Students' Misbehaviours in Turkish and English Primary Classrooms

This paper deals with the comparison of students' misbehaviours in Turkish and English primary classrooms. A field study was conducted in order to discern students' misbehaviours based on students' age, gender, time of day, seating arrangement, types of learning activities and subject matter. Semi-structured in-depth interview and systematic classroom observation were used to collect data from two different cultural contexts. Participants in this study were 20 primary school teachers. The results show that there are differences and similarities between Turkish and English primary classrooms in terms of the causes and types of students' misbehaviours. Certain misbehaviours that are caused by different cultural and educational contexts are frequently observed either in English or in Turkish classrooms.     

Newtonian in mind but Aristotelian at heart

This article discusses some core features of Aristotelian physics, and looks at their transformation by first Galileo, and then Newton. It shows how the Aristotelian view was rooted in commonsense, and indicates why this is the reason that such understandings prove so resistant to physics instruction. Some suggestions are made for guiding effective pedagogy.Morecover, mechanics is to physics what the skeleton is to the human figure — at first glance it may appear stiff, cold, and somewhat ghastly, but even after a brief study of its functions one experiences with mounting excitement the discovery of an astonishingly beautiful design, of a structure that is ingentiously complex, yet so simple as to be almost inevitable. (Gerald Holton, Introduction to Concepts and Theories ln Science)Mechanics is one of the branches of physics in which the number of principles is at once very few and very rich in useful consequences. On the other hand, there are few sciences which have required so much thought — the conquest of a few axioms has taken more than 2000 years. (Rene Dugas, A History of Mechanics)Although it is unsafe to read logical necessity into particular historical developments, the special position occupied by mechanics amongst the other branches of physics and natural science must be emphasised, for it was this special position that made it the starting point of modern science. (S. Sambursky, The Physical World of the Greeks)There is, in nature, perhaps nothing older than motion, concerning which the books written by philosophers are neither few nor small; nevertheless I have discovered by experiment some properties of it which are worth knowing and which have not hitherto been either observed or demonstrated. (Galileo Galilei, Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences)Of the intellectual hurdles which the human mind has confronted and has overcome in the last fifteen hundred years, the one which seems to me to have been the most amazing in character and the most stupendous in the scope of its consequences is the one relating to the problem of motion. (Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of Modern Science: 1300–1800)In the Beginning was Mechanics. (Max von Laue, History of Physics)I offer this work as the mathematical principles of philosophy, for the whole burden of philosophy seems to consist in this — from the phenomena of motions to investigate the forces of nature, and then from these forces to demonstrate the other phenomena. (Isaac Newton, Preface to the Principia)     

Randomized impact evaluation of education interventions: experiences and lessons from a reading to learn intervention in East Africa

This paper presents the experiences and lessons learnt during the design and implementation of the randomized impact evaluation (IE) of a reading to learn (RtL) intervention in early primary grades. The study was to assess the impact of RtL on literacy and numeracy among pupils in low-performing districts in East Africa. The intervention was designed in a way that in each country one district implemented an intervention package that included teacher training, and teaching and learning materials; while the other district implemented this same package with an additional parental involvement component. Baseline data were collected in mid-2009 in Grades 1 and 2, and in 2010 for the incoming Grade 1. The endline data were collected in mid-2011. A total of 119 treatments and 110 control schools participated in the study. The randomized design provided an opportunity to attribute causality and also qualitatively establish pathways through which the intervention impacted on learning. The paper provides lessons learnt and demonstrates how the challenges faced during the evaluation were addressed. Additionally, the paper shows how IE was utilized to provide robust evidence of what works thus enabling policy-makers to make decisions on sustainability and scale-up of education interventions.     

The Development of a Multi‐media Distance Education Prototype

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show the state to which the initial work, the development, and the production of a multi‐media prototype has advanced in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. This prototype was commissioned by the Commission for Distance Teaching of the Department of Public Instruction of Geneva.     

Free primary education policy and pupil school mobility in urban Kenya

This paper examines pupil school mobility in urban Kenya using African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) household survey data which contain information on pupil transfers between schools. The aim is to identify which school characteristics attract the greatest demand for incoming transfers. The analysis reveals that there are frequent transfers in the slums than in the non-slum settlements; that transfer are in favour of private schools; and that quality is the main motivation for the transfers. Quality schools are perceived to have good discipline and better teacher performance. Given these results, should the Kenya government recognise the ‘low cost’ schools found in the slums which serve nearly half of the pupils and devise mechanisms of funding them?     

The attitudes of mainstream teachers towards pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews a selection of the literature relating to the attitudes of mainstream teachers to different types of emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBDs) in the classroom. It discusses the variables influencing these attitudes, including gender, age and ethnicity of teachers and pupils; national context; between‐ and within‐school factors; within‐classroom factors; and the availability and quality of support services. The literature shows that many mainstream teachers have negative perceptions of, and limited tolerance for, problem behaviour in the classroom, and the barriers to modifying these attitudes are considered. Examples of projects designed to overcome these barriers are given.     

Consistency of performances in the Tkatchev release and re-grasp on high bar

The Tkatchev on the high bar is a release and re-grasp skill in which the gymnast rotates in a direction during flight opposite to that of the preceding swing. Since the release window is defined as the time during which the gymnast has appropriate linear and angular momentum to ensure the bar can be re-grasped, it was speculated that the release windows for this skill would be smaller than for dismounts that are less constrained. One senior male gymnast competing at national standard performed 60 Tkatchev trials. A four-segment planar simulation model of the gymnast and high bar was used to determine the release windows in 10 successful and 10 unsuccessful performances of the Tkatchev recorded using a Vicon motion analysis system. Model parameters were optimized to obtain a close match between simulations and recorded performances in terms of rotation angle (1 degree), bar displacements (0.01 m), and release velocities (1%). Each matched simulation was used to determine the time window around the actual point of release for which the model had appropriate release parameters to complete the Tkatchev successfully. The release windows for the successful trials were small compared with those of dismounts. The unsuccessful trials were associated with later release and later timing of the actions at the shoulders and hips.     

Book reviews

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Book reviews

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Institut national d'Etude du travail et d'Orientation professionnelle

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UNESCO