On the relationship between regulatory focus and response bias in multiple-choice exams

Regulatory focus is a strong predictor for a person’s behaviour in signal detection tasks. While a promotion focus is related to a risky response strategy (hits, false alarms), a prevention focus is associated with a conservative strategy (correct rejections, misses). The present research is based on the assumption that multiple-choice (MC) examinations represent typical signal-detection situations. It includes six studies that examined the effect of students’ regulatory focus on their test-taking response bias in MC items with a multiple true–false format. Altogether, the results support the hypothesized association between promotion focus and the tendency to make errors of commissions (rather than omissions), and conditioned evidence for the hypothesized association between promotion focus and the tendency to confirm (rather than negate) test items. Findings concerning prevention focus were heterogeneous. In sum, this research extends the generalizability of the predictions from regulatory focus theory to the context of MC examinations.     

Child Care Subsidy and Quality

This study compared the quality of child care programs serving children receiving government subsidies to those not serving such children. Thirty-four classrooms in full day programs serving preschool aged children (19 subsidized, 15 unsubsidized) were observed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales-Revised (ECERS-R). (1) Research Findings: One way ANOVA indicated that programs not serving children receiving subsidies were rated higher on overall quality, language and reasoning, learning activities, and social interactions. Teacher salary was significantly correlated with overall quality, and after controlling for teacher salary, subsidy density did not uniquely predict variance in overall quality. (2) Policy Implications: Overall low quality indicates a need for a quality improvement initiative using proven methods. Minimum guidelines for quality beyond state licensing standards should be used to ensure that children in subsidized programs are receiving adequate care and to oversee state and federal investments in early childhood education.     

“Math Is What I Love. I Think If I Got Anything from Community College,It’s the Beauty of Math.”: Promoting Mathematics Teacher Education Through Community College Outreach

Deficient publicity challenged participants when selecting community college for postsecondary education and identifying secondary mathematics teaching as a career. Secondary mathematics teaching career promotion by the community college out in the local community and on the community college campuses was found to be nonexistent but necessary to increase the teacher-of-color pool. The purpose of this case study was to understand the role community colleges played in preparing current Washington State secondary mathematics teachers of color. Teachers-of-color voices were evaluated through Critical Race Theory, and recommendations were developed to support and counter identified oppressive structures: A future secondary mathematics teacher community outreach club would engage the community by (a) developing partnerships with local K–12 schools to increase teaching career exploration, (b) exploring feasibility of Math in the Community, and (c) promoting the community college as A College FOR the Community with outreach mathematics application courses taught in nonschool-based community venues.     

Returning to Teaching: the career breaks and returns of married women primary headteachers

The term ‘broken career’ is used to describe the most common work pattern for married women teachers. The break in teaching service involves leaving teaching for a period, usually in order to have and to care for young children, and then returning to teaching when family responsibilities seem to permit. The article considers what were the significant features in the timing, the length and the type of the breaks in teaching service of a sample of married women who were primary and infant headteachers. The manner of the returns, is examined, in particular how the returns came about, and this indicates the importance of personal contacts and informal networks in bringing women back into primary teaching. Finally the article considers the inadequacy of the term ‘broken’ or ‘interrupted’ career to describe or explain the experiences of these women.     

Attachment Predicts College Students’ Knowledge,Attitudes, and Skills for Working With Infants,Toddlers, and Families

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children.     

Risk in Science Instruction

Risk is always present in people’s lives: diseases, new technologies, socio-scientific issues (SSIs) such as climate change, and advances in medicine—to name just a few examples—all carry risks. To be able to navigate risks in everyday life, as well as to participate in social debate on risk-related issues, students need to develop risk competence. Science education can be a powerful tool in supporting students’ risk competence, which is an important component of scientific literacy. As there are different definitions of risk within the scientific community, the aims of this article are (1) to review the literature on two major theoretical frameworks for conceptualising risk, the realist, and the constructivist paradigms of risk and (2) to connect both in order to suggest a working definition of what can be understood as risk competence in science instruction.     

Exploring intercultural competence through the lens of self-authorship

Intercultural competence among educators has long been recognised as important, especially in contexts characterised by growing and shifting cultural diversity such as Australia. However, the capacity to be interculturally competent has only recently been enshrined in teacher standards in Australia, and research into this field among early childhood educators is fledgling. Through the theoretical lens of self-authorship, this case study integrated a developmental model of intercultural maturity with a compositional model of intercultural competence. Combining these two models allowed for a holistic exploration of the complexities of intercultural experiences in an early childhood educational setting. This new integrated framework is applied to a case study that focuses on Heidi, an early childhood educator in a culturally diverse kindergarten. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations and analysis of philosophy, policy and observational documents. The findings indicated the importance of critical reflection and internal meaning making, as part of a self-authored identity, in relation to intercultural competence. Implications are discussed with a focus on the potential significance of the integrated framework to explore as well as enhance educators’ critical reflection about their intercultural experiences.     

Does teacher homework feedback matter to 6th graders’ school engagement?: a mixed methods study

Metacognition and Learning - The effectiveness of homework on improving student academic achievement depends on several factors; for example, feedback provided by the teacher (i.e. grading) and...