A two-level study of predictors of private tutoring attendance at the beginning of secondary schooling in Germany: The role of individual learning support in the classroom

More and more students attend private supplementary tutoring to improve their academic achievement. Private tutoring might be understood as a reaction to insufficient instructional quality in school, especially regarding individual support. However, it might also be possible that parents generally see insufficient grades as an indicator of lacking support and engage a tutor in hopes of improvement or to enhance a competitive edge for their children. So far, the relationship between tutoring attendance and perceived individual learning support during classroom lessons has not been tested. We used multilevel analyses based on N = 2,842 students in 102 Grade 5 classrooms at German academic track schools to test for a relationship between private tutoring in several subjects and students’ shared perception of the instructional quality in these subjects. On the individual level, we controlled for typical predictors of private tutoring such as academic achievement and family income, as well as for additional variables such as working behaviour and parental homework assistance. In classrooms with more individual support, students were less likely to start private tutoring in English. However, we did not find comparable relationships for tutoring in mathematics and German. Therefore, school principals and educational policy-makers should monitor the incidence of private tutoring and consider within-school structured tutoring programmes as an effective measure to improve academic achievement and to meet parents’ desire for individualised instruction.     

Reading and Spelling Development Across Languages Varying in Orthographic Consistency: Do Their Paths Cross?

We examined the cross-lagged relations between reading and spelling in five alphabetic orthographies varying in consistency (English, French, Dutch, German, and Greek). Nine hundred and forty-one children were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and were tested on word and pseudoword reading fluency and on spelling to dictation. Results indicated that the relations across languages were unidirectional: Earlier reading predicted subsequent spelling. However, we also found significant differences between languages in the strength of the effects of earlier reading on subsequent spelling. These findings suggest that, once children master decoding, the observed differences between languages are not related to the direction of the effects but to the strength of the effects from reading to spelling. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Infants of Depressed Mothers Exhibit Atypical Frontal Electrical Brain Activity during Interactions with Mother and with a Familiar, Nondepressed Adult

Previous studies have shown that infants of depressed mothers exhibit atypical frontal brain electrical activity when they are interacting with their mothers. Whereas typically developing infants exhibit greater left versus right frontal brain activity, infants of depressed mothers have been found to exhibit reduced relative left frontal activity. The left frontal brain region has been associated with the expression of positive emotions. In the present study, the question of whether the atypical pattern of brain activity found in infants of depressed mothers generalizes to situations not involving mother was addressed. Brain electrical activity was recorded from 13- to 15-month-old infants of depressed (N = 59) versus nondepressed (N = 40) mothers during a baseline condition, and during several social conditions that included a playful social interaction with a familiar experiments. Infants of depressed mothers exhibited reduced left relative to right frontal activity during the baseline condition, and during interactions with their mothers and with the familiar experimenter. The present results suggest that the atypical pattern of electrical brain activity found in infants of depressed mothers generalizes to a variety of situations, including positive interactions with nondepressed adults.     

Logics of practice in movement culture: Lars-Magnus Engström’s contribution to understanding participation in movement cultures

In this article, we present a framework for exploring participation in and social stratification of movement culture based on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept logic of practice. The background to our approach is Lars-Magnus Engström’s struggle to understand the impact of social stratification on participation in movement culture in a now nearly fifty-year follow-up study. The aim of the article is to elaborate further a framework, which Engström drafted in one of his last publications. Here, we assume that participation in movement cultures is guided by a number of logics of practice that are historically, culturally and socially constituted, and which relate to people’s tastes in particular ways that lead to social stratification. These logics are grouped into three overarching kinds of practices: performing, improving and experiencing, which engender both practice and social stratification. Further, the different logics of practice are linked to a principle of uncertainty, which means that quantitative empirical data must be interpreted rather than measured in a strict sense. The here outlined framework suggests that future research about participation in movement culture needs to take into account information about the structure, rhythm and tempo of the practice, as well as of the directionality of the actions. Information about these issues can hopefully contribute to a more elaborated understanding of the impact of social stratification on participation in movement culture, and in what forms movements are pursued.     

The Swedish riding school: a social arena for young riders

The aim was to explore how young riders experience the riding school. By analysing focus groups interviews, a picture emerged showing that young riders’ main motive for participating at riding schools was the social aspects. Riding schools could be characterized through an institutional perspective in which the young riders became internalized and socialized into a stable culture. The young riders identified with the norms and values of the riding instructors through master–apprentice learning. In addition, the results revealed a change in the stable culture since the instructors encouraged social interactions and participation in the community that became central to learning and development. Opportunities to influence and interact were important for the individuals and from a child’s rights perspective. Through participation in the community of practice at riding schools, young riders not only learn about riding and horse management but also develop important personal social skills.     

GENDER, NEWS MEDIA EXPOSURE AND POLITICAL CYNICISM: PUBLIC OPINION OF HONG KONG'S FUTURE TRANSITION

Marginalized from the center of power, women in Hong Kong maybe particularly vulnerable to the future political transition,as the territory prepares for an exchange from British to Chineserule. How do women feel about the impending changes in HongKong? According to results from a recent (April 1993) representativetelephone survey in Hong Kong (n = 502), women are less likelyto have faith in the political future of Hong Kong than men.Moreover, this relationship between gender and political cynicismbecomes more pronounced when controlling for socio-economicstatus and is more intensive among persons in their middle years.Contrary to expectations, exposure to newspapers does not encouragedistrust, but instead appears to be associated with less cynicismof the future transition, at least among men. Women, on theother hand, are less likely to be susceptible to press coverage.In a context in which political transition is pending, suchas in Hong Kong, it is imperative to attempt to understand theevolution and disintegration of political cynicism, particularlyamong those who may be vulnerable to political change.     

The Influences of Syllable Structure and Reading Ability on the Development of Phoneme Awareness: A Longitudinal,Cross-Linguistic Study

Effects of syllable structure and of alphabetic reading skills on the development of phoneme awareness were investigated in a longitudinal study. Awareness of phonemes in syllable onsets and codas was examined in first graders speaking Czech (n = 45) and German (n = 33). Czech children showed higher awareness of phonemes in onsets than in codas, whereas the reverse was true for German children. The patterns of behavioral data largely reflected distributional differences in corpus data between these languages. The effects were present among prereaders and persisted to the end of Grade 1. In sum, children's experience with the syllable structure of their native language plays an important role in shaping phoneme awareness from early in development and predates influences of alphabetic reading skills.     

Who is the competent physics student? A study of students’ positions and social interaction in small-group discussions

This article describes a study which explored the social interaction and the reproduction and challenge of gendered discourses in small group discussions in physics. Data for the study consisted of video recordings of eight upper secondary school groups solving physics problems and 15 audiotaped individual interviews with participating students. The analysis was based on gender theory viewing gender both as a process and a discourse. Specifically discursive psychology analysis was used to examine how students position themselves and their peers within discourses of physics and gender. The results of the study reveal how images of physics and of “skilled physics student” were constructed in the context of the interviews. These discourses were reconstructed in the students’ discussions and their social interactions within groups. Traditional gendered positions were reconstructed, for example with boys positioned as more competent in physics than girls. These positions were however also resisted and challenged.     

Student-centred and teacher-centred learning environment in pre-vocational secondary education: Psychological needs,and motivation

In this study the perception of psychological needs and motivation in a student-centred and a teacher-centred learning environment are compared, using Self Determination Theory as a framework. The self-report Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was completed by 230 students (mean age 16.1 years) in pre-vocational secondary education. School records on absenteeism and achievement were also analysed. As predicted, multi-level analyses showed that students in the student-centred learning environment reported higher levels of perceived autonomy, competence, relatedness and motivation, measured by pleasure and effort. Furthermore, boys were less absent. Achievement shows no differences. These results suggest that a student-centred form of learning can be more beneficial for students' motivation if granted autonomy is embedded in a supportive environment.