Multiple perspectives on the targets and causes of school bullying

Clarification of how individuals in different roles perceive the victims and causes of bullying is of great importance to educational research and practice. The present study aimed to investigate the opinions of individuals in different roles (bullies, victims, bystanders, educators) regarding the targets and causes of bullying and to identify differences among various perspectives. A total of 1558 participants from 77 secondary schools in Taiwan responded to the questionnaire, including 537 bystanders, 217 bullies, 213 victims, and 591 educators. Grounded-theory method was employed to analyse the qualitative data. A theoretical model addressing commonalities among the perspectives held by individuals in different roles suggested that at-risk targets, including provocative, vulnerable, and atypical students, had poor interpersonal relationships. The bullies selected their targets based on different motivations, which included having fun, releasing emotions, and achieving status or benefits. The research found differences between the perspectives of educators and those of student participants regarding the causes of school bullying with respect to blaming victims, the intentions of bullies, intolerance of diversity in peer cultures, and the influence of contextual factors. Increasing awareness and minimizing these differences may help efforts to prevent and intervene in bullying.     

Teaching Nature of Science to Preservice Science Teachers: A Phenomenographic Study of Chinese Teacher Educators’ Conceptions

Drawing from the phenomenographic perspective, this study investigated Chinese science teacher educators’ conceptions of teaching nature of science (NOS) to preservice science teachers through two semi-structured interviews. The subjects were twenty-four science teacher educators in the developed regions in China. Five key dimensions emerged from the data on the conceptions of teaching NOS, including value of teaching NOS, NOS content to be taught, incorporation of NOS instruction in courses, learning of NOS, and role of the teacher. While some of these dimensions share much similarity with those reported in the studies of conceptions of teaching in general, some are distinctively different, which is embedded in some unique features of teaching NOS to preservice science teachers. These key dimensions can constitute the valuable components of the module or course to train science teachers or teacher educators to teach NOS, provide a framework to interpret the practice of teaching NOS, as well as lay a foundation for probing the conceptions of teaching NOS of other groups of subjects (e.g., school teachers’ conceptions of teaching NOS) or in other contexts (e.g., teaching NOS to in-service teacher).     

Proportional Reasoning Ability and Concepts of Scale: Surface area to volume relationships in science

The National Science Education Standards emphasise teaching unifying concepts and processes such as basic functions of living organisms, the living environment, and scale. Scale influences science processes and phenomena across the domains. One of the big ideas of scale is that of surface area to volume. This study explored whether or not there is a correlation between proportional reasoning ability and a student's ability to understand surface area to volume relationships. Students' knowledge of surface area to volume relationships was assessed pre and post to a one‐week instructional intervention involving investigations about surface area to volume as a limiting factor in biological and physical systems. Results showed that proportional reasoning scores of middle school students were correlated to pre‐test and post‐test assessment scores, and a paired‐sample t‐test found significant differences from pre‐test to post‐test for the surface area to volume assessment. Relationships between proportional reasoning, visualisation abilities and success in solving surface to volume problems are discussed. The implications of the results of this study for learning concepts such as magnitudes of things, limits to size, and properties of systems that change depending on volume and surface are explored.     

Recognizing respondents’ ways of being and knowing: lessons un/learned in researching Asian immigrant and Asian‐American teachers

Critical race theory (CRT) offers educational researchers a compelling way to view racism in education by centering issues of race and using counterstories to challenge dominant views in both research and practice. This article provides an overview of CRT and illuminates the dilemmas for white researchers wishing to incorporate CRT into their work. The author argues that while CRT may not be fully open to white researchers, their strategic use of CRT can help legitimize its use in fighting racism in educational settings. Building on her participation in CRT discussions in a mixed-race setting, the author suggests that white researchers must work to center race in their personal lives and work, engage in the strategic and sensitive use of CRT, and join in the effort to legitimize research that utilizes alternative methods such as CRT.     

Teachers’ and Students’ Conceptions of Good Science Teaching

Capitalizing on the comments made by teachers on videos of exemplary science teaching, a video-based survey instrument on the topic of ‘Density’ was developed and used to investigate the conceptions of good science teaching held by 110 teachers and 4,024 year 7 students in Hong Kong. Six dimensions of good science teaching are identified from the 55-item questionnaire, namely, ‘focussing on science learning’, ‘facilitating students’ understanding’, ‘encouraging students’ involvement’, ‘creating conducive environment’, ‘encouraging active experimentation’ and ‘preparing students for exam (PSE)’. Significant gaps between teachers’ and students’ conceptions on certain dimensions have been revealed. The inconsistency on the dimension ‘PSE’ is particularly evident and possible reasons for the phenomenon are suggested. This study raises the important questions of how the gap can be addressed, and who is to change in order to close the gaps. Answers to these questions have huge implications for teacher education and teacher professional development.     

Developing a Framework for Analyzing Definitions: A study of The Feynman Lectures

One important purpose of a definition is to explain the meaning of a word. Any problems associated with a definition may impede students' learning. However, research studies on the definitional problems from the perspective of physics education are limited. Physics educators may not be aware of the nature and extent of definitional problems. As an example, The Feynman Lectures of Physics suggest that there are at least four problems of definition: precision, circularity, context and completeness in knowledge. Feynman had the tendency of mentioning the words ‘define’ and ‘definition’ and discussing the problems of definition: they can be insightful, or challenge the conventional, preconceived notions of many physical concepts. One benefit of this study is that a framework can be developed to improve statements of definitions. This framework may guide educators or students to analyze the knowledge that is embedded in a definition. In the future, the learning of definition need not be content-oriented, but problem-based instead, with the help of definitional problems. Therefore, the use of these problems of definition in lessons can be an interesting area for future physics education research. Furthermore, we should be cognizant of inadequacies or inaccuracies in definition that may result in alternative conceptions.     

Twenty‐first century learning: communities,interaction and ubiquitous computing

Advanced technology makes 21st century learning, communities and interactions unique and leads people to an era of ubiquitous computing. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discussion of learning in the 21st century. The paper will review literature on learning community, community learning, interaction, 21st century learning and ubiquitous computing. It will also present work conducted by a teacher who used a hand‐held device, one of the 21st century tools, in a sixth grade classroom in the USA. The authors suggest that 21st century learning involves five types of interactions: (a) learner–content, (b) learner–teacher, (c) learner–learner, (d) learner–interface and (e) learner–community. They also recommend that professionals explore the potential of hand‐held devices in education and conduct research on its effectiveness in learning.

L’apprentissage au vingt et unième siècle: les communautés, l’interaction et l’ordinateur passe‐partout

La technologie avancée donne leur caractère unique à l’apprentissage, aux communautés et aux interactions et conduit les gens vers l’ère de l’ordinateur passe partout. Le but de cet article est d’apporter une contribution au débat sur l’apprentissage au 21^e siècle. Cet article va passer en revue les publications sur les communautés d’apprentissage, l’apprentissage communautaire, l’interaction, l’apprentissage au 21^e siècle et l’informatique passe partout. Il présente aussi les travaux menés par un enseignant qui a utilisé un ordinateur de poche, un de ces outils du 21^e siècle, dans une classe de 6^e aux Etats‐Unis. Les auteurs pensent que l’apprentissage du 21^e siècle met en jeu cinq types d’interaction différents: a) apprenant/contenu, b)apprenant/enseignant, c)apprenant/apprenant, d)apprenant/interface, et e)apprenant/communauté. Ils recommandent aussi que les professionnels étudient les possibilités des ordinateurs de poche pour l’éducation et mènent des recherches sur leur efficacité en matière d’apprentissage.

Lernen des einundzwanzigsten Jahrhunderts: Gemeinschaften, Interaktion und der allgegenwärtige Einsatz von Computern

Fortschrittliche Technologie macht das Lernen, Gemeinschaften und Interaktionen im 21. Jahrhundert einzigartig und führt die Menschen zu einer Ära allgegenwärtiger Computernutzung. Der Zweck dieses Artikels ist, zur Diskussion über das Lernen im 21. Jahrhundert beizutragen. Das Papier überprüft Literatur über Lernumgebungen, Lernen in Gemeinschaften, Interaktionen, Lernen im 21. Jahrhundert und allgegenwärtige Computerbenutzung. Es zeigt auch den von einem Lehrer durchgeführten Versuch, mit einem “handheld”‐ Gerät, einem der technischen Hilfsmittel des 21.Jahrhunderts, in einer “sixth grade class” in den USA zu arbeiten. Die Autoren behaupten, dass das Lernen in diesem 21. Jahrhundert fünf Arten von Interaktionen umfasst: (a) Lerner – Inhalt, (b) Lerner – Lehrer, (c) Lerner ‐ Lerner, (d) Lerner – Schnittstelle und (e) Lerner ‐ Gemeinschaft. Sie empfehlen auch, dass Fachleute das Potential von “handheld”‐ Geräten im Bildungsbereich untersuchen und eine Einschätzung ihrer Wirksamkeit für das Lernen abgeben.     

English in Hong Kong: a preliminary study of the ACERWord Knowledge Test – Form F and the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices as indicators of verbal reasoning ability and abstract reasoning ability among Hong Kong university students

The standard of English of Hong Kong students is a matter of considerable debate. Academics, business people and others bemoan the deterioration of English-speaking skills and the declining quality of students. Explanations for this situation include the introduction of mass education, the lack of trained English teachers and an exam-centred curriculum. Yet, little research has been undertaken concerning student intellectual ability and English skills. This short report examines the English skills of 146 undergraduates using the ACER Word Knowledge Test - Form F , and their abstract reasoning ability using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. The results show that Hong Kong students, while low in English skills are superior in intelligence. Although exploratory and subject to qualification, the research has implications for the teaching and continued use of English in Hong Kong schools and universities.     

Border Crossings: Undocumented Migration Between Mexico and the United States in Contemporary Young Adult Literature

This study identifies patterns in 11 English language young adult novels from the past three decades (1981–2011) which depict undocumented migration between Mexico and the United States. The increase in YA novels on this topic demonstrates rising public concern. These books offer sympathetic identification with border crossing youth. Eight of the 11 books use narration from the perspective of the border crosser. Six of the protagonists are transported by parents, while the others make the decision to enter the United States without authorization. The border crossers struggle against antagonistic forces of poverty, physical danger, and immigration laws. Migration is not a unidirectional movement from Mexico into the United States; most, but not all, of the border crossers live in the United States at the narratives’ conclusions. These literary works implicitly urge the “empathetic outreach” of Gloria Anzaldúa’s borderlands philosophy and argue for what Pablo Ramirez terms a “borderlands ethical stance” in which individuals justifiably violate laws. This essay advances discourse about Mexican immigration into the United States by establishing fundamental characteristics of the YA novel about undocumented migration, analyzing significant examples, and exploring implications for teachers.     

“I’m not running around with my pants sagging, so how am I not acting like a lady?”: Intersections of Race and Gender in the Experiences of Female Middle School Troublemakers

Careful examination of the discipline gap reveals growing disproportionality in the use of exclusionary discipline measures with female students of color, particularly African American females. Most often, adolescent girls of color are disciplined for subjectively defined behaviors, or behaviors considered inappropriate by educators. This study seeks to understand how seven middle school girls of color explain and justify their compliant and noncompliant behaviors and how their interactions with educators shape their beliefs about such behaviors. Using the theory of intersectionality, we examine how these girls both experience oppression and resist it within various domains of power. Findings show that a hostile school environment characterized by a lack of academic and social support, challenges to justice and fairness, presumptions of guilt, miscommunications and misunderstandings, and peer conflict alienates these young females of color from the learning process. Additionally, findings suggest participants strive to be heard and respected at school, using it as a site of resistance and reflecting their individual empowerment and self-advocacy.