English usage in daily life by Turkish students between 15–19 years of age: a scale development study

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to assess the level of English usage in daily life by students between 15 and 19 years of age, and to compare these students’ scale scores according to their achievement levels in an English course. Five hundred and ninety-five participants were randomly selected from a universe. Exploratory factor analysis results indicate that the scale has a two-factor structure, which explains 50.1% of the total variance. Exploratory factor analysis is validated by confirmatory factor analysis (NNFI: 0.97; CFI: 0.97; GFI: 0.87; AGFI: 0.84; RMSEA: 0.07; and Standardized RMR: 0.05). Cronbach Alpha coefficients for Factor 1 and Factor 2 were calculated as 0.90 and 0.86, respectively. Test–retest reliability coefficient of the scale is at the expected level (r: 0.86, p<0.001). Item discrimination results indicate that the upper 27% of participants have higher mean rank scores for each item on the scale and on the two factors, and that this difference is significant at the 0.01 level. Results of the study show that students’ level of English usage in their daily life is low, and that the students who use more English in their daily life have a higher achievement level in the English course.     

Unmasking the Inequitable Discipline Experiences of Urban Black Girls: Implications for Urban Educational Stakeholders

There is a large body of research examining the discipline experiences of Black males (Lewis et al. in Souls: A Critical Journey of Black Politics, Culture, and Society, 2009; Skiba et al. in The Urban Review, 34, 317–348, 2002); however, less is known about the types of behavioral infractions Black female students exhibit and the discipline sanctions imposed for Black girls for such infractions. As a result, the purpose of this study is to examine the type of discipline infractions exhibited by Black female students enrolled in an urban school district and to explore whether the pattern of discipline infractions and sanctions imposed for Black girls disproportionately differs from all female students, but more specifically White and Hispanic females. Results suggest that Black girls are overrepresented in exclusionary discipline practices and Black girls reason for discipline referrals differs significantly from White and Hispanic girls. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided for urban educational stakeholders.     

Students’ Knowledge of Nuclear Science and Its Connection with Civic Scientific Literacy in Two European Contexts: The Case of Newspaper Articles

Nuclear science has uses and applications that are relevant and crucial for world peace and sustainable development, so knowledge of its basic concepts and topics should constitute an integral part of civic scientific literacy. We have used two newspaper articles that deal with uses of nuclear science that are directly relevant to life, society, economy, and international politics. One article discusses a new thermonuclear reactor, and the second one is about depleted uranium and its danger for health. 189 first-year undergraduate physics and primary education Greek students were given one of the two articles each, and asked to answer a number of accompanying questions dealing with knowledge that is part of the Greek high school curriculum. The study was repeated with 272 first-year undergraduate physics, physics education, science education, and primary education Turkish students. Acceptable or partially acceptable answers were provided on average by around 20 % of Greek and 11 % of Turkish students, while a large proportion (on the average, around 50 % of Greek and 27 % of Turkish students) abstained from answering the questions. These findings are disappointing, but should be seen in the light of the limited or no coverage of the relevant learning material in the Greek and the Turkish high-school programs. Student conceptual difficulties, misconceptions and implications for research and high school curricula are discussed.     

‘We May Give Advice,but We Can Never Prompt Behavior’: Lessons from Britain

Four myths that underlie persistent, but ineffective, practices in early literacy education are analyzed in this article. Such analysis is essential because literacy disadvantage ultimately is an issue of equity—a matter of social justice. Research shows that these practices can be refuted and that optimal early literacy outcomes are possible for all students when parents, teachers, and school administrators serve as agents of equity.