What makes a good educator? The relevance of meta programmes

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study which explores the relevance of meta programmes to students' perceptions of teaching quality. Meta programmes are a model of personality preferences from the discipline of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). Research into teaching effectiveness indicates that students rate as important ‘hygiene factors’ such as the teacher's ‘knowledge of the subject’ as well as less tangible qualities including ‘ability to communicate’ and ‘student–teacher rapport’. This study reveals the need for similar qualities but, in some cases, presence of these ‘hygiene factors’ was insufficient; students cited other factors related to personality. Some students were found to like the approach of certain teachers whilst other students rated the same teachers less favourably. When questioned as to why, factors emerged that relate to the distinct teaching style adopted by these teachers that appeared to suit particular students and not others. This study suggests that a teacher's meta programmes influence the approaches adopted in their teaching and these styles suit students with matching meta programme preferences. Where students have different meta programme preferences from the teacher, then, even where the ‘hygiene factors’ are met, this leaves the student dissatisfied. There is potential for teachers to adopt teaching approaches more appropriate for the meta programme profiles of their students. Also, on the part of the students, an increased awareness of their meta programme preferences offers the potential to improve their learning experience.     

Cultural factors influencing Eastern and Western engineering students’ choice of university

Insight into factors that affect students’ choice of university is useful when designing study programmes, especially in global competition for students. This study focuses on Taiwanese and Norwegian students’ preferences for university, study programme, course qualities and future career qualities. Hofstede's model was used to predict culture-related differences. A pair-wise decision questionnaire was used to conduct measurements. Cultural differences were observed in relation to choice of university, course qualities and future careers. Discipline of study had only minor impact on students’ preferences. The results suggest that a career-relevant curriculum is culture-neutral. Moreover, personal advice is the most preferred factor among Taiwanese students when choosing university.     

Disrupting the 'boys don't read' discourse: Primary school boys who love reading fiction

This article disrupts dominant discourses around boys and reading that often homogenise young males as reluctant, disengaged and, at times, adversarial readers. Rather than essentialising boys, we argue there is a need for a more sophisticated knowledge base about the influences, constraints and diverse experiences of boys as readers in society today. Drawing on interviews (n = 30) with Year 4 (8 to 9-year-old) boys at six schools, we consider their personal recounts of their enjoyment in reading, their preferred reading choices and narratives related to their experiences as readers at school. Analysis highlights boys' emerging reading interests, sophisticated and specific reading preferences, and changes in reading identities over time. Boys' preferences for particular fiction authors, novel series and genres dispute the common assumption in educational contexts that boys prefer to engage with non-fiction books. This finding is significant, as negative gendered stereotypes can impact on boys' reading self-concepts. It is also critical given Jerrim and Moss's recent research highlighting the importance of fiction in the development of reading skills. We consider implications for pedagogical practices that broaden reading experiences for the diversity of emerging masculine reading identities in nations such as Australia, where there is an absence of reading for pleasure in education policies.     

College Students' Preferences for Psychotherapy Across Depression,Anxiety, Relationship,and Academic Problems

The present study examined differences in college students' preferences for processes of change across four kinds of problems: academic, relationship, depression, and anxiety. Two hundred eighteen undergraduates were randomly assigned to complete either an academic problems, relationship problems, depression, or anxiety Processes of Change Questionnaire along with the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Services Scale. Results revealed significant differences for preferred processes of change as a function of problem type. Generally, processes of change were more preferred for depression, anxiety, and relationship problems than for academic problems. Results may assist clinicians in selecting psychotherapeutic interventions to which college students will be most receptive.     

On the distributional impact of public education: evidence from Greece

Household budget survey data and public budget consolidated data for 1987/88 are combined to yield a non-estimation based measure of the benefit of public education outlays in Greece. As expected for a country where education services are provided free of charge and the role of private education is limited, transfers in the fields of primary and secondary education contribute strongly to a decline in inequality. The distributional impact of tertiary education subsidies is shown to be negligible, although indirect evidence suggests that this could well be regressive. [JEL I21, D31]     

Online measurement of academic programme preferences for distance learners in Hong Kong

The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of the first online self-directed inventory on the measurement of academic programme preferences (MAPP) for potential students at the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). In this study, trait-factor theory and personality type theory were employed. 1,963 respondents in Hong Kong were surveyed using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. The inventory, consisting of 132 items, was developed and eight personal attributes were found: Influential, Enterprising, Social, Helping, Explorative, Technological, Logical, and Reflective. The minimum desirability of each of these attributes for all programmes offered at the OUHK was assessed by course administrators. Students' ratings on the eight personal attributes were evaluated against the minimum ratings, based on a nine-point scale, to determine their academic preferences. A computer-assisted multidimensional MAPP was set up online in both English and Chinese and was linked to the University's homepage. By completing the MAPP online, distance learners could obtain their personal profiles and a list of suggested OUHK programmes instantaneously. Connected to the University's aim to foster lifelong learning, the MAPP is expected to ease the academic selection process and reduce the number of dropouts by enhancing students' success with their chosen programmes.     

Teacher education budget cuts in Romania and the US: points of contrast and comparison

Background

Budgets for teacher education programmes have been substantially reduced as a result of the global economic crisis.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare the teacher education budget cutting processes and procedures for universities in Romania versus one university in the United States.

Sample

The data were collected from six Romanian universities that all have teacher education programmes. These universities represent the range of higher education quality in the country as indicated by their publication rates. Data from these universities were compared with those from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). UNR is the flagship university in the Nevada System of Higher Education, and Nevada has been harder hit by the recent global economic crisis than any other state in the United States and cuts to teacher education there have been substantial.

Design and methods

Data about the budget cutting processes and decisions in the teacher education programmes of six Romanian universities were collected through an electronic survey. These data were compared with the processes and decisions made at the UNR.

Results

The budget cutting processes in Romania were less transparent, and involved less input from stakeholders such as faculty and staff. Most decisions were made at a higher level of authority in Romania, and cuts in Romania were more likely to be across the board rather than more strategically targeted as they were in Nevada.

Conclusions

These differences are discussed in terms of the historical legacy of structures and policies in Romania, and the resistance to reform inherent in those structures and policies.     

Can teachers predict their students' wait time preferences?

The study examined students' preferences for wait times of 3 seconds versus .9 second, teachers' ability to accurately predict their students' preferences, and the reasons both groups of participants gave for their choices. Thirty-five middle school science classes watched two versions of a videotaped science review lesson. The versions differed only in length of time the teacher paused after questions before she called on students to respond. When asked which version would produce more learning and when asked which version they preferred (after being told how the two versions differed), significantly more students chose the one with the longer wait time. Significantly more teachers predicted these choices accurately than inaccurately. Students identified think time, time use, teacher helpfulness, and topic ease as reasons for their choices.     

香港“大学联合招生办法”及其启示

本文介绍了香港中学生进入大学的途径、香港“大学联合招生办法”及其运作机制。比较了两种不同的派位理念及派位方法,以说明香港采用的考生优先的派位方法。最后归纳了香港“大学联合招生办法”的两点启示招生规则比大学自主权重要,考生意愿比大学意愿优先。     

Interaction between examination type,anxiety state,and academic achievement in college science; an action-oriented research

The trait anxiety profile of future science teachers, as well as their preferences concerning types of examinations in science and mathematics, have been surveyed prior to the administration—within the various science courses—of several traditional and nontraditional types of examinations and the assessment of students' state anxieties as well as their respective performance, i.e., their academic achievements. Our major findings are that

• (a) Our students prefer by far examinations in which the emphasis is on understanding and analyzing rather than on knowing and “remembering,” that the use of any relevant material during the examinations be permitted, and that the time duration be practically unlimited (e.g., “take-home”–type examinations).
• (b) Students' state anxiety correlates with the type of the examination, with a tendency towards somewhat higher anxiety for females. The preferred types of examinations reduce test anxiety significantly, and result in higher grades accordingly.
• (c) The reduction of anxiety and the improvement in achievements as a function of the examination type are far more significant for low achievers compared with medium and high achievers.
• (d) Although teachers are aware of the student preferences, they persist in giving their students their own “pet”-type examinations.

These results are discussed in terms of the implications for upgrading both science education and college student testing and assessment mechanisms.     

高成本背景下河南农业投资问题分析

增加农民收入是解决“三农”问题的关键,对于保持我国经济“又好又快”的发展也具有重要意义。2008年以来河南主要农资产品价格持续大幅度上涨,直接拉动粮食生产成本的攀升,导致粮食亩均收益率下降,农业生产出现农民“增投不增收、增产不增收”的奇怪现象。河南虽然采取了以农业补贴为主的强农惠农措施,以缓解农业生产成本上升的压力,但并非根本解决之策。农业成本问题的深层解决,在于拓宽投入渠道的同时,注重投入质量。既要优化物质资本投资结构,也要加强对人力资本的投资。     

Effects of Supervisors' Sex,Focus, and Experience on Preferences for Interpersonal Power Bases

The authors examined the effects that supervisor's sex, amount of supervisory experience, and supervisory focus had on preferences for the referent, expert, and legitimate power bases. Supervisors from seven counseling center training programs (20 women, 36 men) rated the utility of responses reflecting each power base in enhancing the professional development of a female trainee. Results indicated that men preferred the referent power base to a greater extent than did women and that supervisors with relatively little experience preferred the referent power base to a greater extent than did supervisors with more experience. Supervisors who focused on trainee self-awareness preferred the expert power base to a greater extent than did supervisors who focused on the trainees' conceptualization skills. Significant differences were not found in the preferences for the legitimate power base. Results were discussed in terms of differences between counseling and supervisory-relationships and the characteristics of each power base.     

The assessment of practical work in school science

In this paper we provide an overview of the literature on understandings of drop out/opt out from science, technology and mathematics (STM) higher education programmes. After outlining the literature on students leaving higher education programmes in general, we then explore the research on drop out/opt out from STM programmes in particular, with an emphasis on research since 2000. We show that most of the research focuses on overcoming deficits in students' prior knowledge, but that a more specific focus on identities as an analytical framework for understanding young people leaving STM higher education programmes is also emerging. We show that it is important to shift from considering drop out as an individual problem for the student to regard it as a feature of the relationship between students and their study programmes. In the same way, measures to increase retention rates must shift from focusing on individual student adaptation to studies addressing institutional change. However, this change is difficult since it is entwined with fundamental conceptions of science and teaching.     

Science teachers’ perceptions of the appeal of science subjects to boys and girls

Science teachers’ perceptions of the type of subject that appeals to 14 year old pupils were investigated using bi‐polar semantic differential rating scales. It was found that science teachers believe that boys and girls prefer significantly different subject characteristics. Teachers’ beliefs about the subject characteristics preferred by boys are closer to the perceived characteristics of school science, as judged on the same semantic differential scales, than is the case for girls. Teachers perceive the characteristics of school science to be much less attractive to girls. A comparison between the responses from groups of science teachers and pupils revealed that teachers believe that boys’ and girls’ preferences for subject characteristics are more dissimilar than they actually are. Girls’ preferences are closer to those of boys and to the characteristics associated with school science than teachers realize.     

The Development of a New Measure of Pupils' Self-Esteem in Singapore Secondary Schools

This article is a brief account of the development of a new measure of pupils' self-esteem for use in Singapore's secondary schools. The new measure named “Self-Esteem Checklist” (SEC), is a self-reporting instrument comprising 25 items grouped under 4 subscales. It has been pilot tested twice (in September 1986 and March 1987), before the main study was conducted in May, 1987. The findings of the second pilot study and main study yield support to the validity and reliability of the SEC, and its correlation with pupils' academic achievement. This instrument, when used with proper guidance, may facilitate teacher-counsellors' understanding of pupils' self-esteem, and help pupils know more about themselves, in the pastoral care as well as career guidance programmes.     

Science choices and preferences of middle and secondary school students in Utah

This research sought to answer two questions: (1) What are Utah junior and senior high school students' preferences and choices regarding science subjects? (2) Could preferences and choices be related to the type of school, age or gender? Two thousand students from grades six through twelve participated in this study. Findings show that zoology and human anatomy and physiology were most preferred. Ecology was least prefered. Topics in the physical sciences were also low. There was a trend among girls to prefer natural sciences such as botany while boys tended to prefer the physical sciences. Generally, students' choices were limited to those subjects presently taught in the formal school curriculum. They appeared unaware of the many science related subjects outside the texts or the approved course of study.     

Using affordances and constraints to evaluate the use of information and communications technology in teaching and learning

Abstract

Evaluating the nature and extent of the influence of information and communications technology (ICT) on the quality of learning is highly problematic, owing to the number and complexity of interacting variables involved in settings for teaching and learning. Yet, for those responsible for allocating large sums of money to the development of ICT in education, it is important to identify, characterise, measure and model more precisely the features and processes through which technology impacts upon teaching and learning activities. This article offers a framework for analysing the effects of ICT in combination with the other factors which may enhance or ameliorate the positive impact of ICT in the classroom and beyond. This framework is applicable to different levels of evaluation, including large scale curriculum development programmes, curriculum and pedagogical change in particular schools, and individual teachers' planning and reflection. Its use in evaluating new ICT-based teaching approaches at classroom level is illustrated and analysed in the context of an in-service teacher education programme in the United Kingdom, and suggestions are made concerning the development of evaluation tools based on the framework     

Learning Styles and Student Experience in Management Courses

Two learning style instruments ‐‐ Kolb's and Fox's were administered to students and staff at an Australian CAE. Only Fox's instruments were reasonably reliable over time, and some factors in both instruments measured were correlated. In addition, measured factors did not correlate usefully with preferences for education methods, preferences for academic subjects, easiness of those subjects, achievement in those subjects, staff discipline, years of study, age or salary. Although Fox's instrument is preferred to Kolb's, the usefulness of the instruments to educators appears to be limited.