Low-achieving (learning disabled) pupils in year 2 of the primary school in Hungary

We selected 60 low-achieving children from a sample of 263 pupils in Year 2 of the primary school in order to analyse the problems of learning disabilities. We explored two questions: whether teachers evaluate the pupils' school performances correctly; and what kind of relationship exists between the low-achieving pupils' cognitive abilities and their school performance. Methods used were questionnaires, pedagogical tests and traditional psychological tests. We obtained the following results: the teachers generally evaluate the pupils' school performance fairly well, but they are inclined to assume a close correlation between the achievements in different subjects, and the teachers' knowledge of the low-achieving children is more reliable regarding the group of pupils as a whole rather than each pupil individually; and the low-achieving pupils' cognitive learning abilities prove to be significantly weaker than their general intellectual abilities.     

Justification and Persuasion about Cloning: Arguments in Hwang’s Paper and Journalistic Reported Versions

We examine the argumentative structure of Hwang et al.’s (2004) paper about human somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT, or ‘therapeutic cloning’), contrasted with four Journalistic Reported Versions (JRV) of it, and with students’ summaries of one JRV. As the evaluation of evidence is one of the critical features of argumentation (Jiménez-Aleixandre 2008), the analysis focuses on the use of evidence, drawing from instruments to analyze written argumentation (Kelly et al. 2008) and from studies about the structure of empirical research reports (Swales 2001). The objectives are: 1) To examine the use of evidence and the argumentative structure of Hwang et al.’s Science, 303: 1669–1674 (2004) original paper in terms of the criteria: a) pertinence of the evidence presented to the claims; b) sufficiency of the evidence for the purpose of supporting the claims; and c) coordination of the evidence across epistemic levels. 2) To explore how the structure of Hwang’s paper translates into the JRV and into university students’ perceptions about the evidence supporting the claims. The argumentative structure of Hwang’s paper is such that its apparently ostensible main claim about NT constitutes a justification for a second claim about its therapeutic applications, for which no evidence is offered. However, this second claim receives prominent treatment in the JRV and in the students’ summaries. Implications for promoting critical reading in the classroom are discussed.     

Supporting Teaching and Learning Using Authentic Scientific Texts: A Rejoinder to Danielle J. Ford

In her commentary Danielle J. Ford mainly focused on three issues that highlight the promises and challenges for the use of Adapted Primary Literature (APL) in science curricula: the possible contribution of APL to authentic experiences in secondary schools, implementation issues of APL including the support required for the teachers, and the possibilities to extend the use of APL to younger and older students. In this rejoinder, we first offer some general comments on Ford’s commentary. Then we offer more specific comments on two areas of her response, authenticity and the support for teachers.     

Cinema experiences at school: assemblages as encounters with subjectivities

The aim of this article is to analyse how 15 students at a public elementary school detach from immobile representations of identity through aesthetic self-expressive work with cinema. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of assemblage, I interrogate students’ experiences of discrimination and challenge their processes of developing a short film within cinema workshops at school. I find that when new components regarding cinema, such as material apparatuses (e.g. cameras, stages, sound recorders) and expressive devices (e.g. improvisation, dialogues, corporeal movements), are applied to both the school and subjectivities, there is a rupture of rigid systems of representation and the creation of novel assemblages.     

An examination of Hispanic college enrollment and graduation: Has the Texas Closing the Gaps plan been successful?

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the Texas “Closing the Gaps by 2015” plan to increase Hispanic enrollment into and graduation from institutions of higher education. This study uses Interrupted Time Series with Comparison Group to analyze 26 years of student cohorts in Texas universities. Controlling for historical enrollment and graduation growth as well as population growth, the results show that Hispanic college enrollment significantly increased as a result of the plan, but graduation did not. Several recommendations are offered for those states that wish to emulate Texas policies of increasing college enrollment and graduation of Hispanics.     

Why do students consider dropping out of doctoral degrees? Institutional and personal factors

Despite the increasing popularity of doctoral education, many students do not complete their studies, and very little information is available about them. Understanding why some students consider that they do not want to, or cannot, continue with their studies is essential to reduce dropout rates and to improve the overall quality of doctoral programmes. This study focuses on the motives students give for considering dropping out of their doctoral degree. Participants were 724 social sciences doctoral students from 56 Spanish universities, who responded to a questionnaire containing doctoral degree conditions questions and an open-ended question on motives for dropping out. Results showed that a third of the sample, mainly the youngest, female and part time students, stated that they had intended to drop out. The most frequent motives for considering dropping out were difficulties in achieving a balance between work, personal life and doctoral studies and problems with socialization. Overall, results offer a complex picture that has implications for the design of doctoral programmes, such as the conditions and demands of part-time doctoral studies or the implementation of educational proposals that facilitate students’ academic and personal integration into the scientific community in order to prevent the development of a culture of institutional neglect.     

Missing intercultural engagements in the university experiences of Chinese international students in the UK

This paper looks at structural conditions or institutional arrangements that facilitate or hinder interactions for international students. Drawing on the contact and diversity theory, analyses compare Chinese students’ intercultural experience in business and non-business schools in one UK university and explore how these students interpret the meaning of quality intercultural contact based on their responses to the social environment around them. Findings indicate that the overwhelming number of Chinese students, particularly in business schools, combined with obstacles these students face in establishing intercultural contact around the university potentially motivates them to explore engagement with a wider host society (e.g. Christian churches). The denial of intercultural contact due to a lack of diverse environment may lead to inequality in opportunities for cross-cultural learning and personal growth. High quality intercultural contact is not only beneficial to international students, it also enhances the intercultural competency of native students in the global market place.     

The use of methods for learning to learn for students with special needs in Slovenia

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of instruction among professionals who implement additional professional support for students with special needs in Slovenia, with a focus on methods for learning to learn. A total of 1863 professionals with various job positions participated in the study. The results revealed that seven groups of professionals most often use methods for achieving standards in different learning subjects. The largest significant differences are in methods for developing social emotional skills, methods for rehabilitation and compensation of disabilities and methods for development of attention and concentration. The results also revealed that subject teachers use most of the methods significantly less than other professionals, which rise concerns about the quality of additional professional support in the group of subject teachers.     

What's Theory Got to Do with It? Applying Educational Theory and Research to Revamp Freshman Library Workshops

Although librarians’ increasingly important role as teachers is among the most significant shifts and trends that have been reshaping academic libraries over the past few decades, most academic librarians have not received formal training in pedagogy and teaching. The authors describe how becoming familiar with educational theory and research enabled them to revamp freshmen library workshops. They provide a theoretical overview and present practical classroom applications of learning styles theory, active learning techniques, learning by analogies, collaborative learning, and group work. Learning theories and educational research findings, the authors suggest, can be readily translated into practice and inform the teaching of information literacy to freshmen.