Book reviews

International Review of Education -     

Factors and conditions promoting academic resilience: a TIMSS-based analysis of five Asian education systems

It is well documented that academic achievement of students from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) tends to be below their more socially advantaged peers. Several studies have identified factors and conditions that facilitate academic success for disadvantaged students (i.e., promote academic resilience). However, one of the main criticisms of this body of research is in the set of variables that explain academic success for low-SES students and which is not very different from the variables that would explain academic success for all students. The objectives of this article are dual: firstly, to identify factors and conditions associated with academic success, regardless of student SES, and secondly, to identify factors and conditions associated with academic resilience, that is, exclusively for low-SES students. To this end, we used data from Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Japan in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011. The study sample covered 23,354 students in 720 schools in the five countries. The strategy for analysis was driven by fit of logistic regression models, first predicting the probability of academic success and then subsequent identification of variables significant as predictors for success within the pool of low-SES students. Results indicated that variables, such as positive student attitude to mathematics, teacher confidence in student performance and the test language being spoken at home, were associated with greater chances of academic success. High academic expectations and time spent on mathematics at home demonstrated a differential effect between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students in Singapore. In Korea, being male (gender) and in Taipei, low levels of bullying at school, increased the likelihood of resilience. Results suggested that interventions impacting behavior reflected in differentially associated variables could help disadvantaged students to become academically resilient.     

Making Space for Consuming Practices

This empirically driven paper is about workplace learning with specific focus on the ‘work’ of consuming practices. By consuming we refer to the eating, and the drinking, and (at times) to the smoking that workers, in most organisations, do on a daily basis. Indeed, it is the quotidian nature of consuming, coupled with its absence from workplace learning research that make them noteworthy practices to explore. In using the term practice we draw on the recent tranche of practice based theorisations: notably Schatzki (1996, Organization Studies, 26(3), 465-484, 2005, Organization Studies, 27(12), 1863-1873, 2006) and Gherardi (Human Relations, 54(1), 131-139, 2001, 2006, Learning Organization, 16(5), 352-359, 2009). The paper frames consuming practices as ‘dispersed’ (general) practices and, illustrated through empirical data from multiple projects, we progressively outline how these contribute to the learning of ‘integrative’ (specialized work) practices. Our overall aim is to (re)position consuming practices from prosaic, to having much relevance for research on workplace learning.     

Interactivity Defuses the Impact of Mathematics Anxiety in Primary School Children

Math anxiety impedes performance in simple arithmetic tasks. Anxiety constrains working memory capacity and particularly the attentional functions of the central executive. The experiment reported here explored how interactivity mitigated the impact of math anxiety on the performance of elementary school students with simple additions. It manipulated two independent variables. The first was the length of the additions—involving either 7 or 11 number tokens (the value of the tokens ranged from 1 to 20). The other was the level of interactivity: in the low interactivity condition participants could not touch or point to the number tokens that configured the sums, and in a high interactivity condition participants could manipulate the tokens as they saw fit in deriving their answer. The length of the addition had an impact on accuracy, with longer sums leading to poorer performance. However, overall, performance in the high interactivity condition was superior, in terms of accuracy, absolute calculation error and efficiency, than performance in the low interactivity condition. Mathematics anxiety significantly predicted performance in the low interactivity condition, but not in the high interactivity condition. These results suggest that working memory resources are augmented through interactivity with the physical problem presentation, defusing the impact of anxiety on performance.     

进城务工人员子弟思想状况调查

调查发现，绝大多数进城务工人员子弟的品德状况较好。他们对社会有积极的认知，已感受到社会对所在群体——流动人口的关心，回报社会和亲人的愿望强烈；对受教育的重要性有乒确认识，迫切希望通过受教育改变自己和家人的命运；关注自身的生命安全。但是，部分进城务工人员子弟也存在社会交往和情绪情感状态不良等值得关注的现象。     

Addressing quality challenges in the private university sector in Bangladesh: from policy formulation to institutional implementation

Private higher education is growing, especially in developing and transitioning countries. Rapid growth frequently comes with concerns about quality. This article explores challenges and opportunities for higher education quality among private universities in Bangladesh. By presenting a vertical case study that explores interactions among actors at the institutional, national and global spheres, the authors argue for the need of developing quality standards that respond to the local realities of developing and transitioning countries. It is also argued that self-regulation among private universities is likely the most effective pathway for improvement. Bangladesh presents an ideal case for analysis given the rapid growth that higher education has experienced in the last 20 years in that country and given the current policy junction as Bangladesh begins to implement a newly developed quality assurance system. Other countries in the region in early stages of developing quality assurance and accountability systems may benefit from the findings of this study.     

Child maltreatment: social representation of the general population and the professionals working with children in the Caribbean area of Colombia

OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to know social representations about child maltreatment (severity, etiology, and intervention strategies) of the general population and the professionals working with children in the Caribbean area of Colombia. METHOD: Sample was composed for 402 participants. From this pool of participants, 111 of them were working in child protection, 95 worked with children but not in the child protection system and 196 pertained to the general population. All participants answered to a questionnaire composed by 86 items. The questionnaire was developed to assess (1) the perceived severity of different typologies of child abuse, (2) opinions about risk factors for child maltreatment and sexual abuse, and (3) opinions about the most adequate ways of intervention with perpetrator of child abuse. RESULTS: Sexual abuse is considered as the most severe typology of child maltreatment and emotional abuse is considered as more severe than physical abuse. No differences between groups were found in perceived severity of typologies of child maltreatment. Differences in the social representation about the etiology of child maltreatment were found. Professionals working in the child protection system give more value to characteristics of parents and to the socio-economic and familiar environment in the etiology of child maltreatment than participants from the general population. Prevention and treatment programs for abusers were considered as the more relevant strategies against child maltreatment. DISCUSSION: Findings of present study suggest that social representations about child maltreatment of general population and professionals from the Caribbean area of Colombia are similar than social representation observed in other regions and countries. It is important to take into account that child labor and child poverty were considered as non-severe typologies of child maltreatment. Moreover, findings suggest that people from general population in the Caribbean area of Colombia have a relevant knowledge about agencies working for child protection.     

Transgenic learning for STEAM subjects and virtual containers for OER

Abstract

Transgenic learning is a disruptive approach in education. It encourages modification of moving parts of the educational chain. This article provides a view of transgenic learning focused on the delivery of enriched learning contents in STEAM areas. It discusses the mutagenic role that the virtual containers may play in current distance education. We focus on the containers’ technology and how it can bridge students, computing resources, teachers and specific IT needs. We also present an experiment carried out at UNIR University where we describe the transition from using conventional software distribution methods to the use of containers. Thanks to this virtualization approach, it is possible to deliver the necessary software-based lab scenarios. The results show that the participation and satisfaction of the students increased over time. Our experience shows that the combination of open educational resources, containers, and modern distribution channels can play a significant role in STEAM education.