Do Mothers or Children Lead the Dance? Disentangling Individual and Influence Effects During Conflict

Are mother–child conflict discussions shaped by time-varying, reciprocal influences, even after accounting for stable contributions from each individual? Mothers were filmed discussing a conflict for 5 min, separately with their younger (ages 5–9, N = 217) and older (ages 7–13, N = 220) children. Each person’s conflict constructiveness was coded in 20-s intervals and data were analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling, which separates individual and influence effects. Children influenced their mothers’ behavior under certain conditions, with evidence for developmental differences in the magnitude and direction of influence, whereas mothers did not influence their children under any circumstance. Results are discussed in the context of child effects on parent behavior and changes in parenting across middle childhood.     

Inquiry‐based science in the middle grades: Assessment of learning in urban systemic reform

Science education standards established by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Research Council (NRC) urge less emphasis on memorizing scientific facts and more emphasis on students investigating the everyday world and developing deep understanding from their inquiries. These approaches to instruction challenge teachers and students, particularly urban students who often have additional challenges related to poverty. We report data on student learning spanning 3 years from a science education reform collaboration with the Detroit Public Schools. Data were collected from nearly 8,000 students who participated in inquiry‐based and technology‐infused curriculum units that were collaboratively developed by district personnel and staff from the University of Michigan as part of a larger, district‐wide systemic reform effort in science education. The results show statistically significant increases on curriculum‐based test scores for each year of participation. Moreover, the strength of the effects grew over the years, as evidenced by increasing effect size estimates across the years. The findings indicate that students who historically are low achievers in science can succeed in standards‐based, inquiry science when curriculum is carefully developed and aligned with professional development and district policies. Additional longitudinal research on the development of student understanding over multiple inquiry projects, the progress of teacher enactment over time, and the effect of changes in the policy and administrative environment would further contribute to the intellectual and practical tools necessary to implement meaningful standards‐based systemic reform in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1063–1080, 2004     

"This is a bad dog, you know...": constructing shared meanings during sibling pretend play

The construction of shared meanings in play, pretense enactment, internal state language, and sibling relationship quality were investigated in 40 kindergarteners with an older (M age = 7.10 years) or younger (M age = 3.6 years) sibling. Dyadic strategies to construct shared meanings (e.g., extensions, building on) were positively associated with frequency of pretense and internal state language. Developmental differences indicated that older dyads used more shared meaning strategies, whereas younger dyads engaged in non-maintenance behaviors (i.e., disruptions to flow of play). Furthermore, firstborn kindergarteners used more non-maintenance behaviors, whereas second-born kindergarteners extended partner's ideas. Findings highlight the sibling relationship as a context for illuminating social understanding and relationship dynamics during pretend play.     

Enacting the role of special needs educator – six Swedish case studies

With the increasing focus on inclusion, special needs educators (SNEs) are now expected to share responsibility for pupils with teacher colleagues and to lead school development, but it is a challenge to enact this role in schools. The aim of the study was to explore how professional roles of Swedish SNEs are enacted in local school contexts. From a survey of SNEs in 10 Swedish municipalities, six participants whose work tasks were expected to correspond to the degree ordinances for their university training were chosen. The participants were followed at work, and data were collected through observation of the participants at work, participants’ diaries and interviews with the participants, their teacher colleagues and their school principals. The analysis involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, based on the researchers’ observations of the participants at work, categories of SNEs’ tasks were discerned, and the amount of time devoted to those categories of tasks was summarised. Second, case study narratives of the SNEs’ work were constructed to describe how the participants, their teacher colleagues and their school principals view the SNE role and to describe how the work is enacted in various school contexts. The results revealed seven categories of work tasks practised to varying degrees by the six SNEs. The case study narratives exposed large variation in how the SNEs conceptualised their role and how it evolved in relation to local school contexts. The results of the study are discussed with regard to the role of the SNE in relation to policies of inclusion.     

伯恩斯坦的语言编码理论述评——对我国教育过程公平的启示

巴兹尔·伯恩斯坦提出,来自不同背景的儿童,在他们的早期生活中发展了不同的符码,或者说是说话的形式,这些会影响他们以后在学校的经验。他从学生语言技能角度解释教育中存在的不平等现象,认为语言的差距会造成学业成绩的差距,会造成学生在教育过程中的不平等待遇。这一理论为我国研究教育过程公平提供了一个新的视角,同时也警惕教师们应该关注学生的语言发展。     

English-bilingual biology for standard classes development,implementation and evaluation of an English-bilingual teaching unit in standard German high school classes

English connects all areas of science around the world. Productive and receptive English-language skills are thus a crucial tool that schools must provide their students with in order to prepare them for higher education and professional life. The introduction of bilingual instruction of subject matter, often referred to as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), allows for incorporating English as a medium of communication directly into the science classroom. However, such bilingual lessons are often only accessible in the context of bilingual programmes for which students have to qualify based on their previous performance. The present study assessed the applicability of bilingual modules in non-selected groups of students. For this, a bilingual teaching unit on immunology was developed and implemented in standard German ninth grade classes. After the unit, bilingually taught students showed the same content knowledge gains as their peers who had been taught solely in their native language. Average achievement motivation ratings before and after the unit were medium to high in all classes, and the majority of students was open to more bilingual lessons. An evaluation of student comments provides further indications for the development of future bilingual units.     

Hedonic and utilitarian value: the role of shared responsibility in higher education services

While on-campus student housing availability has been shown to improve retention, the interdependence between students and providers in creating the value of campus living has not been explored. This paper, therefore, draws on theories from marketing and education to investigate the role of shared responsibility in educational service outcomes (perceived utilitarian value, perceived hedonic value, satisfaction, and positive word-of-mouth) in the context of university housing. Analysis using a general linear model shows that all dependent variables increase as students’ sense of shared responsibility increases. These results contribute to the literature by introducing the notion of shared responsibility to the examination of student housing value perceptions. After implications for various stakeholders are discussed, recommendations for future research are given.     

不同阅读方式下学前儿童在图画书阅读中对文字的关注

分享阅读被认为可以有效提高儿童的文字意识,因为它可以使儿童获得更多与文字接触的机会。为了验证以上观点,本研究以SMI眼动仪为工具,对71名3~6岁幼儿在自主阅读和分享阅读方式下阅读图画书的特点进行考察。结果发现:分享阅读不能提高学前儿童对文字的关注程度,自读方式则可以增加儿童与文字接触的机会;儿童对文字的关注程度随着年龄班的增长而提高,且在小班与中班之间变化最为明显;阅读方式不影响儿童对主人公的关注程度;分享阅读提高了儿童信息加工的速度,且该效应在小班最明显;儿童对图画书中隐藏细节信息的关注程度随着年龄班的增长而降低。