The effects of a free school choice policy on parents’ school choice behaviour

Recently, European school systems have seen various attempts to ‘modernise’ their governance. Market and competition oriented reforms have not been central to governance innovation strategies in German speaking countries, however, their number and relevance is rising in recent years. A free school choice policy which abolishes “school districts” which legally define fixed school catchment areas was introduced in the school year of 2007/2008 in the Austrian city of Linz.The effects of the implementation of this policy on the primary school sector were studied by a standardised questionnaire administered to a representative sample of 3425 parents of five age groups of primary school children. The return rate was about 55%. By special measures during data collection a satisfactory representation of parents with migrant background was achieved.Three questions are discussed in the paper: (1) Is there a rise in segregation in schools as a result of free choice policy? (2) Is there a change in the composition of the student population in different schools as a result of free choice policy? (3) Is there a change in parent school choice behaviour of as a result of free choice policy?Our data indicates that segregation in primary schools with respect to ethnic and social family characteristics increases after the policy implementation, but the sample size is too small to find significant results. In addition, no significant change is observed in the social composition of schools. In accordance with the previous findings no significant modifications of choice behaviour occur for different ethnic or social groups after free choice. However changes in choice motives can be observed.     

A study assessing the potential of negative effects in interdisciplinary math-biology instruction

There is increasing enthusiasm for teaching approaches that combine mathematics and biology. The call for integrating more quantitative work in biology education has led to new teaching tools that improve quantitative skills. Little is known, however, about whether increasing interdisciplinary work can lead to adverse effects, such as the development of broader but shallower skills or the possibility that math anxiety causes some students to disengage in the classroom, or, paradoxically, to focus so much on the mathematics that they lose sight of its application for the biological concepts in the center of the unit at hand. We have developed and assessed an integrative learning module and found disciplinary learning gains to be equally strong in first-year students who actively engaged in embedded quantitative calculations as in those students who were merely presented with quantitative data in the context of interpreting biological and biostatistical results. When presented to advanced biology students, our quantitative learning tool increased test performance significantly. We conclude from our study that the addition of mathematical calculations to the first year and advanced biology curricula did not hinder overall student learning, and may increase disciplinary learning and data interpretation skills in advanced students.     

Von der Lehrerausbildung in den Beruf – Fachbezogenes Wissen als Voraussetzung für Wahrnehmung,Interpretation und Handeln im Unterricht

The transition from teacher training into the teaching profession is seen to be key in the biography of a teacher. Yet there is a lack of enquiry into the development of the content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) held by teachers at the end of their education, and into the significance of this knowledge for situational and behavioural cognition. On the basis of data from the international comparative study TEDS-M 2008 and the Germany-based 2012 follow-up, this contribution investigates the knowledge and skills development of teachers during the transition from teacher training to the teaching profession in a four-year longitudinal study with n = 171 mathematics teachers. Three test formats (paper-and-pencil, video-vignettes and speed tests) are used to examine various indicators for teacher expertise. In addition to the analysis of changes in mathematical CK and PCK levels, path analysis is used to determine the extent to which this knowledge functions as a predictor for the perception and interpretation of classroom situations, the decision-making in these situations, and the quick identification of student mistakes. The results show only small changes in the group mean (for MCK there is a small loss, whereas MPCK remains constant), but high fluctuation (i. e. weak correlation) in the MPCK ranking between the two measurement occasions, pointing to differential learning effects gained from teaching practice. There are also significant differences in predictability: MCK is important for the speed indicators of teacher expertise; MCK and MPCK for the perception and interpretation of situations, and for the generation of action strategies. These findings can on the one hand help to facilitate the evaluation of beginning teachers’ need for support and, on the other hand, they indicate the necessity for the early integration of practice-based elements into teacher training programmes with the aim of developing PCK and related skills.     

Acquiring Clinical Knowledge from an Online Video Platform: A Randomized Controlled Experiment on the Relevance of Integrating Anatomical Information and Clinical Practice

Basic subjects in medical education, such as anatomy, are often taught through teaching formats that do not always sufficiently demonstrate the relevance of this basic information for clinical practice. Accordingly, it is a recent trend in anatomy education to link anatomical information more explicitly to clinical practice. This article presents an online video platform (Tuebingen’s Sectio Chirurgica [TSC]) as one means of explicitly integrating preclinical anatomical knowledge and clinical application. The purpose of the study presented here was to examine the effects of videos through which medical students were educated about Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction. A TSC video about this surgical procedure was compared to a video with a traditional lecture providing the identical information. Participants (n = 114) perceived the TSC video to be superior in comprehensibility of the presentation (P = 0.003) and conceivability of the surgical procedure (P = 0.027), and to be more entertaining (P < 0.001). Moreover, participants in the TSC condition acquired more clinical knowledge than in the lecture condition (P = 0.043) but did not differ in their acquisition of anatomical knowledge. Mediation analyses indicated that the effect on the acquisition of clinical knowledge was mediated by comprehensibility, conceivability, and entertainment. These findings are discussed regarding their implications for medical education in terms of contributing to the general trend of linking preclinical anatomical knowledge to clinical application. A discussion about the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also provided.     

ASSESSING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF TEACHER KNOWLEDGE IN ASIA, EASTERN EUROPE, AND WESTERN COUNTRIES: DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING IN TEDS-M

The “Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics” assessed the knowledge of primary and lower-secondary teachers at the end of their training. The large-scale assessment represented the common denominator of what constitutes mathematics content knowledge and mathematics pedagogical content knowledge in the 16 participating countries. The country means provided information on the overall teacher performance in these 2 areas. By detecting and explaining differential item functioning (DIF), this paper goes beyond the country means and investigates item-by-item strengths and weaknesses of future teachers. We hypothesized that due to differences in the cultural context, teachers from different countries responded differently to subgroups of test items with certain item characteristics. Content domains, cognitive demands (including item difficulty), and item format represented, in fact, such characteristics: They significantly explained variance in DIF. Country pairs showed similar patterns in the relationship of DIF to the item characteristics. Future teachers from Taiwan and Singapore were particularly strong on mathematics content and constructed-response items. Future teachers from Russia and Poland were particularly strong on items requiring non-standard mathematical operations. The USA and Norway did particularly well on mathematics pedagogical content and data items. Thus, conditional on the countries’ mean performance, the knowledge profiles of the future teachers matched the respective national debates. This result points to the influences of the cultural context on mathematics teacher knowledge.     

Applying HOPSCOTCH as an exer-learning game in English lessons: two exploratory studies

This article describes HOPSCOTCH, a design concept for an exer-learning game to engage elementary school children in learning. Exer-learning is a new genre of digital learning games that combines playing and learning with physical activity (exercise). HOPSCOTCH is a first design concept for exer-learning games that can be applied to support the acquisition of factual knowledge. HOPSCOTCH is based on the popular playground game in which a course is drawn on the pavement with numbers that indicate the course to be hopped. In two exploratory studies at a German elementary school, we investigated the potential of HOPSCOTCH to engage students, as well as to facilitate the acquisition of factual knowledge (English vocabulary) and to improve the attitudes of students towards learning English as a second language. The results of these studies indicated that the students remembered and correctly spelled about the same number of new vocabulary words after learning with HOPSCOTCH as they did after a teacher-centred lesson. Importantly however, the students enjoyed playing this exer-learning game very much and they reported better attitudes towards studying English after learning vocabulary with HOPSCOTCH compared to a teacher-centred lesson. These encouraging first results support the assumption that HOPSCOTCH as a design concept may have the potential to actively engage players in learning activities leading to a virtuous circle of reduced low level disruption and self-exclusion, increased assimilation of knowledge and greater engagement in lessons to the benefit of the whole class, not just the better-motivated individual. As such we suggest that exer-learning games could serve as additional classroom control and teaching aids in schools.     

Interventions in education to prevent STEM pipeline leakage

The so-called leaking STEM pipeline (dropout in STEM education) has been the subject of many studies. The large interest of scholars in plausible causes of this leakage has resulted in a number of meta-reviews describing factors at system, school and student level related to interest and persistence in STEM education. The STEM pipeline discussion has also resulted in a large number of programmes aimed at enhancing STEM interest and persistence in STEM education. Although these programmes have been widely evaluated, there seems to be no consensus about which interventions are successful in raising interest in STEM or persistence in STEM education. This study reports the results of a systematic review of empirical studies in which the effectiveness of STEM-related interventions are assessed. Initially, 538 studies were found. The quality analyses showed that only a few of these evaluation studies are designed in such a way that it is likely that the found effects are caused by the intervention. Although some potentially effective interventions were found, this review shows that there is still a need for research into the effectiveness of those programmes, especially with regard to programmes preventing talented and initially motivated STEM students to drop out of STEM education.     

Taking Control of Their Lives? A comparison of the experiences of unemployed young adults (18-25) in England and the new Germany

This paper explores the experiences and actions of young adults who have had difficulties in entering and sustaining a place in the labour market. The research was carried out in selected localities undergoing economic transformation in England and the new Germany, as part of the project 'Taking Control' in the ESRC's Youth Citizenship and Social Change Programme. The 18-25 age group has been newly 'targeted' for interventions through programmes such as 'New Deal' and 'JUMP'. Through a combination of questionnaire survey and group interviews the research has explored how, in different ways, choice and uncertainty can be important dimensions in young adults' biographies in the current moment. Their experiences and actions are not exclusively determined by socialising and structural influences, but also involve elements of subjectivity, choice and agency. The article discusses findings on the lives and perspectives of 300 young people affected by unemployment. The sample is drawn from a wider questionnaire survey ( n = 900) and a series of group discussions in the three cities of Derby (England), Hannover (Western Germany) and Leipzig (Eastern Germany). The research builds on and extends the authors' previous comparative research into the education and training experiences of younger age groups in the two countries.     

Trying to Include but Supporting Exclusion Instead? Constructing the Roma in Slovak Educational Policies

Based on a social constructivist theoretical framework, this research study examines how the design of proinclusive educational policies and the general public construct the Roma students and parents in Slovakia. For this purpose, data from two selected educational policies and five focus groups conducted in five regions in Slovakia were analyzed. The findings demonstrate that the Roma are constructed negatively as irresponsible dependents and deviants not valuing education and incapable of making wise decisions about their lives. These findings can be considered relevant for policy formulation processes because proinclusive policies may sabotage their own goals if negative social constructions of a certain societal group are embedded in them.