Portraits of PBL: students' experiences of the characteristics of problem-based learning in physiotherapy,computer engineering and psychology

The present study is part of acomprehensive research project with the generalaims of comparing how problem-based learning isrealised in three different professionaleducational programmes. The specific aims ofthis study are to describe and analyse howstudents in the three different programmesconceive of the meaning of problem-basedlearning and how they experience their studieswithin a problem-based learning programme. ThePBL programmes are a Bachelor's programme inPhysiotherapy, a Master's programme inPsychology, and a Master's programme inComputer Engineering. Data were analysedqualitatively. The results reveal differencesin how the students in the three programmesconceive of their autonomy as learners,co-operation with their counterparts and theauthenticity of the learning task. The findingspossibly also reflect the taken-for-grantedperspectives of knowledge, embedded in thecultures of the professional practices and thescientific disciplines to which the programmespertain.     

The “Batman Effect”: Improving Perseverance in Young Children

This study investigated the benefits of self‐distancing (i.e., taking an outsider's view of one's own situation) on young children's perseverance. Four‐ and 6‐year‐old children (N = 180) were asked to complete a repetitive task for 10 min while having the option to take breaks by playing an extremely attractive video game. Six‐year‐olds persevered longer than 4‐year‐olds. Nonetheless, across both ages, children who impersonated an exemplar other—in this case a character, such as Batman—spent the most time working, followed by children who took a third‐person perspective on the self, or finally, a first‐person perspective. Alternative explanations, implications, and future research directions are discussed.     

Emerging Integration of Sequential and Suprasegmental Information in Preverbal Speech Segmentation

5 studies examined contributions of syllable-ordering and rhythmic properties of syllable strings to 6- and 9-month-old infants' speech segmentation. A pair of methods measuring complementary properties of representational units was used: a noise detection task sensitive to perceived cohesiveness of pairs of syllables, and a discrimination maintenance task sensitive to compactness of representations of syllable pairs. For 9-month-olds, results show that a key pair of syllables was represented as a unit when the grouping of these syllables was supported by correlated regularities of ordering and rhythm in the set of stimulus strings, but not when such grouping was supported by only rhythmic or only syllable-ordering regularity. For 6-month-olds, results show that a key pair of syllables was represented as a unit whenever grouping was supported by rhythmic regularity in the stimulus strings, regardless of whether syllable-ordering regularity was also present. Thus, whereas 9-month-olds appear to be capable of integrating sequential and suprasegmental information in forming wordlike (multisyllabic) phonological percepts, 6-month-olds are not. The emergence of integrative abilities portends increased efficiency in speech processing and may contribute to the formation and use of an initial lexicon.     

Investigating Computer Application Technology Teachers’ Procedural Knowledge and Pedagogical Practices in ICT- Enhanced Classrooms

Helping beginner and veteran teachers to develop technological knowledge and skills in how to use new information and communications technologies (ICTs) to teach is a critical component of teacher preparation in this digital age. This article reports on a study in which 117 beginner and veteran (experienced) Computer Application Technology (CAT) teachers at 11 government Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in Gauteng, South Africa, completed a 65-item questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed 13 knowledge constructs, using a 5-point scale which addressed the nature and context of CAT teachers’ procedural, functional and pedagogical content knowledge (PrFPACK) in an ICT-enhanced classroom. Additional data was solicited using classroom observation and interviews to understand CAT teachers’ PrFPACK and e-skills in the use of ICT resources. The data was analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and thematic analysis. The research findings revealed a number of significant differences in beginner and veteran CAT teachers’ PrFPACK. The results of the study confirmed that professional development of beginner and veteran teachers in the use of new ICTs in the digital age should be an ongoing effort in all educational institutions. It is imperative to train both beginner and veteran CAT teachers in an innovative method of teaching with ICT resources.     

Reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems

Investigated in this study were hypothesized reciprocal influences between stressful life events and adolescent maladjustment using data from a 6-year, prospective longitudinal study. Stressful life experiences, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behaviors were assessed for a sample of adolescents (215 males, 236 females) living in the rural Midwest. From 7th to 12th grades, autoregressive analyses showed that stressful life events and these two forms of maladjustment were reciprocally interrelated over time. For example, stressful life events at one point significantly predicted delinquent behaviors 1 year later, which, in turn, significantly predicted stressful life events 1 year later, and vice versa. The findings provide evidence for the accumulating disadvantage for adolescents that results from the mutual reinforcement of problematic situations and adjustment problems over time.     

Adaptive Behavior,Social Adjustment,and Academic Achievement of Regular and Special Education Children

The purpose of the present study was to compare the adaptive behavior, social adjustment and academic achievement of educable mentally retarded, learning disabled, behavior disordered, and regular class children. A sample of 120 children, aged 7 through 9 years, was selected from class rolls on the basis of group membership, race and sex. Significant differences were found in adaptive behavior, social adjustment, and academic achievement among the four groups; none of the instruments, however, was able to differentiate among all four categories of children. Adaptive behavior and academic achievement differentiated EMR and regular class children from the other two groups, while social adjustment appeared to be the most effective variable in differentiating BD children from the other three categories. Findings of this study support the notion that measures of these abilities provide information of use to teachers, psychologists, and placement committees in their attempts to provide the most appropriate and meaningful education for students with special needs.     

Parents’ past experiences as a mediational tool for understanding their child’s current mathematical learning

This article explores the ways in which parents use their own past experiences as a mediational tool for understanding their child’s current school learning. Following a sociocultural approach parents’ past experiences were examined drawing on the notions of (1) heterochronicity, which looks at the partially overlapping histories of the individual and society and (2) prolepsis whereby the imagined future mediates and constrains the world of the present. The analysis draws on 22 interviews with parents whose children were from three primary multiethnic schools in a town in the Southeast of England. The findings brought to light the means by which parents can either intentionally or unintentionally use the past to inform their current representations and practices. Thus at times they use their past experiences to mediate internalisation (reproduction of the experience), at other times they use them to promote externalisation (change brought about by the experience). It is within this process that parents projected a future ideal for their child, which was either congruent or discordant with their own past.     

Invisibly at risk: Low‐income students in a middle‐ and upper‐class world

Women's studies programs, multicultural centers, and organizations to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students are campus fixtures. Few now question diversity's contribution to the education of all students. Jennifer Duffy suggests that it's time to acknowledge, support, and celebrate one more form of diversity that is mostly hidden: social class.     

Anti‐racism Education within an Early Childhood Education Diploma Programme

An awareness of racism and anti‐racism strategies for educators are important aspects to be included in pre‐service early childhood teacher education. This paper provides a case‐study of the approach adopted by the Centre for Early Childhood Care and Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Within this early childhood education programme, there is a focus on developing an awareness of racism and commitment to anti‐ racism in early childhood students. This paper outlines the historical background to ‘biculturalism’ in Aotearoa/New Zealand, followed by policy statements at various institutional levels, and then discusses pedagogical considerations in implementing a commitment to anti‐racism in pre‐service early childhood teacher education.     

To vocationalise or not to vocationalise? Perspectives on current trends and issues in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Africa

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the dichotomy of vocational education versus general education. This is more so as political pronouncements in many countries across the globe have taken on knowledge and skills as the key aim of the desire to improve access to education at all levels. Nowhere is this debate more tested, fiercely debated and gained controversy as in Africa. However, given recent developments in which knowledge and skills have become more acceptable terms in economically more developed nations, in which both are seen to go hand in hand, what is happening in Africa where development is highly sought but has proven to be more elusive? This has brought back to the forefront one of the dilemmas which has pre-occupied many African countries for a long time: whether to concentrate investment in general education or in vocational education. In this paper, I reflect on current trends and issues in TVET in Africa.