浅论先秦时期世官制向职官制演进的历史特征

通过检索先秦史料，探讨这一历史时期世官制向职官制演进的历史特征。     

Reading Foreign Languages in the First Phase of Secondary Education: why,what and how?

In this article it is argued that reading skills in the teaching of a foreign language are much neglected in the first phase of secondary education. In order to show (I) why reading is of great importance for language acquisition in general and (2) how to utilise reading in the initial stages of language learning, the following questions are dealt with: (1) What is the status of reading in the different approaches to foreign language learning? (2) Why not focus on listening in terms of the receptive skills? (3) Which different types of texts (books) can be used? (4) How should these texts be used in order to maximise the contribution to language acquisition?     

Measuring the quality of e‐learning

This paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure the quality of e‐learning. Six volunteers (all of them 3rd‐year medical students) took part in a programme of e‐learning designed to teach the principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their understanding of MRI was measured before and after the course by the use of concept mapping. The quality of change in individuals' maps was assessed using criteria developed to distinguish between meaningful and rote‐learning outcomes. Student maps were also scored for evidence of conceptual richness and understanding. Finally, each map was compared directly with the content of the electronic teaching material. The results show that many of the student misconceptions were put right in the course of their learning but that many of the key concepts introduced in the teaching were ignored (or sometimes learnt by rote) by the students. This was because the teaching material locked these new ideas in structures and terminology that precluded meaning‐making among non‐experts. Our data suggest that students' prior knowledge is a key determinant of meaningful learning. We suggest that this must be acknowledged if the design and use of electronic teaching material is also to be meaningful. Ultimately, measures of student learning are the only authentic indicators of the quality of teaching through technology.     

Science achievement of english language learners in urban elementary schools: Results of a first‐year professional development intervention

This study is part of a 5‐year professional development intervention aimed at improving science and literacy achievement of English language learners (or ELL students) in urban elementary schools within an environment increasingly driven by high‐stakes testing and accountability. Specifically, the study examined science achievement at the end of the first‐year implementation of the professional development intervention that consisted of curriculum units and teacher workshops. The study involved 1,134 third‐grade students at seven treatment schools and 966 third‐grade students at eight comparison schools. The results led to three main findings. First, treatment students displayed a statistically significant increase in science achievement. Second, there was no statistically significant difference in achievement gains between students at English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) levels 1 to 4 and students who had exited from ESOL or never been in ESOL. Similarly, there was no significant difference in achievement gains between students who had been retained on the basis of statewide reading test scores and students who had never been retained. Third, treatment students showed a higher score on a statewide mathematics test, particularly on the measurement strand emphasized in the intervention, than comparison students. The results indicate that through our professional development intervention, ELL students and others in the intervention learned to think and reason scientifically while also performing well on high‐stakes testing. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 31–52, 2008     

The role of social competence in predicting gifted enrollment

The purpose of this study is to examine how children's starting level and development of social competence (i.e., task orientation and peer sociability) during kindergarten and first grade predict gifted program enrollment by third grade, even after considering children's cognitive ability. A second purpose is to examine the extent to which the relationship between children's social competence and gifted program enrollment differs depending on children's socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and gender. Latent growth curve analyses conducted on 347 children revealed that students enrolled in gifted programming were not only those high in cognitive ability, but also those showing early task orientation. Neither peer sociability's initial status nor growth was a significant predictor of gifted enrollment. Multigroup comparisons demonstrated different predictive paths for higher versus lower SES groups. Implications are discussed including important questions raised by this study and the need for teacher training in the identification of giftedness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mathematics and science choice following introduction of compulsory study profiles into Dutch secondary education

Since 1998, upper level secondary education pupils in the Netherlands are required to choose one of four study profiles with their own specific and fixed combinations of final examination subjects. With the aid of multilevel analyses, the extent to which this situation has led to changes in the determinants of mathematics and science choice (i.e. selection of a science profile) is examined for more than 3500 pupils. From a meritocratic perspective, the relative contributions of background characteristics versus personal aptitude are examined. The introduction of the study profiles appears to have produced sharper lines with respect to sex and socio‐economic status. Optimal use is thus not made of existing science talent.     

Non‐at‐risk adolescents' attitudes towards reading in a Singapore secondary school

In this paper, we examine the various nuanced dimensions of adolescents' dispositions towards reading in one secondary school in Singapore, where a high‐stakes examination culture often threatens to colonise the practices of leisure reading. Our focus is on the better and more avid readers as they were the ones that developed the more negative attitudes towards reading at the end of their first year in secondary school. Our analysis found that there were no significant differences between boys and girls in their declining attitudes, and that for both ‘intrinsic motivation’ saw the greatest decline. However, attitudes related to learning orientation remained stable, suggesting both the impact of constraints in an exam‐oriented educational structure as well as possibilities for developing reading pedagogy and adolescent reading programmes. We argue that the more educators are aware of the multidimensionality and complexity of the attitudes and values that students bring to their reading, the more effectively they will be able to design and implement programmes and pedagogy to foster positive attitudes and promote a lifelong love for reading.     

试论明代前期中国与东南亚的丝绸贸易

中国与东南亚的丝绸贸易源远流长 ,明前期 ,在“海禁”政策和统治者“薄来厚往”思想的影响下 ,朝贡贸易成为两地丝贸的主流形式。私人贸易虽有所发展 ,但其重要性却远不如前代。随着两地贸易的发展 ,中国丝绸在东南亚的行销范围进一步扩大 ,并一直保持着出口优势