Performance-approach goals: the operationalization makes the difference

The operationalization of performance-approach goals (PAGs) was found to be an important moderator of the associations between different PAGs and several educational outcomes. To explore this aspect in more detail, we conducted two studies with school students (N₁ = 425, mean age = 16.6 years, SD = 0.61; N₂ = 310, mean age = 14.91, SD = 1.72). In study 1, we mainly focused on the associations between achievement goals and school grades. In study 2, we additionally assessed several motivational variables (academic self-concept, school values), as well as test anxiety and school well-being. All variables were assessed for school in general, mathematics, and German (mother tongue). The results of confirmatory factor analyses replicated and extended the finding on the different facets of PAGs. Besides a normative-based PAG component (the aim is to perform better than others) and an appearance-based PAG component (the aim is to demonstrate one’s ability), an additional proving PAG component (the aim is to demonstrate one’s ability toward significant others) was found. Contrary to earlier findings, both normative and appearance-based PAGs were positively correlated with school grades, whereas the proving component showed smaller associations. Moreover, differential associations with self-concept, school values, and school well-being emerged regarding the different facets of PAGs. The results are discussed with regard to the operationalization of PAGs.

     

Technology makes life better

There are many theories about the relationship between technology and society.With the development of world economy,technology has made great progress.However,many changes were taken place in our daily life,especially the appearance of computer.Sending emails,chatting with others online,search for information which is what we need to learn and many other demands in people’s daily life,computers make all of it into possibility.     

ICT implementation: what makes the difference?

This paper addresses the question of why some schools have managed to introduce widespread use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning across the curriculum, where other schools have had much less “success” in this matter. The issue is addressed through interpretive, case study research in a UK secondary school where almost all staff are now using ICT to enhance and extend learning in their subject areas. After setting the context, a summary of the methods used and an overview of the findings are presented. Whilst some of the findings are specific to the context, it is suggested that much can be learnt from the single case, both by practitioners seeking to develop ICT use and researchers interested in taking the subject forward in other contexts.     

Marginal funding: A difference that makes a difference?

This paper describes a model which allows for the assessment of alternative funding formulas for post-secondary educational systems. The first section of the paper present a rationale and identify the characteristics of what the authors label a practical planning model. The remainder of the paper describes the model and shows its application to a specific situation. The emphasis is on assessing the extent to which marginal funding proposals can offer a viable alternative to traditional linear enrollment driven formulas. Although the model operates at a statewide level of aggregation, it should also be beneficial to those interested in system and institutional resource allocation patterns in a period of declining enrollments.Presented at the Nineteenth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Diego, California, May 1979.     

English makes my life colorful

湖南省湘潭市熙春路逸夫小学的墙壁会说话。它用英语和图片向同学们展示出一个缤纷多彩的广阔世界。学校以感受英语的魅力为主题,开展多种多样的趣味活动。一个个美丽的英语单词,像一个个美妙的音符,在同学们心     

Situational specificity makes the difference in assessment of youth behavior disorders

In this article we examine the ability of contextual information to enhance assessment of behavior problems in schools. Capitalizing on the multisituational structure of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents, exploratory and confirmatory analyses with a representative national sample (N = 1,400, ages 5–17 years) revealed three unique and reliable behavioral situtypes (problems in Peer Contexts, Academic Contexts, and Teacher Contexts). The situtypes were found internally consistent and structurally generalizable across age, sex, and ethnicity. Multiple logistic and discriminant analyses confirmed the ability of the situtypes to identify accurately those youth independently diagnosed as emotionally disturbed, as well as distinguish those diagnosed as learning disabled. Information gleaned from the situtypes was substantially better able than conventional psychopathology syndromes (attention‐deficit hyperactivity, oppositional defiance, etc.) to forecast later academic achievement. Implications for informing motivation and intervention are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 121–136, 2005.     

Education makes a difference: Results of a survey of writing on the job

A survey of 182 employees participating in writing workshops reveals some differences in writing practices, based on the educational level of the employee, and suggests that employees with advanced degrees (e.g., master's or doctoral) vary most noticeably from the other groups. In particular, it seems that a large percentage of workers with graduate training write long reports, write to other experts in their field, and spend time revising. Additional research needs to be done on the impact of educational level on writing practices.     

From being silenced to having a voice: when mentoring makes all the difference

Higher Education - The 2010s witnessed unparalleled policymaking and development in international higher education in China. Whilst research has shed light on the broader...     

What a difference mentoring makes: service learning and engagement for college students

Colleges are increasingly interested in ways to better engage students in their academic careers. This article reports 20 college students' experiences as mentors for at‐risk fourth‐graders through a mentoring program called The Learning Connection (TLC), run by the Community Services Office at Moravian College. The study describes students' voluntary participation in service learning activities as a source of student engagement, the characteristics of the TLC mentoring program, the process by which student mentors reported their experiences over the course of the academic year, and the benefits of the mentoring program through the eyes of the college student mentors. At the beginning of the mentoring experience, mentors reported that the primary reasons for mentoring were to make a difference in a child's life and supplement classroom learning. At the end of the academic year, mentors reported that mentoring taught them important lessons about children, themselves, community work and the value of mentoring. Mentor feedback supports mentoring, specifically, and service learning, generally, as a source of student engagement for college students.     

Peer rejection and HPA activity in middle childhood: friendship makes a difference

Exclusion and victimization by classmates were related to levels and diurnal change in cortisol in 97 fourth graders (53% boys, M = 9.3 years). Number and quality of friendships were considered as moderators. Salivary cortisol was collected 5 times daily on 2 school days. Excluded children had elevated cortisol levels at school and a flattened diurnal cortisol curve, suggesting hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis dysregulation. This effect was weaker for children with more friends or better friendships. Victimization was not associated with cortisol level or change. The results demonstrate the role of HPA activity in peer group processes and indicate that group and dyadic factors interact in predicting stress in the peer group.     

Antiracism defined as equitable sociocultural interactions in prekindergarten: Classroom racial composition makes a difference

This study used secondary data from the My Teaching Partner-Math/Science 2013–2016 randomized control trial to explore whether equitable sociocultural classroom interactions (see Curenton et al., 2019) were associated with the skills of 105 four- and five-year-olds (52% boys; drawn from 20 unique video recordings of preschool teachers/classrooms; 43% were Black, Latine, Asian, or other racially marginalized learners). Equitable interactions predicted children's skills with effect sizes ranging from small (0.01–0.44) to large (1.00). Moderation analyses revealed that when classrooms had more racially marginalized learners, teachers’ use of equitable disciplinary and personalized learning practices were associated with higher executive functioning gains across prekindergarten. Findings illustrate how classroom composition can be a key indicator between equitable classroom interactions and young children's early skills.     

The effects of sleep restriction and extension on school-age children: what a difference an hour makes

This study assessed the effects of modest sleep restriction and extension on children's neurobehavioral functioning (NBF). The sleep of 77 children (age: M = 10.6 years; range = 9.1-12.2 years) was monitored for 5 nights with activity monitors. These children (39 boys and 38 girls) were all attending regular 4th- and 6th-grade classes. Their NBF was assessed using computerized tests on the 2nd day of their normal sleep schedule. On the 3rd evening, the children were asked to extend or restrict their sleep by an hour on the following 3 nights. Their NBF was reassessed on the 6th day following the experimental sleep manipulation. Sleep restriction led to improved sleep quality and to reduced reported alertness. The sleep manipulation led to significant differential effects on NBF measures. These effects may have significant developmental and clinical implications.     

从中美讣告文体的对比看两国生死观的差异

讣告是一种应用文体,承担了将死亡这一社会禁忌现象公诸于众的任务。本文通过对中美两国讣告的文体对比分析,揭示了造成两国讣告差异的根源——即生死观的差异。中国文化及美国文化对于死亡的态度分别源于中国传统儒家思想和美国基督教思想的影响。中国注重集体,美国突出个人。     

五十年来婚姻家庭中妇女地位的变化和面临的挑战

建国５０年来,中国妇女在婚姻家庭中的地位经历了两次变化,也面临着两次挑战。新中国的建立使广大妇女从封建的婚姻家庭中解脱出来,获得与同等的地位,却面临着家庭和社会责任的双重挑战,改革开放使广大妇女的实际地位又一次提高,但妇女重面临着提高自身素质的严峻挑战,它将直接关系到妇女的生存与发展。