Value orientations as determinants and outcomes of conflicts between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom

Off-task behavior in the classroom was conceptualized as a manifestation of students pursuing goals they bring into the classroom aside from achievement goals. Regulation during on-task and off-task behavior in action conflict scenarios was elaborated on using the constructs motivational interference and flow. It was argued that achievement and well-being values that students hold can be determinants as well as outcomes of these conflict experiences. Data from 697 students (mean age 13.43) was collected at two time points within one school year. Results supported a reciprocal model in which value orientations (t1) lead to conflict variables (t2) as well as conflict variables (t1) to value orientations (t2).     

Initial Vocational Training from a Company Perspective: a Comparison of British and German In-House Training Cultures

Vocational training and skills are playing an increasingly important role in the developed economies. However, both the vocational education structure and the underlying philosophy and culture of education and training vary from country to country. What is clear, though, is that employers play a crucial role in all cases; this paper explores the reasons why companies in different countries are willing to invest in initial vocational education and how they do so. The paper will focus on Great Britain and Germany as examples of a market-led model and a state-directed model, respectively. Interviews with employers in both countries show that, in Britain, initial vocational education is strongly task-related in most cases or else is seen as the employee’s private, individual concern. In Germany, by contrast, a much broader range of initial vocational education is available and is viewed as an integral part of company culture.     

Hochintensives Intervalltraining im Sportunterricht

Background and aim

This study examined the effects of a 6-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) vs. low-intensity endurance training (LOW), applied during physical education on motor performance, mood and perceived exertion.

Methods

Over a period of 6 weeks, 85 pupils (34 male; 51 female; age: 11.9?±?0.9 years) performed 11 sessions of either HIIT (20?min, intervals from 10?s to 4?min at about 90–100% of average running speed of 6?min run [v_mean]) or LOW (30?min, intervals from 6–25?min at about 65–85% v_mean). Before and after the 6?week intervention each pupils’ anthropometry and motor performance (20?m sprint, standing long-jump, lateral jumping from side to side, push-ups, sit-ups, 6?min run) were assessed. Session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded after each session and mood was assessed by questionnaire following the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 11th session.

Results

RPE (p?<?0.05) was higher and mood more positive (p?<?0.05) with HIIT compared to LOW. Performances in the 6?min run (p?<?0.001; part. η²?=?0.473), 20?m sprint (p?<?0.001; part. η²?=?0.226), standing long-jump (p?<?0.05; part. η²?=?0.056), push-ups (p?<?0.001; part. η²?=?0.523) and sit-ups (p?<?0.001; part. η²?=?0.146) improved following HIIT and LOW with no significant time?×?group interaction (except for the sit-ups [p?<?0.05; part. η²?=?0.048]).

Conclusions

HIIT and LOW improved the performances in 6?min run, 20?m sprint, standing long-jump and push-ups similarly. However, the improvements in HIIT compared to LOW were achieved in 30% less time. As time is limited in physical education classes, HIIT offers a new perspective for improving endurance and motor performance in children. The positive mood associated with HIIT demonstrates the applicability in physical education.

     

Wolfgang Gräber/Peter Nentwig/Thomas Koballa/Robert Evans (Hrsg.): Scientific Literacy. Der Beitrag der Naturwissenschaften zur Allgemeinen Bildung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The influence of on-farm advice on beliefs and motivations for Swiss lowland farmers to implement ecological compensation areas on their farms

Purpose: Farmers hold a key to reaching biodiversity targets, but will only carry out this service to society if they are sufficiently motivated to do so. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential of on-farm advice as a tool for motivating farmers to take action to preserve or even to enhance biodiversity on their farms.

Design/methodology/approach: To address this aim, we surveyed 133 farmers (response rate 43.9%), of whom 23 had received on-farm advice about farmland biodiversity conservation over a period of six years.

Findings: The results showed that key beliefs and motivations were positively influenced by farmer advisory services. Farmers who had received advice agreed significantly more strongly in the compatibility of biodiversity conservation and production; that biodiversity is important; and that nature conservation on farms is appreciated by society.

Practical Implications: These results allow the conclusion that on-farm biodiversity advice might be a useful way of positively influencing the beliefs and enhancing motivations of farmers to contribute to biodiversity conservation on their farms.

Theoretical implications: Although several papers have examined the influence of agricultural extension on farmer behaviour, the results of this study contribute to explaining some of the contradictions in the literature about the effectiveness of advisory services. Furthermore, this study addresses [Batary, P., L. V. Dicks, D. Kleijn, and W. J. Sutherland. 2015. “The Role of Agri-Environment Schemes in Conservation and Environmental Management.” Conservation Biology 29: 1006–1016.] challenge that there has been insufficient research on the link between farmer advice and the effectiveness of agri-environmental schemes.

Originality/value: This paper is among the first to address these research gaps and is the first to examine the influence of advice on farmer conservation behaviour in the Swiss context.     

Personality predictors of scholastic cheating in a Chinese sample

Previous research on Western college samples has identified a number of personality traits associated with scholastic cheating. Based on these findings, we suggest a model integrating personality predictors of cheating. However, it remains unclear whether the proposed model can be generalised to the Chinese culture, which has different norms and societal values. We filled this gap by estimating the associations between scholastic cheating and key personality constructs (i.e. the Big Five and the Dark Triad) in a sample of Chinese university students (N?=?634). Our results indicated that older and male students were more likely to engage in scholastic cheating than other students. After controlling for the constructs’ overlap, only extraversion and psychopathy remained significant correlates. We discuss the implications of our findings for both research and practice.     

Two countries—one system of vocational education? A comparison of the apprenticeship reform in the commercial sector in Switzerland and Germany

In both Switzerland and Germany, necessary reforms in vocational education have been taking place for the past few years. By taking a closer look at the commerce sectors of both countries and their reforms, one can better compare their systems of apprenticeship. While the necessity for change in the commercial sector was similar in both countries, the course of these changes has been quite different. A widespread reform of the Swiss commercial sector began in 2003. In Germany, a comparable sweeping change in commercial apprenticeships cannot be seen, although many reforms have been implemented. In order to analyse the process and results of modernisation of both vocational education systems, they are compared and contrasted. Finally, hypotheses are formed about the possible reasons for the differences in vocational education in these two countries.     

Pathsways to school achievement in very preterm and full term children

Individual differences in academic success were investigated in a geographically defined whole-population sample of very preterm children with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks or a birth weight of less than 1500 gm. The sample consisted of 264 very preterm children (75.6% of German-speaking survivors) and 264 controls matched for gender, socioeconomic status, marital status and age of mother, who were studied from birth. The present analyses focused on the impact of cognitive skills assessed at ages 6 and 8 on academic success at the age 13. IQ scores, prereading skills, reading, spelling, and math performance assessed during the last kindergarten year and again at the end of Grade 2 were used as predictors of academic success in early adolescence. Differences between very pretern children and controls in cognitive abilities already observed in earlier assessments remained stable over time, with controls on average performing more than half a standard deviation above the level of preterm children. Preterm children also performed poorer on the literacy measures and indicators of math performance. Multivariate and causal modeling revealed different prediction patterns for the two groups. Whereas IQ was particularly important for the prediction of academic success in the pre-term sample, general IQ was less relevant for the prediction of academic success in the control group. When subgroups of at-risk children were formed according to birth weight categories, we found that school problems were most pronounced for children with extremely low birth weight (1000 gm and less).     

Providing Written or Oral Explanations? Differential Effects of the Modality of Explaining on Students' Conceptual Learning and Transfer

Learning-by-explaining (to fictitious others) has been shown to be an effective instructional method to support students' generative learning. In this study, we investigated differential effects of the modality of explaining (written versus oral) on students' quality of explanations and learning. Forty-eight students worked on a hypertext about combustion engines. Afterwards, they were asked to explain the learning content, either orally or in writing. Findings indicated that providing written explanations was more effective than providing oral explanations in supporting students to organize the content of the explanations. The higher levels of organization yielded higher levels of students' conceptual knowledge. In contrast, generating oral explanations, relative to written explanations, triggered students' elaborative processes to a more pronounced extent, which was more beneficial to attaining transferable knowledge. Thus, we conclude that the modality of explaining plays a critical role in learning-by-explaining inasmuch as different modes differentially support student learning.