Geschlechtsspezifische Leistungsunterschiede in Abhängigkeit der sozialen Herkunft. Eine Untersuchung zur Interaktion zweier sozialer Kategorien

Gender differences in educational outcomes are often reported. However, some evidence suggests that these differences are not consistent but vary with social background. In quantitative research, however, the interaction between gender and social background has been underinvestigated. The present study investigates whether the effect of gender on achievement is moderated by socio-economic status (SES). The sample consists of N = 3935 primary school-children in Berlin (6th grade). The results show that the effect of gender on achievement varies with SES, with a stronger correlation between the achievement of boys and their SES. Taken together, the results of the study suggest a differentiated consideration of the achievement of boys and girls and the importance of considering multiple group identities.     

Research and scholarship: Perceptions of senior academic administrators

This paper reports selected findings from the first stage of a study on the research role within academic work in Australian universities. These findings come from the interview component of the study and discuss the perceptions that senior academic administrators hold on research and scholarship. The analysis of the interviews indicates that research covers a wide and varied range of activities across the disciplines found in a university and therefore needs to be defined broadly. However, research has three major attributes: new knowledge, enquiry and publication of results and views. Scholarship was perceived to be part of the research process, providing the context for good research by adding the element of breadth to the depth of research. In addition, scholarship describes the manner of pursuing a serious, sustained line of enquiry as well as the dissemination process.     

An international collaborative investigation of beginning seventh grade students' understandings of scientific inquiry: Establishing a baseline

Although understandings of scientific inquiry (as opposed to conducting inquiry) are included in science education reform documents around the world, little is known about what students have learned about inquiry during their elementary school years. This is partially due to the lack of any assessment instrument to measure understandings about scientific inquiry. However, a valid and reliable assessment has recently been developed and published, Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI; Lederman et al. [2014], Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51, 65–83). The purpose of this large-scale international project was to collect the first baseline data on what beginning middle school students have learned about scientific inquiry during their elementary school years. Eighteen countries/regions spanning six continents including 2,634 students participated in the study. The participating countries/regions were: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Mainland China, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States. In many countries, science is not formally taught until middle school, which is the rationale for choosing seventh grade students for this investigation. This baseline data will simultaneously provide information on what, if anything, students learn about inquiry in elementary school, as well as their beginning knowledge as they enter secondary school. It is important to note that collecting data from all of the approximately 200 countries globally was not humanly possible, and it was also not possible to collect data from every region of each country. The results overwhelmingly show that students around the world at the beginning of grade seven have very little understandings about scientific inquiry. Some countries do show reasonable understandings in certain aspects but the overall picture of understandings of scientific inquiry is not what is hoped for after completing 6 years of elementary education in any country.     

Information inputs to new product planning and development

For more and more firms product innovation is becoming the key to survival and future growth. Successful product innovation cannot be based only upon inspiration, fantasy and random ideas; in most firms a purposeful and systematic approach also is required. Information is a key concept in this context. As product innovation activities are very different from day-to-day activities, a special information system is required.Based on an in-depth study of a large firm, it appears that systematic innovation requires: (a) a sound business concept with future oriented strategies and policies; (b) a competent staff who master the necessary tools; (c) an efficient organization with an appropriate information system; (d) relevant methods for diversification studies and product planning; and (e) development of individual products based on systematical provision of information about user needs and proper specification of requirements.In small firms innovations are based more on the entrepreneurial approach. Such firms often demonstrate a very innovative attitude, but many of them are hampered by lack of skills in marketing and management. They also lack supporting services which can provide information about the environment.Considering the importance of small firms in economic development and social progress, they should be given support in their innovative attempts. This can be done by organizing innovation centers which arrange studies, develop courses, and give practical assistance to firms engaged in innovative work. Governments should develop policies and provide information stimulating both small and large firms to innovations that are more desirable from a social point of view.     

CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND FAITH

Critical pedagogy has often been linked in the literature to faith traditions such as liberation theology, usually with the intent of improving or redirecting it. While recognizing and drawing from those previous linkages, Jacob Neumann goes further in this essay and develops the thesis that critical pedagogy can not just benefit from a connection with faith traditions, but is actually, in and of itself, a practice of faith. In this analysis, he juxtaposes critical pedagogy against three conceptualizations of faith: John Caputo's blurring of the modernist division between faith and reason, Paul Tillich's argument that faith is “ultimate concern,” and Paulo Freire's theology and early Christian influences. Using this three‐pronged approach, Neumann argues that regardless of how it is seen, critical pedagogy manifests as a practice of faith “all the way down.”     

The influence of regulations on innovation: A quantitative assessment for OECD countries

Regulatory framework conditions have been identified as important factors influencing the innovation activities of companies, industries and whole economies. However, in the empirical literature, the impacts of regulation have been assessed as rather ambivalent for innovation. Different types of regulations generate various impacts and even a single type of regulation can influence innovation in various ways depending on how the regulation is implemented. The endogenous growth approach developed by Carlin and Soskice (2006) and empirically applied by Crafts (2006), which determines endogenously the rate of technological progress and therefore innovation, allows a conceptual analysis of the influence of different types of regulation on innovation. In general, the negative effect of compliance costs should be compared with the more dynamic effect of regulations generating additional incentives for innovative activities. Based on this approach, we derive hypotheses on the impact of different specific regulations on innovation.We differentiate between economic, social and institutional regulations following the OECD taxonomy on regulations. Existing economic analyses are surveyed, which are characterised by rather heterogeneous approaches, data bases and results. The paper aims to apply a comprehensive and comparative approach to investigate quantitatively the innovation impacts in 21 OECD countries using panel data for the period between 1998 and 2004. In summary, the empirical results confirm the hypotheses derived from the conceptual theoretical framework determining technical progress and innovation endogenously and allowing a distinction between short-term and long-term effects. Consequently, the theoretical approach is an appropriate starting point for the empirical analysis of the influence of different regulations on innovation.     

Chameleon effects in homework research: The homework–achievement association depends on the measures used and the level of analysis chosen

Using a data set specifically tailored to homework research, with a sample of 1275 students from 70 classes in Switzerland, the association between homework and achievement in French as a second language was tested at three levels (class level, between-student level, and within-student level). The strength and direction of the homework–achievement association depended on the homework indicator chosen and differed to some degree across analytical levels. At the class level, achievement was higher in classes set frequent homework assignments and in classes where students reported low overall levels of negative emotions when doing homework. At the between-student level, high individual homework effort and low levels of negative homework emotions predicted favorable developments in French achievement, whereas high homework time predicted lower achievement. At the intraindividual level, high homework effort, high homework time, and low levels of negative homework emotions were statistically significantly associated with positive student evaluations of the learning gains from the specific assignment.     

Soziale Ungleichheiten beim Übergang von der Grundschule in die Sekundarstufe I: Theorie,Forschungsstand, Interventions- und Fördermöglichkeiten

Based on a theoretical model, which distinguishes between primary and secondary effects following Boudon, the present paper summarizes empirical evidence regarding the impact of family background on the transition from elementary into secondary school. In doing so, three types of secondary effects are distinguished: secondary effects of school grades, teacher recommendations, and the transition itself. The empirical literature suggests that both primary and secondary effects exist in the German school system: In addition to having lower achievement, children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive lower grades and fewer recommendations for higher tracks and are less likely to attend a high track even when controlling for their achievement. The paper closes by presenting findings from studies analyzing the relative importance of primary and secondary effects and a discussion on how effects of family background on the transition into secondary school can be reduced.