A cross-cultural perspective of parental influence on female adolescents' achievement beliefs and behaviors in sport and school domains

Little is known about parental socialization processes for youth participants from different cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to examine parental influence on self-perceptions, task values, and achievement behaviors among female adolescents from two cultures using Eccles' expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983). Twelve Anglo Canadian and nine East Indian female adolescents were interviewed about perceptions of parental influence on expectancy-value constructs for sport and academic domains. Inductive and deductive content analyses were performed to identify lower and higher order themes from interview responses. Similarities and differences in perceived parental influence emerged for girls of both cultural groups and in both domains. Our findings support links among expectancy-value constructs and highlight cultural variations in parental socialization of achievement cognitions and behaviors in multiple domains.     

The art and science of constructivist research in teacher thinking

There have been a number of studies on teacher thinking that have used Personal Construct Psychology theory and method. Many of these accounts have not fully articulated the procedures used. In this article we indicate a number of decisions that need to be addressed when using Repertory Grid techniques. We will argue that there is both an art and a science in the use of such techniques. Research on teacher thinking within a constructivist framework can be enhanced by the use of multi-method approaches. In this article we illustrate the use of Repertory Grid, “snake”, and the self-characterisation sketch as three methods we have used to help student teachers consider their views on teacher effectiveness.     

Independent Contributions of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Language and Literacy Practices: Associations With Children’s Kindergarten Skills Across Linguistically Diverse Households

Research Findings: Home language and literacy inputs have been consistently linked with enhanced language and literacy skills among children. Most studies have focused on maternal inputs among monolingual populations. Though the proportion of American children growing up in primarily non-English-speaking homes is growing and the role of fathers in early development is increasingly emphasized, less is known about these associations in primarily non-English-speaking households or how mothers and fathers independently contribute to children’s skills. Using a subsample of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (N = 5,450), this study assessed the frequency of maternal and paternal inputs during early childhood and their prospective connections with children’s English language and literacy skills at age 5 across White, Mexican, and Chinese children from linguistically diverse households. Analyses revealed significant differences in inputs by ethnic/language group membership and significant associations between both maternal and paternal inputs and children’s skills. These associations did not differ across ethnic/language group membership. Practice or Policy: These results point to the importance of promoting rich home language and literacy environments across diverse households regardless of the language in which they take place or the parent from which they derive.     

Achievement/affiliation conflicts in gifted adolescents

Achievement/affiliation conflicts arise for gifted students when they associate certain achievement attitudes or behaviors with betrayal of their social, gender, ethnic, or racial culture. Studies suggest that a good number of gifted students begin to struggle with these conflicts during early adolescence and that these conflicts are a contributing factor to academic underachievement, risk avoidance, and a long‐term reduction in aspirations and overall achievement. The essence of keeping motivation and achievement high among gifted young adults is not so much avoiding these conflicts, but developing the attitudes and skills needed to manage them as they arise. Interventions and supports should be aimed at anticipating and normalizing such conflicts as well as at direct instruction of specific coping strategies.     

Ageing,loss, and learning: Hong Kong and Australian seniors

In this article, the discussion of loss and its relationship to learning is based on the analysis of interview data from 39 older adults in Hong Kong and 40 in Australia. The focus of the research was on ageing and learning. The phenomenon of life changes, specifically losses, and their relationship to learning was frequently mentioned, and this theme is described here. Three different kinds of loss were identified in the data as motivators for organized or nonorganized learning or for negatively affecting learning. These included loss of aspects of health, of job, or of partner. The results are potentially useful to policy makers and learning providers in encouraging older adults to engage in learning as one way of coping with loss.     

One World,One Dream

地震发生了,我们该怎么办?本文Mark为我们讲述了他的祖国——美国对全民防震意识的教育及在技术上所采取的预防性措施,这对我们应该是一个很好的借鉴。当然,地震来临时,政府也应该调集各种有效力量积极行动起来,对受灾群众迅速进行救助,这是一个人性化的政府应该具备的功能,也恰好是中国政府在5?12大地震中所展现出来的让世界人民刮目相看的风采。     

Unpacking MOOC scholarly discourse: a review of nascent MOOC scholarship

The rapid rise of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) signals a shift in the ways in which digital teaching and learning are engaged in and understood. Drawing upon a comprehensive search of nine leading academic databases, this paper examines the initial phase of MOOC scholarship (2009–2013), and offers an analysis of these empirical studies that conceptualizes themes in MOOC scholarship and locates them within a chronological framework. Two key phases of scholarship about MOOCs are identified, each with associated research imperatives and themes. Phase One: Connectivist MOOCs, Engagement and Creativity 2009–2011/2012. Themes of Phase One include: development of Connectivism as a learning theory, and technological experimentation and innovation in early cMOOCs. Phase Two: xMOOCs, Learning Analytics, Assessment, and Critical Discourses about MOOCs 2012–2013. Themes of Phase Two include: the rise of xMOOCs, further development of MOOC pedagogy and platforms, growth of learning analytics and assessment, and the emergence of a critical discourse about MOOCs.     

Parent Praise to 1‐ to 3‐Year‐Olds Predicts Children's Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later

In laboratory studies, praising children's effort encourages them to adopt incremental motivational frameworks—they believe ability is malleable, attribute success to hard work, enjoy challenges, and generate strategies for improvement. In contrast, praising children's inherent abilities encourages them to adopt fixed‐ability frameworks. Does the praise parents spontaneously give children at home show the same effects? Although parents' early praise of inherent characteristics was not associated with children's later fixed‐ability frameworks, parents' praise of children's effort at 14–38 months (N = 53) did predict incremental frameworks at 7–8 years, suggesting that causal mechanisms identified in experimental work may be operating in home environments.