Evaluative Conditioning and the Development of Attitudes in Early Childhood

Many attitudes are acquired in early childhood. However, due to a lack of experimental research, little is known about the processes of how they are acquired. Two experiments were therefore conducted with 153 German kindergarten children aged 3–6 years that provide first evidence for childhood attitude formation in terms of evaluative conditioning. Specifically, it was found that children preferred novel stimuli previously paired with liked stimuli over novel stimuli previously paired with disliked stimuli. This effect occurred independently of age, generalized toward similar novel stimuli, and did not depend on children's recollection of how stimuli were paired. The findings are discussed in terms of the processes underlying childhood attitude formation, and implications for related research areas are highlighted.     

Belastung und Beanspruchung von Lehrern und Schülern am Gymnasium

Die Frage, ob 12 oder 13 Schuljahre notwendig sind, um erfolgreich zum Abitur zu gelangen, wird seit Jahren in Deutschland kontrovers diskutiert. Sp?testens seit der Ver?ffentlichung der Ergebnisse des weltweiten mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Leistungsvergleichs (TIMSS) steht dieses Thema auf der bildungspolitischen Tagesordnung. In die seitdem nicht abrei?ende Debatte um die Schulzeitdauer wurde auch das Argument einer erh?hten und damit nicht zumutbaren Belastung und Beanspruchung von Lehrern und Schülern durch eine 12-j?hrige Schulzeit eingebracht. Die Autoren dieses Beitrags haben dieses Argument für die Situation an Thüringer Gymnasien empirisch überprüft. Mittels standardisierter Frageb?gen wurden rund 5.500 Schüler und 1.100 Lehrer in Thüringen (12 Schuljahre), Bayern und Brandenburg (jeweils 13 Schuljahre) befragt. — Bei der begrifflichen Trennung von Belastung und Beanspruchung orientieren sich die Autoren an psychologischtransaktionalen Modellen der Wahrnehmung und Verarbeitung belastender Situationen. In diesem Beitrag wird deshalb nicht nur die zeitliche Belastung an Gymnasien in den Blick genommen, sondern auch der Frage nach den Auswirkungen der zeitlichen Belastung auf das Belastungserleben (Beanspruchung) von Lehrern und Schülern nachgegangen. Abschlie?end werden die von den Autoren analysierten Zusammenh?nge zwischen zeitlicher Belastung, situativen Bedingungen und Beanspruchung von Lehrern und Schülern am Gymnasium im Hinblick auf die forschungsleitende Fragestellung diskutiert.     

Boys’ and girls’ educational choices in secondary education. The role of gender ideology

This study aims to explain why boys and girls in secondary education choose different educational tracks. We argue that adolescents internalise gender expectations as to what is “appropriate” male and female behaviour in their gender ideology. Gender ideology can affect educational choices by influencing (1) how adolescents evaluate their competence in certain subjects (competence beliefs), (2) what they find important in a future occupation (occupational values) and (3) what school subject they prefer right now (subject preferences). Longitudinal data collected among adolescents at age 15 and 16 (N = 1062) are used. Multinomial path models show that gender ideology shapes boys’ occupational values and subject preferences, whereas for girls it shapes their competence beliefs. Only for boys this leads to gender-stereotypical educational choices, however. Our results support the idea that gender expectations are stricter for boys than for girls and may prevent men from entering more feminine career tracks.     

Relative age effects in a cognitive task: A case study of youth chess

The relative age effect (RAE) has been demonstrated in many youth and professional sports. In this study, we hypothesized that there would also be a RAE among youth chess players who are typically involved in a complex cognitive task without significant physical requirements. While typical RAEs have been observed in adult chess players, in this paper we wanted to focus primarily on youth chess players. In addition, we also examined RAEs in both participation rates and performance levels in a national chess championship. Therefore, the RAE was examined in a complex cognitive task that has no significant physical requirements, more specifically among youth chess players. Data were analyzed (1) for all registered Belgian youth chess players over a 5-year period (2009–2013) and (2) for participants of the Belgian youth championship 2013. Results indicated an overall RAE among all Belgian youth chess players over the last 5 years. The likelihood of participation was significantly greater for players born in the first birth-date quartile (χ² = 10.21, p < .05; r = ?.77, p < .01; w = .07) and the likelihood of participation decreased when youth chess players were born in the last quartile of the year. These effects were most prominent in the under-8 and under-10 year olds. There also appeared to be a performance-related RAE. Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests (p < .05) showed that players born in the first months of the selection year were significantly more often in the top 10 players for each age level of the Belgian Youth Championship 2013.     

The influence of university students’ learning beliefs on their intentions to use mobile technologies in learning: a study in China and Spain

Educational technology research and development - As an emerging learning method, mobile technologies allow students to gain knowledge via both formal and informal learning. In spite of the...     

Families with Gifted Adolescents

Studies of families with gifted adolescents have revealed conflicting results. Adolescents, mothers, and fathers of 84 families with a gifted adolescent and of 95 families with a non‐gifted adolescent evaluated their family system independently. Dependent variables were cohesion, democratic family style (adaptability), organisation, achievement orientation, communication, and intellectual‐cultural orientation. Neither statistically nor practically significant relationships between giftedness and family system variables could be observed from the perspectives of the adolescents, the mothers, or the fathers. Contradictory results from other studies can be primarily attributed to their methodological shortcomings, labelling effects, or both. The mean inter‐rater agreement was r = .46 for mothers and fathers, r = .38 for adolescents and mothers, and r = .35 for adolescents and fathers.     

Linking mathematics with engineering applications at an early stage – implementation,experimental set-up and evaluation of a pilot project

Too difficult, too abstract, too theoretical – many first-year engineering students complain about their mathematics courses. The project MathePraxis aims to resolve this disaffection. It links mathematical methods as they are taught in the first semesters with practical problems from engineering applications – and thereby shall give first-year engineering students a vivid and convincing impression of where they will need mathematics in their later working life. But since real applications usually require more than basic mathematics and first-year engineering students typically are not experienced with construction, mensuration and the use of engineering software, such an approach is hard to realise. In this article, we show that it is possible. We report on the implementation of MathePraxis at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. We describe the set-up and the implementation of a course on designing a mass damper which combines basic mathematical techniques with an impressive experiment. In an accompanying evaluation, we have examined the students' motivation relating to mathematics. This opens up new perspectives how to address the need for a more practically oriented mathematical education in engineering sciences.     

The potential of supplemental instruction in engineering education: creating additional peer-guided learning opportunities in difficult compulsory courses for first-year students

Supplemental Instruction (SI) can be an efficient way of improving student success in difficult courses. Here, a study is made on SI attached to difficult first-year engineering courses. The results show that both the percentage of students passing a difficult first-year engineering course, and scores on the course exams are considerably higher for students attending SI, compared to students not attending. The study also shows that a higher percentage of female students attend SI, compared to male students. However, both genders seem to benefit to the same degree as a result of attending SI meetings. Also all students, independent of prior academic ability, benefit from attending SI. A qualitative study suggests that SI meetings provide elements important for understanding course material, which are missing from other scheduled learning opportunities in the courses.     

Faculty in Transition: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Role of Perceived Control and Type of Institution in Adjustment to Postsecondary Institutions

As postsecondary institutions undergo major changes in the coming years, they will be hardpressed to maintain the quality of their programs unless they can successfully attract and retain new faculty. Understanding something about the experiences of new faculty should enable postsecondary institutions to be more effective in the recruitment process. The present study examined the adjustment of newly hired faculty at the point of entry into their institutions and subsequently for a three-year period. It was expected that perceived personal control, teaching experience, gender, type of institution, and time would be particularly critical to the adjustment of new faculty. Three surveys were administered one year apart to newly hired, tenure-track faculty who responded to questions about their adjustment experiences. The results indicated that perceived control is a critical factor affecting new hires' emotional well-being, stress levels, job satisfaction, etc., either by itself or in combination with institution type and time. Overall, new hires who were identified as having greater control believed they had more control over their teaching and career in general, were more satisfied with their teaching and their career, had less teaching- and career-related job stress, and were less likely to consider quitting their job. The type of institution also affected new hires' adjustment, with the liberal arts colleges and a comprehensive I institution having the most negative impact compared with a community college and a research I institution. Finally, time had an unexpected negative effect on adjustment. These finding were discussed in relation to the career development of faculty.