做到金口玉言

无论何时你许了愿,就要恪守诺言;无论何时你说了“不”,就要坚持不变;无论何时你达成了协议,就应该遵守协议的规定。     

Assessing culturally sensitive factors in the learning environment of science classrooms

As schools are becoming increasingly diverse in their scope and clientele, any examination of the interaction of culturally sensitive factors of students' learning environments with learning science assumes critical importance. The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop an instrument to assess learning environment factors that are culturally sensitive, to provide initial validation information on the instrument and to examine associations between students' perceptions of their learning environments and their attitudes towards science and achievement of enquiry skills. A measure of these factors of science student's learning environment, namely the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ), was developed from past learning environment instruments and influenced by Hofstede's four dimensions of culture (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism, and Masculinity/Femininity). The reliability and discriminant validity for each scale were obtained and associations between learning environment, attitude to science and enquiry skills achievement were found.     

Comparative teaching effectiveness of radio and television

This report presents the principal findings of a study conducted for the University of Wisconsin Television Laboratory, of which Raymond J. Stanley is director, and the Wisconsin School of the Air, with the assistance of a grant- in- aid from the Educational Television and Radio Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan.     

Schooling in a Multiracial Society: contrasting perspectives of primary and secondary teachers in training

Following an analysis of current responses to the ideologies of multicultural and anti‐racist education, the findings of a survey of student teachers’ perceptions of the role of the school in a multiracial society are presented. The survey suggests that prospective primary teachers may be more amenable towards contemporary policy initiatives in this sphere than their secondary colleagues. To account for this finding, reference is made to differences between the two groups in terms of occupational socialisation, identity and role. The implications of the study for initial teacher training institutions are discussed in the context of recommendations made in the Swann Report (1985).     

Meeting the Demands of the Workplace: Science Students and Written Skills

Over the last 15 years, surveys in a range of English-speaking countries, from North America and the United Kingdom, to New Zealand and Australia, have consistently shown that employers rank oral and written communication skills as highly as or more highly than any technical or quantitative skills. However, in New Zealand there has been very little research into determining exactly what is meant by the “written communication skills” employers state they desire. A further issue in this research to date has been a lack of differentiation between employers—no study has specifically targeted the requirements of employers of science graduates. This article reports the findings of ongoing research into the expectations of science students and of employers of science graduates, and centers around several key questions:

• What do New Zealand employers of science graduates specifically want in terms of their new hires' writing skills?
• How can information gained from employers of science graduates be used to motivate science students to take seriously the need to develop their writing skills?
• How can writing programs be evaluated and developed to help science students acquire communication skills that are important for their future learning and for their employment and promotion prospects?

Findings are compared with the findings of the 2004 National Commission on Writing's survey of American businesses.

     

Child care in poor communities: early learning effects of type, quality, and stability

Young children in poor communities are spending more hours in nonparental care because of policy reforms and expansion of early childhood programs. Studies show positive effects of high-quality center-based care on children's cognitive growth. Yet, little is known about the effects of center care typically available in poor communities or the effects of home-based care. Using a sample of children who were between 12 and 42 months when their mothers entered welfare-to-work programs, this paper finds positive cognitive effects for children in center care. Children also display stronger cognitive growth when caregivers are more sensitive and responsive, and stronger social development when providers have education beyond high school. Children in family child care homes show more behavioral problems but no cognitive differences.