Online student evaluation improves Course Experience Questionnaire results in a physiotherapy program

This paper reports the use of an online student evaluation system, Course Experience on the Web (CEW), in a physiotherapy program to improve their Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) results. CEW comprises a course survey instrument modelled on the CEQ and a tailored unit survey instrument. Closure of the feedback loop is integral in the CEW system. Analysis of the data shows that the students’ evaluation in their final year of the program is closely correlated with their CEQ results. Increases in the CEQ scores from 2001–04 included an increase in the Good Teaching Scale (27.5), Generic Skills Scale (10.3) and Overall Satisfaction Index (29.3). By using CEW, academics at the School of Physiotherapy were able to determine students’ perceptions during the course, make changes to teaching and learning, where appropriate, in a timely manner and, as a result, the CEQ scores were improved markedly.     

HIGH ASPIRATIONS BUT LOW PROGRESSION: THE SCIENCE ASPIRATIONS�CCAREERS PARADOX AMONGST MINORITY ETHNIC STUDENTS

Students’ interest in studying science and their aspirations to pursue science-related careers is a topic of global concern. In this paper, a set of data gathered for the initial phase of the 5-year study of Science Aspirations and Careers: Age 10–14 (the ASPIRES project) is presented. In the initial phase of this project, a questionnaire exploring students’ aspirations was developed, validated and trialled with nearly 300 primary school students. Principal component analyses and Cronbach’s alpha revealed that the questionnaire was comprised of a number of unidimensional components and that reliability was acceptable. Further multivariate analyses indicated that students’ aspirations in science were most strongly predicted by parental attitudes to science, attitudes towards school science, self-concept in science, images of scientists and engagement in science-related activities outside of school. Moreover, ‘Asian’ students appeared to exhibit a highly positive set of attitudes towards science and aspirations in science, particularly when compared with White students. Reasons for this observed difference are also explored.     

How young teachers experience their professional work in Chile

This paper presents results from a qualitative study of 15 neophyte teachers in Chile who were part of a survey of 242 teachers in two geographical regions of the country. They were studied on the basis of questionnaires, interviews, observations and focus groups, all of which served to examine their teaching contexts and working conditions, how they recalled beginning to teach and its problems, their views about their profession and their work at the time of the study. The findings show interesting variations to those themes identified in the literature such as building of professional identity, their socialisation into schools, the relative weights of initial teacher education and experience, and the lack of support as they begin to teach.     

Serials Report

Abstract

An exploratory study of the information-seeking experiences of women's studies faculty provided interesting insights into their use and collection of periodical literature. Using in-depth interviews and observations, as well as postings from a listserv, the study identified problems, influences, and expectations involved in faculty's daily work with magazines and journals.     

Private School Diversity in Denmark's National Voucher System

The voucher system in Denmark combines unrestricted generous subsidies with substantial autonomy of private schools as to schedule and teaching methods. This has produced a private school sector with a wide variety of school types. This paper uses data on eight cohorts of students (over 510,000 individuals) to compare educational attainment in public and private voucher schools, including religious schools (Catholic and Protestant) and various types of non‐religious schools. The findings suggest that, after controlling for individual and peer characteristics, the average public student would attain moderately higher levels of education if he/she attended grammar or Catholic school, relative to the public alternative. Attainment of students at Protestant, international and German minority schools is not different from public schools. However, attending free, boarding and, particularly, little and Waldorf schools is associated with substantially lower completion rates at the upper secondary level, which is probably at least partly due to the clustering of special education students in these school types, which cannot be controlled for. At the tertiary level, differences between private and public schools generally vanish.     

Stocking one's mental larder

Themes, Theories, and Theraphy: The Teaching of Writing in College. Albert R. Kitzhaber. (New York: McGraw‐Hill, 1963. Pp. 175. $4.95.)

The Nongraded Elementary School, Revised Edition. John I. Goodlad and Robert H. Anderson. (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1963. Pp. 248. $1.95, paper.)

Human Learning in the School. John P. DeCecco. (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1963. Pp. 636. $4.75.)

Health Instruction for Today's Schools. Dorothy Marguerite La Salle and Gladys Greer. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice‐Hall, 1963. Pp. 368. $6.75.)

Lovejoy's Prep School Guide. Clarence E. Lovejoy. (New York: Harper and Row, 1963. Pp. 136. $5.95.)

Health Teaching in the Schools, fourth edition. Ruth E. Grout. (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders and Company, 1963. Pp. 415. $6.75.)     

The Diverse Gifts of Dr. Leslie R. Williams

Preparing students in the early childhood field to work with children both with and without disabilities and to collaborate with different professionals is an important endeavor for colleges and universities. The purpose of this paper is to articulate a unique model of program collaboration between early childhood special education and early childhood regular education that demonstrates a cohesive preservice teacher education program across two departments within one university. This unique 10-year history of interdisciplinary collaboration and team teaching provides insights into many of the benefits and challenges of this type of program. This paper presents an historical overview of the development of this collaborative program and describes the logistics of operating an interdisciplinary program at the administrative level. Information collected from faculty and students illustrates the benefits and challenges of team teaching. Finally, strategies for developing a successful program are discussed.