Influence of Self-Regulation on the Development of Children’s Number Sense

The present study examined predictive power of behavioral self-regulation, family and child characteristics on children’s number sense. The participants consisted of 101 kindergarten children. A subsample of 30 children was randomly chosen for the reliability procedures of Assessing Number Sense and Head, Toes, Knees and Shoulders instruments. Thus, data from 71 children were used for further analysis. Multiple regressions using stepwise method were computed for determining whether self-regulation, family income, parents’ level of education, gender, and age related to and were predictive of scores on number sense. Results of the study indicated that behavioral self-regulation, mothers’ education level, gender and age are significant predictors of number sense, and behavioral self-regulation was the most influential predictor, followed by mothers’ education level, gender and age. Findings are discussed in terms of influential factors of number sense in early childhood.     

School Principals’ Influence on Trust: Perspectives of Mothers of Children with Disabilities

ABSTRACT

The authors employed a qualitative research design to explore issues of trust in family–professional relationships. They specifically focused on the nature of trust between mothers of children with disabilities and school principals. Analysis of the mothers’ responses to face-to-face interview questions yielded two primary categories related to their perspectives regarding principals: (a) personal and professional principal attributes and (b) principal actions within the education system, with students, and with students’ families. Subcategories were developed that further delineated the relationships participants had with the principals of their children's educational programs. The authors address implications for school leadership and the establishment of trustworthy family-professional relationships, especially as they impact the lives of students and families in need of special education support.     

The Polysystem and the Translation of Children’ s Literature

Polysystem Theory was developed in 1970s by Israeli scholar Itamar Even-Zohar,and was well known for its three circumstances.Children’ literature,as a special branch of literature,attracts more and more research nowadays.This paper explores the process of translation of Children’ s Literature in China under polysystem.     

The Influences of Family,Peers, School and Media in Children’sProsocial Behaviors

Children's skills of social interaction is a significant index of their following psychological development. Prosocial behaviors which influenced by many factors are fundamental representatives of social interaction. Present essay illustrates an indepth review of literature concerning the impacts of family,peers, school and media in Children's prosocial behaviors and also indicates the limitations of each research.     

Western Australian High School Students’ Understandings about the Socioscientific Issue of Climate Change

Climate change is one of the most significant science issues facing humanity; yet, teaching students about climate change is challenging: not only is it multidisciplinary, but also it is contentious and debated in political, social and media forums. Students need to be equipped with an understanding of climate change science to be able to participate in this discourse. The purpose of this study was to examine Western Australian high school students’ understanding of climate change and the greenhouse effect, in order to identify their alternative conceptions about climate change science and provide a baseline for more effective teaching. A questionnaire designed to elicit students’ understanding and alternative conceptions was completed by 438 Year 10 students (14–15 years old). A further 20 students were interviewed. Results showed that students know different features of both climate change and the greenhouse effect, however not necessarily all of them and the relationships between. Five categories of alternative conceptions were identified. The categories were (1) the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer; (2) types of greenhouse gases; (3) types of radiation; (4) weather and climate and (5) air pollution. These findings provide science educators a basis upon which to develop strategies and curriculum resources to improve their students’ understanding and decision-making skills about the socioscientific issue, climate change.     

Intergroup Socialization: The Influence of Parents’ Family Communication Patterns on Adult Children’s Racial Prejudice and Tolerance

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family communication environments on children’s intergroup socialization. Adult children (n = 200) reported on their parents’ conformity and conversation orientations and their own racial attitudes and intergroup orientations. Results evidenced ingroup bias, social dominance, and identification with parent as mediators of the positive relationship between conformity orientation and racial prejudice and the negative relationship between conformity orientation and racial tolerance. Results also revealed that children from consensual and protective families harbor the most racial prejudice and least racial tolerance. Future directions related to intergroup contact interventions, racially diverse families, and qualitative assessments of parent–child interactions are discussed.     

Elementary School Children’s Explanations of Day and Night

Science & Education - Most students have interacted with scientific representations that are used as teaching resources in schools. Often these external representations present challenges for...     

The Influence of Student Characteristics and the Community College on Bachelor’s Degree Attainment

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in baccalaureate degree attainment among transfer students with associate’s degrees, transfer students without associate’s degrees, and university-native students. The study also investigated if demographic characteristics or academic preparation characteristics (i.e., transfer cumulative grade point average [GPA], transfer hours earned, cumulative overall grade point average, and cumulative credit hours earned) predicted graduation rates. Participants included transfer students from all community colleges and native students from one university in one southeastern state. The study utilized a causal-comparative research design. The chi-square test of independence was used to determine if differences in graduation rates existed, and logistic regression was used to determine if demographic characteristics and academic preparation predicted graduation rates. Community college students graduated at higher rates than native students. The academic preparation variables made a significant contribution in the prediction of graduation, with the strongest predictor being the cumulative overall GPA.     

Early Childhood Professional Development: Coaching and Coursework Effects on Indicators of Children’s School Readiness

Research Findings: Effects on children’s school readiness were evaluated for 2 interventions focused on improving teacher–student interactions (coursework, coaching) implemented sequentially across 2 years. Teachers from public prekindergarten programs in 10 locations were assigned randomly to treatment or control conditions in each year. Children’s language behavior was observed during the coaching year: Coaching and the course each had positive impacts on children’s multiword language behavior. Treatment impacts on directly assessed literacy, language, and self-regulation skills were evaluated within an intent-to-treat framework for children taught by the participating teachers in the coaching and postcoaching years. Children demonstrated higher levels of inhibitory control in direct assessments when their teacher had received coaching the prior year. Teachers who received both coursework and coaching reported in the postcoaching year that children in their classrooms demonstrated greater levels of behavioral control. Treatment effects did not differ as a consequence of child, classroom, or program characteristics, and there were no significant effects on directly assessed literacy or language skills. Practice or Policy: Results suggest modest benefits for children’s language behavior and self-regulation for intervention(s) that improve the quality of teacher–child interaction.     

Opinion Versus Knowledge: The Influence of Testimony Format on Children’s Judgments in Morally Relevant Contexts

Research Findings: To test children’s use of testimony of others, 3 – 9 years (N = 227) made judgments about a potential peer transgression in which the intentions of the protagonist were ambiguous, after hearing two different forms of testimony. The 2 forms of testimony were (a) opposing opinion-based testimony from an adult authority versus a peer consensus group and (b) knowledge-based testimony (eyewitness testimony) that was counter to the participants’ initial judgments. Findings revealed that when testimony was presented in an opinion-based format, children were likely to side with the opinion that reflected their own interpretation of the peer encounter, regardless of whether the opinion came from a peer consensus or an adult authority. However, when knowledge-based testimony was introduced in support of the opposite of children’s initial interpretation of the ambiguous peer encounter, children most often changed their initial judgment to align with the new testimony. That is, children used knowledge-based testimony but not opinion-based testimony to evaluate a potential transgression. Practice or Policy: These findings demonstrate that the way in which testimony is delivered to children has a direct influence on their decision making about peer interactions and has relevance for teacher–student discourse in the classroom.     

The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students’ Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students’ self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design activities have shown the potential to promote middle school students’ self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes. However, traditional classrooms often lack hands-on engineering design experiences, leaving students unprepared to solve real-world design problems. In this study, we introduce the framework of a toy design workshop and investigate the influence of the workshop activities on students’ understanding of and self-efficacy beliefs in engineering design. Using a mixed method approach, we conducted quantitative analyses to show changes in students’ engineering design self-efficacy and qualitative analyses to identify students’ understanding of the engineering design processes. Findings show that among the 24 participants, there is a significant increase in students’ self-efficacy beliefs after attending the workshop. We also identified major themes such as design goals and prototyping in students’ understanding of engineering design processes. This research provides insights into the key elements of middle school students’ engineering design learning and the benefits of engaging middle school students in hands-on toy design workshops.     

The Influence of Context on the Large-Scale Assessment of High School Students’ Epistemic Cognition of Scientific Argumentation

Science & Education - Scientific argumentation is a key practice in the construction, confirmation, and legalization of scientific knowledge. Although studies on scientific argumentation have...     

Nature study,Aborigines and the Australian kindergarten: lessons from Martha Simpson’s Australian Programme based on the Life and Customs of the Australian Black

This article examines an experimental kindergarten programme Work in the Kindergarten: An Australian Programme based on the Life and Customs of the Australian Black developed by Martha Simpson in early twentieth-century Australia. Here Simpson adapted international Revisionist Froebelian approaches to cultural epoch theory and nature study in an Australian context. Accepting that human development recapitulates, Simpson posited that Aboriginal culture could serve as stimulus for age-appropriate and improving child-centred activities. Local contingencies, including histories of violent cross-racial encounter, complicated an attempt by kindergartener Helen Beaumont to apply the programme in the Sydney slum suburb of Leichhardt. These contingencies are documented and analysed.     

Breadth and Balance? The Impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on Art in the Primary School

This paper presents the findings of a small-scale qualitative research enquiry into some of the effects on the primary school art curriculum of the introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in 1988 and 1999. Five art curriculum co-ordinators and an additional part time specialist art teacher, drawn from five inner city primary schools in two London boroughs, were the subject of a semi-structured interview designed to elicit data on the broad changes in primary art education. Key external factors were the introduction of the Art National Curriculum in 1992, its subsequent development and its current condition during a period of ‘relaxation’ of the Orders, following the government's introduction of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. Little official attention has been given to other, perhaps unintended, outcomes of the latter strategy across the curriculum. This study gives an insight into the experience and perceptions of some of those carrying the responsibility for leadership of art in school in the primary phase.     

Freedom’s Children: A Gender Perspective on the Education of the Learner-Citizen

Drawing on Ulrich Beck’s theory of “freedom’s children”, the present contribution examines contemporary concerns about educating young people for citizenship as well as educating them about citizenship. Under the first theme, the author focuses on the citizen as learner, highlighting some of the gender- and class-related inequalities that are typically associated with individualisation. Under the second theme, she looks at the learner as citizen in view of the fact that citizenship education courses often prepare learners for a gender-divided world – even though the processes of individualisation have themselves significantly reshaped contemporary gender relations. In light of current challenges facing citizenship education, the study concludes by reflecting on gender-related dimensions of individualisation and their implications for democracy and the learner-citizen.

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Zusammenfassung DIE KINDER DER FREIHEIT: EINE GESCHLECHTSBEZOGENE PERSPEKTIVE AUF DIE BILDUNG DES LERNENDEN BüRGERS – Indem er sich auf Ulrich Becks Theorie der ,,Kinder der Freiheit“ stützt, untersucht der vorliegende Beitrag zeitgen?ssische Bemühungen, junge Menschen sowohl zur Staatsbürgerschaft hin zu erziehen als auch sie über die Staatsbürgerschaft zu belehren. Unter der ersten überschrift konzentriert sich die Autorin auf den Bürger als Lernenden, indem sie einige der geschlechts- und klassenspezifischen Ungleichheiten betont, die typischerweise mit der Individualisierung verbunden werden. Unter der zweiten überschrift wirft sie einen Blick auf den Lernenden als Bürger, und zwar unter Berücksichtigung der Tatsache, dass Lernende in Kursen für staatsbürgerliche Erziehung h?ufig auf eine Welt vorbereitet werden, die nach Geschlechtern getrennt ist – auch wenn die Prozesse der Individualisierung ihrerseits die gegenw?rtigen Beziehungen zwischen den Geschlechtern in bedeutender Weise umgeformt haben. Im Licht aktueller Herausforderungen, mit denen die staatsbürgerliche Erziehung konfrontiert ist, schlie?t die Untersuchung, indem sie über die geschlechtspezifischen Ausma?e der Individualisierung und ihre Implikationen für die Demokratie sowie den Bürger als Lernenden reflektiert.

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Resumen HIJOS DE LA LIBERTAD: LA PERSPECTIVA DE GéNERO EN LA EDUCACIóN DE LOS CIUDADANOS – Haciendo referencia a la teoría de Ulrich Beck contenida en su libro Hijos de la libertad, esta contribución examina asuntos de relevancia actual relacionados con la educación de las personas jóvenes para la ciudadanía y sobre la ciudadanía. Bajo el primer aspecto, la autora se concentra en el ciudadano como alumno, realzando algunas de las desigualdades de género y de clases, típicamente relacionadas con la individualización. Bajo el segundo aspecto, la autora enfoca al alumno como ciudadano, en vista del hecho de que los cursos sobre ciudadanía muchas veces preparan a los educandos para un mundo dividido en géneros, pese a que los procesos de individualización les hayan deparado unas relaciones entre los géneros sustancialmente remodeladas. A la luz de los retos que actualmente debe afrontar la educación ciudadana, el estudio termina con una reflexión sobre las dimensiones de la individualización en cuanto a su relación con los géneros y a los efectos que pueden tener para la democracia y los ciudadanos en formación.

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Résumé LES ENFANTS DE LA LIBERTé : UNE PERSPECTIVE SEXUELLE SUR L’éDUCATION DE L’ APPRENANT-CITOYEN – Partant de la théorie d’Ulrich Beck sur les ? enfants de la liberté ?, la présente contribution examine les préoccupations contemporaines à propos de l’éducation des jeunes gens à la citoyenneté et autour de la citoyenneté. Quant au premier thème, l’auteur se concentre sur le citoyen en tant qu’apprenant, mettant sur le devant de la scène certaines des inégalités relatives aux différences de sexe et de classes sociales qui sont associées de fa?on typique à l’individualisation. Avec le deuxième thème, elle se tourne vers l’apprenant en tant que citoyen eu égard au fait que les cours d’éducation à la citoyenneté préparent souvent les apprenants à un monde divisé en sexes différents – même si les processus d’individualisation ont eux-mêmes refa?onné significativement les relations contemporaines en matière de différences sexuelles. Au vu des défis actuels face à l’éducation à la citoyenneté, l’étude conclut sur une réflexion sur les dimensions relatives à la différence de sexe de l’individualisation et leurs implications pour la démocratie et l’apprenant citoyen.

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The author: Madeleine Arnot received her MA from Edinburgh University and PhD from the Open University. She is Professor in Sociology of Education and is Professorial Fellow at Jesus College at Cambridge University. She has acted as a gender expert for the Council of Europe, an international consultant for the UNESCO Education for All: Gender Monitoring Project and on equal opportunities policies. Her work has involved projects on women and citizenship, pupil consultation, gender-education policy and refugee and asylum-seeker children’s education. Contact address: Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2PQ, UK. E-mail: mma1000@cam.ac.uk.