Construction and validation of a classroom climate scale: a mixed methods approach

Students’ perceptions of their classroom climate have been found to relate significantly to students’ learning outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to construct an instrument for assessing elementary-school students’ perceptions of classroom climate, based on a previous instrument that was being used in Chile by a public national school mental health program as a tool for aiding teachers in improving classroom management, but which showed poor psychometric properties. We used a six-staged mixed-methods approach to construct relevant items and dimensions based on this measure and by adapting previously-existing scales. Item development included participatory construction of items involving program officials, focus groups with students, and a pilot study. The final version was administered to a sample of 6813 elementary-school students. Results showed adequate reliability and construct validity, convergent validity with school climate, and divergent validity with peer victimisation. When consequential validity was explored through semi-structured interviews with program officials and school administrators, we found that the instrument was being used as a tool for helping teachers to improve their school climate and management skills. We discuss the importance of constructing instruments using a mixed-methods approach.     

The International Council for Distance Education

This paper gives a brief overview of the history and activities of the International Council for Distance Education.     

评《世界经典图书馆建筑》

《世界经典图书馆建筑》是世界图书馆建筑系列丛书的第三卷。出版本书的发起者是上海图书馆馆长、国际图联管理委员会委员(2001-2005)吴建中博士。他非常关注世界各地风格迥异的图书馆建筑,并对经典图书馆建筑具有浓厚兴趣,因此负责编辑出版了这本精美的图书。正如他在书的前言     

Approaches to teaching in higher education: the perspective of network analysis using the revised approaches to teaching inventory

Higher Education - Over time, the academics’ approaches to teaching (i.e., content- or learning-focused approach) were intensively studied. Traditionally, studies estimated the shared...     

Performances by College Students in Handball Being Taught by Three Different Teaching Methods

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences in handball knowledge and skill existed between three teaching methods: traditional, contractual, and independent study. Each subject (N = 36) was given pretests in handball: a knowledge test, a wall volley test, and a serve placement test. Pre- and posttest reliabilities were reported. The three intact classes used for the study started out equal in handball knowledge and skill. After 10 weeks of instruction, the three classes were given posttests for handball knowledge and skill. No significant differences, in handball knowledge and skill, were found between the three teaching methods at the .05 level.     

The significance of insecure and disorganized attachment for children's internalizing symptoms: a meta-analytic study

This meta-analytic review examines the association between attachment and internalizing symptomatology during childhood, and compares the strength of this association with that for externalizing symptomatology. Based on 42 independent samples (N = 4,614), the association between insecurity and internalizing symptoms was small, yet significant (d = 0.15, CI 0.06~0.25) and not moderated by assessment age of internalizing problems. Avoidance, but not resistance (d = 0.03, CI -0.11~0.17) or disorganization (d = 0.08, CI -0.06~0.22), was significantly associated with internalizing symptoms (d = 0.17, CI 0.03~0.31). Insecurity and disorganization were more strongly associated with externalizing than internalizing symptoms. Discussion focuses on the significance of attachment for the development of internalizing versus externalizing symptomatology.     

Learning environments’ influence on students’ learning experience in an Australian Faculty of Business and Economics

Learning Environments Research - We investigated how learning environments–involving their physical, pedagogical, and psychosocial dimensions–influence students learning experiences in...