The ceremonies and symbols of citizenship

Stories, heroes, and rituals are among the tools in a cultural kit that help institutions develop civically responsible students. The secret is in knowing how to use which tools.     

婚姻中的款款柔情

The day my stylish neighbor,Karen,visited me at home.I felt completely out of place in my faded blue jeans and red plaid blouse,clothes that had become my housework“uniform”.“Could you recommend a babysitter?”Karen asked.“Ours called tocancel and we’re going to a business meeting tonight.”“Come in.I’ll give you Sarah’s number.”Karen followed me into the kitchen.She was wearing a stylish,longblack skirt and a shimmering white silk blouse.I felt clothed in an old dishragcompared to…     

Directions for research and development: alternative methods of assessing scientific literacy

Educators' current enthusiasm for alternative assessment has roots in political and intellectual concerns. American science students do not do well on international comparisons or on tests of science literacy. Blame for these shortcomings is laid on multiple-choice tests and their focus on isolated facts. But if alternative assessment is to fulfill its promise, research and development need to be done in a coordinated way. This article lays out an agenda for developing assessment tools and researching their effectiveness. A series of design tasks is proposed, followed by related research questions for each task. Needed theoretical research includes studies of the effects of alternative assessment on policy and practice as well as the development of new psychometric techniques. Influences of new assessment forms on learning and motivation theory are also discussed.     

The digital marketing skills gap: Developing a Digital Marketer Model for the communication industries

Scholarly literature suggests digital marketing skills gaps in industry, but these skills gaps are not clearly identified. The research aims to specify any digital marketing skills gaps encountered by professionals working in communication industries. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 20 communication industry professionals. A focus group followed, testing the rigour of the data.     

民主公民的教育：1995-2005年公民教育的研究、政策与实践述评

公民教育在2002年已经成为英格兰中学阶段的国家法定课程。最近,在全英国,以至欧洲和全球范围内也正在开展类似的改革。我们考察了欧洲和全球背景下国家课程的发展,探究不断增长的内在支撑民主公民教育(EDC)的人权方面的国际共识;确立了一些小的主题开展研究,如:多元性与一元性、世界公民教育、作为公民的儿童、民主的学校教育、学生对民主和公民社会的理解、学校和社区的当代角色、欧洲公民身份、学校层面公民教育的实施,等等。     

Effects of intensive reading intervention for eighth-grade students with persistently inadequate response to intervention

The authors report the effects of a yearlong, very small-group, intensive reading intervention for eighth-grade students with serious reading difficulties who had demonstrated low response to intervention (RTI) in both Grades 6 and 7. At the beginning of Grade 6, a cohort of students identified as having reading difficulties were randomized to treatment or comparison conditions. Treatment group students received researcher-provided reading intervention in Grade 6, which continued in Grade 7 for those with low response to intervention; comparison students received no researcher-provided intervention. Participants in the Grade 8 study were members of the original treatment (N = 28) and comparison (N = 13) conditions who had failed to pass a state-mandated reading comprehension test in both Grades 6 and 7. In Grade 8, treatment group students received a 50-minute, daily, individualized, intensive reading intervention in groups of two to four students per teacher. The results showed that students in the treatment condition demonstrated significantly higher scores than comparison students on standardized measures of comprehension (effect size = 1.20) and word identification (effect size = 0.49), although most continued to lack grade-level proficiency in reading despite 3 years of intervention. Findings from this study provide a rationale for intensive intervention for middle school students with severe reading difficulties.     

Logical reasoning ability in Papua New Guinea tertiary science‐as measured by the test of logical thinking

Difficulties encountered in science study by Papua New Guinean tertiary students, although similar to those of students elsewhere, are greater. This leads to wastage of valuable third‐world resources by excessive attrition among students. An appropriate means of early identification of an individual's problem areas and a measure of the effectiveness of teaching procedures used is essential. The TOLT was shown to be an instrument appropriate for use in the third‐world situation with students who are not first language English speakers.     

Completing the Three Stages of Doctoral Education: An Event History Analysis

Doctoral programs have high dropout rates of 43% representing the highest among all post-baccalaureate programs. Cross sectional studies of doctoral students?? retention have showed the importance of financial aid in predicting degree completion. These studies however, do not estimate the labor market??s effect on doctoral student retention and neglect the longitudinal nature of doctoral study and the multiple requirements that make doctoral education a three-stage process. This research study examines the effect of various factors, including financial aid and labor market conditions, on the likelihood that doctoral students will complete the three stages of doctoral education: transition, development, and research. The results show that although financial aid as a whole is important, the type of financial aid received is even more significant and has differential impacts on doctoral students?? retention at each stage. The study concludes that research assistantships have the highest likelihood of degree completion compared to students with other forms of financial support. Labor market conditions are also an important factor affecting doctoral student retention with higher expected earnings motivating doctoral students in the later part of their programs to complete their degrees.     

Young children's number sense in Finland,Hong Kong and Singapore

This study examines young children's number sense in subjects from Finland (n=254), Hong Kong (n=246), and Singapore (n=130). Chinese, English and Finnish versions of the Early Numeracy Test (ENT; Van Luit et al., 1994) were used. Two highly correlated aspects of number sense were measured, one reflecting children's abilities to organize and compare quantities (i.e. relational skills), and the other pertaining to their ability to operate with number-word sequence (i.e. counting skills). The results showed significant age-related gain on the relational and counting scales. No gender or language differences were found. The children in Hong Kong and Singapore outperformed those in Finland in relational and counting tasks starting at the age of four years. The children in Singapore also had better relational and counting skills than those in Hong Kong. Differences in teaching were assumed to explain the findings.