Does higher education promote independent learning?

There is general consensus in the literature that the goal of education is to increase the students' capacity to learn, to provide them with analytic skills and to increase their ability to deal with new information and draw independent conclusions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent to which higher education does promote these abilities which can be summarised as independent learning. Quantitative data from the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and qualitative data (semi-structured student interviews) from a tertiary institution in Hong Kong are compared with similar findings from institutions in other parts of the world. The relationship between demographic variables and the SPQ sub-scales appears to follow a pattern consistent with results from elsewhere. As students become older they are less likely to adopt a surface approach and more likely to adopt a deep one. However, there is a decrease in the use of a deep approach from first to third year of a course, suggesting that education at this tertiary institution does not promote independent learning. Possible explanations are derived from the literature and the student interviews. Implications for the structure of tertiary education in Hong Kong are discussed.     

Historical Views of Film

Ted Sennett's Warner Brothers Presents: The Most Exciting Years--From "The Jazz Singer" to "White Heat" (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1971---$11.95)

Leif Furhammar and Folke Isaksson's Politics and Film (New York: Praeger, 1971---$12.50)

Peter Cowie (ed.) The Concise History of the Cinema: Volume I, Before 1940. (Cranbury, N.J.: A.S. Barnes, 1971---$3.50, paper)

Roy Armes' The French Cinema since 1946: Volume I, The Great Tradition (Cranbury, N. J.: A.S. Barnes, 1970---$2.95, paper)

Gordon Gow's Hollywood in the Fifties (Cranbury, N.J.: A.S. Barnes, 1971---$2.95, paper)

Edward Wagenknecht's The Movies in the Age of Innocence (New York: Ballentine, $2.95, paper)

Thorold Dickenson's A Discovery of Cinema (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971---$8.50 with a paperback edition available)

Rachael Low's classic History of the British Film (London: Allen and Unwin, 1971---price not known)

Bob Thomas' The Heart of Hollywood: A 50-year Pictorial History of the Film Capital and the Famed Motion Picture and Television Fund (Los Angeles: Price/Stern/Stern, 1971---$7.95)

Bob Harmon's Hollywood Panorama (New York: Dutton, 1971---$3.95, paper)     

Is the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) a good predictor of academic achievement? Examining the mediating role of achievement-related classroom behaviours

Studies have shown that the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ)—which provides a measure of student approaches to learning—is a relatively weak predictor of academic achievement. The present study sought to explore whether students’ achievement-related classroom behaviours, as observed by teachers, can be used as a mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement. The SPQ was administered to 1,608 students enrolled in six different diploma programmes offered by a polytechnic in Singapore. Data were analysed by means of correlation and path analysis. In line with existing studies, the results revealed that student approaches to learning was a weak predictor of academic achievement. However, achievement-related classroom behaviours turned out to be a significant mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement, effectively doubling the explained variance in academic achievement. Implications of these findings for using the SPQ are discussed.     

Interpretations of formative assessment in the teaching of English at two Chinese universities: a sociocultural perspective

Formative assessment is increasingly being implemented through policy initiatives in Chinese educational contexts. As an approach to assessment, formative assessment derives many of its key principles from Western contexts, notably through the work of scholars in the UK, the USA and Australia. The question for this paper is the ways that formative assessment has been interpreted in the teaching of College English in Chinese Higher Education. The paper reports on a research study that utilised a sociocultural perspective on learning and assessment to analyse how two Chinese universities – an urban-based Key University and a regional-based Non-Key University – interpreted and enacted a China Ministry of Education policy on formative assessment in College English teaching. Of particular interest for the research were the ways in which the sociocultural conditions of the Chinese context mediated understanding of Western principles and led to their adaptation. The findings from the two universities identified some consistency in localised interpretations of formative assessment which included emphases on process and student participation. The differences related to the specific sociocultural conditions contextualising each university including geographical location, socioeconomic status, and teacher and student roles, expectations and beliefs about English. The findings illustrate the sociocultural tensions in interpreting, adapting and enacting formative assessment in Chinese College English classes and the consequent challenges to and questions about retaining the spirit of formative assessment as it was originally conceptualised.     

Educators’ responses to policy concerns about the gender balance of the teaching profession in Scotland

Concepts of gender equity are changing and the necessity of actively developing a fairer gender balance is now enshrined in the Gender Equality Legislation implemented in 2007 that required public bodies to positively promote equality. This study examines, from the perspectives of educators, their understandings of gendered inequalities in teaching and the issues that they raise for the profession. Overall, respondents did not see the numerical domination of women as a problem but instead they saw the benefits of maintaining the diversity of the teaching profession, since all pupils could benefit from the range of interests and attributes offered by both women and men. Respondents were both embracing and disputing popular discourses about the gender balance in teaching but argued strongly that there should be no discriminatory barriers to the profession. It is concluded that a policy approach to gender equality should address the material and social disadvantage experienced by those working in female‐dominated professions like teaching and this would ensure people would be enabled to exercise gendered preferences without penalties or unfair advantages in income or status.     

Revisiting educational equity and quality in China through Confucianism, policy, research, and practice

The promotion of educational equity and improvement of educational quality in China are contextualised in tenets of Confucianism and policy directives, inspiring educational research and practice. In this paper, we first explore the historical and cultural roots of educational equity and quality through Confucianism and elaborate on the current policy priority that aims to address educational equity and quality. We then present an overview of research on equity and quality in Chinese education. Informed by Confucianism, policy, and research, we pose a framework to structure our investigation and analysis of three illustrative examples, namely the Special Post Teacher Plan, amalgamation of rural schools, and schooling of floating children. Drawing insights from Confucianism, policy, research, and practice, we conclude that the promotion of educational equity through high quality provision of education for disadvantaged groups can help to narrow the gap in educational quality currently existing in China.     

南非国家高中数学课程与评价标准评介

2012年1月,南非颁布新的高中数学课程标准,较之与以往的南非课程标准相比,新的高中课程标准最为突出的变化体现在对学生评价的重视。在该课程标准中,除对课程颁布的背景、课程目标、课时分配、课程内容有详细介绍之外,还重点强调了对学生学习成就评价的标准。介绍南非高中数学课程标准及其特点,以期为中国高中数学课程改革提供借鉴。