A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by science teachers and students

This study of perceptions of classroom environment is distinctive in that, first, it made use of two instruments (the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and Classroom Environment Scale) which have had very little use in prior science education research and, second, it involved assessment not only of student perceptions of actual environment, but also of student perceptions of preferred environments and teacher perceptions of actual environment. Administration of these instruments to a sample of 2175 junior high school students in 116 classes revealed that the environment scales exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity in each of the three forms (student actual, student preferred, and teacher actual), and that there were some fascinating systematic differences between the profiles of environment scale scores obtained for the different forms. In particular, it was generally found that students preferred a more favorable classroom environment then was perceived as being actually present and that teachers perceived the environment of their classes more favorably than did students in the same classrooms.     

Notes on the progress and plans for educational research in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Educational research in Vietnam is directed primarily by the National Institute of Educational Science (NIES), which consists of some thirteen specialised research departments. The Institute investigates various long-term aspects of educational policy reform, curriculum innovation and methodological approaches to education as well as more specialised fields such as national-ethnic minorities and population education.The major tasks of educational research in Vietnam have to be predicated on the demands of a developing society wishing to modernise its educational structure qualitatively while coping quantitatively with enormous population growth and a situation where school-age children currently comprise some 30% of the total population. Hence, harsh demographic realities and limited economic resources have to be offset, where possible, by efficient utilisation of the intellectual capital of the people and by the establishment of realistic educational priorities on the part of the government. These are amongst the major considerations of the NIES and are exemplified by the kind of research publications already emanating from the Institute as well as by the recently announced five-year plan for research development during the period 1981–1985.

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Zusammenfassung In Vietnam wird pädagogische Forschung in erster Linie von dem National Institute of Educational Science (NIES) gesteuert, das aus dreizehn spezialisierten Forschungsabteilungen besteht. Das Institut erforscht verschiedene langfristige Aspekte der erziehungspolitischen Reform, Curriculum-Innovation und methodologische Erziehungsansätze sowie speziellere Gebiete wie das der national-ethnic minorities und das der population education.Die Hauptaufgaben der pädagogischen Forschung in Vietnam müssen auf den Forderungen einer sich entwickelnden Gesellschaft basieren, die einerseits ihr Erziehungssystem qualitativ modernisieren möchte, andererseits jedoch quantitativ bei einem enormen Bevölkerungswachstum mit einer Situation fertig werden muß, in der derzeit 30% der Gesamtbevölkerung Kinder im schulpflichtigen Alter sind. Deshalb müssen harte demographische Realitäten und begrenzte ökonomische Ressourcen so ausgeglichen werden, daß, wo immer möglich, das intellektuelle Kapital der Bevölkerung wirksam genutzt wird und realistische pädagogische Prioritäten von der Regierung gesetzt werden. Diese Gesichtspunkte gehören zu den Hauptüberlegungen des NIES. Sie werden durch die Art der von diesem Institut bereits herausgegebenen Forschungsberichte sowie durch den kürzlich angekündigten Fünf-Jahres-Plan zur Forschungsentwicklung für die Zeit von 1981 bis 1985 belegt.

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Résumé Au Viet-Nam, la recherche en matière d'éducation est assurée essentiellement par l'Institut National des Sciences de l'Education (INSE) qui regroupe quelque treize départements de recherche spécialisés. L'Institut étudie les différents aspects à long terme de la réforme de la politique de l'éducation, de l'innovation du curriculum et des approches méthodologiques de l'éducation ainsi que des domaines plus spécialisés tels les minorités ethniques nationales et l'éducation en matière de population.Les principales tâches de la recherche en matière d'éducation au Viet-Nam doivent être formulées d'après les besoins d'une société en développement qui souhaite moderniser qualitativement sa structure éducative et faire face quantitativement à une énorme augmentation de la population, à une situation où les enfants en âge scolaire représentent actuellement quelque 30% de la population totale. C'est pourquoi il faut compenser, là où c'est possible, la sévérité des réalités démographiques et les ressources économiques limitées par une utilisation efficace du capital intellectuel du peuple et par des priorités réalistes établies en matière d'éducation par le gouvernement. Ce sont les principales considérations de l'INSE comme le montrent le type de publications de la recherche émanant déjà de l'Institut ainsi que le plan quinquennal présenté récemment pour le développement de la recherche pour la période allant de 1981 à 1985.

     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT MOTIVATION AND SELF-REGULATION IN SCIENCE LEARNING: A MULTI-GROUP STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING ANALYSIS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of students?? motivational beliefs (learning goal orientation, task value and self-efficacy) in science learning on students?? self-regulation in the science classroom. The study also examines the moderating effect of gender on the proposed relationships. Data were collected from 719 boys and 641 girls across grades 8, 9 and 10 in 5 public schools in Perth, Western Australia. Results from structural equation modeling analysis indicated that all 3 motivational constructs were strong predictors of students?? self-regulation in science learning. The multi-group analysis to examine gender differences revealed that the influence of task value on self-regulation was statistically significant for boys only. The findings present possible opportunities for educators to plan, and to put into practice, effective intervention strategies aimed at increasing students?? self-regulation in science learning. The core feature would be to target and develop students?? motivational beliefs of learning goal orientation and self-efficacy in science learning. Additionally, for boys, the intervention strategies would be to elevate boys?? perspectives of science task value.     

Piloting a dispersed and inter-professional Lesson Study using technology to link team members at a distance

This article presents an evaluation of distance technology used in a novel Lesson Study (LS) approach involving a dispersed LS team for inter-professional purposes. A typical LS model with only school teachers as team members was modified by including university-based lecturers with the school-based teachers, using video-conferencing and online video sharing. The aim was to examine the experiences of using video-conferencing and video transfer technology to support the use of LS procedures to connect team members between schools and university. The meetings from two LS teams (primary and secondary) were recorded and analysed using a discourse analysis framework, and team members were interviewed after the LS cycle. Despite some technical difficulties, the communication between the dispersed members of the teams was largely smooth and successful. Extending LS teams and practice to include non school teachers, using distance-linking technology, can more effectively support teachers, while reducing the practical constraints of bringing other professionals into the LS team.     

The Renewal of Science Teachers’ Knowledge: a pilot professional development project

This paper describes a pilot project for the professional development of science teachers, a major aim of which was to update teachers’ science content knowledge. The paper focuses on the rationale and background of the project, the model of inservice education, the arrangements for credentialling and recognising participating teachers, and the findings of the external evaluation of the initial stages of the project. It concludes with a summary of the features of the project which appear to be facilitating the achievement of its aims.     

Teacher–Student Interactions in Korean High School Science Classrooms

This paper provides a preliminary picture of teacher–student interaction in Korean senior high schools. In order to do this, the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) was translated into Korean and administered to 439 students (99 science-independent stream students, 195 science-oriented stream students and 145 humanities stream students). Based on the results from this survey, interviews with some students and teachers were also carried out and three science classrooms were also observed. It was found that the teacher–student interactions in Korean senior high school science classrooms reflect the general image of the youth-elder relationship in society as well as the senior high school's unique nature – portraying a scene of directing teachers and obeying students. It was also found that students experience unique interactions in their science classrooms with their particular teachers. It was considered that this difference comes from the overlapping of a teacher's personal characteristics with the nature of a stream (e.g., curriculum, expectation towards the students in that stream). This article reports part of a larger study conducted with Korean senior high school students and teachers. The aim of the main study was to investigate three different aspects of the high school science classroom environments in Korea, namely, the degree of implementation of constructivism, the pattern of teacher–student interactions, and the learning environment in laboratory classes. Based on the realisation that teacher–student interactions have not been systematically dealt with especially at the senior high school level in Korea, this article pays particularly attention to this aspect. The intention was also to provide useful insights for improving the current situation in senior high school science classrooms in Korea.     

NARST: a lived history

In this Forum, we construct a history of the National Association for Research in Science Education (NARST) through the analysis of documents and through the personal perspectives of individuals. The history of NARST is inseparable from the biography of the individuals through whose lives it was produced and reproduced. The history of NARST is a living history that both shapes and was shaped by the biographies of its members.