Fostering cognitive and affective-motivational learning outcomes for high-ability students in mixed-ability elementary classrooms: a systematic review

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Since there has been no clear overview of educational practices that benefit high-ability students in mixed-ability classrooms in grades one to six,...     

Context characteristics and their effects on students’ situational interest in chemistry

ABSTRACT

Many studies in science education acknowledge the positive effects of context-based learning on students’ interest and attitudes. However, little is known about the design criteria of contextual situations generating these effects and how facets of students’ situational interest are affected while learning in a contextualised setting. This paper ties in with this initial situation and reports results of two projects analysing the influence of context characteristics on students’ situational interest, referring to contexts as task parameters in the first project and as learning activities in the second. In the first project, everyday related and unique contexts are compared, and the effects of different contextual topics on student learning are investigated. Particularly, regarding the feeling- and value-related valence of situational interest, the results of different studies will be compared and interpreted. The second project investigated structures of interest related to activities along an adapted version of the ‘RIASEC’-model for different content areas and age groups. The chosen contents were embedded in personal as well as societal and professional context settings. Finally, we summarise the relevance of the different models, results and instruments to better understand different notions of interest and outline implications for further studies about teaching that improves student learning.     

School counsellors’ beliefs regarding collaboration with parents of students with special educational needs in Flanders: Parents as partners or opposites?

The literature shows that a good collaboration between the school and parents of students with special educational needs (SEN) is not always present. However, school counsellors must collaborate with SEN students’ parents to organise guidance trajectories for their child. This article examines school counsellors’ experiences when collaborating with parents of SEN students and the factors they perceive as contributing to good or difficult collaboration. Four focus groups in mainstream education (N = 50) and one focus group in special education (N = 14) were conducted in Flanders. A thematic analysis indicated that school counsellors generally find it difficult to collaborate with parents of SEN students and that an expert attitude can emerge. The role of these parents is described as limited, which is even preferred by some school counsellors. A deficit view is recognised and the reasons for poor collaboration are mainly situated on the parents’ side, such as parents that need more processing time to accept the SEN of their child and that show distrust towards the school. School counsellors spontaneously referred to parents’ low socioeconomic and ethnic minority status as complicating factors for collaboration. They seem to feel incompetent to overcome these collaboration difficulties. Various recommendations for schools are formulated.     

Self‐Concept and Learning: the revised inventory of learning processes

The Inventory of Learning Processes is a unique measure of learning style in that it was developed within the context of cognitive psychology, and derived from laboratory research concerned with information processing and memory. The present paper describes some of the early research examining the validity of the original Inventory of Learning Processes, and then presents a revised version of the inventory along with reliability and validity data. More than 15 years of research with the same assessment instrument have lead to the development of a model of student learning. The two major routes to academic achievement are reflective processing and agentic processing. Reflective processing is somewhat free‐associative and ultimately dialectical, deriving personal meaning by contrasting opposing perspectives on one's experience. Reflective processing includes deep and elaborative processing, and a determination to express one's self. The other approach to achievement, agentic processing, is highly directed, purposive and responsive to external contingencies. Agentic processing includes conventional serial processing and fact retention. Ultimately, the smooth flow of cognition (and thus integration and versatility with regard to functions) is limited by one's self‐concept. It appears that one's concept of self‐as‐student includes intrinsic motivation, self‐efficacy, a reluctance to blindly memorise the words of authority figures and self‐esteem. Difficulties on any of these dimensions tend to short‐circuit the total involvement of self and limit the extent to which cognitive activity can flow smoothly during academic studying.     

In Infants' Hands: Identification of Preverbal Infants at Risk for Primary Language Delay

Early identification of primary language delay is crucial to implement effective prevention programs. Available screening instruments are based on parents' reports and have only insufficient predictive validity. This study employed observational measures of preverbal infants' gestural communication to test its predictive validity for identifying later language delays. Pointing behavior of fifty‐nine 12‐month‐old infants was analyzed and related to their language skills 1 year later. Results confirm predictive validity of preverbal communication for language skills with the hand shape of pointing being superior compared to the underlying motives for pointing (imperative vs. declarative). Twelve‐month‐olds who pointed only with their open hand but never with their index finger were at risk for primary language delay at 2 years of age.     

Functioning and participation of young adults with ASD in higher education according to the ICF framework

Because of a better understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in all stages of life and the improvement of support of students with ASD in primary and secondary education, an increasing number of students with ASD are accessing higher education. Previous research suggests that these students have fewer opportunities in higher education due to a number of functioning and participation problems. However, literature regarding students with ASD in higher education is rather scarce. This article presents an overview of recent studies in a literature review describing the functioning and participation problems of young adults with ASD. This literature review is complemented by focus groups with student mentors and interviews with students with ASD to connect the insights from the literature review to the context of higher education and to check whether all functioning and participation problems are covered by the existing literature. The review showed that little is known about the functioning and participation problems of students with ASD in higher education. However, knowledge about the full spectrum of problems can be the first step towards a better match between the individual problems and the offered reasonable accommodations to increase the participation chances and success rate of these students in higher education.     

Body dissatisfaction in normal weight children – sports activities and motives for engaging in sports

Body dissatisfaction is a phenomenon that may already occur in childhood and is linked to a variety of psychosocial risks. As the role of physical activity in the context of body dissatisfaction is still ambivalent, a cross-sectional study with 602 normal weight children (50.2% girls; M_age?=?9.23 years; SD?=?0.79) was conducted. The children filled in the MoMo-Questionnaire, including items about their physical activities and motives for being physically active, as well as Bender’s Body Esteem and Muscularity Concern Scale with the three subscales “body satisfaction”, “weight and shape concerns”, and “muscularity concerns”. Independent t-tests revealed that girls were less worried about muscularity than boys (M_girls?=?1.94, SD_girls?=?1.11 vs. M_boys?=?3.12, SD_boys?=?1.43; t(560)?=?11.33, p?d?=?0.92), whereas girls showed greater weight and shape concerns than boys (M_girls?=?2.24, SD_girls?=?0.97 vs. M_boys?=?2.05, SD_boys?=?0.92; t(549)?=?2.32, p?=?.02, d?=?0.20). In boys, physical activity is associated with less muscularity, weight, and shape concerns. Body satisfaction increases with health and fitness motives. In girls, the role of physical activity is ambivalent: girls who engage in sports do not differ in body dissatisfaction from non-active girls. In sportive girls, weight and shape concerns increased with more health and fitness motives. Finally, the study provides first insights into body dissatisfaction and the different role of physical activity in boys and girls in childhood.     

Anerkennungs- und Missachtungsprozesse im Sportunterricht

This paper focuses on an extract of a broad research project about processes of recognition and non-recognition among students in physical education (PE). Based on a mixed-method research design (e.g. video recordings, sociograms, video-stimulated recall interviews and rating of sport motor competency of students by PE teachers), the complexity and contextuality of student interactions in PE were reconstructed. Due to a systematical data triangulation, different PE contexts could be identified where students transmit recognition and non-recognition by using different strategies. This paper presents the results of one of these contexts where PE teachers make students regulate their own exercise, learning or game processes. In these situations, students refer to different power sources: situational control of resources, sport motor competence and/or social position, mutual friendship and image of a power person. The social order in the class is visibly constructed in form of recognition and non-recognition relations.     

Charakteristika und Determinanten der Hausaufgabenpraxis in Deutschland von der vierten zur siebten Klassenstufe

Zusammenfassung Im vorliegenden Beitrag wurde untersucht, wie sich von der vierten bis zur siebten Klassenstufe das h?usliche Lernen im Fach Mathematik gestaltet. Anhand l?ngsschnittlicher Daten von 133 Schülern und deren Eltern wurden Art und Umfang elterlicher Hilfe analysiert, wobei die Güte der Lernunterstützung durch Eltern an der erzieherischen Funktion der Hausaufgaben festgemacht wurde. Im Ergebnis stellen selbst bei den Siebtkl?sslern die Schüler, die die Hausaufgaben ohne Hilfe erledigen, eine Minderheit dar. Verbreitet ist dagegen eine flexible, am Bedarf orientierte Hilfe, die durch ein Nebeneinander von funktionalen und eher kontraproduktiven Strategien gekennzeichnet ist. Von den Faktoren, die zur Vorhersage der von Eltern und weiteren Bezugspersonen geleisteten Hilfe herangezogen wurden, erwies sich weder die Schulbildung noch die überzeugung der Eltern, ihre Kinder wirksam beim Lernen unterstützen zu k?nnen, als relevanter Pr?diktor. Lediglich die kindliche Leistungsf?higkeit und teilweise auch die mütterliche Berufst?tigkeit leisten Beitr?ge zur Vorhersage von Unterschieden in qualitativen und quantitativen Aspekten elterlicher Hilfe. Besonders auff?llig sind stark divergierende Angaben von Eltern und Kindern bezüglich der Hilfe durch Dritte, die m?glicherweise von Eltern stark untersch?tzt wird.