Unique Contributions of Maternal Reading Proficiency to Predicting Children’s Preschool Receptive Vocabulary and Reading Proficiency

This study investigated whether mothers’ measured reading proficiency and their educational level predict, over and above each other, their children’s receptive vocabulary and reading proficiency when confounding factors of speaking a minority language, ethnicity, number of children in the family, and marital and employment status are controlled. The sample included 155 children (aged 3–5 years) and their mothers (aged 20–44 years) of low income and low educational background from Western Canada. Findings support the conclusion that maternal reading level predicts both their children’s receptive vocabulary and reading proficiency prior to schooling after maternal education is taken into account. The findings also show, after the effects of maternal reading ability are removed, maternal education predicts their children’s reading ability prior to school but not their receptive vocabulary proficiency. Thus, maternal reading proficiency and maternal education appear not to serve as proxies for each other, and the use of both variables should be used in studies where children’s reading and receptive vocabulary proficiency are dependent measures. Early childhood educators dedicated to the improvement of the language and literacy levels of children in their care may consider the implementation of programs that focus on improving mothers’ reading proficiency whereby their children’s levels also improve. Early childhood education is the prime time to provide a richer and more fruitful approach to reduce the persistent knowledge gap of children from low-income and low-educational background families.     

A discriminant analytic test of Biglan's theoretical distinction between biology and English department chairpersons

Discriminant function analysis was used to compare the structural variables of department size, type of institution, and highest degree awarded with academic discipline to determine which accounts for more variance in the responses of chairpersons from biology and English departments to questions concerning their perceived influence. In most cases, the structural variables accounted for more of the variance than did discipline. The data are presented graphically by plotting the group centroids against the discriminant functions. The implications of these findings for administrators in institutions of higher education are discussed.     

Revisiting the "simple view of reading" in a group of children with poor reading comprehension

According to Gough and Tunmer's Simple View of Reading, Reading Comprehension = Decoding (D) x Listening Comprehension (C). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the model with a sample of First Nations children, known to have average decoding and listening comprehension but poor reading comprehension. In addition, the authors examined the contribution of naming speed and phonological awareness to reading comprehension beyond the effects of D and C. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, the children exhibited poor reading comprehension despite average performance in decoding and listening comprehension, a finding that challenges the simple view of reading. The results also revealed that an additive model (D + C) fitted the data equally well as a product model (D x C). Neither naming speed nor phonological awareness accounted for unique variance.     

Active teaching to manage course difficulty and learning motivation

Given the recent reported common occurrence of mediocre or substandard academic performance by students in colleges and universities, it has become essential to identify pedagogical factors that might lessen or reverse this trend. Kolb’s experiential learning, Pintrich’s student learning motivation, and cognitive load theories were used as a framework to assess active teaching moderation of the effects of course difficulty on course performance and learning motivation. Hierarchical ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to analyse the data. Research subjects were recruited from a medium-sized historically Black college and university (HBCU) students enrolled in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and Business (i.e. management, economics, or accounting) classes. Active teaching was a positive predictor of course grade and learning motivation. Course difficulty was a negative predictor of course grade. Interaction analysis revealed that increases in active teaching reduced (i.e. moderated) the negative relationship between course difficulty on both course grade and learning motivation. Overall, the findings suggest that student learning outcomes are certainly a function of pedagogy (e.g. active teaching), psychological/affective (e.g. learning motivation), and learning content complexity. Active teaching environments should (1) address both cognitive load and emotional responses attributed to difficult coursework, and (2) provide efficacy building opportunities during instructional delivery.     

An Examination of College Students' Problem‐Solving Self‐Efficacy,Academic Self‐Efficacy,Motivation, Test Performance,and Expected Grade in Introductory‐Level Economics Courses

This study investigated whether self‐efficacy influenced students’ educational outcomes in introductory‐level economics courses. First, this study investigated the correlations between problem‐solving self‐efficacy, academic self‐efficacy, and motivation. Second, this study investigated whether problem‐solving and academic self‐efficacy served as predictors of students’ motivation, test performance, and expected grade. Correlational analyses suggest that problem‐solving and academic self‐efficacy are correlated with student motivation. Results show that problem‐solving self‐efficacy was a predictor of student motivation and test performance. Academic self‐efficacy and problem‐solving self‐efficacy were also predictors of their expected grade. Implications and future directions for economics education are also discussed.     

Conceptualising transitions from vocational to higher education: bringing together Bourdieu and Bernstein

Abstract

In this paper we provide a framework for conceptualising transitions from Vocational Education and Training (VET) programmes to Higher Education (HE), by bringing together Bourdieu’s and Bernstein’s theoretical approaches with the view to attend to the often side-lined epistemic and pedagogical parameters. We utilise the Bourdieusian tools of field, habitus and capital to capture the relational, material and cultural aspects of HE transitions. In using a Bernsteinian lens we shed further light into how social agents acquire differentially structured and valorised knowledges and develop a sense of themselves as hierarchically positioned knowers. The metaphor of transitional frictions is utilised to capture the ongoing struggles that students with a VET background experience as they make the transition to HE. We argue for the need of widening epistemic access and putting in place enabling pedagogies that can ease these transitional frictions, thereby potentially increasing the chances of successful HE participation and completion.     

Student Pedagogical Teams: Students as Course Consultants Engaged in Process of Teaching and Learning

Faculty engage in “pedagogical solitude,” in which they plan, teach, and assess their work alone. To optimize teaching environments and learning outcomes, students can serve as “student pedagogical teams” (SPT) and provide feedback on instructor performance, course structure, and content. Using self-determination theory, this study explored the experiences of students serving on SPTs, faculty perceptions, and impact on class motivation. Mixed methods design. Two sections of Psychosocial Aspects incorporated SPTs, while two did not. SPTs administered five two-minute papers to obtain feedback shared with faculty at three points during the semester. All sections completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) pre-/post-semester. SPTs completed midterm and final reflections, and faculty reflected after each SPT-faculty meeting. Results confirmed serving on SPTs gave students a voice, increased motivation, appreciation for the complexity of teaching and respectful communication. Faculty gained a wider perspective on classroom practice. MSLQ results indicated that test anxiety increased U=547, p=.00, α2 =0.05 for the control groups. Intrinsic value was higher for the experienced instructor U=150, p=.04, α2 =0.05; and self-regulation was greater for the experimental sections U=664, p=.03, α2 =0.05. Using SPTs, faculty can establish classroom environments that facilitate students' internal motivation, active learning, and ultimately their intellectual development.