Are We Tolerant Enough to Read Each Other's Culture? Evidence From Three Different Social Contexts

This study investigated the effect of cultural background of second‐language (L2) readers in different social contexts: Israeli Arabs, a minority learning Hebrew in Israel; Israeli Jews learning Arabic as L3; and Arab immigrants in Canada learning English as L2. Participants had to read related and unrelated cultural stories in their L1 and L2/L3. Results revealed that Arab students in the multicultural Canadian context better understood the unrelated cultural stories, while in both Israeli social contexts Arab and Jewish students found it difficult to read unrelated cultural stories. Comprehension results are discussed in light of the role of multiculturalism and ‘melting pot’ policies in shaping minority students’ social orientations.     

Political Ideology and Social Studies Curricula in Taiwan

Taiwanese textbooks play a central role in Taiwanese education. Teachers rely on the textbooks to develop lessons as well as the majority of the content of their classes. The purpose of this article is to explore the historical development of the political and ideological complexities in Taiwan's social studies curriculum. The article begins with an overview of Taiwan's history and population, followed by a discussion of the political and social impacts on Taiwan's social studies curriculum and textbooks from 1949 to the present. The theoretical interrelation between legitimised knowledge and school curriculum is discussed in relation to these issues.     

An examination of alternate assessment durations when assessing multiple‐skill computational fluency: The generalizability and dependability of curriculum‐based outcomes within the context of educational decisions

The current study extended previous research on curriculum‐based measurement in mathematics (M‐CBM) assessments. The purpose was to examine the generalizability and dependability of multiple‐skill M‐CBM computation assessments across various assessment durations (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 minutes). Results of generalizability and dependability studies (N = 104 students) suggest that relative interindividual decisions can rely on the results from 1‐minute administrations for low‐stakes decisions and the results of 4‐minute administrations for high‐stakes decisions. Moreover, absolute intraindividual decisions can rely on the results from 4‐minute administrations for low‐stakes decisions and 13‐minute administrations for high‐stakes decisions. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 615–622, 2005.     

The Influences of Aesthetic Life Experience and Expertise on Aesthetic Judgement and Emotion in Mundane Arts

Aesthetics has been regarded as a fundamental personal value. Most of the previous studies regarding aesthetic experience (AE) have focused on fine arts, rather than the everyday arts that are closely related to our everyday life. This study analysed the relationships among aesthetic life experience, expertise and different types of AE outcomes (aesthetic judgement and emotion) inspired by everyday designed products. The participants in this study were 115 college students, and an E‐prime program that included 120 pictures of designed products were employed to measure aesthetic judgement (beautiful, ordinary, or ugly) and aesthetic emotion (fearful, disgusting, neutral, or pleasure). The results revealed three major phenomena. (1) Two major types of AE outcomes are perceiving beauty with positive emotion and perceiving ugliness with negative emotion. (2) Although there are similar patterns for how aesthetic life experience and expertise influence personal tastes regarding beauty and aesthetic emotion, abundant expertise in designed products contributes more in differentiating emotion when viewing the beautiful designed products. (3) The consensus of the evaluation of ugliness is stronger than when evaluating beauty. In addition, a model of AE with regard to everyday designed products was proposed. The findings of this study shed light on the cultivation of aesthetic abilities and product design that could be utilised in education.     

Effectiveness of an Intensive Learning Skills Course for University Students on Restricted Enrolment

Prior to the commencement of the 1994 academic year, University of Auckland students who had failed one‐half or more of their papers in the previous year were invited to attend a four‐day intensive learning skills course conducted by the Student Learning Centre of the University. The course covered various topics such as effective time management and study organisation, preparing for and taking tests and exams, memory and concentration, and writing skills. A total of 74 students attended the course. After final examinations, the results of these students were analysed. As a group these students significantly improved on their previous year's pass rates. Furthermore, their pass rates were significantly better than those of a randomly selected group of students who were in a similar situation with regard to their previous year's academic performance, but who did not attend the course.     

Analysis of Personality,Suicide, and Self‐Injury in Emerging Adulthood

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is a maladaptive coping strategy that is of significant clinical concern for behavioral health professionals in college settings. Relationships between NSSI, acquired capability for suicide, interpersonal cognitions, and five‐factor model personality traits were assessed in a survey‐based study that included 192 young adults in a college setting. Results indicated that those with an affirmative suicide attempt history, greater acquired capability for suicide, and elevated neuroticism had an increased likelihood of lifetime NSSI.     

Responses to anomalous data obtained from repeatable experiments in the laboratory

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible responses to anomalous data obtained from experiments that are repeatable by carrying out additional or alternative experiments in the laboratory. Based on an analysis of responses from scientists to anomalous data taken from identification experiments on the Vinland Map, it was assumed that an additional response—uncertainty about interpretation of the data—should be considered in addition to the other eight responses reported by Chinn and Brewer 1998 . It was also assumed that a process of responses containing more than one response is possible for a given subject who is responding to a given piece of anomalous datum in the laboratory. Both assumptions were verified by examining responses of undergraduates to anomalous data obtained from repeatable laboratory experiments. The results of this study show that there are nine categories of responses: ignoring; rejection; uncertainty of validity; uncertainty of interpretation; exclusion; abeyance; reinterpretation; peripheral conceptual change; and conceptual change. Moreover, two categories of processing, anomalous data–final response (A‐R process) and anomalous data–[mediators with/without intermediate responses]–final response (A‐M‐R process), are assessed in this study. It is suggested that science instructors could use the nine categories of responses to understand the learning characteristics of students, and also to use the A‐M‐R process to design suitable teaching strategies to arrive at meaningful learning. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 506–528, 2007     

Collaborative,Formative Evaluation in Teaching Practice: a road to reflectivity

This paper starts from the assumption that teaching is more than the simple application of the results of research conducted by others. The goal of practicum is to promote a reflective attitude in education, leading the student teacher all along his/her complete training. Formative evaluation as a dynamic process is a way of reflecting during action, facilitating professional development of teachers. That is why it should be integrated into the curriculum of teaching practice.