A study of pupils' conceptions and reasoning in connection with 'microbes', as a contribution to research in biotechnology education

Biotechnology uses genetically modified bacteria or viruses. Students' conceptions about 'microbes' tends to condition their understanding of biotechnology. This study focuses on the reasoning behind their conceptions. It is assumed that students' conceptions are themselves conditioned by the status given to diseases, by a hygiene-oriented culture, by layman's and school knowledge, personal experiences, socio-cultural mediation and linguistic confusions. It is essential to take all these factors into consideration in any project involving biotechnology education.     

Critical Race Studies in Education: Examining a Decade of Research on U.S. Schools

In this article, the authors critically synthesize how Critical Race Theory (CRT) as an emerging field of inquiry has been used as a tool of critique and analysis in K-12 education research. The authors point out that CRT has been used as a framework for examining: persistent racial inequities in education, qualitative research methods, pedagogy and practice, the schooling experiences of marginalized students of color, and the efficacy of race-conscious education policy. The authors explore how these studies have changed the nature of education research and stress the need for further research that critically interrogates race and racism in education.Marvin Lynn is an Assistant Professor of Department of Curriculum & Instruction in University of Maryland, College Park. He completed his B.S., at DePaul University, Chicago, IL, M.A. at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY and Ph.D. at University of California, Los Angeles. He has published articles in the area of Critical Race Theory and education and critical race pedagogy. He has also written a number of articles that explore the work and lives of Black male teachers.Laurence Parker is Professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies in University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He completed his B.A., at Earlham College, Richmond, IN, M.A. and Ph.D. in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current research examines Critical Race Theory and its connection to educational research, policy and practice in the k-12 and post-secondary settings. His research also examines social justice perspectives in educational administration, leadership and policy, particularly with respect to race and social class     

Affective development of adult students

In a study of affective development in the adult, non-residential students of Empire State College, samples of students were pretested with Q-sort and paired-comparison instruments and posttested 10–11 months later. Increases in average total scores for 63 students were significant at the .02 level. Older students and men rated themselves higher in affective development on the pretest, but women and younger students showed greater gains. There were no significant changes in any of the four comparison groups of students in evening or extension classes in traditional institutions who were tested during the same period.     

Metrics and outcomes of conservation education: a quarter century of lessons learned

We conducted a systematic literature review to analyze evaluations of conservation education programs on a global scale in order to better understand (1) temporal and spatial trends in conservation education program evaluations over the last 25 years, (2) patterns in the types of conservation-related issues addressed through these programs, (3) metrics that indicate effectiveness of conservation education programs, and (4) methods and timeframes used to draw conclusions about program outcomes. Findings indicated that there is a need to better connect the types of issues addressed through conservation education programs with metrics that would indicate success in addressing these issues and the actual outcomes measured and reported. As well, there is an opportunity to employ a variety of metrics and methods for evaluating program outcomes, particularly in developing countries, by focusing on cognitive and behavioral components as well as social and ecological ones. Finally, shifting to a more comprehensive strategy for evaluating multiple outcomes in different cultural contexts would provide opportunities for utilizing mixed methods and qualitative approaches in partnership with community stakeholders.     

Understanding Collaboration Using New Technologies: A Structurational Perspective

Recent research in information systems (IS) has focused on the application of social theory in general and Anthony Gidden's structuration theory in particular to help reveal how technical systems can support or hinder human interaction in societal, organizational, and personal contexts. This article examines the potential of structuration theory to facilitate an understanding of social and organizational issues that surround collaboration using new technologies.     

An intercultural approach to challenging issues in Northern Ireland teacher education

This paper reports action research intended to advance intercultural learning and pedagogy within teacher pre‐service education. Northern Ireland (NI) student teachers returning from teaching abroad and students from abroad training in NI shared views upon pedagogical practices, identified features supportive of inclusive teaching and assessed the potential of teacher intercultural learning. Experience of teaching abroad acted to challenge, but in some cases also to affirm, teacher dependence upon professional authority, independent pupils' learning and associated forms of control in classrooms. A majority of student teachers appeared encouraged by their experience of teaching abroad to experiment with pedagogies supportive of a negotiated and more inclusive curriculum and involving more cooperative learning in classrooms. Without significantly greater intercultural experience in NI teacher education, in the selective nature of NI schooling and in the control of subject disciplines under the NI statutory curriculum, sustained use of more transformative pedagogies is considered problematical in NI schools.

Cet article retrace une recherche‐action mise en oeuvre afin de promouvoir l'apprentissage interculturel et sa pédagogie. Des étudiants nord‐irlandais en formation initiale, rentrant de stage pratique à l'étranger, et des étudiants d'autres pays, effectuant un stage en Irlande du Nord, ont partagé leurs points de vue sur des pratiques pédagogiques, ont identifié des aspects encourageant l'éducation à l'altérité et ont évalué le potentiel d'apprentissage interculturel du professeur. L'expérience d'enseigner à l'étranger a mis ces étudiants au défi, mais dans certains cas a aussi renforcé la dépendance de l'enseignant à l'égard de l'autorité, du travail individuel de l'élève et du maintien de la discipline dans la classe. Cette expérience a encouragé la majorité de ces futurs professeurs à faire l'expérience des pédagogies développant un programme scolaire négocié et un apprentissage fondé sur la collaboration dans la classe. Sans réformes majeures, l'application intensive de ces pédagogies a été considérée comme problématique pour les écoles nord‐irlandaises.

Dieses Papier berichtet über Aktionsforschung mit dem Ziel der Förderung von interkulturellem Lernen und Pädagogik im Bereich der Lehrerausbildung. Nordirische Studierende, die aus einem Auslandslehrpraktikum zurückkehren und ausländische Studierende, die in Nordirland ausgebildet wurden, tauschten Eindrücke über pädagogische Praktiken, identifizierten Merkmale welche ?inclusive teaching“ unterstützen und bewerteten das Potential für interkulturelles Lernen in der Lehrerausbildung. Die Lehrerfahrung im Ausland bewirkte eine Herausforderung, in manchen Fällen aber auch eine Bestätigung der Abhängigkeit der Lehrenden von Autorität, der Arbeit von einzelnen Schülern und Schülerinnen und der Kontrolle im Klassenraum. Die Mehrzahl der Lehramtsstudierenden wurde durch ihre Erfahrung ermutigt mit einer Pädagogik zu experimentieren, die verhandelte Curricula und gemeinschaftliches Lernen unterstützen. Ohne weitgehende Reformen wurde der Einsatz dieser Pädagogiken in den Schulen Nordirlands als problematisch betrachtet.

Este estudio informa sobre investigaciones prácticas para potenciar la pedagogía y el aprendizaje interculturales de los docentes. Los estudiantes de Magisterio de Irlanda del Norte que vuelven de su periodo de prácticas docentes en el extranjero y los estudiantes extranjeros de prácticas en Irlanda del Norte comparten puntos de vista sobre prácticas pedagógicas, identifican áreas de apoyo para una enseñanza global y evalúa el potencial del aprendizaje intercultural. La experiencia de las prácticas en el extranjero sirvió de reto, pero en algunos cursos también reforzó la dependencia del docente en la autoridad, en el trabajo personal de los estudiantes y en el control del aula. La mayoría de los estudiantes de prácticas se sintieron animados a experimentar con pedagogías de negociación de contenidos curriculares y de aprendizaje colaborativo. Sin reformas importantes, el uso continuado de esta pedagogía se considera problemático en las escuelas de Irlanda del Norte.     

Parenting Styles, Adolescents' Attributions, and Educational Outcomes in Nine Heterogeneous High Schools

This article examined the contemporaneous and predictive relations between parenting styles, adolescents' attributions, and 4 educational outcomes. Data were collected from adolescents attending 6 high schools in California and 3 high schools in Wisconsin during the 1987–1988 and 1988–1989 school years. The results of path analyses partially confirmed the central hypotheses. Adolescents who perceived their parents as being nonauthoritative were more likely than their peers to attribute achievement outcomes to external causes or to low ability. Furthermore, the higher the proportion of dysfunctional attributions made for academic successes and failures, the lower the levels of classroom engagement and homework 1 year later. Although adolescents' attributional style provided a bridge between parenting style and 2 educational outcomes, it did not fully explain the impact of parenting on those outcomes. Additional analyses within gender and ethnic subgroups reinforced the overall pattern of findings observed within the entire sample.     

When Infants Look to Their Parents: I. Infants'' Social Referencing of Mothers Compared to Fathers

12-month-olds were seen with their mothers and fathers in a laboratory procedure designed to compare infants' solicitation of, emotional resonance to, and self-regulation on the basis of happy, fearful, and conflicting emotional signals from mothers versus fathers. Measures of positive and negative affect and affect lability; of look, approach, and proximity behavior; and of overall response pattern were obtained. Infants showed more positive and less negative affect and greater toy proximity with happy compared to fearful signals. Few differences emerged in infants' referencing response to mothers versus fathers. Infants looked more to mothers than fathers when no signals were given but did not differentiate between parents when only one was signaling or when both were signaling (conflict). In affective state and behavioral regulation, they were not differentially responsive to maternal versus paternal signals either when only one parent was signaling or when both were giving signals.     

Over-Time Changes in Adjustment and Competence among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Families

In a previous report, we demonstrated that adolescents' adjustment varies as a function of their parents' style (e.g., authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, neglectful). This 1-year follow-up was conducted in order to examine whether the observed differences are maintained over time. In 1987, an ethnically and socioeconomically heterogeneous sample of approximately 2,300 14–18-year-olds provided information used to classify the adolescents' families into 1 of 4 parenting style groups. That year, and again 1 year later, the students completed a battery of standardized instruments tapping psychosocial development, school achievement, internalized distress, and behavior problems. Differences in adjustment associated with variations in parenting are either maintained or increase over time. However, whereas the benefits of authoritative parenting are largely in the maintenance of previous levels of high adjustment, the deleterious consequences of neglectful parenting continue to accumulate.     

Impact of Parenting Practices on Adolescent Achievement: Authoritative Parenting, School Involvement, and Encouragement to Succeed

This article examines the impact of authoritative parenting, parental involvement in schooling, and parental encouragement to succeed on adolescent school achievement in an ethnically and socio-economically heterogeneous sample of approximately 6,400 American 14-18-year-olds. Adolescents reported in 1987 on their parents' general child-rearing practices and on their parents' achievement-specific socialization behaviors. In 1987, and again in 1988, data were collected on several aspects of the adolescents' school performance and school engagement. Authoritative parenting (high acceptance, supervision, and psychological autonomy granting) leads to better adolescent school performance and stronger school engagement. The positive impact of authoritative parenting on adolescent achievement, however, is mediated by the positive effect of authoritativeness on parental involvement in schooling. In addition, nonauthoritativeness attenuates the beneficial impact of parental involvement in schooling on adolescents achievement. Parental involvement is much more likely to promote adolescent school success when it occurs in the context of an authoritative home environment.