Practical considerations informing teachers’ technology integration decisions: the case of tablet PCs

The unique characteristics of tablet PCs promise important benefits for education. Yet, little is known about the rationale underlying teachers’ decisions concerning their educational uses within the constraints of daily classroom practice. The current multiple case study investigated the practical considerations informing nine secondary school teachers’ decision-making processes regarding the use of tablet PCs. Stimulated recall interviews revealed 10 criteria underpinning teachers’ instructional decisions. Four criteria influenced the degree of congruence with teachers’ previous practices: familiarity, alignment with course content, opportunities to achieve (new) instructional goals efficiently, and compatibility with established pedagogical beliefs. Costs and benefits of tablet PCs were determined in terms of educational added value, lesson preparation requirements and potential disruptions to the learning environment. Finally, access to a solid technology infrastructure, supportive school policies and knowledge of how to effectively integrate tablet PCs with course content were identified as important pre-conditions for sustainable implementation. Overall, the results suggest that practical concerns constitute a critical element in teachers’ decision making, influencing not only teachers’ intention to adopt tablet PCs, but also the ways in which they use this technology to support instruction.     

Perceived social support and domain-specific adjustment of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

The perceived availability of social support has been documented as a protective mechanism among adults and adolescents. However, little research has explored the role of social support among children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (E/BD). The current study sought to investigate the effects of perceived social support from family, friends and teachers on domain-specific adjustment for children with E/BD. Fifty-four teacher-nominated children for E/BD completed questionnaires on perceived social support and behavioural, emotional and social functioning. Results suggest a pattern of intercorrelations between indices of child-rated social support and behavioural, emotional and social indicators of adjustment. Specifically, domain-specific social support was found to predict domain-specific adjustment outcomes for children with E/BD, once demographic variables were held constant. Interventions that are child-centred and domain-specific are suggested.     

Public Libraries and the Internet 2012: Key Findings,Recent Trends,and Future Challenges

Since 1994, 14 reliable national studies have provided longitudinal data revealing and analyzing trends in the public access computing, Internet access, and technology assistance and training that public libraries make available to the communities they serve. This article provides an overview of selected data from the 2012 study; examines major issues that have emerged from the data in the most recent studies; identifies key trends and changes in Internet-enabled services and resources provided by public libraries to their communities over the course of the 18 years of conducting the national surveys; and discusses selected future issues and challenges regarding public library Internet-enabled services.     

Participative Democracy and Voice: Rethinking Community Collaboration Beyond Neutral Structures

Decision-making in community-based, interorganizational collaboration often influences educational, environmental, and other civic policies thereby constituting it as politically and socially consequential. As such, we rethink collaboration through the lens of participative democracy rather than as a neutral organizational structure or process. We sought to understand how participative democracy was hindered and accomplished in an interpretive case study of two community collaborations. Data indicate the normative processes and structures of communication practiced by stakeholders primarily deterred voice and participation by prioritizing information exchange, practicing invisible decision-making, and emphasizing harmonious relationships. These findings: (1) add to theories of interorganizational collaboration by establishing voice as both a discursive and political feature of shared decision-making; (2) provide empirical exemplars that extrapolate political and social implications from specific communication practices; and (3) inform the development of a heuristic to improve collaborative participation and increase political accountability. Flowing from these data, we recommend practitioners utilize the heuristic of VOICE—promoting visibility and ownership of decision-making processes, less emphasis on informing, and purposeful fostering of gracious contestation—ultimately delimiting expressive modes of communication that decrease participative democracy and political accountability.     

From Pride to Smugness and the Nationalism Between: Olympic Media Consumption Effects on Nationalism Across the Globe

To measure relationships between Olympic media viewing and nation-based attitudes, 6 nations (Australia, Bulgaria, China, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United States) were surveyed in the 5 days immediately after the 2012 London Olympics. A total of 1,025 respondents answered questions pertaining to four measures of nationalism: patriotism, nationalism, internationalism, and smugness. The amount of Olympic viewing resulted in significantly higher scores for patriotism, nationalism, and smugness, but not internationalism. In addition, differences by nation are reported, revealing considerable differences in nationalism measures among the 6 nations studied; for instance, the United States was the lowest of the 6 nations regarding internationalism yet highest of the 6 nations regarding smugness. Conclusions related to theory and the role of Olympic media content are offered.     

Reciprocal Effects between Reading Achievement and Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation

ABSTRACT

Research on reading achievement and reading motivation has rarely addressed the question if and how they affect each other over time. In our study, we investigate the reciprocal effects between reading achievement and both intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation during elementary school. We measured reading achievement and intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation in 966 students at 3 points of measurement during 3rd and 4th grade. Consistent with previous research, cross-lagged panel analyses revealed positive reciprocal effects between reading achievement and intrinsic reading motivation. Effects of reading achievement on intrinsic reading motivation were found during Grades 3 and 4, whereas effects of intrinsic motivation were limited to Grade 3. No reciprocal effects between reading achievement and extrinsic reading motivation were found. We discuss the implications of our results for daily teaching practices and effective reading instruction.     

Activity profiles of the Australian female netball team players during international competition: Implications for training practice

Abstract

In elite sport, to remain competitive at the international level, it is critical to understand the game demands on players to ensure sport specific training programmes are designed for optimal athlete preparation and conditioning. In netball, recent research examining the activity patterns of players at the elite level is lacking, with only one study undertaken on this level of competition in the past 30 years. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide coaches with up to date knowledge of player activity patterns as a basis for the design of optimal sport specific training programmes. The Australian female netball team were analysed using video footage of three international test matches. Player activity was categorised into five movement and eight game-based activities; and further classified as work or rest. Results suggest that differences in the current game exist when compared to the previous analysis. Positional differences were also found with regard to player activity confirming the need for an individualised component of training based on player position.     

Student-life stress in Education and Health Service majors

In order to better understand the effects of student-life stress on Education and Health Service majors (n?=?195) at a private, religious, Midwestern university in the USA, we assessed student perception of overall stress level and physical stress level using the Student-life Stress Inventory. The targeted sample consisted of students with declared majors that lead to careers involving interaction with vulnerable populations (i.e., children, individuals with disabilities, patients). Women in this study experienced a significantly higher (F?=?7.092 [1195], p?=?.008) overall stress level than their male counterparts. When the physical stress reaction scores were isolated, women still experienced significantly higher stress levels (F?=?7.758 [1195], p?=?.01). Regardless of gender, seniors and graduate students had an overall stress difference that was 11 points below that of freshman students in overall stress scores. There was a significant difference in the overall stress score (F?=?6.484 [2181], p?=?.001) between students who took 18 or more credit hours and those who took less. Students who worked more than four hours per week had a significantly higher overall stress level. Students in the age category 23+ had significantly less physical stress. There was a significant difference between students who prayed at least daily and students who never pray (F?=?1.114 [3188], p?=?.03). This study provides a valuable insight into the characteristics of individuals more likely to have difficulties adjusting to the demands of college life and the inherent stress of a profession in Education or Health Service.     

Parameter Recovery and Classification Accuracy Under Conditions of Testlet Dependency: A Comparison of the Traditional 2PL,Testlet, and Bi-Factor Models

ABSTRACT

Testlets, or groups of related items, are commonly included in educational assessments due to their many logistical and conceptual advantages. Despite their advantages, testlets introduce complications into the theory and practice of educational measurement. Responses to items within a testlet tend to be correlated even after controlling for latent ability, which violates the assumption of conditional independence made by traditional item response theory models. The present study used Monte Carlo simulation methods to evaluate the effects of testlet dependency on item and person parameter recovery and classification accuracy. Three calibration models were examined, including the traditional 2PL model with marginal maximum likelihood estimation, a testlet model with Bayesian estimation, and a bi-factor model with limited-information weighted least squares mean and variance adjusted estimation. Across testlet conditions, parameter types, and outcome criteria, the Bayesian testlet model outperformed, or performed equivalently to, the other approaches.     

The relationship between vocabulary and writing quality in three genres

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of vocabulary in writing across three genres. Fifth graders (N = 105) wrote three compositions: story, persuasive, and informative. Each composition revolved around the topic of outer space to control for background knowledge. Written compositions were scored for holistic writing quality and several different vocabulary constructs: diversity, maturity, elaboration, academic words, content words, and register. The results indicated that students vary their vocabulary usage by genre. Story text had higher diversity than informative text as well as higher maturity as compared to persuasive text. Persuasive text contained higher diversity than informative text, and higher register than both of the other genres. Informative text included more content words and elaboration than the other text types as well as more maturity than persuasive text. Additionally, multiple regression and commonality analysis indicated that the vocabulary constructs related to writing quality differed by genre. For story text, vocabulary diversity was a unique predictor, while for persuasive text, content words and register were unique predictors. Finally, for informative text content words was the strongest unique predictor explaining almost all of the total variance in the five factor model, although maturity was also a unique predictor.