A study of the presence of evolutionary protoconcepts in pre-high school textbooks

Abstract Elementary and middle school science texts were analyzed for the presence of evolutionary protoconcepts, which are defined as topics that prepare students to study evolution in later years. Elementary and middle school texts were content-analyzed for protoconcepts in both life science and earth science. Seventeen concepts considered important for student understanding of evolution were gleaned from the misconception literature and used to review the life science texts. Concepts used to analyze other texts were chosen by exploring all texts used in the analysis for any topics that might qualify as evolutionary protoconcepts, thus generating grounded theory. Coverage of evolutionary protoconcepts varies considerably among published textbooks. We recommend using this analysis when considering textbooks for adoption and for supplementing texts currently in use. We also recommended this type of analysis of textbooks for inclusion of other topics of interest to science education research.     

Autographs and the global art market: the case of hedonic prices for French autographs (1960–2005)

The market for autographs has become more open to international buyers since 1990. Our data set features a large sample of store and auction sales for selected authors every 5 years from 1960 to 2005. The estimation of a hedonic price function shows that page count, type of author, date and type of the document conditionally to author explain more than three quarters of the price differences. The apparent price of autographs increased by 7.7 % per year during the period, while the hedonic price index increased by 7.9 % on average. With a supply function responsive to market valuation, as well French autograph prices seemingly showing trend similar to art market index, the French autograph market has become more integrated in the global art market.     

Regional lifelong learning policies and the social vulnerability of young adults in Girona and Vienna

ABSTRACT

This article explores the interface between lifelong learning policies and the definition of social vulnerability of young adults in two regions located within the European Union. Girona comprises a constellation of small towns with important industry, service and hospitality sectors. Vienna is a global city where many key international operators are based and employ a large number of highly qualified professionals. The article explores to what extent the meta-governance and the ‘causal narratives’ of lifelong learning policies contribute towards shaping the prevailing images of youth vulnerability in these regions. In Girona, bureaucratic governance patterns lifelong learning policies, which strongly rely on the potential of career guidance to encourage the youth to undertake further education. Correspondingly, policy designs and professional discourses emphasise that the beneficiaries previously failed at school. In Vienna, authorities govern lifelong learning by means of both bureaucracy and complex networks of employers and non-profit organisations. The ‘causal narrative’ of the policies straightforwardly claims that all youth must have an experience with employment, whether in apprenticeships or in transitional workshops that emulate real jobs. There, policies portray beneficiaries according to their capacity to undertake and finish apprenticeships.     

The relationship between emotional competence,classroom climate and school achievement in high school students / La relación entre competencia emocional,clima de aula y rendimiento académico en estudiantes de secundaria

The aim of this study is, on the one hand, to find out if differences exist in emotional competence and secondary school students’ perceptions of classroom climate according to gender and educational level and, on the other hand, to analyse the relationship between emotional competence, classroom climate and school achievement in secondary school students. The study advances the hypothesis that emotional competences and classroom climate are mediators in school achievement. For this purpose, 420 students from secondary and further education were selected with an average age of 14.29 ± 1.52.

In emotional competence, the results showed differences according to gender and educational level, while in classroom climate, differences were only found according to educational level. The mediational analysis showed that classroom climate is an influential variable in the predictive value of emotional competence in relation to school achievement. Likewise, emotional competence acts as a mediating influence on classroom climate and school achievement. This study thus highlights the need to implement training processes to help teachers to promote positive socio-emotional contexts and programmes to develop students’ emotional competence, which will improve their school achievement.     

Curricular reforms guide schools: but, where to?

The article deals with a particular aspect of the competencies-based approach in the curricula of basic and secondary education: the role of complex situations in learning. What should their role be so that education systems gain both in effectiveness and equity? Many research outcomes have shown that it is important to stress first and foremost complex “post” situations in learning knowledge, know-how and life-skills. It is a matter of complex situations (integrative pedagogy) in which the pupil is invited to use the knowledge, know-how and life-skills already acquired, not as ends in themselves, but as resources that the pupils employ to confront the complexity of their environment. It shows to what extent using the problem-solving approach to inculcate knowledge and know-how, in other words using complex situations for “prior” learning, represents a less suitable innovation.     

Inequalities in school systems: effect of school structure or of society structure?

In this study the authors start from the observed fact that equality of opportunities of educational achievement is higher in integrated school systems than in differentiated school systems. In other words, in integrated school systems, a pupil’s school achievement depends less than elsewhere on the social and cultural resources of his or her family. However, before concluding that school structure has a significant influence on inequalities at school, it is important to distinguish between the influence of the socio‐economic context underlying each school system, and the specific influence of the structure or organisation of the school system itself. The fact is that not only do the most egalitarian countries with regard to schooling have in common an integrated structure, but also these schools are set within the context of countries which are more egalitarian in other ways, particularly with regard to income distribution. To distinguish between the influence of this social environment and that of school structure, the authors offer three analyses based on a comparative analysis of international databases measuring educational achievement. The results of these three analyses lend credence to the hypothesis that the structure of the school system has a specific effect on the extent of inequalities.     

Globalization, Educational Targeting, and Stable Inequalities: A Comparative Analysis of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile

The present study analyzes educational targeting in Argentina, Brazil and Chile from a sociological point of view. It shows that a ‘logic of induction’ has become the vehicle for anti-poverty education strategies meant to help targeted groups improve on their own. The analysis explores the influence of the global educational agenda, the empirical connection between the logic of induction and the mechanism of emulation, and the territorial aspects of educational inequalities. Emulation plays a main role inasmuch as the logic of induction leads targeted groups to compare their adverse situation with more privileged groups, which actually legitimizes inequalities. A brief statistical summary completes the study, showing that educational inequality has remained unchanged as far as urban–rural ratios (in Brazil and Chile) and regional disparities (in all three countries) are concerned.     

GENDER MODERATES ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EMOTIONAL‐BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND TEXT COMPREHENSION IN CHILDREN WITH BOTH READING DIFFICULTIES AND ADHD

Evidence suggests that higher order linguistic functioning such as text comprehension is particularly vulnerable to emotional modulation. Gender has been identified as an important moderating variable in emotional expression such that girls tend toward internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety) whereas boys tend toward externalizing emotions (e.g., anger, combativeness), which may influence the relationship between emotion and text comprehension. The present study examined whether gender moderates the relationship between emotional‐behavioral problems and text comprehension among children (n = 187; boys = 115, girls = 72) with both word reading difficulties (RD) and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a sample widely acknowledged to be at increased risk for developing emotional‐behavioral problems such as anxiety, poor academic self‐concept, and delinquency. A moderated regression analysis tested for the significance of two separate interaction terms (i.e., gender × externalizing problems, gender × internalizing problems) after controlling for gender, IQ, basic reading skills, cognitive‐linguistic processes closely related to reading, attentional problems, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Results indicated that gender significantly and uniquely moderates the relationship between emotional‐behavioral problems and text comprehension. Specifically, text comprehension was relatively lower among girls with relatively higher externalizing problems, whereas no such association was observed among boys. These results contribute to our understanding of cognition–emotion interactions within reading development and raise important implications.