Slovak high school students' attitudes toward computers

The pervasive involvement of information and communication technologies and computers in our daily lives influences changes of attitude toward computers. We focused on finding these ecological effects in the differences in computer attitudes as a function of gender and age. A questionnaire with 34 Likert-type items was used in our research. The sample consisted of 659 students from 14 high schools, aged 15–19 years attending the first, the second, the third, and the fourth years of study. The results of the questionnaire were divided into the two dimensions of concrete computer enjoyment and computer anxiety. On the first dimension both younger students and girls have positive attitudes. On the second dimension both younger students and boys have more positive attitudes. Overall, girls have more positive attitudes than boys. This is interesting because in the existing literature there is evidence that boys have more positive attitudes toward computers than girls. Perhaps a change is taking place.     

Factors affecting the development of pupil attitudes toward school subjects

124 dissertation abstracts were reviewed to assess recent research concerning the study of factors which have an impact on pupil attitudes toward school subjects. The results of this review are discussed with research reported in journals to suggest that teacher attitudes and enthusiasm toward the subject and student related variables such as previous attitudes, parents, and self-concept may have a greater impact on attitude formation than instructional variables. Implications of this conclusion are pointed out.     

Middle school students’ attitudes toward physical education

The purpose of this study was to determine middle school students’ attitudes toward physical education using an attitude instrument grounded in attitude theory. In addition, this investigation also sought to ascertain if gender and grade level influence student attitudes toward the subject matter. Participants for this study were 995 students from grades 6 to 8. A previously validated attitude instrument based on a two-component view of attitude with scores that showed evidence of reliability and validity was used. Overall all students had moderately positive attitudes toward physical education. There was, however, a decline in attitude scores as students progressed in grade level. Higher grades had lower mean scores.     

Student attitudes toward cadaveric dissection at a UK medical school

A more humanistic approach toward dissection has emerged. However, student attitudes toward this approach are unknown and the influences on such attitudes are little understood. One hundred and fifty-six first-year medical students participated in a study examining firstly, attitudes toward the process of dissection and the personhood of the cadaver and secondly, the extent to which gender, anxiety, exposure to dissection, bereavement and prior experience of a dead body influenced these attitudes. Attitudes toward dissection were assessed by of levels of agreement toward eleven statements and by selection of adjectives describing possible feelings toward dissection. Students were asked about recent bereavement, whether they had seen a dead body prior to starting their course and exposure to dissection when completing the questionnaire. Validated instruments were used to measure disposition toward generalized anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and toward death anxiety (Collett-Lester Death Anxiety Scale). Between 60% and 94% of students held positive attitudes toward the process of dissection and over 70% of students selected 2 or fewer negative adjectives. Students' attitudes toward the personhood of the cadaver were more disparate. Disposition toward anxiety (particularly death anxiety), and exposure to dissection, influenced attitudes. Female gender and recent bereavement exerted a negative influence. Students with higher levels of anxiety experienced more negative feelings and those recently bereaved were less enthusiastic about dissection. Anticipation of dissection may be worse than reality. Sensitive preparation of students prior to entering the dissecting room for the first time may be beneficial.     

The attitudes of hong kong primary school principals toward integrated education

Positive attitudes of key stakeholders, such as school principals, towards a new policy are considered a necessary pre-requisite to implement any such policy. Hong Kong has recently formulated a policy that supports the integration of students with disabilities into regular schools. This study investigated the attitudes of Hong Kong primary school principals toward integration, with a view to determining if these school leaders are prepared to implement integrated education practices in their schools. A modified version of the School Principals’ Attitudes toward Inclusion scale (Bailey, 2004) was used to collect data from participants. Based on the responses of 130 primary school principals, it was found that their attitudes toward integration were slightly negative. Principals who had less teaching experience and who were administering schools with smaller student enrolment were found to hold more positive attitudes toward integration. The variable of “having a family member or close friend with a disability” had a significant and positive effect on the principals’ attitudes toward integration.     

Grade 10 Students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science

Grade 10 students' perceptions of classroom practices and activities, as well as their attitudes toward science teaching and school science, were assessed in the Westend School District (pseudonym) in British Columbia, using both quantitative (statistics of Likert-type scales) and qualitative (critical interpretive analysis of interview data) methods. The major findings of the study were that students do not appreciate the most prevailing contemporary practices in science classes, perceived by them as mainly the copying of the teacher's notes, and that they prefer science teaching and learning in which they take an active and responsible part. Additionally, teaching style appears to be the major determinant of high school students' attitudes toward science and science teaching. No change in students' perceptions of and attitudes toward science teaching and school science (in 1989 compared with 1986) could be detected in spite of the impact made by the recently advocated constructivist and science-technology-society (STS) approaches on science curriculum and science education. It is argued, therefore, that more emphasis must be placed on the science teachers' role and their teaching style if an educational change in the constructivist/STS direction is to be achieved.     

A study of urban middle school students with high and low attitudes toward science

Scientific literacy is essential to survive in this technological world, but it appears that scientific literacy is not of high priority for many students. This research project was undertaken to gather demographic data, intentions to engage in science, and attitudes of urban, middle school students. Scores on the Simpson-Troost Attitude Instrument were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System. Results indicate less than 50% of the students come from high-school-graduated parents who work full-time to support the family. Less than 50% of these students indicate any interest to engage in science at the high school level, yet many plan to enter a science-related career. A majority of the students possess an uncertain attitude toward their science teachers and science curricula. However, all possessed high achievement motivations, strong positive attitudes toward their families, and high self-concepts.     

中国城市和农村小学教师对融合教育态度的比较研究

This study investigated the attitudes of primary school teachers from the selected rural and urban areas in China toward inclusive education. The results indicated that, (1) teachers’ attitudes are composed of three dimensions: positive and negative effects of inclusion, and benefits of segregated special education; (2) most surveyed teachers demonstrated positive attitudes toward segregated special school education while supporting inclusion; (3) rural and urban teachers held significantly different attitudes toward inclusion, and urban teachers were more negative toward inclusion than rural ones; and (4) teachers’ attitudes were not essentially influenced by resources, teaching years or relevant special education training.      

Educators' perceptions and attitudes toward school counseling and student personnel services: A cultural perspective

This study was designed to survey and compare attitudes and perceptions toward school counseling and student personnel programs as held by educators in the Caribbean. The subjects in the study comprised 275 teachers and administrators employed in public and private junior and senior high schools in Nassau, Bahamas. The statistical tests used to analyze the data were the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and the Friedman two-way analysis for repeated measures. The findings indicate that administrators at all levels expressed significantly more favorable attitudes and perceptions toward counseling and student personnel programs in the schools than teachers. Teachers in the study expressed the following: (a) serious concern regarding the competency of practicing counselors in their schools; (b) a need for clarification of their role and function in the guidance process and a clarification of the counselor's role; and (c) minimum acceptable standards should be established for school counseling positions.

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Zusammenfassung Ziel dieses Berichts war es, die Haltungen und Wahrnehmungen von Erziehungswissenschaftlern in der Karibik gegenüber schulischer Beratung und Personalprogrammen für Schüler zu untersuchen und zu analysieren. Für den Bericht wurden 275 an öffentlichen und privaten Junior und Senior High School tätige Lehrern und Administratoren befragt. Um die Daten für die statistische Analyse zu gewinnen, wurden die Kruskal-Wallis Ein-Weg Varianzanalyse und die Friedman Zwei-Weg Analyse für wiederholte Maßnahmen angewandt. Die Befunde ergaben, daß Administratoren sämtlicher Stufen erheblich günstigere Haltungen und Wahrnehmungen gegenüber Beratungs- und Personalprogrammen für Schüler an den Schulen einnahmen als die Lehrer. In dem Bericht äußerten die Lehrer folgendes: (a) erhebliches Bedenken bezüglich der Kompetenz praktizierender Berater an ihren Schulen; (b) die Notwendigkeit sowohl ihre Rolle und Funktion in dem Beratungsprozeß als auch die Rolle des Beraters zu klären; (c) ein Minimum an annehmbaren Standards für Schulberatungspositionen sei festzustellen.

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Résumé Cette étude a été conçue pour examiner et comparer les jugements et les opinions enregistrés sur les conseils d'école et les programmes du personnel étudiant tels qu'ils sont organisés par les spécialistes de l'éducation aux Bahamas. Les sujets de cette étude ont fait appel à 275 enseignants et administrateurs employés dans les écoles d'enseignement secondaire et supérieur de Nassau aux Bahamas. L'analyse unidirectionnelle de variance de Kruskal et Wallis ainsi que l'analyse bidirectionnelle de Friedman pour mesures répétées ont été utilisées en tant que tests statistiques pour traiter les données. Les résultats montrent que les administrateurs ont exprimé à tous les niveaux des jugements et des opinions bien plus favorables que celles des enseignants au sujet des conseils et des programmes du personnel étudiant des écoles. Les enseignants interviewés dans le cadre de cette étude ont exprimé les points suivants: (a) un grand intérêt pour ce qui est de la compétence des conseillers en exercice dans leur école; (b) la nécessité de préciser leur rôle et leur fonction dans le processus d'orientation ainsi que le rôle du conseiller; et (c) des normes minimums acceptables doivent être fixées pour les postes des conseils d'école.

     

Student/teacher relations and attitudes toward mathematics before and after the transition to junior high school

In a longitudinal study of 1,301 students and the teachers they had for mathematics before and after the transition to junior high school, we assessed whether changes across the transition in students' perceptions of their teachers' supportiveness were related to changes in their valuing of mathematics. Using repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance, we found that when students moved from elementary teachers they perceived to be low in support to junior high teachers they perceived to be high in support, the intrinsic value of math was enhanced, while students who moved from teachers they perceived to be high in support to teachers they perceived to be low in support experienced a sharp decline in both the intrinsic value and perceived usefulness and importance of math. For students' perceptions of the usefulness and importance of math there was an interaction with achievement level. Math values decreased more sharply during the first year of junior high for low-achieving students who moved from more supportive to less supportive teachers than for high-achieving students who experienced the same change.