How emotions shape the relationship between a chemistry teacher and her high school students

In this article we analyse the interaction between a high school chemistry teacher and her students from two different classes, emphasizing how emotions, affects and feelings contributed to, or obstructed, the dynamic of interactions. The data come from an ethnographic research approach and include videotapes of the lessons, interviews and field notes. Using the distinction introduced by Damasio between primary and secondary emotions, and between emotions and feelings, we describe how the background feelings emerged in different ways in the two classrooms. In class B, the relationships were constructed in a friendly way from the very beginning. The positive emotions that contributed to raising positive background feelings occurred in a high number and frequency. In class A, the picture was completely different, with a higher number and frequency of negative emotions. Thus, emotions and background feelings that were constructed differently in each classroom were at the heart of the different outcomes in terms of attitudes towards chemistry that arose in the two classrooms. In the paper, we also discuss the implication of this kind of analysis for science teaching generally.     

Matching Society Values: Students’ views of biotechnology

The rapid growth of biotechnology knowledge during the past decades has made it necessary to rethink the contents of the school curriculum and has provoked a consideration of the ethical and social issues related to the use of biotechnological applications. With the financial assistance of the European Union, the European Initiative for Biotechnology Education was set up to develop units for use in the member the countries, organize the translations of these between the many languages involved, organize in‐service courses for teachers, implement the materials in schools, as well as carrying out related research.

This paper gives some findings of Spanish researchers when identifying and exploring the different cultural contexts in which biotechnology teaching and learning is embedded, being mainly concerned with the emerging attitudes and values of the students regarding such issues. After gathering information through case studies during the implementation phase, a questionnaire was developed in an interactive way by teachers and researchers in various stages, based on what students said.

The results identify four main values: the “principle of the natural”, the “principle of the welfare”, the “principle of the technological solution” and the “principle of the individual decisions”. Their interaction and dichotomy are discussed, as well as the problems teachers face when having to deal with topics beyond those immediately related to science     

Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Biotechnology of Elementary Education Preservice Teachers: The first Spanish experience

Due to the important impact that biotechnology has on current Western societies, well-informed critical citizens are needed. People prepared to make conscious decisions about aspects of biotechnology that relate to their own lives. Teachers play a central role in all education systems. Thus, the biotechnological literacy of preservice teachers is an important consideration as they will become an influential collective as future teachers of the next generation of children. The attitudes toward science (and biotechnology) that teachers have affect their behavior and influence the way they implement their daily practice of science teaching in school. This study analyzes the attitudes and knowledge of Spanish preservice teachers toward biotechnology. We designed a new survey instrument that was completed by 407 university students who were taking official degree programs in preschool and primary education. Our results point out that although they are aware of biotechnology applications, topics concerning the structure of DNA, management of genetic information inside the cell, genetically modified organism technology and the use of microorganisms as biotechnological tools were not correctly answered. According to our attitude analysis, Spanish preservice teachers could be defined as opponents of genetically modified product acquisition, supporters of biotechnology for medical purposes and highly interested in increasing their knowledge about biotechnology and other scientific advances. Our results show a positive correlation between better knowledge and more positive attitudes toward biotechnology. A Spanish preservice teacher with positive attitudes toward biotechnology tends to be a student with a strong biology background who scored good marks in our knowledge test.     

Mexican parents’ and teachers’ literacy perspectives and practices: construction of cultural capital

This article examines the relationships among the literacy practices engaged in by first-grade children and parents at home and the ways in which these practices are communicated, shaped, and fostered by teachers and administrators in two different sociocultural environments in urban Mexico. The differences observed between the home literacy experiences of children in a working-class and a middle-class community included transgenerational communication of assumptions regarding literacy and schooling, as well as attitudes associated with the parents’ own school experiences. Class-based expectations on the part of teachers not only shaped interactions with parents, but were also reflected in the way the national curriculum was delivered, with a greater emphasis on rote skills and traditional reading instruction in the working-class community. The authors argue that the school plays a role in the co-production of cultural capital in the home through its shaping of some of the literacy practices that children and families undertake.     

Transnationalism at the border: students’ experiences in border schools

To understand the development of educational research traditions, it is essential to scrutinize the internal dynamics of the theoretical and methodological developments within the community of scholars working in the area as well as the social needs that are served by such research. The adoption of qualitative approaches to the study of learning and instruction thus mirrors a complex pattern of changes in the role and use of education as a social resource in modern society. On the Scandinavian scene, the past decades have seen a rapid increase in interest in qualitative research and in philosophical positions such as hermeneutics and phenomenology that imply a qualitative approach to studying phenomena. It is argued that qualitative research is now well established, and that it is essential to further demonstrate its value to shed light on education as a social activity.     

Visualising learning design to foster and support good practice and creativity

Applying Bandura's social learning theory, this paper proposes a theoretical framework for analysing the effect of MUD playing on users' self efficacy. Three types of self efficacy – computer self efficacy (CSE), social self efficacy (SSE) and generalized self efficacy (GSE) – are introduced. A possible hypothesis – successful performance, vicarious experience, hearing positive verbal persuasion and massive exposure during MUD playing will raise the CSE, SSE, and GSE of users – is suggested. Finally, a theoretical model explaining the relationship between self efficacy and MUD activities is proposed.

Applicant la théorie de l'apprentissage de Bandura cet article propose un cadre théorique pour analyser les effets de MUD jouant sur l'efficacité personnelle de l'utilisateur. 3 types de celles-ci - computer self-efficiency (CSE) social self efficacy (SSE) et generalisé self-efficiency (GSE) - sont introduits et une hypothèse possible. Les résultats réussis, expérience substituée, écoute de la persuasion verbalement et l'exposition massive au jeu de MUD augmentera le CSE, SSE et GSE des utilisateurs est suggéreé. Finalement un modèle théoritique expliquant le rapport entre l'efficacité personnelle et les activités de MUD est proposé. NDLR. Beaucoup de termes sont introduisable en francais et ont dû être maintenus en anglais.

(MUD: multi-user domain, multi-user dungeon, oder multi-user dimension; eine (virtuelle) Umgebung, in der mehrere Menschen (Spieler) gleichzeitig eingeloggt sein können, um miteinander zu agieren (Rollenspiele).?/?Efficacy: wörtl.: Wirksamkeit - Der Übersetzer). Unter Anwendung von Banduras Sozialer Lerntheorie wird in diesem Beitrag ein theoretischer Rahmen vorgestellt, mit dessen Hilfe man die Wirkung des MUD-Spielens auf das Selbstvertrauen der Teilnehmer analysieren kann. Es werden drei Arten dieses Selbstvertrauens eingeführt - Computer self efficacy (CSE), Social self efficacy (SSE) und Generalized self Efficacy (GSE). Die Hypothese ist, dass durch die erfolgreiche Durchführung Ersatzerfahrungen, das Hören positiver verbaler Bestätigung und das massives Ausgeliefertsein während des MUD-Spielens das Selbstbewußtsein (CSE, SSE und GSE) des Spielers erhöht wird. Zum Schluss wird ein theoretisches Modell zur Beziehung zwischen Selbstvertrauen und MUD-Aktivitäten vorgestellt.     

Measuring the local economic impact of universities: an approach that considers uncertainty

The contribution of universities to society is due to the effects generated both in the supply and in the demand side, the latter being associated with the injection of demand as a result of the activities these institutions carry out. This paper focuses on the impact of the demand side by designing a methodology based on Monte Carlo simulations so as to introduce stochastic elements in calculating the economic impact of universities. We apply this methodology to the case of Valencian public universities, introducing stochastic elements in all the elements which imply assumptions with uncertainty. The results highlight the importance of considering uncertainty by generating multipliers which can vary around the average value by 18 % in the case of output and employment, and 10 % in the case of income.     

Cultivating Human Capabilities in Venturesome Learning Environments

The notion of competencies has been a familiar feature of educational reform policies for decades. In this essay, Pádraig Hogan begins by highlighting the contrasting notion of capabilities, pioneered by the research of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. An educational variant of the notion of capabilities then becomes the basis for exploring venturesome environments of learning: environments that are hospitable to the cultivation of such capabilities among students and their teachers. In this exploration Hogan emphasizes disclosing the kinds of relations that constitute such environments. In particular, he identifies four kinds of relations and investigates the interplay among them. In the second part of the essay, Hogan reviews an ongoing research project in Ireland that has been promoting such environments in postprimary education: Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century. Although the project avoids proffering universal claims about “what works,” its rationale and conduct nevertheless call policymakers' attention to what has worked and to the reasons why.