Predicting learning from classroom individualization and actual-preferred congruence

One of the strongest traditions during the past decade of classroom environment research has involved investigation of the predictability of students' cognitive and affective learning outcomes from their perceptions of psychosocial characteristics of their classrooms. Moreover numerous research programs involving many thousands of students from various nations have provided convincing and consistent support for the incremental predictive validity of student perceptions in accounting for appreciable amounts of variance in learning outcomes beyond that attributable to initial student characteristics such as pretest performance and general ability (see Walberg, Singh and Rasher, 1977; Haertel, Walberg and Haertel, 1979; Walberg, 1979; Fraser, 1980; Walberg and Haertel's paper in this issue).Although consistent with the previous research tradition involving the predictive validity of students' perceptions, the study reported here represents an important extension to prior research in two key ways. First, the present investigation involved the use of a new instrument, the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (Rentoul and Fraser, 1979), which measures perceptions of those learning environment dimensions which differentiate individualized and conventional classrooms. In contrast, previous studies have employed instruments such as the Learning Environment Inventory (Anderson and Walberg, 1976) or the Classroom Environment Scale (Moos and Trickett, 1974) which exclude some aspects of classroom environment particularly salient in individualized settings involving open or inquiry-based approaches. Second, while prior research has concentrated on the predictive validity of perceptions of actual classroom environment, the present study also examined the predictability of learning from the congruence between actual and preferred classroom environment (as derived from student perceptions on the individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire). This proposition is based on the intuitively plausible notion that students who differ in their preferences for classroom individualization could achieve differentially depending upon the amount of actual individualization present in their classrooms. The major purpose of the present paper is to report analyses into the predictability of some cognitive and affective outcomes from (a) actual classroom individualization and (b) the congruence between actual and preferred individualization.     

Teachers’ perceptions of the organisational climate: a tool for promoting instructional improvement

The current push for principals’ to be accountable for student outcomes has led to a renewed interest in the role of leadership in instructional improvement. This article describes the development and validation of a survey that focused on organisational management features that are likely to bring about improvement in instruction. The development of the instrument involved a multistage approach that included: identifying key organisational management features important to instructional leadership and an effective school, based on research and theoretical underpinnings; clearly articulating key constructs; and modifying, adapting and developing items to assess those constructs. After pilot testing the survey, the survey was administered to 216 teachers selected from four high schools in Western Australia. To ensure that the survey was reliable, we used [Trochim W. M. and J. P. Donnelly. 2006. The Research Methods Knowledge Base. 3rd ed. Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog] framework for construct validity. Analysis of the data provided evidence to support the reliability and validity of the questionnaire in terms of both the translation and criterion validity. The development of this survey provides principals with an economical and psychometrically sound tool that can be used as part of a process involving critical self-reflection.     

Stressed parents with infants: reassessing physical abuse risk factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the relationship between a range of potentially adverse psychosocial and demographic characteristics identified in the immediate postpartum period and child physical abuse potential at 7 months. METHOD: Data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial of a nurse home visiting programme for vulnerable families with newborns was used. Women (181) were recruited in the immediate postpartum period. At 7 months, 151 participants were available for evaluation. Potential for child physical abuse was assessed using the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory. RESULTS: Significant risk indicators identified by univariate analysis were financial stress, elevated Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores, education level less than 10 years, concern regarding the provision of housing, and domestic violence characterized by verbal and social abuse. There was no association between child abuse potential and sole parenthood, poverty, young maternal age, history of childhood abuse, or psychiatric history. Two variables were found to be of independent significance using a logistic regression model; elevated EPDS and perceived difficulty "making ends meet." CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that perceived stress relating to finances, accommodation and relationships in the immediate postpartum period are associated with heightened child physical abuse potential at 7 months. Elevated EPDS in the early postpartum period is also a risk indicator. The outcome of this study suggests that perinatal assessment of child abuse risk is possible and simple and is related to perceived stressors at the time surrounding delivery. This is independent of a range of demographic variables traditionally thought to predict high risk.     

KEY INFORMANTS' PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHER LEARNING IN SCOTLAND

ABSTRACT:   This article outlines the policy context for teachers' learning and continuing professional development in Scotland and considers this in relation to the perspectives of key informants gained through interview. The analysis draws on a triple-lens conceptual framework and points to some interesting contradictions between the policy text and the expressed aspirations of the interviewees. Current policy and the associated structural arrangements are viewed as broadly positive, but interviewees express concerns that an unintended emphasis on contractual arrangements might inhibit the more transformative elements of professional learning.     

Altering socio-cultural beliefs hindering the learning of science

Recent studies in educational productivity and effectiveness of schooling have shown that certain factors could be altered within the classroom to result in enhanced achievement and positive attitude towards the study of science. A learner who is not positively disposed to, or has a socio-cultural background that is indifferent to the learning of science would find it hard to learn science effectively. If, as suggested by recent research, the socio-cultural characteristics which children in non-western society bring into the classroom from their environment create a wedge between what they are taught and what they learn, it is plausible to hypothesise that school based alterations of the socio-cultural prior knowledge of the learner could result in school effectiveness. This study attempted to determine whether or not instruction based on a socio-cultural model could significantly alter students' attitudes towards the learning of and achievement in science. The sample consisted of 600 senior secondary year one students (442 boys, 156 girls) from 15 secondary schools in Nigeria. The Socio-Cultural Environment Scale (SCES) and the Biology Achievement Test (BAT) were used to measure the change in attitude and achievement of subjects respectively in a pretest — posttest situation after a six-week treatment. Evidence was found from the study to support the hypothesis that science instruction which deliberately involved the discussion of socio-cultural views about science concepts altered students' attitudes toward the study of science. The finding also indicated that some socio-cultural factors were amenable to alterations in such a way as to promote the subjects' positive attitudes towards the study of science.     

How school leaders search for and use evidence

Background: Often, a principal’s responsibilities include making decisions about the appropriateness of educational programmes to adopt in their school. Recommendations about programmes can be conflicting; so, a principal may need to search for evidence to inform their decision.

Purpose: The purpose of this small-scale study was to clarify how school leaders search for, and use, evidence to inform programme adoption. We sought to answer three research questions: (1) how do principals search for evidence, (2) how do they use common sources and (3) what sources do they consider most useful?

Sample: Twelve elementary school principals or vice-principals in Ontario, Canada participated in the study.

Design and methods: In telephone interviews, the participants described how they would respond to a fictional decision-making scenario and rated different sources of evidence. Responses were analysed in depth, using a mixed-method approach, which involved coding principals’ interview responses for themes and conducting a dual scaling analysis of their ratings of the usefulness of possible sources.

Results: Principals report valuing formal sources of evidence such as reports and articles. However, in practise, findings indicated that they would turn to people first.

Conclusions: School leaders prefer curated evidence from local educators to inform their decisions about the appropriateness of educational programmes for potential adoption.     

Solidarity and support: feminist memory work focus groups with working-class women studying social science degrees in Australia

This paper reports on our use of a two-phased, feminist memory work in a project conducted with 11 women, social science students at an Australian university. We begin by describing government-led attempts to widen participation in Australian universities because 10 of the 11 women who participated in our project were from non-traditional backgrounds. We discuss qualitative group research, identifying some of the benefits and limitations of focus groups, before differentiating them from feminist memory work and analysing key findings. Using excerpts from participants’ written stories and oral discussions, we analyse some of the obstacles the women faced trying to complete their studies. Our attention then turns to methodological concerns where we examine memory work as a feminist inquiry method. As second-wave feminists understood several decades ago through their use of consciousness-raising groups, we describe how we derived many benefits from using feminist memory work. The method invites deep reflection on the intersections between the personal and political and can be productive of insights about how people feel, not just think, about their experiences. A sense of solidarity can stem from this awareness amongst participants who have a chance to workshop and thus reinterpret their own stories and those of others, which can mean a growth in self-confidence and a reduction in self-blame.     

Learning Environment, Attitudes and Achievement among Middle-school Science Students Using Inquiry-based Laboratory Activities

This study compared inquiry and non-inquiry laboratory teaching in terms of students’ perceptions of the classroom learning environment, attitudes toward science, and achievement among middle-school physical science students. Learning environment and attitude scales were found to be valid and related to each other for a sample of 1,434 students in 71 classes. For a subsample of 165 students in 8 classes, inquiry instruction promoted more student cohesiveness than non-inquiry instruction (effect size of one-third of a standard deviation), and inquiry-based laboratory activities were found to be differentially effective for male and female students.