Health-related quality of life and classroom participation of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in general schools

A group of deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students at mainstream schools (N = 212) was investigated in a questionnaire-based survey using the Inventory of Life Quality of Children and Youth (ILC) and the Classroom Participation Questionnaire. The ILC data for the D/HH sample are for the most part comparable with the data from a normative hearing sample. Item-total correlations showed that the domains of school and social activities with peers were more important for the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of the D/HH students than for that of the hearing students. The results also reveal differences in the HRQoL levels of the two samples, with the D/HH sample having higher scores for school experiences, physical and mental health, and overall HRQoL, though the effect sizes for the differences are small to moderate. Specific characteristics of the D/HH sample may be responsible for this result. There are also relationships between quality of life and perceived classroom participation in certain domains: Students who perceive classroom participation as satisfying have higher scores for quality of life in school, social contact with peers, and mental health. This also applied to the scores for global assessment and a summarized quality of life indicator.     

Mechanismen der Elitebildung im deutschen Bildungssystem

The German education system is currently experiencing two contrasting trends: On the one hand, social opening, e.g. through the introduction of a partially-integrated secondary school system, compensatory all-day-schooling. On the other hand, an increasing vertical hierarchy in certain educational phases, e.g. through the explicitly encouraged introduction of private kindergartens and primary schools and the establishment of prime (academic track) Gymnasien and elite universities. In line with these structural changes, next to equality, the principle of excellence is gaining an increasing significance as a justification argument. This contribution will present the situation from an education-policy perspective, discuss theoretical discourses, and the national and international state of research on the topic of elitism and education. It will close with future research challenges.     

Conflicting values and their impact on learning

Based on Inglehart’s (1997) idea that the importance of modern values is challenged by a growing importance of postmodern values in postindustrialised sociaties, we analyse the consequences of students’ attempts to integrate (modern) achievement values and (postmodern) well-being values. Since opportunities for value integration are limited, students should frequently experience conflicts, whether to work for school or to engage in free time activities. In a questionnaire study, students (n=184) showed mostly high scores in both, achievement and well-being values. Value conflict — measured by a specific conflict formula — was related to the frequency of action conflicts as well as to the reported difficulty to decide which action to pursue. Values predicted the students’ school-related decisions. Furthermore, students with high achievement values reported better performance in school-related tasks than students with high well-being values. Finally, values were systematically related to time investment and grades.     

Sense of coherence: a relevant resource in the coping process of mothers of deaf and hard-of-hearing children?

This study examined the importance of reported sense of coherence (Antonovsky, 1987) in mothers of children with hearing impairment. Sense of coherence was explored as a factor in relation to the experience of stress and subjective life satisfaction and in the context of other relevant variables in coping (e.g., social support, additional handicaps of the child, child's hearing status, means of communication). Two hundred thirty-five mothers completed a questionnaire, and path analysis corroborated a theoretical model in which sense of coherence was delineated as a factor contributing directly to stress perception. Both sense of coherence and the experience of social support were identified as resources that reduced reported stress and improved quality of life, with sense of coherence especially important in reducing stress. Child variables, including additional handicaps and extent of hearing impairment, intensified reported stress for the mothers, but mode of communication with the deaf child did not affect stress experience. The findings are discussed within the context of socialization theory. Recommendations for further research (e.g., longitudinal data, control designs, socio-economic status, applicability to fathers) are made.     

Mediated Exchange and Reflective Collaboration: A model of science teaching development

Interpersonal discussions and mediated exchange are combined processes in curriculum planning and innovation in the national project PING, a system for the development and evaluation of integrated science education in lower secondary schools in Germany. In this project teachers from pilot schools, researchers, teacher trainers and administrators are collaborating by direct interpersonal exchange in teacher training sessions, workshops and research meetings, or through mediated exchange by mail or electronic network. Collaboration is supported by institutionalisation and co-ordination with the aim of curriculum development for integrated science teaching. A major activity in the project is the reflective development and research activity of a core group, supported by a collaborative network. Analysis of interviews and network activities specify functions and problems of mediated exchange. The network is experienced as helpful for a continuous development in the project, especially through documentation and revision of a knowledge base of something already thought or discussed. The format is dependent on a co-ordination centre that offers exchange of messages, files and announcements. There is no direct mediated exchange between participants of the network. Mediated exchange is not a substitute for interpersonal contacts, especially of colleagues, and does not help to overcome teachers' individualistic role in class. However, it is socially less constrained by rivalries and unequal workload than interpersonal co-operation. Interpersonal and mediated reflective collaboration depends on a system of exchange between different persons across different institutions involved in a social and cultural context. Teachers are part of this exchange. In class, reflective practice refers to a situation where teachers mainly depend on their 'autonomous self'. At this point, teachers lack support from others and this lack is a conceptual problem of the individualistic reflective practice approach.     

Hochschulexpansion, Wandel der Fächerproportionen und Akademikerarbeitslosigkeit in Deutschland

The paper investigates the relationship between the expansion of higher education and the development of unemployment among higher education graduates by discipline using time series data. Our results find that the overall relationship between higher education and the world of labor is a recursive one. The relative weight of some disciplines among graduates, changes according to labor market needs, but this reaction is not immediate and subject to a delay. Other disciplines however develop independently of employment prospects. The rising proportion of graduates within these disciplines leads to pressures for change on the labor market. In both cases our data shows that the employment system absorbs the expansion of higher education graduates. This happens through a diversification of employment positions in order to accommodate the expansion of higher education graduates.     

Procrastination in a distance university setting

Procrastination, putting off until tomorrow what should have been done today, is a self-regulation failure that is widespread among students. Although plenty of research has emerged regarding academic procrastination, hardly any research endeavor regarding procrastination in distance university settings exists. This lack of research is even more astonishing when considering that the demands on self-regulation are higher in distance education settings than in traditional university settings. The present (questionnaire) study was intended to shed light on procrastination in an actual distance university setting by exploring its relationship to grades, learning strategies (e.g., cognitive, meta-cognitive strategies), and life satisfaction in students from a distance university in comparison to students from a traditional university.