Building Literacy Links for Young Children

Well-chosen and wisely shared literature facilitates transitions and builds bridges in the lives of young children. Literature links are discussed and books are reviewed for infant, toddler, preschool, and primary age children and transitional readers.     

Self-perceptions of first- and second-grade children with learning disabilities

The present study addressed the question of the effects of developmental positive bias and repeated experiences of failure on the self-perception of mainstreamed first-and second-grade Israeli children with learning disabilities. The self-perceptions of 44 children with learning disabilities and their 36 nondisabled classmates were assessed. In addition, teachers' evaluations and objective measures of cognitive performance and social acceptance were gathered. The children with learning disabilities were found to have a greater positive bias and lower self-perception in the cognitive competence domain than their normally achieving peers. Self-perceptions of peer acceptance among children with learning disabilities are similar to their normally achieving peers' self-perceptions, in spite of their significantly lower sociometric ratings and teacher evaluations in the social domain. These findings are analyzed in the context of the globality-specificity dimension of self-perceptions at the age level studied. The obtained pattern of self-perceptions is discussed in the light of the interrelationships between cognitive deficit and experimental factors among mainstreamed first- and second-grade children.     

Ghanaian mature students’ motivation to pursue degree programmes through distance education

Mature distance education students in Ghana, like part-time students all over the world, need to be motivated in order to enjoy their studies and succeed in what they do. In order to come up with incentives for such learners to join and complete a course, universities have to be aware of the characteristics and the socio-economic background of this group of learners and use an approach that best suits their needs at any given time. Based on Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci’s self-determination theory, the authors of this article investigate the factors that motivate mature students to engage in distance education and how their motivation is sustained throughout their studies. Using a survey questionnaire, the authors collected data from 210 mature distance education students (106 males and 104 females; aged 30+) of the University of Ghana. Interestingly, some of the authors’ findings depart from the norm in terms of adult learners’ motivations and what extant literature holds as typified in the work of Ryan and Deci. Adult learners more generally are described in the literature as being mainly intrinsically motivated (e.g. by the desire to learn for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes). Interestingly, this survey reveals that mature distance education students who were enrolled in a higher education programme offered by the University of Ghana were mainly extrinsically motivated, giving career development as their top reason for course selection.     

Training for better teaching in the third world: Lessons from research

This article reviews some teacher-related research in British and North American contexts and examines its trends in relation to research on teaching found in third world or developing country situations. Its specific aim is to look at findings relevant to the design of pre- and inservice training programmes. A model for teacher training is presented and used as a framework for assessing the contributions of research on initial awareness, presentation, practice and feedback, and coaching. In conclusion, the promise of ethnographic work and the harsh problems of the context of teaching are discussed.     

Foreign students as teachers: An untapped educational resource

This paper examines the idea of viewing the many foreign students studying in the colleges and universities of this country as educational resources. It is argued that foreign students have a unique educational perspective and specialized knowledge about their culture to offer to their American counterparts. An overall scheme for using foreign students in a teaching capacity is discussed. An experimental class at the University of Minnesota, which uses foreign students as teachers to illustrate the processes of development on the three countries of Nigeria, Thailand and Turkey, is examined in some detail. The results of a formative evaluation of this class are presented. Some implications of the widespread development and implementation of similar types of courses at other colleges and universities are suggested.     

The Influence of Object Size,Dimension and Prior Context on Children's Estimation Abilities

In primary mathematics education the ability to approximate and estimate is considered to be a core skill and previous research has implicated the importance of maturational and contextual factors on estimating abilities. This experiment examines the influence of object size, dimensionality and prior context (i.e. a previous estimate judgement) on primary aged children's estimates (aged 8 to 11 years). Utilising a ‘volume’ task and following a pre‐test assessment of their mathematical skills, children were asked how many small cubes would fit into a larger box, varied in size and dimension (length, width and height). The procedure employed also permitted an examination of the role of a prior estimate on a current judgement. The results indicated that older children can take into account more than one factor bearing on an estimate, particularly with reference to a prior estimate judgement. Furthermore, rather than mathematical ability predicting estimating skill, successful estimators employ strategies which favour caution in the face on an unknown, yet recognisably important, variable or variables.     

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.     

Effects of social and economic factors on four-year higher-education enrollments in Virginia

Based on human capital theory, the demand for higher education is investigated within a statewide system. A multiple regression approach is applied to data that measure the following by geographic municipality (i.e., county or city): the ratio of high school graduates enrolled in a given institution to that institution's entering freshman enrollment (dependent variable); eligible population, academic ability, educational attainment, income level, wage rate, unemployment rate, cost of attendance, and local environment (independent variables). Using the SAS GLM procedure, various breakdowns of the demand function by institutional grouping are presented. Squared multiple correlations for the various models range from .3 to .5.Presented at the 22nd Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Denver, May 1982.     

Factors in teacher assignments: Measuring workload by effort

Based on a national survey of 491 department heads in 25 major universities in the United States, this study examines what department heads perceive to be the component parts in making assignments to faculty members. The importance of evaluating faculty resources based on effort required rather than on time devoted to given tasks is stressed. Regression analysis is used to investigate how department heads interpret effort required to teach classes and how this effort varies by discipline (Biglan taxonomy), by class level, by number of students, and by type of instructional technique. The results are validated against reported time expenditures from a faculty activity analysis.Presented at the Twentieth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Atlanta, April 1980.