Validation of a self-perceived media competence instrument for pre-service teachers / Validación de un instrumento de autopercepción de competencia mediática para docentes en formación

Abstract

Key to guaranteeing the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and information is the development of media competence, particularly in schools. Training teachers in the area of media competence is particularly important for developing these skills in the broader citizenry. In order to provide educators and educational policymakers with a useful diagnostic tool, we have designed a self-perception questionnaire. The questionnaire was applied to a sample of Peruvian education students (N = 501). On the one hand, the results confirm the construct’s coherence, validity and instrumental reliability. On the other hand, they allow us to propose a theoretically based update to the way in which this construct is interpreted and applied, confirming the multidimensionality of media competence. Finally, we use this empirical evidence to discuss the integral, transversal and ecological status of media competence.     

The effects of combining simulations and laboratory experiments on Zimbabwean students’ conceptual understanding of electric circuits

ABSTRACT

Background

Information Communication Technologies are increasingly present in the African educational system at all educational levels. However, their integration into pedagogical practices to improve the quality of teaching and learning across disciplines remains the exception.     

Anti-bullying procedures for schools in Ireland: principals’ responses and perceptions

The role of the principal is imperative in creating a school climate that nurtures differences and equality at the same time. Policy and legislation in Ireland dictates the responsibility of school principals in preventing and intervening in issues relating to bullying. The current research investigates the extent to which principals consider the impact of bullying on their students and the strategies they take to combat it in their schools. We consider how principals respond to bullying and what supports they feel are missing for them to adhere to relevant policy. A sample of 918 principals from a range of schools across Ireland completed an online survey. The results demonstrated some positive actions by principals such as the provision of anti-bullying policies. However, they also document areas that need more action such as increased access to counsellors and appointing a specific staff member to deal with and tackle bullying in each school. Guidance from the Department of Education and Skills in Ireland on the development and provision of an anti-bullying programme is called for. Results are discussed in light of the current Anti-Bullying Procedures established by the Department of Education and Skills and the Action Plan for Bullying 2013.     

Effects of familiar and unfamiliar objects on mother-infant interaction

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the dynamics and structure of mother-child interactions around toys vary with the familiarity of toys. Twelve mother-child dyads with a 5- or 9-month-old infant were filmed two consecutive 5-minute sessions in the presence of familiar or novel objects. By relating the mother’s behaviour to her infant’s, we were able to define episodes consisting of phases of joint engagement of the two partners on the same topic or reference object. In a context involving familiar objects, mothers more often took the initiative to introduce a topic, and they kept the child’s attention focused on the object for longer periods, by means of various manipulations. In contrast, the attractiveness of the novelty gave the infants more initiative, and the mothers followed the child by providing mostly verbal support.     

Books and articles of academic interest

Books and articles of academic interest     

Mathematics in Physics Education: Scanning Historical Evolution of the Differential to Find a More Appropriate Model for Teaching Differential Calculus in Physics

Despite its frequent use, there is little understanding of the concept of differential among upper high school and undergraduate students of physics. As a first step to identify the origin of this situation and to revert it, we have done a historic and epistemological study aimed at clarifying the role and the meaning of the differential in physics and at improving curricular and teaching models in the sense of Gilbert et al. (Gilbert J.K., Boulter C., & Rutherford, M.: 1998a, International Journal of Science Education 20(1), 83–97, Gilbert J.K., Boulter C., & Rutherford, M.: 1998b, International Journal of Science Education 20(2), 187–203). We describe the contributions of Leibniz and Cauchy and stress their shortcomings, which are overcome by the alternative definition proposed by the French mathematician Fréchet, dating from early 20th century. As a result of this study, we answer to some fundamental questions related to a proper understanding of the differential in physics education (for 17–19 years old students).     

A women's scientific society in the west. The late eighteenth-century assimilation of science

The Natuurkundig Genootschap der Dames (Women's Society for Natural Knowledge), formally established by and for women, met regularly from 1785 to 1881 and sporadically until 1887. It challenges our stereotypes both of women and the physical sciences during the eighteenth century and of the intellectual interests open to women in the early European republics. This essay aims not simply to identify the society and its members but to describe their pursuits and consider what their story adds to the history of Western science. What does this society's existence tell us about the relationship between women and early science in general and about science and society in the Dutch setting in particular? Science and gender look rather different when observed through the activities of the immensely prosperous women of Middelburg, citizens of one of the most highly literate Western countries. The elite lives of the first-generation members of the women's society also offer us a glimpse into the early domestication of science, a process vital to its acceptance and assimilation.