A cross-national mixed-method study of reality pedagogy

This mixed-methods cross-national study investigated the effectiveness of reality pedagogy (an approach in which teachers become part of students’ activities, practices and rituals) in terms of changes in student perceptions of their learning environment and attitudes towards science. A questionnaire was administered to 142 students in grades 8–10 in the Bronx, New York City and Dresden, Germany. The questionnaire combines learning environment scales from the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and the What Is Happening In this Class? Questionnaire with attitude scales from the Test of Science-Related Attitudes. Student interviews were used to support questionnaire findings. Quantitative data analyses revealed that reality pedagogy had a greater impact on students in the Bronx than in Dresden, with qualitative data clarifying differences in how reality pedagogy was enacted in each geographic area. Overall, our findings add to the body of evidence concerning the effectiveness of reality pedagogy as an approach to teaching and learning science across a variety of contexts.     

The impact of fostering relationships through music within a special school classroom for students with autism spectrum disorder: an action research study

Music therapists have been working in special education contexts for many decades, utilising research and case studies to inform practice. Growing interest in the link between the creative arts and well-being has led music therapists to consider what aspects of their knowledge others could feasibly appropriate in the school system. An action research approach was utilised to explore this question, grounded in partnerships between university-based music therapy researchers and staff at a school for learners on the autistic spectrum. Five cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection framed the collaborative partnership, with a music therapist acting as consultant to explore how music could be used across the school day. The greatest shift evidenced through qualitative and quantitative analysis was in the area of relationship building. Rather than seeing music as a tool that supports the acquisition of specific skills, the professionals and students in the school came to understand that music could be a meaningful part of their encounter with one another. This is congruent with music therapy research findings that also emphasise the ways music can be used to motivate, evoke and elicit meaningful responses from young people. Some limitations were identified in the sustainability of music practices in the school, particularly when other parts of the school culture were changing.     

Differential Effectiveness of Computer-assisted Instruction for Boys and Girls

A sample of 671 secondary school students in 24 classes of nominally slow learners was involved in investigating not only the relative efficacy of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and traditional expository teaching, but particularly the differential effectiveness of the two teaching methods for boys and girls. Both achievement and attitude outcomes were investigated. The difference in mean scores between CAI and traditional classes overall was 3.5 standard deviations for achievement and 1.4 standard deviations for attitude. However, although there was no overall effect of gender on either outcome, a significant treatment-gender interaction occurred for the achievement outcome (but not for the attitude outcome). Boys achieved better than girls in the CAI groups, but boys and girls achieved similarly in the control group.     

Does Online Comprehension Monitoring Make a Unique Contribution to Reading Comprehension in Beginning Readers? Evidence from eye movements

The goal of this study was to investigate the nature of online comprehension monitoring, its predictors, and its relation to reading comprehension. Questions were concerned with (a) beginning readers’ sensitivity to inconsistencies, (b) predictors of online comprehension monitoring, and (c) the relation of online comprehension monitoring to reading comprehension over and above word reading and listening comprehension. Using eye tracking technology, online comprehension monitoring was measured as the amount of time spent rereading target implausible words and looking back at surrounding contexts. Results from 319 second graders revealed that children spent greater time fixating on inconsistent than consistent words and engaged in more frequent lookbacks. Comprehension monitoring was explained by both word reading and listening comprehension. However, comprehension monitoring did not uniquely predict reading comprehension after accounting for word reading and listening comprehension. These results provide insight into the nature of comprehension monitoring and its role in reading comprehension for beginning readers.     

Relationship between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science-related attitudes

Relationships between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science-related attitudes were explored for a sample of 712 junior high school science students. Five dimensions of perceived individualization (personalization, participation, independence, investigation, and differentiation) were measured with the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), while seven distinct attitudes were measured with the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the set of individualization variables accounted for a significant increment in end-of-year attitude scores, beyond that attributable to corresponding beginning-of-year attitude scores, for four of the seven attitudes considered. Significant associations between an individual individualization variable and an attitudinal dimension were positive in all cases. The study also provided support for the reliability and validity of the ICEQ and TOSRA and for their general usefulness in science education research.     

“Blips of Meaning”: The Transformation of Reader and History Text

The study focused on the interpretations of eight “good” or effective Secondary One teachers. It suggests that the teachers interpreted the “text” (consisting of 12 elements) on the basis of their practical knowledge. The teachers tended to describe the literal meaning of the content. This, however, is a rather restricted form of interpretation which ignores the role of both the reader and the plurality of meanings in the message(s) of the text. To be receptive to the text, the teachers need to reflect on their often taken-for-granted knowledge and practices. The repertory grid was used to elicit such tacit knowledge. Like a mirror, the grid reflected to the teacher his or her own frame of reference for his or her consideration. This is a vital first step in the transformation of both the teacher and his or her interpretation of the text.     

Examining the Efficacy of Targeted Component Interventions on Language and Literacy for Third and Fourth Graders Who are at Risk of Comprehension Difficulties

Testing a component model of reading comprehension in a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy of 4 interventions that were designed to target components of language and metacognition that predict children’s reading comprehension: vocabulary, listening comprehension, comprehension of literate language, academic knowledge, and comprehension monitoring. Third- and 4th-graders with language skills falling below age expectations participated (N = 645). Overall, the component interventions were only somewhat effective in improving the targeted skills, compared to a business-as-usual control (g ranged from ?.14 to .33), and no main effects were significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Effects did not generalize to other language skills or to students’ reading comprehension. Moreover, there were Child Characteristic × Treatment interaction effects. For example, the intervention designed to build sensorimotor mental representations was more effective for children with weaker vocabulary skills. Implications for component models of reading and interventions for children at risk of reading comprehension difficulties are discussed.     

Gender and Education for All: Progress and problems in achieving gender equity

The paper explores the effects of rapid increases in gender parity in primary schooling in Bangladesh and Malawi on gender inequities in schools and communities. Based on an analysis of comparative case studies of marginalized communities, we argue that educational initiatives focused on achieving gender parity provide limited evidence that girls’ educational experiences modeled significantly different gender norms than in communities, or that by being educated, girls experienced a transformation of the inequitable gender relations they faced in society. The data illustrate persistent gender discrimination related to educational attainment and learning, and gender-based violence in schools. These patterns of gendered discrimination and violence largely mirrored those that girls and boys experienced in their homes and communities, raising important questions about the transformational capacity of current gender parity and schooling models.     

Supporting Lesotho teachers to develop resilience in the face of the HIV and AIDS pandemic

HIV and AIDS threaten to erode the wellbeing of teachers who are faced with an increasing number of children rendered vulnerable by the pandemic. This article explores the usefulness of a supportive group intervention, Resilient Educators (REds), in supporting Lesotho teachers to respond to the HIV and AIDS-related challenges. A time-series pre- and post-intervention design was used to evaluate the programme. The findings indicate that the intervention led to an increase in the sense of agency of participating teachers both on a personal and community level. The findings have international significance for teachers working in similar contexts characterised by extreme adversity.