Validation of the attitude toward women in science scale for early adolescents

The purpose of this study was to measure attitude of adolescents toward women in science careers. To do so, researchers in the Career Oriented Modules to Explore Topics in Science Project validated a 27-item instrument, the Women in Science Scale (WiSS). The scale had high reliability whether measured by estimates of internal consistency or test-retest reliability. The validity was established using the known groups and correlates procedures. The test clearly distinguished between known groups and resulted in the predicted pattern of correlations with measures of other constructs. The WiSS could prove to be a valuable instrument for basic research or curriculum evaluation where adolescent attitude toward women in science careers is a variable of interest.     

无辜之罪

Wu Lanlan turned sixteen just a few weeks ago.Anormal,young girl,she was maturing fast,broughtup as she was on a healthy diet and the cleanenvironment around her home.She lived with her parents ina large Soviet-style multi-apartment building in the suburbsof Shenyang in North China,with its freezing cold wintersand long days of white light.Lanlan saw herself as a young     

Reforming practice or modifying reforms?: Elementary teachers' response to the tools of reform

Understanding the interaction between internally constructed and externally imposed aspects of the teaching context may be the missing link between calls for school reform and teachers' interpretation and implementation of that reform. Although the context of the local school culture has a profound impact on teachers, there are other external forces that are specifically aimed at influencing teachers' pedagogical and curricular decisions. These externally imposed aspects of context include some of the existing tools of reform, such as national standards, mandated state core curricula, and related criterion‐referenced testing. However, little is known about how these reform tools impact teachers' thinking about science and science teaching or how teachers respond to such tools. This study examined the interactions between individual teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning science in elementary school and the tools of reform that are imposed upon them. Comparative case studies were conducted in which two elementary teachers' science instruction, teaching context, and related beliefs were examined, described, and analyzed. In this study, the teachers' fundamental beliefs about science and what it means to teach and learn science influenced their interpretations of the sometimes contradictory messages of reform as they are represented in the standards, mandated curriculum, and end‐of‐level tests. Suggestions about what these findings mean for needed aspects of teacher professional development are offered. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 396–423, 2007     

Exploring the Sources and Relationships that Propel Organisational Learning: An Investigation of Some Western Australian Schools

In exploring intricate relationships among environmental factors, internal school conditions and contextual variables that facilitate organisational learning, 90% of staff in six Western Australian secondary schools provided data for this exploratory study. Findings from the study not only shed light on the decade-old debate about the basic momentum for organisational change, but they also help rank-order the sources which initiate change. Additional analyses reveal factors from external environmental and internal school conditions that interact in bringing about organisational learning processes and outcomes in different contextual situations.     

Gender,academic careers and the sabbatical: a New Zealand case study

This article examines academics’ access to and perceptions of sabbaticals at a research-intensive university in New Zealand. Statistical and inductive analysis of survey data from 915 academics (47% of all academics employed) revealed inequalities in access to and experience of sabbaticals, and highlighted academic, personal and gender issues. Men and women were generally united in their views on how family circumstances, children, childcare, partners, unfairness, inequity, transparency and finances, affected ability to take sabbatical leave, and that lack of transparency and gatekeeping were barriers to access. Yet, women indicated greater concern than men about the application process, adequacy of leave and the role of the Head of Department in accessing sabbaticals. Women were also significantly more likely to be ineligible for sabbaticals owing to casual employment status, and women who were eligible tended to take fewer, shorter sabbaticals. Academics view sabbaticals as vital for career progression and the findings highlight the need to facilitate equitable access to sabbatical leave across an institution. Universities need to audit the uptake of sabbaticals by eligible academics and review the processes associated with application, approval and support for sabbatical leave.