A Cross-National Study of Secondary Science Classroom Environments in Australia and Indonesia

This article reports a cross-national study of classroom environments in Australia and Indonesia. A modified version of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire was used simultaneously in these two countries to: 1) crossvalidate the modified WIHIC; 2) investigate differences between countries and sexes in perceptions of classroom environment; and 3) investigate associations between students’ attitudes to science and their perceptions of classroom environment. The sample consisted of 1,161 students (594 students from 18 classes in Indonesia and 567 students from 18 classes in Australia). Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation supported the validity of a revised structure for the WIHIC. Two-way MANOVA revealed some differences between countries and between sexes in students’ perceptions of their classroom environments. Simple correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed generally positive associations between the classroom environment and student attitudes to science in both countries.     

Early Attachment Organization Moderates the Parent–Child Mutually Coercive Pathway to Children's Antisocial Conduct

This multimethod study of 101 mothers, fathers, and children elucidates poorly understood role of children's attachment security as moderating a common maladaptive trajectory: from parental power assertion, to child resentful opposition, to child antisocial conduct. Children's security was assessed at 15 months, parents' power assertion observed at 25 and 38 months, children's resentful opposition to parents observed at 52 months, and antisocial conduct rated by parents at 67 months. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that in insecure dyads, parental power assertion predicted children's resentful opposition, which then predicted antisocial conduct. This mechanism was absent in secure dyads. Early insecurity acts as a catalyst for a dyad embarking on mutually adversarial path toward antisocial outcomes, whereas early security defuses this maladaptive trajectory.     

The Determinants of Web Use Within an Economics Principles Course

This article considers the determinants of student access of a specific course Web site from a Principles of Macroeconomics course. As they prepare for the course's in-class exams, students may choose either or both of two Web resource types, a dynamic resource (interactive multiple choice practice exams) or various static resources. The article addresses two related questions. First, we ask whether a given set of characteristics affects the access of these different Web site resources similarly. Second, we explore the influence of certain student characteristics on the student decision to access a given Web resource. In general terms, our findings suggest results that are consistent with existing studies of how students learn. Our results also suggest that a greater diversity of resources will, in fact, elicit wider use of one's course Web site.     

Target students in year 8 science classrooms: A comparison with and extension of existing research

Conclusion The aims of this study were to replicate existing target student research and to investigate the possible contribution student perceptions of their classroom environment could add to existing research findings. Although target students of the types previously identified were found to exist, and found in similar numbers, there the similarity with previous findings ceased. They were not dominantly male and there was a cross-gender relationship with the teacher. The inclusion of student perceptions of their classroom environment did add to the personal characteristics in helping to describe target students. However, their characteristics were not consistent across classes, and although a rationale could be developed to explain the existence of the different types of target students in classrooms, these explanations were idiosyncratic to particular classrooms. The findings in this study would suggest caution in making generalizations about the characteristics of, and rationales for, target students in Year 8 science classrooms.     

Assessment and investigation of science laboratory skills among year 5 students

In line with the current interest in alternative and authentic assessment, this study focused on the evaluation of students' performance on science laboratory process skills. A sample of 147 year 5 students from six schools responded to laboratory process skills tests which assess investigating, performing and reasoning in the content areas of biology, chemistry and physics. The data were analysed to provide information about students' overall practical performance and to identify specific preinstructional conceptions and erros. An investigation of predictors of laboratory performance revealed significant associations between performance and amount of homework done and students' perceptions of several aspects of the classroom environment (personalisation, investigation and organisation). The gender differences commonly found in science achievement were absent when laboratory performance was used as the criterion.