PERSONALITY-CAREER FIT AND FRESHMAN MEDICAL CAREER ASPIRATIONS: A Test of Holland's Theory

Employing Holland's personality theory ofoccupational decision making, this study explores howpersonality-career fit influences initial medical careeraspirations among college freshmen, and the extent to which such fit is associated with themaintenance or abandonment of those aspirations.Personality types thought to be common among physicians(Holland's investigative, social, or artistic types) are predictive of aspiring to a medicalcareer-findings that validate the importance offit between an individual's personalityand career choice generally, and the choice of medicinespecifically. Moreover, the personality characteristics ofstudents are related to the careers they later choose asalternatives to medicine. Overall, these findingsprovide additional support for Holland's occupational decision-making theory of personality-careerfit, and illustrate how personality characteristics aresystematically associated with changes in career choiceduring college.     

Exploring marine ecosystems with elementary school Portuguese children: inquiry-based project activities focused on ‘real-life’ contexts

The purpose of the study was to investigate how young students engage in an inquiry-based project driven by real-life contexts. Elementary school children were engaged in a small inquiry project centred on marine biodiversity and species adaptations. All activities included the exploration of an out-of-school setting as a learning context. A total of 49 students and 2 teachers were involved in the activities. The research methods included observation, document analysis and content analysis of the answers to a questionnaire and an interview. The results revealed that most of the students acquired scientific knowledge related to biological diversity and adaptations to habitat. Moreover, students progressively demonstrate greater autonomy, argumentative ability and decision-making. One implication of the present study is that elementary science curriculum could be better managed with inquiry project-based activities that explore different types of resources and out-of-school settings.     

Going virtual and going wide: comparing Team-Based Learning in-class versus online and across disciplines

Education and Information Technologies - Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning pedagogy developed for in-class sessions and based on the collaborative work of small groups of students....     

Early childhood practicum students' professional growth in the USA: areas of confidence and concern

This research examines specific areas of confidence and concern as expressed by 40 American undergraduate early childhood students on a practicum (supervised field-based internships); if their beliefs changed over the course of their practicum, and if prior teaching experience had an impact on their confidence levels. Areas of confidence and concern were determined through questionnaires, reflections and interviews at three points in time during the semester. Findings indicate that students were more confident when arranging the physical environment and least confident in managing children's behaviour. Significant changes in understanding and interaction with children, planning and implementing activities and overall confidence were observed over time periods. Experienced students initially showed and maintained higher confidence levels than inexperienced students who were much less confident at the start of the practicum, but improved significantly. Interestingly, by the end of the semester, this latter group was as confident as more experienced students. Here the factors that affected confidence, the factors that boosted student confidence at different time periods and differences in confidence among students based on prior experience are discussed.     

Enhancing the written medium for culturally diverse learners via reciprocal interaction

A positive view of culturally diverse learners is advocated. The written medium can serve as an opportunity for self-expression and empowerment. A reciprocal interaction model that allows for student control and capitalizes on student interest is far more culturally responsive than current deficit models.     

Special education in Spain at the beginning of the 21st century: the challenge to educate in an unequal and multicultural society

An overview of the challenges facing the Spanish Special Education system at the turn of the century is presented. Significant changes have occurred in Spain over the last two decades that have affected the landscape of Spanish public schools in an unprecedented way. First, since the late 1980s, students with a variety of disabilities have been attending general education classrooms along with their peers. Additionally, for the last 20 years, Spain has experienced a dramatic increase in immigration patterns from Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Thus, Spanish educators are facing the challenge of educating an increasingly heterogeneous student body. Students' different educational needs are often handed down to the special educator teacher who is faced with the task of ensuring the student's academic and social participation. Reform efforts conducted by Spanish educators to ensure that all students, regardless of their gender, ability level, ethnic and social backgrounds, as well as language and religion of origin, have equal access to a full social and academic participation in their schools and communities are described.     

Unionization and Perceived Control Among Community College Faculty

The research reported in this paper examined what role working in a union or nonunion college has in influencing faculty perceptions of control over their work. Using data from the 1993, 1999, and 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, this study explored the relative importance of variables in influencing perceived control among full-time teaching faculty in unionized and nonunionized community colleges. Union status was not found to be predictive of perceived control.     

Trekking back to mainstream for inclusive education,is it there?

This paper explores the ecosystemic management strategies for inclusive schools due to challenges faced by the schools in the mainstream school where learners from the specialised institutions are referred back to mainstream for inclusive education. Ecosystemic perspective on inclusive education, ecological theories and systems theories underpin this paper. The study was done through interviews, field notes and observations of 120 participants comprising the SMTs, educators and parents. The findings indicate that schools face great challenges in managing inclusive schools. A lot has been published on inclusive education, but none of them offers ecosystemic management strategies for the school management to follow. The article concludes by offering ecosystemic management strategies for successful implementation of inclusive education.