The relevance of parents’ beliefs for their involvement in children’s school life

Parents play a very important role in all aspects of children’s experiences, and parental involvement in children’s school lives is associated with numerous educational outcomes. Therefore, the present study investigated the role of several parents’ demographic characteristics, parental self-efficacy, as well as beliefs regarding the value of education and the nature of children’s abilities, in modelling and reinforcement behaviours through which parents attempt to become involved in children’s school lives. The obtained results indicated that parental self-efficacy and beliefs regarding the nature of children’s abilities predicted modelling and reinforcement behaviours. Furthermore, parents’ attitudes towards education were identified as a significant predictor of modelling behaviours, whereas their gender predicted reinforcement behaviours. These findings confirm and extend previous knowledge regarding the role of parents’ beliefs in some aspects of their involvement in children’s school life that represents a relevant contributor to students’ academic achievements.     

Effects of rule changes on physical demands and shot characteristics of elite-standard men’s squash and implications for training

The physical demands and rally characteristics of elite-standard men’s squash have not been well documented since recent rule changes (scoring and tin height). This information is needed to design optimal training drills for physical conditioning provided here based on an analysis of movement and shot information. Matches at the 2010 (n = 14) and 2011 (n = 27) Rowe British Grand Prix were analysed. Rallies were split into four ball-in-play duration categories using the 25th (short), 75th (medium), 95th percentiles (long) and maximum values. Cohen’s d and chi-squared tests of independence evaluated effects of rally and rule changes on patterns of play. The proportion of long, middle and short shots was related to the duration of the rally with more shots played in the middle and front of the court in short rallies (phi = 0.12). The frequencies of shots played from different areas of the court have not changed after the adoption of new rules but there is less time available to return shots that reflect the attacking nature of match play for elite-standard men players. Aspiring and current elite-standard players need to condition themselves to improve their ability to cope with these demands using the ghosting patterns presented that mimic demands of modern match play.     

Problems of reforming educational systems in post-communist countries

The main problems of educational reform in post-communist countries are identified, by use of an interactive model of education and developmental dimensions of society. The relation of implicit and explicit educational goals and characteristics of a society is reviewed, and a typology of the relations between political and economic state regulation on the one side, and the structure of educational goals on the other is suggested. It is established that the so-calledsocialist pedagogy decreases the transparency of educational goals and obstructs a systematic analysis of education. The role of education in the transition policy of post-communist countries in discussed, with a special emphasis on economic and political reforms, and ideological changes. It is concluded that the Europeanization of education in Eastern European countries will be impeded because of the stalemate in the transformation of ownership and political modernization, as well as ideological conservatism. The educational effects of European cooperation in the economic recovery of the East are to be expected in the areas of standardization and unification of education, while the effects in the internalization of modern values and attitudes are expected to be much less prominent.

---

Zusammenfassung Die Hauptprobleme der Bildungsreform in post-kommunistischen Ländern werden mit Hilfe eines interaktiven Modells über die Ausmaße der gesellschaftlichen Bildung und Entwicklung ermittelt. Die Beziehung zwischen hintergründigen und vordergründigen Bildungszielen und den Charakteristika einer Gesellschaft wird dargelegt. Der Autor befürwortet eine Typologie der Beziehungen zwischen politischen und wirtschaftlichen Regelungen durch den Staat einerseits und der Struktur von Zielen im Bildungsbereich andererseits. Er stellt fest, daß die sogenanntesozialistische Pädagogik die Transparenz erzieherischer Ziele mindert und eine systematische Analyse der Bildung behindert. Die Rolle der Bildung in der Übergangspolitik post-kommunistischer Länder wird unter besonderer Beachtung der wirtschaftlichen und politischen Reformen und der ideologischen Veränderungen erörtert. Es wird gefolgert, daß die Europäisierung der Bildung in den osteuropäischen Ländern durch Stillstand der Privatisierungsmaßnahmen und der politischen Erneuerung und durch ideologischen Konservatismus behindert wird. Für das Erziehungswesen sind die Auswirkungen der europäischen Zusammenarbeit beim Wiederaufbau der Wirtschaft im Osten in den Bereichen Standardisierung und Vereinheitlichung der Bildung zu erwarten, während der Einfluß bezüglich der Aufnahme moderner Wertvorstellungen und Haltung als viel geringer angesehen wird.

---

Résumé Les problèmes majeurs de la réforme éducative dans les pays postcommunistes sont identifés en faisant appel à un modèle interactif fondé sur l'éducation et les dimensions développementales de la société. On examine la relation entre les objectifs éducatifs implicites et explicites et les caractéristiques d'une société. On suggère une typologie des relations entre le fonctionnement politique et économique de l'Etat d'une part, et la structure des buts de l'éducation d'autre part. Il est établi que la pédagogie ditesocialiste réduit la transparence des buts éducatifs et empêche leur analyse systématique. On analyse le rôle de l'éducation dans la politique de transition des pays postcommunistes en mettant en relief les réformes économiques et politiques et les changements idéologiques. On conclut que l'européanisation de l'éducation dans les pays de l'Est sera retardée par la situation de point mort à laquelle sont arrivées la transformation de la propriété et la modernisation politique, ainsi que par le conservatisme idéologique. Les effets en matière d'éducation de la coopération européenne sur le redressement économique des pays de l'Est se feront sentir dans les domaines de la standardisation et de l'unification de l'éducation, tandis que ceux produits par l'assimilation de valeurs et attitudes modernes seront vraisemblablement beaucoup moins importants.

     

Promoting teaching,learning and informed decision-making through the lenses of international large-scale assessment: looking beyond numbers

Public discussion on the quality of education in different corners of the world very much relies on the data provided by the international large-scale assessment (ILSA) studies. While aware of different methodological keystones and technicalities embedded in these, the idea behind this special issue is to contribute to the understanding of how students solve ILSA items and the kinds of literacy skills they rely on. A shared element of reported studies is that they seek to document and analyse test-taking as a concrete practice using different theoretical and methodological perspectives. We find such scrutiny to be important and significant at this point in time as it offers some new lenses through which ILSA items could be inspected and further discussed.     

Basic parameters of the static stability,loads and strength of the vital parts of a bucket wheel excavator’s slewing superstructure

Determining a bucket wheel excavator (BWE)’s slewing superstructure weight and its center of gravity (COG) is of extreme importance not only in the design phase, but also after the completion of the erection process and during the operation of the machine. This paper presents a critical comparative analysis of the basic parameters of the static stability of a BWE 1600 superstructure, with the parameters being obtained by both analytical and experimental procedures. The analysis shows that a relatively small difference in superstructure mass, obtained by calculation, leads to a relatively large unfavorable shifting of its COG, necessitating a significant increase in counterweight mass for balancing. A procedure for superstructure 3D model mass correction is presented based on results obtained by weighing after the completion of the erection process. The developed model provides enough accuracy to determine the superstructure’s COG in the entire domain of the bucket wheel boom inclination angle, and enables accurate load analysis of the superstructure’s vital parts. The importance of this analysis is reinforced by the finding that the procedure prescribed by standard DIN 22261-2 gives results which are not on the side of safety, as shown by an example of strength analysis of a bucket wheel boom stays’ end eyes.     

Effects of self-monitoring training on reading accuracy and fluency of poor readers

The effect of the self-monitoring training on reading accuracy and fluency of second-grade poor readers was examined. The participants were assigned in one experimental and three control groups. The experimental group was reinforced with token-economy for self-correction and fluent reading. One control group practiced reading without feedback, the second one practiced the calculation of simple arithmetic tasks, and the third one received no training at all. The improvement in reading accuracy was obtained only in the self-monitoring group, and remained for five months. However, the improvement in reading fluency was obtained in the two reading groups, but only the self-monitoring group showed further improvement during five months after training. The results confirmed the importance of self-monitoring already at the level of lexical access in reading and that of local text comprehension.     

Transdisciplinary qualitative paradigm in applied linguistics: autoethnography,participatory action research and minority language teaching and learning*

The paper emphasizes the crucial importance of transdisciplinary approach to qualitative research methodology in teaching and learning contexts involving highly stigmatized minority languages. Autoethnography and participatory action research are herein employed as constructive, critical, qualitative methodological procedures relevant to transdisciplinary research on minority languages in applied linguistics. An international project on teaching and learning Romani, QUALIROM, is used as a case study in order to emphasize the fact that mere theoretical knowledge and professional expertise are important but not sufficient for successful implementation and sustainability of outcomes in this field of linguistic research. The analysis suggests that socially engaged minority language learning and teaching projects should be understood as transdisciplinary, collaborative activities that transcend academic boundaries, and in which research participants create a number of interactive contexts within project-oriented communities of practice aimed at reshaping dominant social relations and practices.