The relationship between students’ small group activities,time spent on self-study,and achievement

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the contributions students make to the problem-based tutorial group process as observed by their peers, self-study time and achievement. To that end, the Maastricht Peer Activity Rating Scale was administered to students participating in Problem-Based Learning tutorial groups. With this rating scale students had to rate the constructive, collaborative and motivational activities of their peers within the tutorial group. In addition, time spent on self-study was measured with a self-estimation method and achievement was measured with a unit test and a group assignment. A causal model of these variables was developed, in which the three types of activities were assumed to affect time spent on self-study, which would in turn affect unit test scores and group assignment scores. A structural equation modeling analysis indicated acceptable model fit. Especially apparent was the evidence for the causal relations between a student’s constructive activities and his/her unit test score and between a student’s collaborative activities and the group assignment score. On the other hand, time spent on self-study was not affected by the students’ contributions, nor did it have an effect on the unit test score. These results suggest that there are indeed causal relations between a student’s contributions to the tutorial group process and achievement.     

Becoming a teacher: student teachers’ experiences and perceptions about teaching practice

In an attempt to build a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of the complexity, dynamics and idiosyncrasies involved in becoming a teacher, this study focussed on the experiences of 295 student teachers. Their feelings, cognitions and perceptions regarding teaching practice were analysed using the short version of the Inventory of Experiences and Perceptions of the Teaching Practice. Results emphasise some of the difficulties experienced during this period (e.g., stress, sense of weariness and ‘vulnerability’), as well the positive perceptions of these student teachers regarding their growing knowledge and skilfulness, as well as their sense of efficacy, flexibility and spontaneity in their performance and interactions. Their perception of their accomplishments in achieving reasonable levels of acceptance and recognition within the school community and their positive evaluation of the guidance and support provided by their supervisors are also emphasised. Differences were found – in terms of gender and graduate course background – in the way these student teachers experienced some aspects of teaching practice.     

De-Mystifying the U.S. News Rankings: How to Understand What Matters,What Doesn't and What You can Actually Do About It

College rankings present challenges and opportunities for higher education marketers. Statistical analysis of data on the national universities reveals which measures are associated with peer assessment scores, whether it is possible to influence the score, and what underlying factors are present. Marketers can use the findings to counsel senior leaders and position their institutions more effectively with key constituencies.     

Ideologies and utopias: education professionals' views of inclusion

The paper addresses the contrast between different elements in thinking about the appropriate educational placement for children with special educational needs. In particular, it is concerned with the tension between the widespread expressions of support for the principle of inclusion and a continuing level of support for separate special school provision. Evidence from interviews with education officers and headteachers of both special and mainstream schools in the UK demonstrates the support for inclusion as an ideal but also the relatively limited influence of such an ideal on education policy. Considerable reservations were expressed about the feasibility of inclusion, based on the types and severity of children's difficulties and the capacity of mainstream schools to meet them. Contrasting with support for inclusion was a set of views which stressed the primacy of meeting children's individual needs as overriding an ideological commitment to inclusionist ideals. Themes within utopian thinking, in particular, the distinction between hope and desire and the different functions which can be served by utopian ideals, are used to explore tensions and contradictions in the interview responses and in educational thinking more generally.     

Promoting Science Outdoor Activities for Elementary School Children: Contributions from a research laboratory

The purposes of the study were to analyse the promotion of scientific literacy through practical research activities and to identify children's conceptions about scientists and how they do science. Elementary school children were engaged in two scientific experiments in a marine biology research laboratory. A total of 136 students answered a questionnaire about their previous habits towards science and carried out the following actions: (1) a guided visit to the laboratory, (2) a brief presentation of the research theme, (3) the development of two experiments, and (4) a questionnaire about the experiments and science conceptions. The research methods included observation, document analysis, and content analysis of the answers to the questionnaires. Additionally, each visit was video recorded in order to design learning materials. The results revealed that most of the pupils were able to follow every stage of experimentation. However, some of them misinterpreted results and conclusions. One implication of the study is that this type of outdoor activity is extremely important to promote meaningful science learning in children, but more care should be taken in practical science activities so that children can overcome some common difficulties when performing scientific inquiry.     

Single‐sex schooling and labour market outcomes

One quarter of the 1958 British Birth cohort attended single‐sex secondary schools. This paper asks whether sex‐segregated schooling had any impact on the experience of gender differences in the labour market in mid‐life. We examine outcomes at age 42, allowing for socio‐economic origins and abilities measured in childhood. We find no net impact of single‐sex schooling on the chances of being employed in 2000, nor on the horizontal or social class segregation of mid‐life occupations. But we do find a positive premium (5%) on the wages of women (but not men), of having attended a single‐sex school. This was accounted for by the relatively good performance of girls‐only school students in post‐16 qualifications, not by the wider range of subjects studied by both girls and boys at single‐sex schools. Men’s labour market attainments were more closely related to attending private schools and to parental class, suggesting that the intergenerational transmission of advantage, while not related to coeducation, is related to gender.     

Continuing professional and career development: the doctoral experience of education alumni at a UK university

This article reports on a study of alumni who completed their doctorates 2, 5 and 10 years ago at a Graduate School of Education in the University of London (n=162). It investigates the circumstances within which these research students started and completed their research and how they have subsequently used their studies, showing the particular place of the Ph.D. and the new Ed.D. in professional development in the field of education internationally. It questions current national proposals to ‘improve’ doctoral ‘training’ in the UK by enhancing students' employability and suggests that policy should be based on the actual employment and other life needs of postgraduate students in different disciplines. It argues that research students are paying for the privilege of satisfying their intellectual curiosity and making an original contribution to knowledge and are as concerned with personal growth as with vocational development.     

The Relationship of Supervisory Styles to Satisfaction With Supervision and the Perceived Self‐Efficacy of Master's‐Level Counseling Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether supervisors' supervisory styles are related to master's‐level counseling students' satisfaction with supervision and their perceived self‐efficacy. Multiple regression analyses of data obtained for 82 participants indicated that particular supervisory styles were significant predictors of supervisees' satisfaction with supervision and perceived self‐efficacy. Findings can be used to enhance the training of supervisors.     

How reliable is marking in GCSE English?

In a re-marking exercise to investigate the reliability of marking in GCSE English examinations, the Principal Examiners' marks were adopted as 'true' marks for comparison with the actual or 'live' marks that had been awarded by the appointed examiners. A variety of approaches to investigating mark/re-mark reliability collectively led to the conclusion that marking reliability was particularly strong in the Higher tier of the specification that differentiates by outcome.     

A cross-sectional and prospective analyse of reallocating sedentary time to physical activity on children’s cardiorespiratory fitness

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with health benefits in children, improving cardiac morphology, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and biological outcomes. This study aimed to examine the substitution effects of displaying a fixed duration of sedentary time with a fixed duration of physical activity (PA) at different intensities on children’s CRF. A total of 315 children (136 boys) were assessed (age: 10.6 ± 0.6 years old). Outcomes at baseline and follow-up (16-months) were CRF determined using a maximal cycle test and sedentary time and PA measured with accelerometers. Data were analysed by isotemporal substitution analyses estimating the effect of reallocating 30 min/day of sedentary time by light (LPA), moderate (MPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) on CRF. VPA was positively and significantly associated with CRF cross-sectional (β = 0.026, p < 0.001) and prospectively (β = 0.010, p < 0.001). Reallocating 30 min/day of sedentary time into VPA was positively cross-sectionally (β = 0.780, p < 0.001) and prospectively (β = 0.303, p < 0.05) associated with CRF. Conversely, relocating 30-minutes of sedentary time into 30 minutes of LPA and MPA was not associated with CRF. These results suggest that reallocating an equal amount of time from sedentary into VPA is cross-sectional and prospectively associated with a favourable CRF.