Provision of early field experiences for teacher candidates in Singapore and how it can contribute to teacher resilience and retention

While teacher retention is a pressing issue for many jurisdictions, Singapore has a relatively low teacher attrition rate. Drawing on the experiences of student teachers from the sole institute for pre-service teacher education in Singapore, this article argues that it is important to expose teacher candidates to a substantial period of school experience as part of the teacher recruitment process. Before they are officially enrolled into pre-service teacher education, the Ministry of Education in Singapore requires all teacher candidates in the Postgraduate Diploma of Education program to go through a compulsory school stint. The authors' research findings show that this exposure to the realities and complexities of teaching can be an important contributor to teacher retention in terms of assessing and promoting teacher candidates’ resilient qualities, such as passion for teaching, self-efficacy beliefs, and positive emotion. In other words, early field experiences can help teacher candidates understand themselves as teachers and assess their own suitability for a teaching career. This study sheds new light on the policies and practices of teacher retention and teacher recruitment strategies.     

The impact of previous type of abuse and sibling adoption upon adoptive families

OBJECTIVE: The paper addresses the impacts of the type of abuse and sibling adoption upon family functioning. The specific objectives are to test the relationships: (1). between an adopted child's previous type of abuse and postadoptive family functioning; (2). between an adopted child's previous type of abuse and the child's postadoptive externalized behavior status; (3). between sibling adoption status and postadoptive family functioning; and (4). between sibling adoption status and the child's postadoptive externalized behavior status. METHOD: Data were collected from parents with adopted children, between the ages of 2 and 16, who have special needs status. The convenience sample was drawn primarily from one southern state. RESULTS: The results suggest that the child's type of abuse does predict different outcomes in terms of a parent's report of postadoptive family functioning but not the adopted child's postadoptive externalized behavior. Sibling adoptions resulted in lower perceptions of family functioning but slightly improved perceptions of the child's postadoptive externalized behavior. CONCLUSION: Parents with adopted children who have histories of physical and sexual abuse reported lower family functioning than those parents with adopted children who only have histories of neglect. Parents who adopted sibling groups reported fewer externalized child behavior problems but lower family functioning than those parents who adopted a single child. These results suggest the need for a variety of family supports targeted to family needs as well as to promoting behavioral changes in the children.     

The Inalienable Alien: Giorgio Agamben and the political ontology of Hong Kong

Abstract

Drawing on the work of Giorgio Agamben, this article offers a philosophical interpretation of Hong Kong’s recent Umbrella Movement and the city’s political identity since its 1997 handover to China. With the constitutional principle of ‘one country, two systems’ it has held since 1997, Hong Kong has existed as an ‘inalienable alien’ part of China not dissimilar to that of Agamben’s political ontology of the homo sacer’s ‘inclusive exclusion’ in the polis. In addition to highlighting how Agamben’s politico-ontological notions such as ‘exception’ and ‘inclusive exclusion’ can illuminate the events of the Umbrella Movement, this article focuses particularly on the figure of the student, which many have seen as the symbolic face of the protest campaign. Considering how the student may also be regarded as a figure of ‘exception’, this article argues that the ‘exceptional’ role of the student highlights the unique sociopolitical as well as pedagogical aspects of the Umbrella Movement. Finally, comparing Hong Kong’s 2014 protests to Agamben’s philosophical account of the 1989 Tiananmen protests, this article concludes by suggesting that the Umbrella Movement is not simply a one-off event but fundamentally a manifestation of Hong Kong’s continuing political existence since 1997.     

‘Read a hundred times and the meaning will appear ...’ Changes in Chinese University students’ views of the temporal structure of learning

It has been shown earlier that while some high school students (younger on the average) do not differentiate between memorization and understanding, others (older on the average) do so (Marton, Watkins and Tang, Learning and Instruction 7, 21–48, 1997). Those who do differentiate impose a sequential ordering on the two: When you learn you memorize first and understand subsequently or When you learn you understand first and memorize later. This sequential ordering is expressed both through the students account of their theory of learning and their account of their own study practices. In the current study a group of 20 students of an elite University in mainland China were interviewed about learning, memorization and understanding in the context of their studies upon entering the University and 1.5 years later. It was found that while on the first occasion the predominant mode of talking about memorization and understanding was by discussing them in terms of either of the two above ways of sequentially ordering them. On the second occasion the most frequent way of talking about memorization and understanding was in terms of two simultaneous events, simply two different aspects of the very same learning process. The students spoke about using both repetition and variation in their study practice at the same time. Unlike when you read the same presentation of something several times in the same way and thus repeat the same thing again and again, when you read different presentations of the same thing or when you read the same presentation in different ways, something is repeated and something is varied. To the extent that repetition enhances remembering and variation enhances understanding – as the students seem to believe – they will likely remember that which is repeated and understand that which is varied. And when the two are intertwined they will remember what they understand.     

Characterizing Learning Environments Capable of Nurturing Generic Capabilities in Higher Education

There has been wide recognition that today’s graduates need the type of generic capabilities necessary for lifelong learning. However, the mechanism by which universities can develop these generic skills is not clearly established. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism for their development. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a hypothesized model of capability development through a suitable learning environment with 1756 undergraduates at a university in Hong Kong. To triangulate against this model and more fully characterize the learning environment, focus group interviews were held with five to six students from three programs with good records of capability development. Analysis of the interview data resulted in a set of categories, describing a learning environment, which were consistent with the SEM model. The learning environment which seemed conducive to capability development aimed for understanding of key concepts through a variety of assessment methods and active engagement in learning activities. Teacher–student relationships were developed through interaction, feedback and assistance. The promotion of peer–student relationships led to a high degree of collaborative learning.     

Aligning Physical Activity Measures With the International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health Framework for Childhood Disability

ABSTRACT

The introduction of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health has placed emphasis on framing health behavior as a multidimensional construct. In relation to childhood physical activity, this encompasses dimensions of functional performance, activity attendance, and subjective perceptions of involvement and enjoyment within activity settings. Current literature, however, primarily investigates physical activity in terms of performance and activity levels. The resulting misalignment of theory and measurement practice challenges the development of a comprehensive understanding of childhood physical activity behavior. For children with disabilities, who may have nuanced experiences in activity, there may be greater necessity to examine additional dimensions of physical activity (e.g., participation). In an effort to support meaningful interpretations of physical activity behavior measures among children with disabilities, the purposes of this article are to (a) conceptualize childhood physical activity within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and (b) provide guidance on aligning measurement tools with physical activity dimensions.     

Assessing the Personal-Social Development of Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents

A 60-item measure, the Personal-Social Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (PSD-SEI) was developed to assess personal-social development self-efficacy among adolescents in Hong Kong. The PSD-SEI was administered to 6,776 Grade 10–13 students in Hong Kong. Principal components analysis with varimax solutions yielded seven meaningful factors: 1. Self-Realization, 2. Leadership and Teamwork, 3. Emotional, Physical and Social Wellness, 4. Interests and Life Goals 5. Relationships, 6. Avoiding Drugs, Excessive Drinking and Smoking, and 7. Finance and Self-Care. Reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales were internally consistent. The data suggested that Hong Kong adolescents had some but not strong confidence in their personal-social development. Boys were more confident in self-realization and maintaining wellness; girls were more confident in leadership and teamwork, relationship with the opposite sex, and avoiding drugs, excessive drinking, and smoking. This study is the first attempt to develop and validate a personal-social development self-efficacy measure for Chinese adolescents. Further research and applications of the PSD-SEI for the quality enhancement of personal-social development programmes in schools are discussed.     

Determinants of Teachers’ Decision to Help Students with Behaviour Problems

The present study explored the link between teachers’ perceptions of students’ problem behaviours, their emotional reactions, and their likelihood to help such students. One hundred and thirty five teachers responded to four written vignettes which depicted students with either aggressive or withdrawal behaviours. The effects of teacher gender and the nature of problem behaviours in male and female students on teacher's willingness to help were also explored. Results showed that teachers were least sympathetic and most angry with aggressive students. These students were more likely to be held responsible for their behaviours. Teachers were, however, willing to help all students regardless of their problems. Female teachers were more willing to help students than male teachers. The results supported the “empathy‐altruism” hypothesis with regard to helping behaviour. The influence of role expectation of teachers in the context of Chinese culture was also discussed.     

Singapore: Review of Educational Events in 1994 and 1995

The period under review, 1994-1995, is best regarded as one of consolidation with some fine-tuning following the adoption of a range of educational initiatives in the preceding three years. As reported in the earlier two reviews in 1992 and 1993 (in the Singapore Journal of Education), some of these initiatives stemmed from the recommendations of the report entitled Improving Primary School Education (1991). Refinements made to other aspects of the education system were also announced in the period under review. All these refinements principally ensure that the central aim of the education system continues to be achieved.     

A variational energy approach for electromechanical analysis of thick piezoelectric beam

INTRODUCTION Piezoelectricity is an electromechanical phe- nomenon which couples elasticity and electricity through the existence of pressure induced electrical field or electric induced stress field. The piezoelectric materials are usually surface bonded in patches or fully embedded in the host structure, so that the structure becomes a laminated piezoelectric beam. Tzou and Gadre (1989), Lee (1990), Crawly and Lazarus (1991) developed laminated plate models incorporating the piezoelect…