Achievement goal orientations and academic well-being across the transition to upper secondary education

The aim of this study was to examine students' (N = 579) achievement goal orientation profiles, the temporal stability of these profiles across the transition to upper secondary education, and profile differences in academic well-being (i.e., school value, school burnout, schoolwork engagement, satisfaction with educational choice). By means of latent profile analysis, four groups of students with distinct motivational profiles were identified: indifferent, success-oriented, mastery-oriented, and avoidance-oriented. Motivational profiles were relatively stable across the transition; half of the students displayed identical profiles over time and most of the changes in the group memberships were directed towards neighboring groups. Regarding group differences, indifferent and avoidance-oriented students showed less adaptive patterns of motivation and academic well-being than did mastery- and success-oriented students. Both mastery- and success-oriented students were highly engaged in studying and found their schoolwork meaningful, although success-oriented students' stronger concerns with performance seemed to make them more vulnerable to school burnout.     

An education policy paradigm that fails upper secondary school pupils

In this article, we illustrate the creation of the education policy paradigm that constitutes the framework of vocational education and training (VET) programmes, and analyse local school representatives’ perception of VET in upper secondary schools in Sweden. The education policy paradigm, established through three periods of reform during the twentieth century, undervalues VET as being less worthy than general/academic education. This paradigm generates the rhetoric used by interviewed school representatives that encourages school pupils to choose the ‘right’ (academic) programmes in order to foster a specific citizenship competence, even if this competence is not fully compatible with labour market demands. Young people who cannot, or will not, attain the ‘right’ education, and thus the advocated citizenship competence, lose out in a school system where general/academic education and higher education preparatory programmes are consistently prioritised over VET. An educational system that advocates discrimination and suspicion of VET limits career options and restricts entry into the labour market, as well as risk stigmatising pupils undertaking VET; this paradigm is neither justified nor democratic.     

美国少数民族及移民语言政策的历史演变

目前,美国大约有270多个民族、使用着200多种语言。在美国历史上,政府对少数民族及移民的语言政策在不同的历史时期并不相同：南北战争之前,对英语以外的其他语言采取不干涉政策;种族隔离时期采取的是＂英语唯一合法＂政策;民权运动以后则是英语和其他少数民族语言合法共存的政策。     

Foreign language reading and spelling in gifted students with dyslexia in secondary education

A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language (FL) literacy of gifted students with dyslexia is higher than the literacy level of averagely intelligent students with dyslexia and whether this difference can be accounted for by the difference in their NL literacy level. The sample consisted of 148 Dutch native speaking secondary school students divided in four groups: dyslexia, gifted/dyslexia, typically developing (TD), and gifted. All students were assessed on word reading and orthographic knowledge in Dutch and English when they were in 7th or 8th grade. A subsample (n = 71) was (re)assessed on Dutch, English, French, and German literacy one year later. Results showed that Dutch gifted students with dyslexia have higher NL literacy levels than averagely intelligent students with dyslexia. As in the NL, a stepwise pattern of group differences was found for English word reading and spelling, i.e., dyslexia < gifted/dyslexia < TD < gifted. However, it was not found for French and German literacy performance. These results point towards compensation: the higher English literacy levels of gifted/dyslexic students compared to their averagely intelligent dyslexic peers result from mechanisms that are unique to English as a FL. Differences in results between FLs are discussed in terms of variation in orthographic transparency and exposure.     

Pre-university prepared students: a programme for facilitating the transition from secondary to tertiary education

The expectations of first-year students are becoming more widely researched and understood. How to realign perceptions and prepare students for the transition from secondary school to tertiary education is less well considered. This paper presents an account of a pre-university preparation programme embedded in the senior years of secondary education (10–12), launched initially in 16 Queensland schools, and expanding to over 50 schools with 447 students. The programme provides students with a scaffolded experience, introducing them to the realities of university life while building a connection to the university as an institution and developing relationships with transitioning peers. Qualitative data collected from 198 pre-university prepared students (PUPS) suggest that they have more realistic expectations of what university life is like, and feel better prepared to make the transition from secondary school to the tertiary environment. Further research ideas are considered to address attrition during/after the first year of university studies.     

关于培养中学生语言能力的探讨

在中学语言教学的内容与方式中，要体现“以人为本”的主导思想，要正确认识并恰当处理三种关系，即“人文”与“工具”的关系，“语言”与“思维”的关系，“知识”与“实践”的关系。文章建构了“以综合素质为基础，具有发展潜能的中学生语言能力训练系统”。     

Meaningful education for returning-to-school students in a comprehensive upper secondary school in Iceland

Dropout from upper secondary education in Iceland is higher than in the neighboring countries, but varied options to re-enter school have also been on offer. This article focuses on how students, who had returned to a selected upper secondary school after having quit in one or more other schools, benefited from an innovative pedagogical approach used in the school. The article draws upon interviews, in which the interviewees expressed their pleasure with the school, reporting three main assets of its pedagogy: firstly, a supportive school ethos and student–teacher relationships expressed by the ways in which teachers worked, and also in teachers’ views towards students; secondly, an online learning platform, used by all teachers, which the students could use to structure their studies; and thirdly, the use of formative assessment and no final end-of-term examinations. This pedagogy comprises a whole school approach, and the article concludes that such a school culture and practice enables teenagers and young adults to exercise their right to re-enter academic upper secondary education, which prepares for college, rather than directing them to an industry vocational or practical study program they take little or no interest in.     

Primary and secondary effects in the explanation of disadvantage in education: the children of immigrant families in France

This paper explores the prospective transition of immigrant and native students in France from lower to upper secondary school. Because they are more likely to be tracked to less prestigious (vocational) tracks, immigrant and immigrant‐origin students are significantly disadvantaged at this key academic stage in comparison with the children of native families. Primary and secondary sources of educational disadvantage are explored to explain this phenomenon. Primary effects appear to account for the entire initial disadvantage, while secondary effects could have a positive impact for immigrant‐origin students. Nonetheless, immigrant families appear to be more conservative than native families and may need stronger evidence that their children will succeed in upper secondary school.     

A longitudinal study of upper secondary school students’ values and beliefs regarding policy responses to climate change

Abstract

This article explores changes of environmental values and beliefs among secondary school business and economics students regarding government and market solutions to climate change. The quantitative study is longitudinal and a survey was administrated to students at two occasions including 212 participants in the first measurement. Results show a small significant increase in importance for altruistic, biospheric and egoistic value orientations at average. At an individual level, there are substantial movements over time. Nearly two-thirds of the students changed the strength of their value orientations over time. Taxes and legislation were regarded as the most effective solutions to climate change, however there was a decrease in seeing market prices as important mechanisms for change. Analysis suggested no direct relationship between change in environmental value orientation and change in norms. However indirect associations were mediated by changing beliefs in the efficacy of education and information and the efficacy of tax policies. For example, students who became more egoistic and more convinced about the efficacy of tax were less likely than others to be willing to take personal actions.     

Education policy and school segregation of migrant students in Catalonia: the politics of non-decision-making

This article shows how the Catalan government has not developed an agenda to tackle school segregation despite the growing number of migrant pupils who arrived over the course of the last decade. Education policy has explicitly disregarded the possibilities of improving the regulatory framework for tackling segregation; it has exercised insufficient control over the effective application of education regulations on the balanced schooling of pupils with specific educational needs; and it has taken decisions on education policy which have even accentuated school segregation. This article provides empirical evidence on the characteristics of school segregation in Catalonia and on the education policies developed by the Catalan government in the domain of the schooling of migrant pupils. The study illustrates how the absence of an explicit school desegregation policy is an example of the politics of non-decision-making and a case which clearly manifests the need to overcome behavioural analysis in policy decision-making.     

北京市中高等职业教育衔接问题的分析

通过对北京市中等职业教育和高等职业教育衔接现状的分析,指出当前衔接中存在的问题,并试图提出解决问题的若干对策。     

Diverging paths in upper secondary education: competence attainment among students with special educational needs

The main objective of specially adapted teaching in upper secondary education in Norway is to help students attain vocational or academic competence. However, a contested issue is whether it is conducive to place students with special educational needs in regular or special classes. Another question is whether boys and girls benefit to the same degree from placement in a specific type of class. The analyses presented in this article are based on data from a longitudinal study of nearly 500 adolescents with special educational needs who have been followed prospectively over 6 years. The results demonstrate that students receiving special support in regular classes obtain vocational or academic qualifications to a greater degree than students in special classes. In particular, girls benefit from placement in regular classes. This pattern does not change when the analyses control for relevant variables that are known to affect competence attainment, e.g. the students’ functional level registered at the start of upper secondary school.     

中学学校体育对中学生道德教育影响之我见

作者探讨当今中学学校体育在教学过程中对中学生道德教育的重要影响,这种影响具有两面性:正向性和负向性.通过查阅相关文献资料和对调查问卷进行分析思考,笔者对当今学校体育对中学生德育影响过程存在的相关问题及如何解决现存问题进行尝试性探讨.     

初等教育专业学生口语表达能力培养体系研究

运用《教师口语》全方位、多层次、高效率的开放式教学模式,构建初等教育专业学生口语表达能力训练课内外一体化训练体系,培养初等教育专业学生本口语表达能力,使初等教育专业的人才培养适应基础教育改革发展的需要。     

对中职学生德育教育的几点思考

当前中职学校学生的思想道德状况总体上看主流是好的,但由于受社会多种复杂因素的影响,部分中职学生心理素质脆弱,缺乏抗挫折教育和感恩意识。本文围绕营造良好的家庭环境、校园环境、社会环境等方面提出了对中职德育工作的几点的思考。     

中职语文教学中的审美教育分析

改革开放以来,我国的经济建设取得了重大发展成果。产业结构更加的科学、合理,高新技术产业逐渐成为经济发展的领跑者。中职作为培养技术型人才的重要场所,在当前经济发展背景下,已经逐渐走出了教育的低谷,焕发出第二次青春。但是,我们也不难发现,教师在教育过程中,对学生的专业基础以及实践能力培养格外关注,但是,在学生的审美教育中,却是有所忽视。这对于学生综合素质的提升造成了一定的阻碍。本文重点探索中职语文教学中的审美教育。     

Improving second language skills of immigrant students: A field trial study evaluating the effects of a summer learning program

Immigrant students’ school success is often hampered by limited second language (L2) proficiency, yet the effectiveness of different approaches to L2 support is unclear. Using a summer camp setting, we tested effects of (1) implicit support focusing on meaning of language by engaging students in language-intensive activities without drawing their attention to rules (operationalization: theatre program) and (2) combined implicit and explicit support focusing students’ attention on both meaning and form of language (operationalization: theatre program and instruction in German as L2). A baseline group received no support. N = 149 third-graders with German as L2 participated. There was no effect for the implicit condition on L2, yet children in the combined condition performed significantly better in grammar and reading after the treatment than the baseline group. The difference for vocabulary did not reach significance. Three months later, a significant effect for the combined condition was only found for reading.     

An investigation into the prevalence of ecological misconceptions in upper secondary students and implications for pre-service teacher education

Students’ and teachers’ misconceptions are an international concern among researchers in science education; they influence how students learn and teachers’ teach knowledge and are a hindrance in the acquisition of accurate knowledge. This paper reports on a literature synthesis of existing research about ecological misconceptions. One means of improving the application of misconceptions involves using diagnostic tests. These form an important component of a broader conceptual toolkit needed to teach science in conceptually accurate ways. Analysis of the results of a diagnostic test, completed by biology students and pre-service teachers in Ireland, revealed the presence of an unacceptably high level of misconceptions and uncovered flaws in students and teachers’ understanding of ecological concepts. A clear link was observed between the misconceptions present in pre-service teachers’ knowledge base and those dominant in students. In this regard, we discuss implications of these findings for teacher education, from pre-service to continuing education.