“I wanted to go here”: Adolescents’ perspectives on school choice

New Zealand legislation removing school zones radically reshaped school choice, resulting in increased school stratification from parental choice frequently driven by social factors such as ethnic makeup of the school community. This article considers school choice through the eyes of 1,465 adolescents from 12 secondary schools in Dunedin (New Zealand). The most common reasons for school choice included: preference for a coeducational school, school’s facilities, positive comments from parents/students, and friends’ enrollment. Reasons for school choice differed by who was making the decision. Social factors and school programs/facilities, rather than proximity to home, influenced school choice decisions in Dunedin.     

Perception of conflict in university students. The importance of initial training / La percepción del conflicto en alumnos universitarios. La importancia de la formación inicial

This article analyses the perception of conflict held by students in the Faculty of Education at the three campuses of the University of Granada, and evaluates the different notions held by those who have received specific training in this subject and those who have not during their initial training process. An ad hoc questionnaire has been developed, with an empirical-analytical study and Ex Post Facto correlational design. The sample covers 1,281 subjects. The results indicate a negative perception and conceptualization, poor realization of the educational guides on subjects that include competences related to the theme of Conflict and/or the Culture of Peace, and the influence of previous experiences.     

Instructors’ teaching styles: relation with competences,self-efficacy,and commitment in pre-service teachers

Instructors’ teaching styles in higher education are an issue of major importance because these interactions affect students’ self-perceptions, involvement, and achievement. This study aimed to test a theoretical model of relations between perceived teaching styles (autonomy support, structure, and control) and competences, self-efficacy, and commitment in pre-service teachers; to assess the invariance of the model in two samples; and to analyze the mediated relations between these variables. Measures were collected from 842 Spanish pre-service teachers. As main research implications, teaching styles predicted acquired competences, competences predicted teaching self-efficacy, and self-efficacy predicted commitment to the profession. This model was equivalent in two samples of childhood and primary education pre-service teachers. Competences and self-efficacy mediated the relationships between variables. As practical implications, this study clearly shows the need for different interventions to enhance adequate instructors’ teaching styles and to foster among novice pre-service teachers the acquisition of professional competences, initial self-efficacy, and a good level of commitment to their profession.     

Cognitive apprehension in visual pattern generalization problems / Aprehensión cognitiva en problemas de generalización de patrones visuales

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify cognitive apprehensions used by fifth- and sixth-grade students (10–12-year-olds) when answering far generalization questions in two problems of visual pattern generalization. A total of 81 students solved two linear generalizing problems, presented in two different configurations, in a succession of figures (square tables or trapezoid tables). The results showed that students used different types of cognitive apprehensions to solve problems and that these apprehensions sometimes changed according to the configuration of the sequence of figures. This finding indicates that configurations could determine apprehensions used by students, which in some cases led to the emergence of algebraic thinking. In addition, difficulties in modifying apprehension and a lack of coordination between spatial and numerical structures could explain some students’ difficulties in far generalization.     

Self-Determination and Goal Aspirations: African American and Latino Males’ Perceptions of Their Persistence in Community College Basic and Transfer-Level Writing Courses

This Grounded Theory study utilized Self-determination Theory to analyze the interview results of 18 community college African American and Latino males. The goal was to learn what helped participants to succeed and persist in developmental and transfer-level writing courses despite the obstacles that they faced. Three major themes emerged: (a) Male students of color continued to take and complete English courses because they were determined to achieve their academic goals; (b) they sought assistance and guidance from their English professors, from the writing lab attached to the basic skills course and from the writing tutoring staff; and (c) when they felt overwhelmed and considered dropping their English classes, their determination to achieve their goals and the assistance they received from faculty and other writing staff ultimately kept them from doing so. Therefore, first, community colleges should encourage students’ ability to be autonomous. Second, they can help students develop a sense of relatedness by providing a better sense of belonging. Third, institutions should develop strong faculty networks within the college to increase student motivation and self-determination by providing mentoring opportunities. Finally, institutions should consider utilizing faculty and other institutional agents to help students by providing information regarding various student support services that may help address issues students may be encountering.     

Evaluating the impact of an environmental education programme: an empirical study in Mexico

This study draws on information from 11 in‐depth interviews, two focus groups and 72 written questionnaires to evaluate an extra‐curricular environmental education programme on forestry designed for preparatory school students from a small rural community in Mexico. Specifically, the study assessed the impact of the programme on the ecological knowledge of 72 students. Qualitative feedback suggests that students learnt about forestry, acquired greater awareness of the importance of conservation for the local environment and enjoyed the participatory teaching methods used in the programme. Quantitative results show a positive and significant association between the number of times a student participated in the programme and the student’s ecological knowledge. Students who participated in the programme once had a 16.3% higher knowledge on ecological concepts and knew, on average, 1.5 more local forest plants than students who never attended it (p<.001). Findings suggest that the inclusion of participatory environmental education programmes in preparatory schools would improve the acquisition of ecological knowledge. Further research could consider the consistency of the findings by replicating participatory methods presented here and by using an experimental research design.     

The relationship between life goals and fields of study among young European graduates

This paper analyses the relationships among life goals, job prospects and fields of study for a sample of young European higher education graduates. The results show that there is a characteristic pattern for each field of study with regard to the variables used. Graduates in a given field have similar life goals and job prospects, as well as a similar educational and social background, irrespective of cultural and labour market differences associated with their country of residence.