Resolution of parent–child conflicts in the adolescence

The aims of the study were: (1) to examine whether adolescents’ attachment and the perceived quality of the communication with their parents relate to effective resolution of parent–child conflicts and (2) to determine whether the pattern of associations changes with adolescents’ gender and age. The sample consisted of 295 adolescents who filled the questionnaires. Structural Equations Models showed that secure attachment predicted a positive communicative climate, which in turn, predicted a more frequent use of negotiation. Secure attachment was related to the use of withdrawal strategies. Anxious attachment was related to high levels of criticism and disputes with parents, which, in turn, predicted the use of all conflict resolution styles. Avoidant attachment was not related to any of the conflict resolution styles. No differences were found in the pattern of associations by gender and age. The relevance of the findings for the social relational perspective to conflict resolution is discussed.     

Value orientations and studying in school–leisure conflict: A study with samples from five countries

The relations between students' value orientations and experiences of motivational interference during studying following conflicts between learning and leisure activities were investigated in a self-report study. Overall, 1075 adolescents, mostly from Catholic schools, in Bosnia–Herzegovina (n = 203), India (n = 200), Paraguay (n = 96), Spain (n = 442), and the US (n = 134), participated. The samples varied substantially in terms of modern and postmodern value orientations, experience of motivational interference during studying, and time invested in studying. By controlling for age, gender, and economic capital, postmodern value orientation was positively related to conflict frequency and experience of motivational interference during learning, and negatively related to time investment. For modern value orientation, the relations were almost reversed. Despite the considerable differences between the sample means, the study revealed some consistency in the relations between the variables across the samples, which indicates that most of the relations can be generalized.     

Exploring value orientations toward the human–nature relationship: a comparison of urban youth in Minnesota,USA and Guangdong,China

Research exploring urban youths’ value orientations toward the human–nature relationship was conducted with 59 students from a school in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) and 51 students from a school in Guangzhou, Guangdong (China). Quantitative findings suggest that the majority of participants in both groups shared a similar value orientation, harmony with nature. Qualitative findings, however, suggest youth had somewhat different value orientations toward the human–nature relationship (interdependence most frequently for the Guangzhou school participants and stewardship for the Minneapolis school participants). Similarities and differences between the groups are discussed, and implications for environmental education are explored.     

Teachers’ perceptions of school connectedness and risk-taking in adolescence

School connectedness has been shown to be an important protective factor in adolescent development, which is associated with reduced risk-taking behavior. Interventions to increase students’ connectedness to school commonly incorporate aspects of teacher training. To date, however, research on connectedness has largely been based on student survey data, with no reported research addressing teachers’ perceptions of students’ connectedness and its association with student behavior. This research attempted to address this gap in the literature through in-depth interviews with 14 school teachers and staff from two Australian high schools. Findings showed that teachers perceived students’ connectedness to be important in regard to reducing problem behavior, and discussed aspects of connectedness, including fairness and discipline, feeling valued, belonging and having teacher support, and being successfully engaged in school, as being particularly important. This research enables the development of school-based intervention programs that are based on both student- and teacher-focused research.     

The relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of school culture

This research examined the relationship between teachers’ empathy and perceptions of their school’s culture. Teachers’ ability to change their school’s culture might be limited by their inability to interpret and respond appropriately to student behaviour. As teachers’ empathic abilities increase, it seems likely that they would be better able to understand and respond appropriately to their students. Teachers’ perspective‐taking was positively associated with their positive perceptions of student–peer relations, school norms and educational opportunities. Teachers’ personal distress was negatively related to student–peer relations. Empathy was unrelated to student–teacher relations. It is postulated that it takes more than just empathy to be able to negotiate the complex relationship between student and teacher. With teacher training programmes currently focusing on teacher dispositions, such programmes need to focus more on training future teachers to recognise and exercise their cognitive and emotional empathic capacities.     

Pupil participation and the home–school relationship

Schools are required to develop policies and practices in line with the principles of both partnership with parents and pupil participation. However, there is increasing recognition of the potential tensions that may exist between these two principles. This paper reports on a study that aimed to explore the question of how schools might develop their home–school relationships in ways that enhance rather than constrain pupil participation. It focuses on the perspectives of children aged 6 to 16 years (with and without special educational needs), parents and teachers concerning children's involvement in decision-making at home and at school, and their participation within the home–school relationship. The findings highlight the need for schools to develop a coherent view of what active participation means for children and a vocabulary to communicate about this not only with pupils and staff across the whole school, but also with parents. They demonstrate that there is scope for two-way support between parents and teachers in relation to the promotion of children's involvement in decision-making both at home and at school. Further, they illustrate the complex and evolving three-way partnership between parent–child–teacher that is central to the home–school relationship. While it is acknowledged that children may rightly wish to keep a distance between aspects of home and school life, it is argued that there is a need for schools to give explicit consideration to the place of pupil participation within the home–school relationship.     

Action research in the context of a school–university partnership: its value,problems, issues and benefits

The focus of the article is on action research in a school–university partnership, its problems, use and the value of the work from the viewpoint of a professor (university teacher-educator)[1] and two deans. The authors collaborate to first define a partnership. Secondly, they discuss the role and use of action research in the context of a partnership programme aimed at changing and improving kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) schooling and teacher education. Thirdly, they identify the problems, issues and benefits associated with such work. A ‘tool,’ consisting of 10 questions is presented by the collaborators for university faculty and administrators to use to chart their initiation and institutional participation in action research in a school–university partnership. Selected problems and issues focused on university faculty productivity, and a college or university's reward system for tenure and promotion are discussed, together with the benefits and the ultimate value of the work.     

The relationship between classroom quality and students’ engagement in secondary school

Student engagement has been identified as an influential mediator between classroom interactional quality and adolescent learning outcomes. This study examined the relationship between classroom quality and student behavioural engagement in secondary school classrooms. Three dimensions of classroom quality (emotional, organisational and instructional support) and the dimension of student engagement were observed in nine classrooms using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Self-ratings of behavioural engagement were provided by 181 Finnish secondary school students along with their teachers’ ratings of classroom-level student engagement. The results showed, first, that there was variation in both classroom quality and student behavioural engagement between the classrooms. Second, classroom organisational support was associated with observed and with teacher- and student-rated engagement, and instructional support was associated with student-rated and observed engagement. Third, emotional support did not have a direct effect on student engagement but contributed to student engagement indirectly via organisational and instructional support. There were no gender differences with respect to self-reported engagement. Class size had a positive effect on teacher-rated engagement. The results demonstrated specific associations between the domains of classroom quality and student behavioural engagement in secondary school classrooms.     

The dynamics of learning engagement and its relationship with teachers’ classroom practices in primary school

The current study was part of a larger project which examined teachers’ classroom practices and relationships with students’ learning engagement in primary-school education in Estonia. The focus was the role of autonomy supportive and structured teaching on learning engagement. Two primary-school teachers and their 46 students were selected for this study. The aim of the study was to explore how teachers’ classroom practices influence students’ learning engagement over two years during grade two and grade four of the educational system. Three trained observers rated classroom practices and students self-reported learning engagement. The results highlight primary students’ high-learning engagement, and did not confirm an expectation that low-autonomy-supportive teaching results in low-learning engagement in primary school.     

The politics of collaboration: discourse,identities, and power in a school–university partnership in Hong Kong

This article reports on how teacher educators from a university, acting as facilitators, supported teachers in conducting a school-based action research project as a practice of professional development in the context of reform in language assessment in Hong Kong. In particular, the article problematises how the facilitators and teachers negotiated and managed identities whilst being engaged in a collaborative action research project. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine the textual data. A key finding was that identities were neither fixed nor finite in the context of collaboration, but were negotiated within and against a range of contextually salient discourses. A major contribution of the article lies in its examination of the complexities of negotiating identities when educators from two different institutional cultures collaborate. The article suggests that collaboration has to be understood within broader sociocultural contexts to identify the interplay of forces that shape relations, identities, and practices constructed.     

The mediating role of social relationships in the association of adolescents’ individual school self-concept and their school engagement,belonging and helplessness in school

It is well known that teachers frequently observe a decline in the scholastic motivation of many adolescent students, which in turn is often associated with a decline in students’ individual school self-concept. In contrast, less is known about the association between students’ individual school self-concept and school engagement, or the related concepts of school belonging and helplessness in school. The current study explored social relationships as mediators in the association between individual school self-concept and adolescents’ school engagement, belonging to school and helplessness in school in a large sample of 7th and 8th grade students (N?=?1088; M_Age?=?13.7) in secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. The results of two structural equation models showed that the teacher–student relationship mediated the association between individual school self-concept and school engagement, belonging to school and helplessness in school, respectively. In contrast, the student–student relationship did not mediate any of these associations.     

The role of family literacy classes in demystifying school literacies and developing closer parent–school relations

This paper is based on a large study of family literacy provision in England, which was carried out between July 2013 and May 2015. It explored the impact of classes on parents’ relations with the school and their children, and their ability to support their children’s literacy development. The study involved 27 school-based programmes for pupils aged between five and seven, and their parents. It used mixed methods, which involved surveys of 118 parents and 20 family literacy tutors, telephone interviews with a sub-sample of 28 parents, analysis of teaching plans and observations of classes. Findings showed that parents wanted to learn the ways the school was teaching their child to read and write, and by demystifying school literacy pedagogies and processes the programmes developed greater connectivity between home and the school, and parents felt more able to support their children’s literacy development at home.     

Motivational interference in study–leisure conflicts: how opportunity costs affect the self-regulation of university students

We examined the effects of motivational interference resulting from tempting action alternatives among a sample of university students with respect to a new measure of different motivational qualities. Participants imagined themselves in a typical study–leisure conflict and provided information about their internal conflict experience in two scenarios: reading a course paper instead of meeting friends and vice versa. Participants then evaluated intrinsic, mastery, approach, avoidance, and external incentives for both activities. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded good model fits for the proposed five-factor incentive structure. In accordance with the idea of motivational interference, the incentives for meeting friends were positively related to experienced internal conflict while imagining studying, representing opportunity costs of learning. The same pattern was found for the opportunity costs that the participants had experienced while imagining meeting friends. In particular, intrinsic and approach incentives represented incremental opportunity costs of activity engagement, regardless of whether the dismissed activity was related to achievement or leisure. The findings highlight the need to apply a dynamic and context-sensitive perspective on achievement motivation to the context of higher education.     

The relationship between future goals and achievement goal orientations: An intrinsic–extrinsic motivation perspective

This research aimed to study the relationships between students’ future goals (FGs) and their immediate achievement goal orientations (AGOs) among 5733 Singaporean secondary school students (M age = 14.18, SD = 1.26; 53% boys). To this end, we hypothesized that the relationships between like valenced FGs and AGOs (both intrinsic or both extrinsic) will be stronger than those of opposite valenced FGs and AGOs (intrinsic–extrinsic) and tested two alternative models: Model A positing the prediction of AGOs by FGs and Model B positing the prediction of FGs by AGOs. Structural equation modeling showed the heuristic superiority of Model B in which intrinsic FGs (career-, society-, and family-oriented) were more strongly related to mastery-approach goal orientation than to performance-approach goal orientation and extrinsic FGs (fame- and wealth-oriented) were more strongly related to performance-approach goal orientation than to mastery-approach goal orientation. The findings suggest that, to enhance school motivation, teachers should encourage students to adopt intrinsic AGOs and FGs.     

The value of love in“Pride and Prejudice”

With a careful textual study of this novel,it can be found that its title implies true love can overcome the obstacles of pride and prejudice. Pride, is not love, because love empties itself of worldly desires, in order to giv selflessly. Austen ＇s fictional hero and heroines have faithfully reflected the authoress＇s real thoughts and true value of love. She depicted different attitudes to the love question of young girl of the family origin of middle class of villages. The four couples of this novel, varied in their love concepts, presented us with different distinct ending.[第一段]     

The value of love in“Pride and Prejudice”

With a careful textual study of this novel,it can be found that its title implies true love can overcome the obstacles of pride and prejudice. Pride, is not love, because love empties itself of worldly desires, in order to giv selflessly.     

Teachers’ remaining career opportunities: The role of value fit and school climate

In light of an aging teacher population, this study investigates the influence of school climate and person-school (P-S) value fit on teachers' perspectives regarding their career futures. The results, based on a sample of 147 teachers, indicate that P-S value fit is positively associated with remaining career opportunities, over and above the negative effect of age. In addition, both climate for performance/academic press and climate for socialization affect teachers' future career perspectives through a P-S value fit mechanism. These findings imply that schools can enhance teachers’ perceived remaining career opportunities by creating strong school climates and improving perceived value fit.     

The role of child gender and ethnicity in teacher–child relationship quality and children's behavioral adjustment in preschool

The present study examined the role of child gender, child ethnicity, and teacher–child ethnic match in moderating the association between teacher–child relationship quality and children's classroom behavioral adjustment. The study was conducted using data from an ethnically diverse sample of 301 Head Start children and their teachers. Teacher–child conflict was found to be a stronger predictor of hostile–aggressive behavior for boys than girls. In contrast, teacher–child closeness was found to be more predictive of school competence for girls than boys. Similar patterns of association were found between teacher–child relationship quality and school behavioral adjustment for Non-Hispanic, white children and those of Mexican-origin. Results also revealed that teacher–child ethnic match did not moderate the association between teacher–child relationship quality and child behavioral adjustment.     

Comparison of value orientations of Quebec and American teachers: a cultural difference?

Given the active presence of the American culture in Canada, this study was conducted to compare priorities given to a set of value orientations by Quebec physical education (PE) teachers and their American counterparts to determine if value orientations are prioritized similarly in both cultures. Results show that Quebec PE teachers prioritized value orientations differently than their American colleagues, Quebeckers giving high priority to the subject matter and low priority to social skills while the opposite was true for their American colleagues who gave high priority to social skills and low priority to the subject matter.     

How cognitive,metacognitive, motivational and emotional self‐regulation influence school performance in adolescence and early adulthood

This contribution aims to examine how different areas of self‐regulation are related to academic achievement in adolescents and young adults. The study involved participants, drawn from following age groups: 14–15, 17–18 and 22–23. In order to get information about cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and emotional aspects of self‐regulation, self‐report questionnaires were used. Differences between age‐groups revealed following tendency: there has been a decrease in all fields of self‐regulation from age of 14 (end of primary school) to the age of about 18 years (end of secondary school), and then results slowly improved to the age of about 22 years (students of undergraduate studies). The results obtained are mirroring perceived competence of self‐regulation and differ from the results concerning metacognitive accuracy. Metacognitive self‐regulation persists as an important predictor of school achievement at all developmental levels, and the motivational self‐regulation has significant impact on performance in the first and second age group.