Education of gifted pupils in Hungary

where she directs the Department of Didactics. Main research interests: the teaching and learning process; curriculum theory; educational evaluation.     

Family preparation for school entry and the role of transition practices

Entry into school represents as much a challenge for children as it does for their parents. The authors examined the ways in which transition practices help children and their families feel prepared for school entry, as measured by the child's emotional adaptation during the first days in class and the family's sense of being prepared for this transition. Data were collected from a sample of 412 parents. The results indicate that children's emotional adaptation during the first days in school is related to their families' preparedness for school entry. Moreover, families' preparation is partly explained by the number of transition practices perceived by the parents. These data support the importance of transition practices in the preparation of the family as a unit. Transition practices could serve to reassure parents and their children that the school is ready to welcome them.     

Using and rejecting peer feedback in the science classroom: a study of students’ negotiations on how to use peer feedback when designing experiments

Background: Research on peer assessment has noted ambiguity among students in using peer assessment for improving their work. Previous research has explained this in terms of deficits in the student feedback, or differences in student views of what counts as high-quality work.

Purpose: This study frames peer assessment as a social process in the science classroom. The aim is to explore peer assessment in science education as social practice in order to contribute to an understanding of the affordances and constraints of using peer assessment as a learning tool in science education.

Design and Method: The study was conducted in four lower secondary school classes, school years 8 and 9, in two different schools. An intervention study was designed focussing on the topic of experimental design. It involved the students in a process of peer assessment where they designed experiments individually, and then exchanged their designs, conducted each other’s experiments, provided feedback to each other and revised their original design after discussing the feedback in groups. Data were collected in the form of audio recordings of student discussions and written work.

Results: The results show that, although not all peer feedback resulted in revisions, peer feedback was useful to the students in group interaction when negotiating quality in their work.

Conclusions: To conclude, the potential for using peer assessment in science education should not only be evaluated through the students’ revisions but also in terms of in what ways the feedback constitutes interactional resources for defining quality in student work.     

The contribution of reflective learning to experiential learning in business education

Abstract

Experiential learning theory states that reflection is just as important to learning as action. However, business educators often overlook reflection in their experiential learning activities, especially when it’s understood as a dialogue process. Drawing on reflective learning theory, we explored the case of an undergraduate business programme that has been combining experiential learning with three different reflective learning mechanisms for the past ten years. Results show that: (1) reflective dialogue is central for ensuring that impressions from experience translate into better-defined learning outcomes, (2) this dialogue process greatly benefits from a closely guided process, and (3) different reflection mechanisms contribute differently to the learning process. Considering how fast experiential learning has popularised in business schools, this study alerts educators to the importance of combining their experiential learning activities with a guided process of reflection. Otherwise, educators risk students extracting meagre, wrong or misleading impressions from their experience.     

Teaching writing to middle school students in Portugal and in Brazil: an exploratory study

Learning how to write is a challenging process, typically developed in schools. Teachers’ practices in teaching writing, however, have been under researched. The aim of this study was to survey a sample of teachers from Portugal (n = 96) and Brazil (n = 99) about their practices for and perceptions about writing instruction. Teachers reported on time devoted to student writing and the teaching of writing, on their practices to promote students’ self-regulated writing, adaptations for less skilled writers, and their perceptions about writing and the teaching of writing. Findings from this survey raised concerns about the quality of writing instruction in both countries. Teachers reported little time devoted for writing and the teaching of writing in their classes. The majority of the teachers rarely used practices to promote students’ self-regulated writing or applied explicit teaching methods for writing instruction. Both Portuguese and Brazilian teachers perceived writing as a shared responsibility. Brazilian teachers, however, agreed with this perception more strongly. Portuguese teachers’ perception of the importance of writing for students’ academic and professional success was higher than the perceptions held by Brazilian teachers. A positive correlation was found between teachers’ preparation to teach writing and their practices to promote students’ self-regulated writing. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Motivation and Commitment to Volunteering in a Sample of Argentinian Adults: What is the Role of Generativity?

This study explores the motivations and commitment to volunteering in a sample of Argentinian adults, and it analyzes the role of generativity. The sample consisted of 200 volunteers who were purposively selected from five volunteer organizations in the city of Córdoba (Argentina). Participants were assigned to three age groups: young volunteers (18–39 years old), middle-aged volunteers (40–59 years old), and older volunteers (60 or plus years old). The motivations of “values” and “understanding” obtained the highest scores. No relevant differences were found between age groups in the motivations and commitment to volunteering. Generative concern showed more predictive value for motivations and commitment to volunteering than any of the sociodemographic variables considered in the study. The results are discussed at the light of considering volunteering as an expression of generativity in different stages of the life cycle.     

Segmentación del habla y adquisición de la lectura

Tomar conciencia de la correspondencia entre la ortografía alfabética y la estructura fonológica de las palabras es una actividad necesaria tanto en educación infantil y prelectura como en los casos de lectores retrasados. Se revisan aquí los principios teóricos y se proponen diseños para su didáctica y de evaluación en el marco del D.C.B.     

Striking a critical pose: andragogy ‐‐ missing links,missing values

The first part of this essay, entitled ‘The Andragogy Debate: Twenty‐five Years of Deliberation’, examines the evolution of North American andragogy. It presents the changing views of researchers in a chronological dismantling of andragogy as a theory of adult learning. It provides a brief account of Knowles's influences in order to place andragogy in perspective as a set of assumptions about adult learning made fragile by what is missing. To expose the linear nature of the andragogical model, this section addresses sociological, philosophical, and other contextual weaknesses. The second part, ’Democracy and Freedom Lost in the Malcolmian Soft Sell’, elucidates the distorted view of individual freedom associated with individualism in the Knowlesian sense. It considers the impact of organizational and societal structures in shaping individual freedom and constituting democracy. While noting Knowles's support of individual freedom, it accents the inability of the andragogical model to achieve this freedom.     

Lo que no se debe hacer con mi test

RESUMEN

El artículo expone una serie de recomendaciones respecto a la Batería Predictiva de aprendizaje de la lectura. Concebida para evitar que el niño sea prematuramente introducido en el proceso de la lectura, su objetivo es evaluar la aptitud para aprender a leer. Algunos errores importantes que se cometen en su aplicación son: considerar que la batería vaya a revelar aptitudes ocultas en el niño, o predecir lo que va a ocurrir durante el aprendizaje. En este sentido, la validez de la batería dependerá de la acción pedagógica. La batería debe aplicarse íntegramente-si no no tendrá valor predictivo- en las condiciones adecuadas. A continuación se rebaten algunas de las críticas dirigidas a esta prueba y a la utilización de medidas de diagnóstico en general como, por ejemplo, no tener claro el objeto de medida, la falta de validez, y la provocación de medidas segregacionistas que perpetuarían las jerarquías sociales.