Resampling and Distribution of the Product Methods for Testing Indirect Effects in Complex Models

Recent advances in testing mediation have found that certain resampling methods and tests based on the mathematical distribution of 2 normal random variables substantially outperform the traditional z test. However, these studies have primarily focused only on models with a single mediator and 2 component paths. To address this limitation, a simulation was conducted to evaluate these alternative methods in a more complex path model with multiple mediators and indirect paths with 2 and 3 paths. Methods for testing contrasts of 2 effects were evaluated also. The simulation included 1 exogenous independent variable, 3 mediators and 2 outcomes and varied sample size, number of paths in the mediated effects, test used to evaluate effects, effect sizes for each path, and the value of the contrast. Confidence intervals were used to evaluate the power and Type I error rate of each method, and were examined for coverage and bias. The bias-corrected bootstrap had the least biased confidence intervals, greatest power to detect nonzero effects and contrasts, and the most accurate overall Type I error. All tests had less power to detect 3-path effects and more inaccurate Type I error compared to 2-path effects. Confidence intervals were biased for mediated effects, as found in previous studies. Results for contrasts did not vary greatly by test, although resampling approaches had somewhat greater power and might be preferable because of ease of use and flexibility.     

Learning Introductory Quantum Physics: Sensori‐motor experiences and mental models

This paper reports a cross‐sectional study of Taiwanese physics students’ understanding of subatomic phenomena that are explained by quantum mechanics. The study uses students’ explanations of their answers to items in a questionnaire as a proxy for students’ thinking. The variation in students’ explanations is discussed as is the development in the way in which students link different concepts. A discussion of the source of students’ ideas turns to the way schema contain mental models that derive from sensori‐experiences. The principal recommendation for teaching is the need to include practical activities on a range of precursor phenomena so as to extend the students repertoires of mental models. This advice is different from that given in previous studies.     

The Relationship between Understanding of the Nature of Science and Practice: The influence of teachers’ beliefs about education,teaching and learning

This paper reports the relationship between four English primary teachers’ understanding of the nature of science and their practice. Action research was included as a major part of the research design in order to explore the dialectical interplay between various factors at work in the teachers’ practice. The influences of both tacit and espoused understandings of the nature of science were considered alongside the teachers’ beliefs about education, teaching, and learning. These beliefs were found to be the determining factor in the teachers’ decisions about classroom strategies. In arguing for a dialectical perspective on teachers’ practice, the research suggests that teachers’ espoused understanding of the nature of science may also be at least partially formed by the influence of these beliefs, raising the possibility that influence may run from teaching to theoretical understanding and not the other way round.     

Girls' Groups and Boys' Groups at a Municipal Technology Centre

This article describes the Swedish initiative of municipal technology centres from a gender point of view. These centres provide after‐school technology education for children aged 6–16. By means of an ethnographic study, the effects of the use of single‐sex groups in increasing the interest of girls and boys in technical activities have been studied at one of the centres. The importance of the gender of the teacher relative to the gender of the pupils is also considered. The results show that single‐sex groups meant different things to boys and girls, and that the teachers’ way of “doing” femininity and masculinity, respectively, in the different groups was of some importance. The results indicate that single‐sex groups alone do not break down gender barriers. However, there are lessons to be learnt from a leisure‐time activity that provides a different setting from that of single‐sex science education in ordinary schooling     

Exhibiting Lives

This paper examines some of the dilemmas that accompany the emergence of the personal voice in scholarly work, by taking a close, grounded look at the way in which these unfolded in a specific academic course. As part of the course, entitled “A cultural approach to the life cycle”, students were asked to participate in a group exhibition in which they were to display their life stories using a variety of texts, objects and photographs. The paper reflects upon a number of questions evoked by the exhibition: What made this event so powerful, moving and pleasurable for those involved? How, if at all, did the women choose to engage in dialogue with broader social, cultural and political contexts in the display of their life stories? What common identities, if any, emerged in the group exhibition and, in this process, what particular identities were put aside? What was made possible by the use of a wide variety of media in the presentation of life stories? Finally, what were some of the broader pedagogical implications that emerge out of this experiment in teaching?     

Effective special teacher characteristics: perceptions of preschool special educators in Greece

The aim of the present study was to evaluate six characteristics of effective special pre‐school teachers, similar to those used in the relevant literature. The study participants were all special teachers (n = 226), serving in Greek state and community pre‐primary educational institutions (i.e. kindergartens and day nurseries) for children with learning disabilities. Data were collected through a two‐part questionnaire sent to the targeted special teachers (response rate 100%) and through focused group discussion with teachers. Three characteristics emerged as salient features of an effective teacher: love for the children; competent pre‐service training and ongoing professional development; and professionalism and commitment. The remaining three characteristics assessed (i.e. effective communication skills, a well‐rounded personality, and instructional ability) were also judged to be essential. Based on each characteristic’s analysis, the paper discusses the implications of pre‐service and in‐service training for special teachers.     

Inclusivity and diversity in early childhood services in South Africa

There are unresolved tensions between achieving inclusivity and maintaining diversity in early childhood services in South Africa. While there have been substantial and impressive attempts to develop a comprehensive early childhood development policy as part of the new education planning in South Africa, there is a concern that indigenous traditions may be overlooked or lost in the process. Early childhood services, both governmental and those supported by non‐governmental organizations, have relied heavily,’ if not exclusively, on concepts and curricula drawn from Anglo‐American traditions. In order to illustrate these points this paper draws on material collected as part of a recent review of early childhood services in South Africa carried out for the Save the Children Fund.     

Teacher job satisfaction: lessons from the TSW Pathfinder Project

Government policy assumes that modernization and remodelling will be effective as external intervention mechanisms to improve job satisfaction. Based on data collected as part of the evaluation of the ‘Transforming the School Workforce Pathfinder Project’, an argument is presented here which suggests that internal management models may be more effective in improving teacher job satisfaction. By comparing the responses of teachers within primary and special schools with those from secondary schools, internal factors are identified which may be more relevant than externally imposed measures.