Zur Erklärung der Teilnahme an hochschuldidaktischer Weiterbildung

In recent years, the need for didactic training in the field of higher education has become a focus of education policy. According to empirical evidence, however, only some of the university teaching staff participate in training opportunities. So far, only little empirical research has been undertaken to investigate the determinants of training intention in the area of university didactics. This article applies Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB), for the first time, to this specific context and highlights the importance of perceived behavioral control and attitude in explaining training intention. For subjective norm, however, no direct effect could be found. In addition to the TPB predictors, direct and indirect effects of previous training participation on intention as well as the effect of training context on perceived behavioral control were assessed. Adding past behavior to the model resulted in a direct effect on intention and an increase of explained variance. With regard to the question of the sufficiency of the TPB, possible explanations are discussed.     

Undergraduate plagiarism: a pedagogical perspective

Student plagiarism is a pervasive and increasing problem at all levels of study in tertiary institutions. This study attempted explicitly and implicitly to address issues of plagiarism within the broad context of an academic writing framework in tutorials in a first‐year module at the University of KwaZulu‐Natal in South Africa. Despite these interventions, a quarter of the students were judged to have plagiarised in an essay assignment. The study revealed little deliberate intention to deceive but instead poor understanding of both technical matters such as correct referencing norms that had been addressed in the module and higher‐order issues such as writing as process, knowledge as constructed and the establishment of authorial voice through language and referencing. Lack of real engagement with plagiarism and referencing issues was also a problem, with certain groups of students being more at risk in terms of committing plagiarism than others. It is argued that, particularly in a demographically diverse society, acquiring values, attitudes, norms, beliefs and practices that help prevent plagiarism should be viewed as a long‐term and iterative process.     

From democratic school to civic and political participation / De la escuela democrática a la participación política y ciudadana

The aim of this article is to study the possible influence that exercising a representative role at school may have on secondary school students’ willingness to participate politically in society. In order to do this, an analysis was carried out of the answers given by 300 students between 13 and 18 years old, from a school with marked democratic practices, when asked about their experience of democracy at school and their intention to participate politically. The results show that students’ willingness to participate in society by means of conventional actions, such as voting, does not depend directly on whether they have exercised a representative role at school. However, non-conventional actions, such as attending demonstrations or supporting boycotts, does have a meaningful relation with the exercise of representative roles in the school. As a conclusion, we highlight that participating in the representation of the school influences the democratic formation of students and their willingness to participate politically in society, although this influence is more closely related to non-conventional actions, such as strikes, boycotts and demonstrations.     

The intention to leave education early among Irish Junior Certificate Students: Variation by school

Early school-leaving imposes costs on the individual and society, and is linked to factors including gender, family income and parental education, community deprivation, and academic history. In Ireland, the role of the school in shaping patterns of early school-leaving is unclear. Employing the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) from social psychology, variation by school among Junior Certificate students in the intention to leave early was assessed, along with characteristics of the individual school and its students. Twenty Irish second-level schools were selected by systematic random sampling. All students in Junior Certificate year were asked to participate, of whom 68.84% (1131) did. Participants completed a questionnaire on intention to drop out of school, three components of the TPB in relation to school completion, demographic details, and academic results. There was evidence of a within-school culture or group representation of the value of education shaping the students’ intentions around school completion.     

Implicit STEM ability beliefs predict secondary school students' STEM self-efficacy beliefs and their intention to opt for a STEM field career

Despite the widely accepted view that low self-efficacy beliefs negatively influence students' intention to opt for a STEM field oriented study or career path, it remains unclear how to effectively stimulate these beliefs in students who do seem to have the ability and motivation to opt for a STEM career. A suggestion from previous literature is that students' implicit beliefs about the malleability of their learning ability can have a major impact on their self-efficacy beliefs, and, importantly, that these implicit beliefs are malleable themselves. Even though this relation between implicit beliefs, self-efficacy, and STEM field aspirations has been suggested multiple times, there is no empirical evidence to support this claim. The goal of the current study was to examine whether implicit beliefs about the malleability of STEM ability are associated with secondary school students' intention to opt for a STEM field bachelor's degree, using a Structural Equation Modelling approach. Furthermore, we examined the mediating role of STEM-oriented self-efficacy beliefs on the relationship between implicit ability beliefs and STEM intention. We used a Likert-type questionnaire, consisting of subscales to measure ability beliefs, self-efficacy, and intention to opt for a STEM degree of secondary school students in their fifth grade (n = 483). Results showed that there is a positive relation between implicit STEM ability beliefs and the intention to opt for a STEM field bachelor degree, and that this relation is partly mediated by self-efficacy beliefs. Incremental STEM ability beliefs predicted positive self-efficacy beliefs and increased STEM intention. These findings provide a foundation for a novel approach to stimulate and motivate students for the STEM field, namely by stimulating incremental beliefs about their STEM ability.     

Teaching Practice of Physical Education Teachers for Students with Special Needs: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

This study examines the teaching behavior of physical education (PE) teachers in teaching students with special needs and the factors that determine their teaching behaviour. An extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was utilised as the theoretical framework. Three secondary and two high school PE teachers participated in the study. Data collection consisted of systematic and non-participant observations of teaching behaviour of PE teachers, as well as semi-structured interviews on the factors that determine their behaviours. Results revealed that four of five participants interacted more verbally and less physically with students with special needs. Peer partners were used to enhance the learning of students with special needs. Only two teachers modified their instruction and equipment for students with special needs. Sometimes, teachers excluded this group of students from cooperative activities. Extended TPB components, including attitude, moral norm, affective beliefs, social norm, and perceived behaviour control, were identified to determine the intention of PE teachers to teach students with special needs and their inclusive teaching practice. The study has important implications for policy and practice of inclusive PE.     

Teachers' Beliefs and Self-Reported Use of Inquiry in Science Education in Public Primary Schools

This paper describes Ecuadorian in-service teachers and their science teaching practices in public primary schools. We wanted to find out to what extent teachers implement inquiry activities in science teaching, the level of support they provide, and what type of inquiry they implement. Four questionnaires applied to 173 teachers resulted in the identification of high context beliefs and moderately high self-efficacy beliefs. Teachers declared to implement activities mostly to develop understanding of the material, as contrast to actual manipulation of data and/or coming to conclusions. They adopt rather a strictly guided approach in contrast to giving autonomy to learners to work on their own. Finally, teachers keep control with regard to question formulation and choice in solution procedures, which constrains the development of real inquiry. When comparing teacher beliefs, we found that teachers' context beliefs make a difference in the level of support that teachers provide to their students. Teachers with lower context beliefs ask students to perform inquiry activities on their own to a lesser extent when compared with teachers with higher context beliefs. This implies that further research on the implementation of inquiry in science teaching should take into account teachers' differences in their context beliefs. We also found out that the use of high or low support in inquiry activities remained the same for teachers with either higher or lower self-efficacy beliefs.     

Czech students and mitigation of global warming: beliefs and willingness to take action

Abstract

The future life-styles and pro-environmental behaviour of today’s younger students will be a cardinal factor in mitigating the severity of projected climate change. In this study, Czech students at upper-primary and secondary-school levels responded to a set of covertly paired statements designed to assess their beliefs concerning the usefulness of actions that might ameliorate global warming and the degree to which they are willing to act. Relations between their beliefs and willingness to act were assessed by means of an index of Potential Effectiveness of Education (PEE). The results show that Czech students are generally sceptical about the usefulness of the actions suggested and are among the less willing, in a wider international context, to participate in actual processes that might ameliorate global warming. However, Czech secondary-school students, particularly females, are significantly more willing to act than upper-primary students. Although relatively high PEE values were observed, Czech students tend to underestimate the role of personal consumption and male students in particular are not willing to take actions that involve no immediate personal benefit. Our results thus emphasize the importance of adjusting school curricula by promoting insight into the topic of global warming, and extending that understanding into practical measures.     

Predictors of primary schoolteachers’ behavioural intention to teach students demonstrating inappropriate behaviour in regular classrooms

This study examined the relationships between primary schoolteachers’ attitudes, efficacy beliefs and perceived support and their behavioural intentions in regard to teaching students who display inappropriate behaviour in regular classrooms. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used to guide the conceptual framework of the study. A total of 1090 teachers from 263 government primary schools located in urban, suburban and rural areas of one educational region of Bangladesh were surveyed. Hierarchical regression was utilized to analyse data. Results revealed that attitudes and efficacy beliefs were significant predictors of teachers’ behavioural intentions in teaching students who exhibit inappropriate behaviour. The three predictive variables (attitudes, efficacy beliefs and perceived support) accounted for 59% of the variance in teachers’ intentions. The findings of the study indicate possible implications for policymakers and teacher educators in Bangladesh.     

Classroom and School Predictors of Civic Engagement Among Black and Latino Middle School Youth

This study used short‐term longitudinal data to examine the contributions of democratic teaching practices (e.g., the Developmental Designs approach) and equitable school climate to civic engagement attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors among 515 Black and Latino middle school students (47.9% male). Concurrent experiences of democratic homeroom and classroom practices, and equitable school climate were associated with higher scores on each civic engagement component. The relation between classroom practices and civic attitudes was more robust when school climate was seen as more equitable. Longitudinally, homeroom practices and equitable school climate predicted higher civic attitudes 1 year later. Discussion focuses on civic attitudes and future research on school experiences that support civic engagement among youth of color.     

The Role of Emotion in Informal Science Learning: Testing an Exploratory Model

Although there is substantial research on the effect of emotions on educational outcomes in the classroom, relatively little is known about how emotion affects learning in informal science contexts. We examined the role of emotion in the context of an informal science learning experience by utilizing a path model to investigate the relationships among emotional arousal, valence, attention, environmental values and learning outcomes. Sixty undergraduate and graduate students participated in one of two treatments consisting of watching an exciting or neutral nature documentary video, reading an associated narrative, and taking a post‐test. Our findings suggested that higher emotional arousal, less pleasant feelings about the content, and stronger environmental values led to greater short‐term learning outcomes. We discuss our findings in relation to current understandings of emotion and learning in informal science education settings.     

(Re)Producing Mathematics Educators: A sociological perspective

Whilst participation in higher education has increased dramatically over the last two decades, many universities are only now beginning to pay more attention to the learning experiences of first year students. It is important for universities to understand how first year students conceive of learning and knowing in order to promote effective approaches to learning. Even though an extensive body of research demonstrates that beliefs about learning and knowing influence student approaches to learning and learning outcomes, there has been no Australian research that has investigated this critical learner characteristic across first year university students. This paper reports on preliminary data from an ongoing longitudinal study designed to investigate first year students’ beliefs about knowing and learning (epistemological beliefs). Students from teacher education and creative industry faculties in two Australian universities completed the Epistemological Beliefs Survey (EBS) in the first week of their first semester of study. A series of one‐way ANOVA using key demographics as independent variables and the EBS factor scores as dependent variables showed that epistemological beliefs were related to the course of study, previous post‐school education experience, family experience at university, gender, and age. These data help us to understand students’ beliefs about learning and knowing with a view to informing effective learning in higher education.     

The art and science of education

This is the third of four essays discussing John Dewey's short essay, ‘Education as engineering’, placing the essay into its historical context while also hinting at contemporary connections. This essay aims to show that one must not take the term ‘engineering’ in a narrow, technical sense. Dewey was concerned with how the beliefs and values of unreflective, customary thinking about education not only controls and limits and serious educational reform, but also the patterns of educational research carryied out. Because all inquiry is theory and value‐laden, ‘objectivity’ in educational research depends on acknowledging the beliefs and values that are assumed in inquiry.     

Outcomes of a curriculum‐based anti‐bullying intervention program on students' attitudes and behavior

The aim of this paper was to examine the short‐term and long‐term effects of a curriculum‐based anti‐bullying intervention program on students' attitudes towards bullying, intentions to intervene in bully–victim problems, perceived efficacy of intervening and actual intervening behavior. The intervention program was applied in primary schools and was implemented by trained teachers within the classroom context. The sample consisted of 454 pupils drawn from fourth to sixth grade classrooms of 10 primary schools in central Greece. A quasi‐experimental pre‐test/post‐test design was used. The findings indicate positive short‐term program outcomes concerning students' attitudes towards bullies and victims, perceived efficacy of intervening in bully–victim incidents and actual rates of intervening behavior. However, the magnitude of the program effects was quite small, since the positive short‐term outcomes were not sustained in the long‐term (post‐test two measures). The results of the study also indicated clear time effects for attitudes towards bullies and victims, self‐efficacy of intervening and intention, as well as actual intervening behavior. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for anti‐bullying interventions.     

计划行为理论（TPB）在消费行为意向研究中的应用

计划行为理论（TPB）被认为是社会心理学中最著名的态度行为关系理论,在国外已被广泛应用于多个行为领域的研究。文章以TPB为出发点,对其在消费行为意向研究中的适用性进行探讨,并对具体应用进行介绍,最后对其应用进行评价。     

Using the theory of planned behaviour to develop a questionnaire on teachers' beliefs about teaching cancer education

This study explored methodological challenges related to eliciting and assessing teachers’ beliefs about teaching cancer education. We aimed to develop reliable belief scales, a methodological innovation in the context of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), as single belief items are typically used as predictors for direct measures. The expectancy-value product proved useful for identifying categories of teachers’ beliefs about cancer education. Six reliable belief scales emerged, for example, control beliefs about external emotional and non-emotional inhibitors and internal facilitators. We also discuss methodological issues related to eliciting beliefs and forming reliable belief scales.     

Students’ intention to take online courses in high school: A structural equation model of causality and determinants

Offering an online integrated high-school course or subject for the first time involves many challenges. Better understanding the factors that affect students’ willingness to participate in the experience could provide support for better implementation of such a strategic initiative. In addition, it is important to understand how personal factors can influence the success of such an endeavour. This study develops a comprehensive structural equation model that captures most causal factors related to offering a high-school course online for the first time. A sample of public and private secondary school students (Grades 10, 11 and 12) in Abu Dhabi were administered an online survey regarding offering free online courses. The instrument was reviewed by other experts in curriculum, information technology and teaching and learning. The final instrument contained dimensions related to student perception of ease of use of e-learning, usefulness, self-efficacy, skills, style, student self-reported performance in certain subjects, use of social media, school support, teacher support, general support, access to the internet, and preferences behavioural intentions to use e-learning. The analysis provides a structural equation model with acceptable statistical fits and with many significant causal relationships. The paths representing direct and indirect effects of the construct predictors on intention to use provided statistical evidence of the validity of the 13 component predictors. Results show significant links between intention to use e-learning, perception of easiness, perception of usefulness, and other factors such as user characteristics and support. Use of social network affect intention to use e-learning indirectly thorough other variables. Limitations and implications of the study in general and as it concerns Abu Dhabi are highlighted.     

Teachers' beliefs about students,and the intention of students to drop out of secondary education in Flanders

Students dropping out of education with no qualifications has been an important problem in the West for decades. Little relevant research has concentrated on school characteristics, and research into the role teachers might play in students' decision to quit school is particularly scarce. Using multilevel analyses of data for 11,844 students in 84 Flemish secondary schools, we investigate whether teachers' shared expectations of students are associated with students' intention to drop out. Particularly in vocational education, teachers' beliefs about the teachability of students influence the students' intention to quit, irrespective of perceived teacher support and students' sense of futility.     

TEACHING AGING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: RESULTS OF AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

A survey of 500 public school teachers in Texas was conducted to determine the extent to which aging content is incorporated into curricula. Results show that very few teachers (3.6%) make specific provision for teaching about aging. Almost one‐half of the teachers who indicated they did not teach about aging stated they would include this area in their curricula if instructional materials were available. Most of the teachers (68%) indicated their willingness to participate in short‐term inservice training to better prepare themselves to teach about aging. From the results of this study it appears that educational gerontology has far to go in the direction of “gerontologizing” public schools at all levels. Yet the willingness of teachers to learn more about this important curriculum area is encouraging.