Museums as avenues of learning for children: a decade of research

In this review, we focus on the museum activities and strategies that encourage and support children’s learning. In order to provide insight into what is known about children’s learning in museums, we examined study content, methodology and the resultant knowledge from the last decade of research. Because interactivity is increasingly seen as essential in children’s learning experiences in a museum context, we developed a framework that distinguishes between three main interactivity types for facilitating strategies and activities in children’s learning: child–adults/peers; child–technology and child–environment. We identify the most promising strategies and activities for boosting children’s learning as situated in overlapping areas of these interactivity types. Specifically, we identify scaffolding as a key to enhanced museum learning. Our review concludes by highlighting research challenges from the last decade and recommendations for practice and future research on how to design, evaluate and guide theoretically-grounded educational programs for children in museums.     

一个美国人眼中的中原文化

美国人普遍以老大自居,他们对亚洲、对中国了解很少.但也有一些美国人发现中国的文化,中国的历史其实是非常迷人的,偶或有对中华文化起源感兴趣的,河南便成了他们心目中的"麦加".     

Self-perceived peer harassment in a community sample of Norwegian school children

OBJECTIVE: The experience of being harassed is associated with various forms of maladjustment. This study examined the prevalence of three domains of harassment, and their associations with emotional and behavioral problems. METHOD: A total of 4130 young people in 6th through 10th grade in 66 primary and secondary schools in Norway completed questionnaires on self-perceived harassment and emotional and behavioral problems. RESULTS: The structural psychometric properties of the scales of harassment showed an acceptable fit to the data. Boys reported more harassment on all items and domains than girls across grades. Strong associations between self-perceived harassment and psychiatric impact and behavioral and emotional problems, especially peer problems and conduct disorder, were revealed. DISCUSSION: The study adds to the understanding of the concept of harassment and its correlations with emotional and behavioral problems. The study underscores the importance of conducting routine screening in school as an important basis for the subsequent improvement in children's relationships.     

The museum in adult education: A psychological study of visitor reactions

The authors of this article argue that classroom education does not fit the museum setting and that researchers need to re-think the basic principles for the use of museums in adult education. In order to do this, it is necessary to understand the psychology of the museum visitor. However, while much has been published on visitor behaviour and the factors influencing it, very little is known about what visitors think or feel in the exhibition room. A research team at the University of Montreal is currently studying the psychological reactions of adults when observing museum exhibits. This paper describes the methodology used by this team, some of the results obtained and the perspectives opened up by the study.

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Zusammenfassung Die Autoren dieses Artikels argumentieren, daß Klassenunterricht nicht in die Räumlichkeiten eines Museums passe und daß Forscher die Grundprinzipien für die Nutzung von Museen für die Erwachsenenbildung überdenken müßten. Dazu muß man die Psychologie der Museumsbesucher verstehen. Während jedoch viel über den Besucher und die ihn beeinflussenden Faktoren geschrieben wurde, ist nur sehr wenig darüber bekannt, was Besucher in den Ausstellungssräumen denken und fühlen. Ein Forschungsteam an der Universität von Montreal untersucht gegenwärtig die psychologische Reaktion von Erwachsenen bei Museumsausstellungen. Dieser Artikel beschreibt die von diesem Team angewandte Methodologie, einige der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse und die von dieser Studie eröffeneten Perspektiven.

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Résumé Ce que l'on sait de l'éducation scolaire s'applique mal à la situation des musées. Il faut donc innover et élaborer les principes d'une éducation de l'adulte au musée. Le fonctionnement psychologique du visiteur pourrait servir de base à cette création, mais ce que l'on a écrit sur le visiteur révèle que l'on connaît bien le comportement de celui-ci ou les facteurs qui l'influencent, alors que l'on ignore presque tout de ce qu'il pense ou ressent dans une salle d'exposition. Une équipe de l'Université de Montréal a entrepris une série de recherches qui porte justement sur ce point: le fonctionnement psychologique de l'adulte face aux objets qu'il regarde. Elle comprend une présentation de l'approche et des instruments utilisés par cette équipe, de quelques-unes des données qu'elle a obtenues et des perspectives ouvertes par celles-ci.

     

How Physical Education Teachers’ Interpersonal Behaviour is Related to Students’ Health-Related Quality of Life

ABSTRACT

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), this cross-sectional study tested relations of students’ perceptions of autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviour from teachers in physical education with students’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the potential role of students’ perceived need satisfaction and need frustration as a mediator of these relationships. School students (N?=?1031) completed self-report measures of perceived autonomy support, perceived teachers’ controlling behaviour, students’ need satisfaction and need frustration, and HRQoL. Results indicated that students’ perceptions of autonomy support from teachers was positively associated with HRQoL through need satisfaction. Students’ perceptions of controlling behaviour from teachers was negatively related with HRQoL through need frustration. There was no significant association between autonomy support and need frustration, or between controlling behaviour and need satisfaction. Findings provide evidence that perceived autonomy support and controlling behaviour from the teacher in PE contributes to students’ HRQoL through unique pathways.     

Differences in African‐American and European‐American students' engagement with nanotechnology experiences: Perceptual position or assessment artifact?

This study examined middle and high school students' perceptions of a weeklong science experience with nanotechnology and atomic force microscopy. Through an examination of student self assessments and their writing, the study allowed us to examine some of the issues that may contribute to discrepancies that are seen between European‐American and African‐American students in science. The results of the study showed that after instruction, African‐American students were significantly more likely to agree with the statement that “science involves mostly memorizing things and getting the right answer,” than European‐American students. In addition, European‐American students were significantly more likely to write their newspaper stories from a first person perspective than their African‐American peers. The results are discussed in light of the assessment task, students' interpretations of formal writing, cultural differences in the use of language in writing, and possible cultural differences in students' perceptions of the science experience. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 787–799, 2007     

Do Mothers or Children Lead the Dance? Disentangling Individual and Influence Effects During Conflict

Are mother–child conflict discussions shaped by time-varying, reciprocal influences, even after accounting for stable contributions from each individual? Mothers were filmed discussing a conflict for 5 min, separately with their younger (ages 5–9, N = 217) and older (ages 7–13, N = 220) children. Each person’s conflict constructiveness was coded in 20-s intervals and data were analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling, which separates individual and influence effects. Children influenced their mothers’ behavior under certain conditions, with evidence for developmental differences in the magnitude and direction of influence, whereas mothers did not influence their children under any circumstance. Results are discussed in the context of child effects on parent behavior and changes in parenting across middle childhood.