Simulating variation in order to learn classroom management

Classroom management is an important part of learning to be a teacher. The variation theory of learning provides the insight that it is important to vary the critical aspects of any task or subject that is to be learned. Simulation technology is useful in order to provide a controlled environment for that variation, and text as a medium gives the opportunity to control exactly what aspects are presented to the learner. This study shows that text-based simulation has the potential to help the learner discern critical aspects of classroom management.     

In search of the new engineer: gender,age, and social class in information about engineering education

ABSTRACT

It is widely argued that engineering education needs to change in order to attract new groups of students and provide students with knowledge appropriate for the future society. In this paper we, therefore, investigate and analyse Swedish universities’ websites, focusing on what characteristics are brought to the fore as important for tomorrow’s engineers. The data consist of text and pictures/photos from nine different Engineering Mechanics programme websites. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, we identify three societal discourses concerning ‘technological progression’, ‘sustainability’, and ‘neoliberal ideals’, evident in the websites. These discourses make certain engineering identities possible, that we have labelled: traditional, contemporary, responsible, and self-made engineer. Our analysis shows that universities’ efforts to diversify students’ participation in engineering education simultaneously reveal stereotypical norms concerning gender and age. We also argue that strong neoliberal notions about the self-made engineer can derail awareness of a gendered, classed, and racialized society.     

Supporting Pupils in Finnish and Swedish Schools—Teachers’ Views

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the different support systems used by teachers in compulsory education. Class and subject teachers and special educators from Finland (N?=?57) and Sweden (N?=?57) participated in the study, in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Participants completed an electronic questionnaire to identify the supports and methods they use when working with pupils who have special educational needs. The findings indicate both similarities and differences between the two countries. One of the most common forms of support was individualisation, including pedagogical modifications. Methods of supporting academic skills such as reading differed from those used to support behavioral issues. Positive pedagogy and structuring the environment were used ways of supporting pupils with behavioral challenges. Results for both countries are compared and support needs are discussed.     

Exploring processes of collaborative creativity—The role of emotions in children''s joint creative writing

This paper reports a study on children's classroom-based collaborative creative writing. Based on socio-cultural theory, the central aim of the research was to contribute to current understanding of young children's creativity, and describe ways in which peer collaboration can resource, stimulate and enhance classroom-based creative writing. The study drew on longitudinal observations of ongoing classroom activities in year 3 and year 4 classrooms, working with 24 children (12 pairs) aged 7–9 in England. The pairs’ collaborative creative writing sessions were observed and recorded using video and audio equipment in the literacy classroom and in the ICT suite with 2–4 recordings per pair. A functional model was developed to analyse cognitive processes associated with creative text composition (engagement and reflection) via the in-depth study of collaborative discourse. Based on the analysis of paired talk, the study has identified discourse patterns and collaborative strategies which facilitate sharedness and thus support joint creative writing activities. A key finding was the centrality of emotions in the observed creative writing sessions. This paper discusses the role of emotion-driven thinking in phases of shared engagement. The study has implications for creativity research and pedagogy, revealing the special features of shared creative thinking. It also contributes to the current methodological debate about how best to analyse collaborative discourse, highlighting the need to explore the generalisability and domain specificity of existing characterisations of productive groupwork.     

Intergenerational transmission of gender segregation: How parents’ occupational field affects gender differences in field of study choices

The study explores how parents’ occupational field affects gender differences in educational fields. On the one hand, the theory of direct transfer predicts that adolescents enter fields similar to those of their parents because of intergenerational transmission of occupation‐specific resources and that adolescents are more likely to draw upon the resources provided by the higher‐status parent. On the other hand, the theory of sex‐role learning predicts that boys and girls are more likely to choose more gender‐stereotypical fields of study because they learn ‘appropriate’ gender‐role behaviour from their parents’ occupational field and that boys are more likely to learn this behaviour from their father and girls from their mother. We use longitudinal data collected from adolescents and their parents in the Netherlands (N = 2,497) and tested our hypotheses using multiple‐group structural equation modelling and multinomial regression analyses. In line with sex‐role learning, results show that especially mothers who are employed in a more feminine occupational field influence their daughters to enter a more feminine field of study (health, biology, agriculture and veterinary) and their sons to enter a more masculine field of study (science and technology). Mothers’ occupational field therefore not only influences girls’ field of study, but also boys’. This study highlights the role of horizontal characteristics when examining which field of study adolescents enter. Contrary to the stratification literature, which primarily focuses on fathers, this study concludes that mothers play a more important role in gender differences in fields of study.     

Establishing systemic social and emotional learning approaches in schools: a framework for schoolwide implementation

Abstract

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a fundamental part of education. Incorporating high-quality SEL programming into day-to-day classroom and school practices has emerged as a main goal for many practitioners over the past decade. The present article overviews the current state of SEL research and practice, with a particular focus on the United States. The need for a model of SEL that goes beyond the classroom is illustrated, and a systemic approach to implementing SEL school-wide is introduced. It is argued that school-wide SEL maximises the benefits of SEL programming by becoming the organising framework for fostering students’ potential as scholars, community members, and citizens. Further, a Theory of Action (ToA) developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is presented that serves as a blueprint for implementing systemic SEL in schools. Potential challenges and barriers involved in moving toward school-wide SEL implementation are considered and discussed.     

Engagement in business simulation games: A self-system model of motivational development

This research draws on the self-system model of motivational development to explain how the use of business simulation games in class facilitates students’ engagement and enhances their learning. Based on a survey of 360 undergraduate students who played a business simulation game in a marketing course, the findings show that students’ perceptions of competence, autonomy, relatedness and self-efficacy have a positive impact on their cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement. In addition, cognitive and emotional engagement have a positive influence on skills development and perceived learning.     

The effect of formal teacher education on reading achievement of 3rd‐grade students in public and independent schools in Sweden

This study investigates the influence of teacher competence on 3rd‐grade students’ reading achievement in public and independent schools in Sweden. The data come from the Swedish participation in PIRLS 2001 (Progress in Reading Literacy Study 2001) and comprise some 10,000 students. Students in independent schools achieved better on the reading test than did students in public schools, but when parents’ education was controlled for, the effect on students’ achievement of school type disappeared. Teacher certification for teaching in the early grades had a strong effect on students’ mean reading test scores in both school types, while no significant effects of teacher experience, age, gender, in‐service training or cooperation could be established. Though school type had no influence of itself, it was a mediating factor for both parents’ education and teachers’ education. These effects, however, worked in opposite directions.     

Recommendations for the use of e‐tools for improvements around assignment marking quality

This article reports on selected aspects of a larger study on the use of electronic tools in the context of the management and marking of assignments. The study comprised a literature review, interviews and a review of e‐tools. The article briefly summarises the findings from the literature on what comprises quality in assignment marking. The focus then shifts towards the analysis of the interviews on e‐tool use for assignments that were conducted with 90 lecturers across five higher education institutions in New Zealand, selected purposively for engagement in this area. The article shows how these lecturers are using e‐tools to support the management and marking of assignments. Special emphasis is given on grounding the e‐tool use in educational theories on assignment marking. An important issue with high quality assignment marking is the time required. The article shows how e‐tools are used to increase efficiency, with the time freed‐up being invested into quality improvements, again supported by e‐tools.     

Effect of Secondary Schools on Academic Choices and on Success in Higher Education

Follow-up data from a group of final-grade students of the 65 schools that participated in the Flemish Longitudinal Research in Secondary Education project (Van Damme, De Fraine, Van Landeghem, Opdenakker, & Onghena, 2002) were collected to study the long-term effects of the secondary school on the educational choice when leaving secondary education and on subsequent outcomes in higher education. Multilevel logistic regression models showed significant long-term effects of secondary schools on both outcome variables. Indications are found that the effects are mediated by the achievement level of the students at the end of secondary education. An important additional finding was that grade repetition has negative long-term consequences after leaving secondary education, which raises questions about a justified policy regarding students that are at risk of academic failure.