm did not wane. They even claimed, in contrast to the observation findings, that the IWB contributed to active learning and interaction in the class. The research findings raise fundamental questions regarding the place of the IWB in promoting interaction in the class and on the necessity to promote the teacher’s pedagogic concept in order to increase class interaction.     

The development of one teacher's understanding of practitioner research in a multi-ethnic primary school

This article is an attempt to describe the development of my understanding of the purpose of practitioner research over the first 4 years of a project leading to a PhD. It tells the story of the evolution of my thinking, from an initial focus on the curriculum and the children's unsophisticated thinking about race as the source of the problem, to a more self-critical stance, in which I saw ‘whiteness’ as an important factor in structuring the children's experiences of schooling. Thus, the early outward focus of the research – the children, and their response to the curriculum – was replaced by an inward focus – on my own attitudes and actions as a white teacher, and the effect they have on the children I teach. The article argues that teachers should have the opportunity to reflect on aspects of their practice in this way as an integral part of their professional development.     

高中生数学学习成败归因的探讨

本文根据美国心理学家伯纳德&#183;韦纳提出的归因模型，结合目前形成高中生数学学习成败归因错位的原因，提出引导高中生数学学习成败正确归因的教学建议：（1）多给学生成功的机会；（2）引导学生多从努力方面归因；（3）指导学生制定学习目标；（4）引导学习能力相近者作为榜样以培养自信心；（5）提供给学生以正面支持。     

The use of stakeholder voice through school self-evaluation in Turkish schools

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - School self-evaluation based on multiple data sources has been used to evaluate the quality of education at schools. This study aims to...     

Predictors of academic success in medical school

This study was designed to determine the predictive validity of selected admissions variables used by the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Data for the study were collected from 586 students admitted to the M.D. program from 1961 to 1968. These students were categorized into one of three groups (Successful [SUCC], Successful with Extended Study [SWES], and Lost to Medicine [LTM]) based upon their performance in medical school. A two-way analysis of variance and the use of a post hoc Scheffé method of multiple comparisons indicated significant differences between the SUCC group and the combined SWES and LTM groups. Therefore, the data revealed the predictive ability of two admissions variables and suggested the need for additional research into the subjective variables used in the admissions process.     

Engaging youth in school and learning: The emerging key to school success and completion

This commentary on articles in this special issue of Psychology in the Schools discusses the importance of school completion by identifying the individual and social costs associated with youths who fail to complete school. An appreciation of these various costs sets the stage for exploring an “emerging” key to school completion—engaging students in school and learning. A brief review of articles in this special issue directs attention toward various aspects of engagement, including conceptual insight and practical interventions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

浅谈校地合作办学下的校园文化建设

校地合作办学整体办学时间短,机制尚不完善,校园文化建设对校地合作办学的持续发展有着不可替代的作用。本文主要从校园文化的内涵、重要性以及对校地合作办学校园文化建设的几点思考和建议进行论述。     

Threats of violence in schools: The Dallas independent school district's response

School violence has become a primary concern for parents, students, school personnel, and the public. As a result, educators are searching for methods to prevent violent acts perpetrated by youth. Dallas Public Schools developed procedures for assessing the potential for violence among children who express intent to harm others. The Dallas Violence Risk Assessment (DVRA) was developed to evaluate students who have made verbal or written threats of violence and to assist school staff in determining appropriate intervention strategies. This article describes the development of the DVRA, and presents case studies utilizing the DVRA procedures. Challenges and implications of the use of the DVRA are also discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Embedding inquiry-based practices in schools: The strategic role of school leaders

The context of this study were research and development projects in Dutch secondary education, particularly funded by government to combine practice-based research with school development goals for inquiry-based culture. Aiming at better understanding of the strategic role that school leaders play in embedding inquiry-based practices in schools, the research question of this study was to explore to what extent and how do school leaders use the opportunity of participating in funded research and development projects for encouraging and integrating inquiry-based practices in their schools? Differences concerning the integration of inquiry-based working in the school as professional learning community were examined, distinguishing between school leaders’ strategies of capacity building. Twenty-eight school leaders of Dutch secondary schools, involved in nineteen projects, were interviewed retrospectively. Analyses showed the majority of the school leaders to be convinced that inquiry-based working is important for their schools’ development as a professional community. Their strategies for achieving school level project significance differed in school leaders’ successive attention on personal or interpersonal capacity building with regard to inquiry-based practices. Moreover, while some school leaders were actively involved with capacity building right from the start of the research and development projects projects, almost two-third of the school leaders developed interest in inquiry-based practices during the projects and started to enact in the final year of the project. In discussing the results, it is proposed that the interaction of strategy and context needs further study, for instance to inform peer learning among school leaders that are novice and experienced in inquiry-based practices as a means to develop the school as a professional learning community.     

中职英语教研：交互性语言教学的目标与策略

在中职英语教研教改中,交互性语言教学方法（Interactive Language Teaching Approach）应用需要明晰具体教学目标,包括宏观与微观目标,以教学目标为课堂教学设计及组织的核心,并以之为各种教学要素的起点。中职英语教师要探索适合具体职业或专业需要的交互性语言教学策略,培养中职学生在未来职场中英语的应用能力。中职英语教研中恰当的交互性语言教学策略,不仅可以提高学生的英语交际能力,还可以培养学生的思维能力、学习兴趣与自信心、培养合作意识。     

Interest in school and educational success in Portugal

A large body of work in educational economics displays the tenuous relationship between school inputs and cognitive achievement. Among others, the inability to establish a strong link has been attributed to the difficulty of controlling for attributes such as ability, motivation, and interest. Against this background, and inspired by work in economics and educational psychology, the authors examine whether a child's interest in school has a bearing on educational success. The panel data estimates, based on Portuguese data, show that after controlling for socioeconomic background, school inputs, and time-invariant unobservable traits, children with high levels of interest are 6–10 percentage points less likely to fail as compared with children with low and medium levels of interest.     

The school as a workplace: Extending democracy to schools

The author has a thorough knowledge of the educational scene in the USA. His critical analyses of the “modern” educational theories developed by J. Holt, H. Kohl, Ch. Silbermann, I. Illich and others, and of their — as yet unresearched — application to institutionalized learning and socialisation processes provide very informative insights into the on-going discussion on reform, even outside his own country. Stopsky points to four factors which have had a pronounced influence on the objectives, direction and progress of curriculum reform:

1. The student movement and the stimuli it generated in the civil rights movement and the relations with the “Third World”.
2. The subculture of youth, accompanying this protest movement and partly caused by its lack of success, with its typical phenomena of drug consumption and social disintegration.
3. The disappointment at the failure of the propagated educational reform to establish, e.g., equality of chances and improve the quality of life, and the effects of raising the standards of performance demanded of under-privileged pupils by means of drastic restrictions on admission and entrance examinations implying social selection for higher educational courses.
4. The development of “anti-curricula” in the form and content of “open” or neohumanist education. The favourable reports on experiments with these “pupil-centred” curricula in British schools created a fascinating response from teachers and pupils in the USA, but most colleges rejected the innovation as being anti-intellectual and decided in favour of a “competency based” or “performance based” curriculum.

In this future-oriented paper F. Stopsky attempts to free school from the odium of suffering individual oppression and the resulting fear of the pupils, and to turn it instead into a place where children and adults will work without repression.