Predictors of Mainland Chinese students’ well‐being

There has been substantial research in the United States, Europe, and Australia about factors influencing students’ well‐being. However, such research has been relatively rare in Mainland China. We administered four predictor scales (School Satisfaction, Self‐Concept, Relationships, and Resilience) and three outcome scales (Flourishing, Mental Health, and Children's Well‐Being) to 2,756 primary and middle school students in Mainland China. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the measured concepts were salient to the participants. Structural equation modeling using MPlus showed that Resilience was a strong predictor of all outcome measures, particularly for Mental Health and Positive Emotional State. Global Self‐Concept was the most notable predictor for Positive Outlook, whereas School Satisfaction was the strongest predictor of Flourishing. The results indicate potential areas for school‐based competency‐building initiatives to promote Mainland Chinese students’ well‐being.     

Back to the future for KM: the case for sensible organisation

Knowledge Management Research & Practice - There are many times in our brave new web-based world that we seem to have lost the art of making common sense decisions and judgements. The current...     

Creating Meaning for and with the Graphing Calculator

In this study, we seek to describe how the meaning of a tool was co-constructed by the students and their teacher and how the students used the tool to construct mathematical meaning out of particular tasks. We report the results of a qualitative, classroom-based study that examined (1) the role, knowledge and beliefs of a pre-calculus teacher, (2)how students used graphing calculators in support of their learning of mathematics, (3) the relationship and interactions between the teacher's role, knowledge and beliefs and the students' use of the graphing calculator in learning mathematics, and (4) some constraints of the graphing calculator technology that emerged within the classroom practice. We found five patterns and modes of graphing calculator tool use emerged in this practice: computational tool, transformational tool, data collection and analysis tool, visualizing tool, and checking tool. The results of this study suggest that nature of the mathematical tasks and the role, knowledge and beliefs of the teacher influenced the emergence of such rich usage of the graphing calculator. We also found that the use of the calculator as a personal device can inhibit communication in a small group setting, while its use as a shared device supported mathematical learning in the whole class setting.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Development of orthographic skills in Chinese children

This study investigates possible developmental trends in children's invented spelling (or spelling errors) in Chinese elementary schools. The entire study consists of two substudies, Study A and Study B. Study A analyzes over 7000 invented spellings collected from the writing samples of 1200 children. Study B analyzes 3995 invented spellings that were collected from the spelling tests of 300 children. These invented spellings are sorted initially according to emerging patterns according to the way the invented spellings deviate from standard spellings; they are then further subsumed into three general categories according to the linguistic principles of Chinese characters - phonologically based spelling errors, graphemic spelling errors, and semantic spelling errors. Qualitative analysis of the invented spellings of these three categories indicates that children's spelling errors are not random; rather they reflect the development of children's orthographic knowledge. Regression analysis for linear trend shows that a developmental trend in the use of spelling strategies exists: at the lower elementary level, phonological strategies predominate; as grade level advances, the use of graphemic and semantic strategies increases.     

Success or Failure in a Core University Unit: What makes the difference?

Factors which have been identified as contributing to student academic success at the degree and program level in tertiary study include mode of study, student age, previous tertiary qualifications and past academic performance. Limited published Australian research is available, however, on student academic success in individual subjects. This study investigated identifiable patterns related to the academic success of three separate cohorts of students in an Early Childhood second-year Language, Literature and Literacy unit (N = 601). The data support previous research findings with regard to the effect of mode of study, previous university qualifications and past academic performance on academic success in this subject. In contrast with most previous studies, this study found a significant relationship between previous study at TAFE (college study at a Technical and Further Education institute) and failure in an academic unit, perhaps due to the timing of this unit in the students' overall program. Further implications for Early Childhood teacher education are discussed.     

Our city of colours: queer/Asian publics in transpacific Vancouver

This article examines the contested relation between discourses of ethnic subjectivity and queer critique of homophobia and transphobia in Vancouver, a transpacific city in Canada that is being touted as “the most Asian city outside of Asia.” I analyse the perceived association of Chinese communities with moral conservatism and the concomitant existence of a vibrant queer Asian cultural scene in the city as a discursive clash between two cultural publics. I examine the underlying dynamics of their antagonism as well as their potential for mutual engagement.