Interventions in education to prevent STEM pipeline leakage

The so-called leaking STEM pipeline (dropout in STEM education) has been the subject of many studies. The large interest of scholars in plausible causes of this leakage has resulted in a number of meta-reviews describing factors at system, school and student level related to interest and persistence in STEM education. The STEM pipeline discussion has also resulted in a large number of programmes aimed at enhancing STEM interest and persistence in STEM education. Although these programmes have been widely evaluated, there seems to be no consensus about which interventions are successful in raising interest in STEM or persistence in STEM education. This study reports the results of a systematic review of empirical studies in which the effectiveness of STEM-related interventions are assessed. Initially, 538 studies were found. The quality analyses showed that only a few of these evaluation studies are designed in such a way that it is likely that the found effects are caused by the intervention. Although some potentially effective interventions were found, this review shows that there is still a need for research into the effectiveness of those programmes, especially with regard to programmes preventing talented and initially motivated STEM students to drop out of STEM education.     

A Path Analysis of Nutrition,Stimulation, and Child Development Among Young Children in Bihar,India

Nutrition plays an important role in the development of a child, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries where malnutrition is often widespread. The relation between diet, hemoglobin, nutritional status, motor development, stimulation and mental development was examined in a cross‐sectional sample of 1,079 children 12–18 months of age living in rural Bihar, India. Path analysis revealed associations between (a) length‐for‐age z‐scores and motor development, standardized β (β) = .285, p < .001, and (b) motor and all mental development outcomes (language: β = .422; personal‐social: β = .490; memory: β = .139; and executive function: β = .072, all p < .001). Additionally, stimulation was significantly associated with language scores and hemoglobin concentration with memory. These findings inform interventions aimed at improving child development in Northern India.     

A Note on the Use of Mixture Models for Individual Prediction

Mixture models capture heterogeneity in data by decomposing the population into latent subgroups, each of which is governed by its own subgroup-specific set of parameters. Despite the flexibility and widespread use of these models, most applications have focused solely on making inferences for whole or subpopulations, rather than individual cases. This article presents a general framework for computing marginal and conditional predicted values for individuals using mixture model results. These predicted values can be used to characterize covariate effects, examine the fit of the model for specific individuals, or forecast future observations from previous ones. Two empirical examples are provided to demonstrate the usefulness of individual predicted values in applications of mixture models. The first example examines the relative timing of initiation of substance use using a multiple event process survival mixture model, whereas the second example evaluates changes in depressive symptoms over adolescence using a growth mixture model.     

全新在线滴定技术的研究与应用

A new on-line titration method and device based on a new technique-continuous flow titration is described.By the means of electronically controlled switching of a solenoid valve,the main component of the system,the equivalent point of the titration is easily determined.Several kinds of mixing tools were examined.whereby a self-made mixing chamer with minimum volume gave best results and was therefore used in the dveice,The error of the titration is within 0.2% and the relative standard deviation(RSD) is below 1.2%,The results show no difference compared with a commercial device,meanwhile the new on-line titration system is cheaper and fully automated and thus easy to hand and less slovent consumption.     

Milieuspezifische Bildungsstrategien in Familie und Gleichaltrigengruppe

Zusammenfassung Der Topos Bildungsungleichheit hat in der jüngsten Zeit eine Renaissance erfahren. Wie im Anschluss an den so genannten Sputnik-Schock und die Diskussionen der 1960er-bis 70er-Jahre wird durch den PISA-Schock die Frage nach der Qualit?t von Bildung erneut virulent. Gleichzeitig jedoch scheint die heutige bildungstheoretische Debatte zu eingeengt. Sie reduziert sich auf institutionalisierte schulische Bildung und vernachl?ssigt die zentrale Bedeutung au?erschulischer Bildungsprozesse, die sozialstrukturell variieren. So lassen sich aufgrund der — allerdings trotz sozialwissenschaftlicher Dauerbeobachtungen bis heute leider dünnen — Forschungsbasis deutliche Differenzen in milieuspezifischen Bildungsstrategien von Heranwachsenden und ihren Eltern feststellen. In Familie und Gleichaltrigengruppe herrschen demnach erfahrungsbezogene Bildungsinhalte und Strategien vor, die mit den in der Schule dominierenden Leistungs- und Qualifikationsanforderungen auf sehr unterschiedliche Weise zusammentreffen. Die vorgelegte mesotheoretische Bestimmung von Bildungsstrategien weist auf M?glichkeiten einer differenzierten Analyse von Bildungsprozessen hin, die an die makrostrukturellen Pr?missen des Systems sozialer Ungleichheit ebenso anschlussf?hig ist wie an mikrostrukturelle, lebensweltliche Erfahrungsbezüge der Schülerinnern und Schüler.

---

Summary Milieu-specific Educational Strategies in Families and Peer Groups “Educational disadvantage” is experiencing a renaissance as a topic of educational debate. Just as following the so-called Sputnik-Shock and discussions in the ’60s and ’70s, PISA has renewed the debate on the quality of education. At the same time, the perspective of current educational theory seems too narrow. It focuses on institutionalized school education and overlooks the central importance of educational processes outside of the school, which vary according to social structure. Despite continuous observations within this field, scientific research is weaker than might be expected. However, differences in milieu-specific strategies for education are clearly identifiable between young people and their parents. We propose that experience-based educational content and strategies predominate in both families and peer groups, and that these coincide with the achievements- and qualifications-based educational demands within schools in quite different ways. The following meso-theoretic investigation of educational strategies points to the potential of analyses, which can integrate both the macro-structural conditions of systems of inequality and the experiential, micro-structural reference points of pupils.

     

Supervision of Doctoral Students in the Natural Sciences: expectations and experiences

Within the natural sciences and engineering, literature relating to postgraduate education, in particular the process of completing a doctorate, remains generally scarce. That which does exist emphasises the role of the supervisor in effecting successful completion and points to a wide range of activities performed by supervisors. There remains, however, little by way of accounts of the actual experiences of supervisors or students when engaged in the process of doctoral supervision. It is these experiences which form the basis of this paper which focuses upon doctoral students and their supervisors in the disciplines of physics, mathematics and engineering science. Data for the paper have been collected, as part of an ESRC funded project, by means of in‐depth interviews with students and supervisors in nine universities in England. In particular, we address students expectations of PhD supervision, the extent to which expectations have been met, and within the context of the ‘career’ of the PhD, the ways in which supervision changes as the doctoral process progresses. Important issues relating to the need for training for PhD supervisors and their capacity to meet the expectations of their students are raised, together with those which question the relationship between the PhD and the culture of academic work.