Development of adolescents' self-perceptions, values, and task perceptions according to gender and domain in 7th- through 11th-grade Australian students

Latent growth models estimated developmental trajectories for adolescents' math and English self-perceptions (perceived talent, success expectancies), values (intrinsic, utility) and task perceptions (task difficulty, effort required). A longitudinal cohort-sequential study included 1,323 participants spanning Grades 7 to 11, with Occasion 1 mean ages 13.19, 12.36, and 14.41, respectively, for Cohorts 1, 2, and 3. Self-perceptions and values declined through adolescence, and ratings about difficulty and effort required increased. Gender differences favored boys for math and girls for English, with little evidence for gender intensification or gender convergence hypotheses. Explanations reference socialization and social-cognitive developmental theories and features of the curricula, with domain-specific patterns implying domain-specific explanations. Existing research is extended by modeling a broadened set of social-cognitive constructs within the Australian context.     

Optofluidic planar reactors for photocatalytic water treatment using solar energy

Optofluidics may hold the key to greater success of photocatalytic water treatment. This is evidenced by our findings in this paper that the planar microfluidic reactor can overcome the limitations of mass transfer and photon transfer in the previous photocatalytic reactors and improve the photoreaction efficiency by more than 100 times. The microreactor has a planar chamber (5 cm×1.8 cm×100 μm) enclosed by two TiO(2)-coated glass slides as the top cover and bottom substrate and a microstructured UV-cured NOA81 layer as the sealant and flow input∕output. In experiment, the microreactor achieves 30% degradation of 3 ml 3×10(-5)M methylene blue within 5 min and shows a reaction rate constant two orders higher than the bulk reactor. Under optimized conditions, a reaction rate of 8% s(-1) is achieved under solar irradiation. The average apparent quantum efficiency is found to be only 0.25%, but the effective apparent quantum efficiency reaches as high as 25%. Optofluidic reactors inherit the merits of microfluidics, such as large surface∕volume ratio, easy flow control, and rapid fabrication and offer a promising prospect for large-volume photocatalytic water treatment.     

Release monitoring of single cells on a microfluidic device coupled with fluorescence microscopy and electrochemistry

A method for monitoring the biological exocytotic phenomena on a microfluidic system was proposed. A microfluidic device coupled with functionalities of fluorescence imaging and amperometric detection has been developed to enable the real-time monitoring of the exocytotic events. Exocytotic release of single SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was studied. By staining the cells located on integrated microelectrodes with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde, punctuate fluorescence consistent with localization of neurotransmitters stored in vesicles was obtained. The stimulated exocytotic release was successfully observed at the surface of SH-SY5Y cells without refitting the commercial inverted fluorescence microscope. Spatially and temporally resolved exocytotic events from single cells on a microfluidic device were visualized in real time using fluorescence microscopy and were amperometrically recorded by the electrochemical system simultaneously. This coupled technique is simple and is hoped to provide new insights into the mechanisms responsible for the kinetics of exocytosis.     

The ‘good’ parent in relation to early childhood literacy: symbolic terrain and lived practice

In this paper we consider the place of early childhood literacy in the discursive construction of the identity(ies) of ‘proper’ parents. Our analysis crosses between representations of parenting in texts produced by commercial and government/public institutional interests and the self‐representations of individual parents in interviews with the researchers. The argument is made that there are commonalities and disjunctures in represented and lived parenting identities as they relate to early literacy. In commercial texts that advertise educational and other products, parents are largely absent from representations and the parent's position is one of consumer on behalf of the child. In government‐sanctioned texts, parents are very much present and are positioned as both learners about and important facilitators of early learning when they ‘interact’ with their children around language and books. The problem for which both, in their different ways, offer a solution is the “not‐yet‐ready” child precipitated into the evaluative environment of school without the initial competence seen as necessary to avoid falling behind right from the start. Both kinds of producers promise a smooth induction of children into mainstream literacy and learning practices if the ‘good parent’ plays her/his part. Finally, we use two parent cases to illustrate how parents' lived practice involves multiple discursive practices and identities as they manage young children's literacy and learning in family contexts in which they also need to negotiate relations with their partners and with paid and domestic work.     

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Theory–Practice Integration in a Faculty Certificate Program

There is growing recognition of the complexity of academic work and the need for university and college faculty members to develop scholarly approaches to teaching and learning. While structured programs of study have been initiated for faculty to address these issues in various higher education contexts, very little research has investigated the theory–practice relationship of the scholarship of teaching and learning within a faculty certificate program context. This article presents a program development and evaluation framework to enhance the theory–practice integration of the scholarship of teaching and learning in such a program. Data suggest that a broad range of institutional and programmatic strategies can enhance the scholarship of teaching and learning in a faculty certificate program. A scholarly approach to teaching and learning is viewed as both an individual and social contextual process.Dr Harry Hubball and Dr Helen Burt are faculty members at the University of British Columbia, BC, Canada. Harry Hubball's research focuses on curriculum and pedagogy in university settings. He coordinates the UBC Faculty Certificate Program on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Helen Burt is the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her research interests include the development of novel polymer-based drug delivery systems.     

Job burnout and the school psychologist

School psychologists participating in a workshop on burnout completed Freudenberger's Burnout Questionnaire (1980), identified major job-related stressors, and responded to a list of suggested supervisory, individual, and organizational strategies for prevention. Slightly less than half of the participants appeared on the questionnaire to have burnout problems. Age, years of experience, and sex were not significantly related to the burnout score. Major identified stressors included excessive caseloads, lack of time, and lack of support or appreciation. Reactions to the strategies were positive and hopeful. Implications for training were drawn.     

Understanding students’ experiences of professionalism learning: a ‘threshold’ approach

Professionalism is a core element of curricula in many disciplines but can be difficult to teach and learn. This study used audio-diary methodology to identify professionalism threshold concepts in a small group learning setting in undergraduate medicine and to understand factors that might facilitate students to ‘get’ such concepts. Fifteen students and seven tutors kept audio-diaries over two terms. Data were analysed qualitatively for content. The key themes were then cross referenced to threshold concept criteria (e.g. where language indicated that learning was troublesome, integrative or transformative). Seven potential threshold concepts were identified which centred on students’ developing professional identities including working with uncertainty, considering the bigger picture, not needing to know everything and professional culture. Reflection on workplace experiences within a small group helped students ‘get’ these concepts. The study concludes that threshold concepts and audio-diaries are useful tools for understanding lived experiences of professionalism learning.     

Morning and afternoon sessions in the nursery,do they have equal status? With particular reference to storytime

The majority of state nursery education in the United Kingdom is part‐time. Although there are exceptions this usually means that children attend either in the morning or afternoon. The format of the afternoon session can often resemble the morning session, offering similar activities. This paper sets out to examine the comparative quality of experience for children attending part‐time nursery at different times of the day. It looks particularly at storytime, when the whole group of children is brought together to share a story. The findings suggest the two sessions are not of equal value to the children, that children may not be performing as well in the afternoon and that the traditional group storytime may not be as effective for the afternoon children. This type of storytime may need to be adapted/changed to match the needs of the particular group of children, taking into consideration performance during the day. Finally, suggestions are given for other ways to ensure children have worthwhile story experiences.     

Teacher education,motivation, compensation,workplace support,and links to quality of center-based child care and teachers’ intention to stay in the early childhood profession

The purposes of this study were to present a conceptual model for selection into the early childhood profession and to test the model using contemporaneous assessments. A stratified random sample of center-based child care providers in 4 Midwestern states (n = 964) participated in a telephone interview, and 223 were also assessed with the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale—Revised or the Infant–Toddler Environment Rating Scale to rate global observed quality, and the Caregiver Interaction Scale to rate interactional quality. When the model was tested with infant–toddler and preschool teachers combined, having a Child Development Associate (CDA) predicted global observed quality, education years and child development coursework predicted compensation, and compensation predicted observed quality. When the model was tested separately for infant–toddler teachers, years of education and child development coursework predicted compensation, but none of the education variables predicted observed quality and compensation did not predict observed quality. For preschool teachers, years of education predicted compensation and having a CDA predicted observed quality, but compensation did not predict observed quality. For all of the models, only motivations for child care work predicted intention to stay in the profession. No variables in the structural equation models predicted interactional quality.