A comparison of Australian and Chinese teachers' attributions for student problem behaviors

The present study compared Australian and Chinese teachers' causal attributions for student behavior. A total of 204 Australian teachers and 269 Chinese teachers rated the importance of four causes (ability, effort, family, teacher) of six student problem behaviors. Results showed that both groups of teachers attributed misbehaviors most to student effort and least to teacher factors. Chinese teachers emphasized family factors more while Australian teachers placed greater importance on ability. There was significant variation in attribution patterns for different types of problems, with effort attribution being equally and strongly emphasized across cultural contexts and behavior types. The results are interpreted in the light of how individualistic and collectivistic values influence teacher thinking, and implications for school‐based interventions for behavior problems are discussed.     

Design and implementation of multi-campus,modular master classes in biochemical engineering

The Master of Science in engineering technology: biochemical engineering is organised in KU Leuven at four geographically dispersed campuses. To sustain the Master's programmes at all campuses, it is clear that a unique education profile at each campus is crucial. In addition, a rationalisation is required by increased cooperation, increased exchange of lecturers, and increased student mobility. To achieve this, a multicampus education system for the M.Sc. in engineering technology: biochemical engineering was developed by offering modules that are also available for students of other campuses. Such a module is primarily based on the research expertise present at the campus. In the development, special attention has been given to the optimal organisation of the modules, evaluation, required modifications of the current curricula, and the practical consequences for students following the module at another campus. Even in the first year of implementation, around 30% of the students followed a multicampus module, which indicates the potential success of the multicampus concept described here.     

Contextualising Vocational Knowledge: A Theoretical Framework and Illustrations From Culinary Education

The nature of knowledge in vocational education is often described in dichotomies such as theory versus practice or general versus specific. Although different scholars now acknowledge that vocational knowledge is more than putting bits of theoretical and practical knowledge together, it is still unclear how vocational knowledge should be theorised instead. In this article we theorise the idea of contextualising vocational knowledge to understand the nature of vocational knowledge and illustrate this process of contextualising with empirical examples from culinary education. We adopt an activity-theoretical focus on contextualising that involves both particularising and providing coherence. We posit a cognitive process of meaning making where meaning derives from seeing the relationships of parts to the whole. The aspects of the nature of coherence and the relation between concepts and actions seem rather underdeveloped in vocational education theory. To characterise this process at a micro-level, we enhance the activity-theory approach with an inferentialist one. Inferentialism offers a way to focus on reasons and inferential relations between concepts and actions that provides coherence in vocational knowledge. To characterise the broad spectrum of processes relevant for vocational knowledge, we propose the terms “conceptualising” and “concretising”. Conceptualising involves inferring what follows from understanding a concept in a particular situation in relation to the meaning of other concepts. Concretising involves inferring what follows from understanding an aspect of the occupational practice in which students are participating. We argue that this way of framing vocational knowledge helps to better understand its nature and development.     

Searching for pedagogical adaptations by exploring teacher’s tacit knowledge and interactional co-regulation in the education of pupils with autism

The purpose of this article is to introduce a research design, which aims to find useful pedagogical adaptations for teaching pupils with autism. Autism is a behavioural syndrome characterised by disabilities and dysfunctions in interaction and communication, which is why it is interesting to explore educational processes particularly from an interactional perspective in a class with pupils with autism. The main focus is in exploring teacher’s tacit knowledge and interactional co-regulation between the teacher and the pupils. This study is a part of a larger Finnish project, which involves the education of pupils with autism in the primary school system. In the study described, six video recordings (each about 30?min) were taken under analysis due to the uniqueness in the research context of special education: the videos are rare in that they involve only the teacher and her six pupils with autism; no helpers are present in the classroom. This study explored the phenomenon ethnomethodologically. This study indicated that it is possible to apply a general theory of interaction when exploring people with autism, although the main diagnostic criteria of autism are disabilities in social interaction and communication. It was possible to extract episodes from the behaviour of the teacher that showed her tacit knowledge becoming concrete. These results could be taken into consideration when planning and carrying out teaching in different contexts and in teacher education, too.     

企业创新网络的联结机制研究

企业创新网络成为企业获取创新资源、缩短技术开发时间、减少研发投资费用与分散风险的有效组织形式。论文在对企业网络理论系统分析的基础上,根据企业创新网络的自身特点,提出了企业创新网络的联结机制。     

The promise and reality of formative assessment practice in a continuous assessment scheme: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Continuous Assessment (CA) systems are externally directed, curriculum-based assessment schemes used for both summative and formative purposes within classrooms. CA has been implemented as national policy in several postcolonial developing countries and is believed to hold great promise for improving education outcomes. This theory-driven evaluation (TDE) used a mixed methods research design to interrogate the nature of CA practice. The focus was on stakeholders’ understanding and practice of formative assessment in the CA Programme (CAP) of Trinidad and Tobago. The integrated findings suggest that the programme planners’ formative intent was often not fulfilled. Instead, teachers routinely recorded assessment marks without using the data. There is evidence that formative assessment practice was not congruent with teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices. Although the design of CA schemes suggests the possibility of synergy between formative and summative purposes, in reality this ideal is rarely achieved in these particular contexts.     

Components of reading comprehension and scholastic achievement

The aim of this study was to understand whether the reading comprehension process is better explained by a single or by multiple factors. 184 students (9 to 13 years old) were presented with a recently devised battery of tests, that measure ten aspects of reading comprehension. Structural equation modelling showed that a two factors model better accounts for the data compared to a one or a three factors model. Results confirmed the hypothesis which distinguishes between ‘basic’ and ‘complex’ aspects of reading comprehension. The second goal of the study was to analyze the relationship between the two-components model and scholastic achievement. Our results highlighted that the more ‘complex’ aspects of reading comprehension, reflecting some metacognitive knowledge and control processes, are the better predictors of scholastic achievement.     

体育明星作形象代言人推行品牌产品的战略效应分析

运动鞋企业是晋江经济的支柱,其发展对晋江经济和体育产业的发展有着重要的意义。值此第七届晋江(国际)鞋业博览会之际,运用文献资料、调查访问、观察及网上查询等研究方法,并运用经济学、广告学等相关学科的一些原理,分析了福建晋江运动鞋企业聘请体育明星作形象代言人推行品牌建设的现状及存在的一些主要问题,并提出了进一步推动晋江运动鞋企业品牌建设的一些对策和建议,以便给当地政府及相关的决策者提供一些理论参考。     

The interaction of functional and dysfunctional emotions during balance beam performance

The interaction between functional and dysfunctional emotions, as one of the major tenets of the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, 2000), was studied in a sport specific setting. Fourteen female gymnasts performed three attempts of a compulsory balance beam routine at three different heights. Heart rate and self-report of functional and dysfunctional emotions were measured during each routine. These data revealed the effectiveness of inducting emotions by manipulating height. Also, performance decreased on the most challenging condition, (i.e., the first attempt on the highest height). Moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between functional and dysfunctional emotions only when the dysfunctional emotion level was low.