Lay perceptions of collectives at the outbreak of the H1N1 epidemic: heroes, villains and victims

Lay perceptions of collectives (e.g., groups, organizations, countries) implicated in the 2009 H1N1 outbreak were studied. Collectives serve symbolic functions to help laypersons make sense of the uncertainty involved in a disease outbreak. We argue that lay representations are dramatized, featuring characters like heroes, villains and victims. In interviews conducted soon after the outbreak, 47 Swiss respondents discussed the risk posed by H1N1, its origins and effects, and protective measures. Countries were the most frequent collectives mentioned. Poor, underdeveloped countries were depicted as victims, albeit ambivalently, as they were viewed as partly responsible for their own plight. Experts (physicians, researchers) and political and health authorities were depicted as heroes. Two villains emerged: the media (viewed as fear mongering or as a puppet serving powerful interests) and private corporations (e.g., the pharmaceutical industry). Laypersons' framing of disease threat diverges substantially from official perspectives.     

Integration in the Federal Republic of Germany: experiences related to professional identity and strategies of teacher training in Berlin

School organisation is changing in respect of social integration since school models of integrating handicapped pupils were introduced from 1975. Three basic models are being implemented; differentiating instructional objects; peripatetic teacher system and cooperative schools. The concepts of professionalisation in pre‐ and inservice teacher training focus upon the teachers as key‐persons of the social environment as well as of the learning process; this results in the change of the professional identity of teachers.     

Effects of single‐sex versus co‐educational classes and schools on gender differences in progress in language and mathematics achievement

In this study, the effects of single‐sex versus co‐educational classes and schools on the progress in language and mathematics of boys and girls at the end of the second year of secondary education are investigated. Data from the Longitudinaal Onderzoek Secundair Onderwijs project are used. Multilevel analyses were carried out on a sample of approximately 4000 pupils, 330 classes (190 single‐sex), 180 teachers and 50 schools (20 single‐sex). The results indicate that for boys the gender composition of the classes has more impact than the gender composition of the schools, whereas for girls the gender composition of the schools is more important. Boys make more progress for language (and not for mathematics) in co‐educational classes even after we have taken into account the selective nature of the classes. Girls, on the other hand, make more progress for mathematics (but not for language) in single‐sex than in co‐educational schools.     

PISA as a Political Tool in Spain: Assessment Instrument,Academic Discourse and Political Reform

This study examines to what extent there is a sort of “political appropiation” by political parties when they seek to set a discourse about the Spanish PISA outcomes. We have consistently found that programs for assessing the competencies of students, especially PISA, have become tools of rationalization and the legitimization of education policies in both the national and territorial contexts. Furthermore, each regional government focuses its discourse on what it feels to be its strong points, that is, a clear “self-justifying reading” of PISA outcomes.     

Prospective teachers' initial conceptions about pupils' understanding of science and mathematics

Earlier reports have shown that prospective teachers' conceptions about teaching science to a high degree are resistant and do not change substantially during the teacher‐training programme. In our investigation we elucidate the prospective teachers' initial conceptions about pupils' understanding of science and mathematics. We applied ‘The Lesson Preparation Method' and used a phenomenographic approach in order to reveal the range of conceptions that the prospective teachers hold. A third of the prospective teachers did not consider pupils' conceptions when planning lessons. The rest of the 32 participants expressed awareness; some of the prospective teachers even referred to subject‐specific teaching experience. Also regarding the prospective teachers' conceptions about pupils' knowledge and beliefs, as well as about pupils' difficulties, there was a significant diversity. By raising these issues about pedagogical content knowledge the prospective teachers' conceptions can be extended and developed during the education.     

What a Girl! Fighting Gentleness in the Picture Book World: An Analysis of the Norwegian Picture Book <Emphasis Type="Italic">What a Girl</Emphasis>! by Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus

The Norwegian picture book What a Girl! (original title Snill) by Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus was published 2011 and immediately gained a large audience. The book tells the story about a girl who always behaves in the ways expected of her: she never confronts her parents, her teacher or her classmates. This behaviour makes her invisible; she disappears into a wall, causing those around her to take notice. After a while, she fights herself out of the wall, emerging a completely different girl, a strong girl with a will of her own. However, she does not come alone: she has taken with her all the silent females, who had disappeared into the wall before her. The picture book story has fascinated both young and adult readers, and many student teachers have discussed it as part of their curriculum at university. The experienced reader will find intertextual relationships to other texts, where women disappear into the wall such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper (1899) and Patrice Kindl’s The Woman in the Wall (1997). The less-experienced reader will encounter a fascinating story of a girl fighting for her freedom and self-esteem. This article will present a multimodal analysis of the cover page and some significant spreads building on social semiotic theory and tools for analysing multimodal texts. The analysis will give a basis for discussing the development of the main character as a liberation project.     

Metacognitive development and moving away

It is now largely accepted that social and cultural factors have a significant impact on cognitive development in children. Piaget acknowledged the impact of social factors and peer interaction on cognitive development. However, there has been relatively little work on the impact of social and cultural factors on the development of metacognition in first‐year university students. Using the Learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI) as a measure of metacognition, this study samples first‐year undergraduates in Hong Kong (N = 1815) and identifies significant differences in metacognitive abilities between students living in their home environment and those who have moved away from their family and, in some cases, culture, to pursue undergraduate education.     

Networking frameworks: a method for analyzing the complexities of classroom cultures focusing on justifying

In this paper, we network five frameworks (cognitive demand, lesson cohesion, cognitive engagement, collective argumentation, and student contribution) for an analytic approach that allows us to present a more holistic picture of classrooms which engage students in justifying. We network these frameworks around the edges of the instructional triangle as a means to coordinate them to illustrate the observable relationships among teacher, students(s), and content. We illustrate the potential of integrating these frameworks via analysis of two lessons that, while sharing surface level similarities, are profoundly different when considering the complexities of a classroom focused on justifying. We found that this integrated comparison across all dimensions (rather than focusing on just one or two) was a useful way to compare lessons with respect to a classroom culture that is characterized by students engaging in justifying.

     

Misconceptions die hard: prevalence and reduction of wrong beliefs in topics from educational psychology among preservice teachers

Endorsement of educational psychological misconceptions among preservice teachers can be a threat for reaching educational goals. Therefore, it is of societal interest whether preservice teachers hold educational psychological misconceptions and, if they do, whether these misconceptions can be reduced through confrontation with empirical evidence. Prevalence and refutability of misconceptions were analyzed among N = 937 German preservice teachers who participated in an online survey. Results indicated a high prevalence of educational psychological misconceptions but also the possibility of a reduction through refutation-style texts. However, only few preservice teachers shifted their opinions from (rather) endorsing a misconception to (rather) not endorsing it after reading the text. We conclude that educational psychological misconceptions are common among German preservice teachers and that merely presenting empirical evidence is insufficient to effectively counteract misconceptions. Future research should deepen the understanding of why and wherefrom these misconceptions occur and develop efficient interventions to counteract misconceptions among preservice teachers.