A Graduate Programme in Science Education: Experiences and Suggestions

Summaries

English

The article presents an account of the personal experiences of the author during his participation in an American graduate programme in science education. The author describes the Ph.D. programme and the institution administering it i.e. the SESAME Group at the University of California at Berkeley. He outlines the important features of the programme in relation to admission requirements, course work, qualifying examination, and thesis research. This formal characterization is contrasted with his personal impression, and an attempt is made to evaluate the merits of his one‐year participation in the programme. In the final section, the possibilities and desirable modifications for an adequate adaptation of such a graduate programme in FR Germany or Europe are discussed.     

Transformation of university governance: on the role of university board members

In this conceptual contribution to the study of university governance the authors will approach potential patterns of behavior of key decision-makers at central university level, i.e. roles of governance actors, as well as the set of factors that shape and constrain the governance actor’s room of manoevre and provide avenues to explain varying role enactments through an actor analysis of members of the newly introduced university boards. In a first part the introduction and empowerment of university boards in European higher education institutions is described as a building block of the transformation of university governance. In the second part the main hypothesis derived is that, in governance practice, board members enact roles which are not only shaped and constrained by formal institutions, as given by the organizational context and regulatory structure, but also by conformable, appropriate and legitimate role expectations of central role senders. As a showcase analysis, the roles of university board members are conceptually explored. Especially in the context of recent reform processes, board members who tend to have a varied status set, very often find themselves in a troubling situation of conflicting role expectations, leading to high levels of role conflicts and role ambiguity. It is the aim of this paper to sketch and examine the factors that contribute to the different roles university board members may take.     

Assessment and recognition of non-formal and informal learning: a Lithuanian case of novice consultants’ experience

This article reports the results of the investigation into institutional support provided to adults by 12 novice consultants on assessment and recognition of their non-formal and informal learning in four institutions of higher education (HEIs) in Lithuania. Using the general systems perspective and perception theory, novice consultants’ perceptions of their experience of guiding and supporting adults was examined with the main aim to provide a better understanding of the challenges that they encountered and the benefits they gained so that to enhance the process. The method of content analysis was employed to investigate novice consultants’ perceptions. The results of their feedback responses revealed four major challenges, including the novelty of the procedure, complexity of the process of portfolio development, difficulty to raise adults’ awareness of the value of the procedure and difficulty to provide moral support to adults, which caused gaps in consultants’ performance. The established benefits included a better understanding of the process, benefits for their professional activity and personal development, improved competence to consult and an impact on the attitude towards others and self. The implications of the findings for fostering consultants’ training to enhance the process of institutional support provided to adults are discussed.     

Development of the profession and qualifications of adult educators in Lithuania in the context of reforms of adult education

The Baltic countries regained their independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and joined the European Union in 2004. This article seeks to explore institutional development and reforms of adult education and lifelong learning in Lithuania with respect to the processes, the actors and the context of socioeconomic change over the past 20 years. It also looks at the implications of these processes for the professionalisation of adult educators, referred to here as “adult learning teachers” (ALTs). The authors begin with an analysis of the historical-institutional and political-economical aspects of the development of adult education and lifelong learning by providing a retrospective of institutional change in Lithuania. They then move on to analyse the existing institutional and legal arrangements of adult education which shape and institutionalise the profession and qualifications of ALTs. Their empirical research reveals the opinions of Lithuanian ALTs on their current professional occupational profile and its future development.     

Novice teachers in the Czech Republic and their drop-out intentions

The current paper presents the results of the first research study of drop-out intentions of novice teachers in the Czech Republic. The study focuses on the reported satisfaction of novice teachers in primary and lower secondary schools with external factors that influence their socialisation and that can be seen as predictors of novice teachers' decision to stay in their current school. In the paper we present the results of quantitative research conducted in 2015–2017. Our main findings include the key significance of factors at the school level, especially the influence of school culture and climate, cooperation with colleagues and leadership. We conclude that in the Czech context teachers tend to stay in schools provided that they work in a well-functioning school, with cooperative colleagues and good head teachers.     

Sprinting analysis of elite soccer players during European Champions League and UEFA Cup matches

It has been suggested that assessment of high-intensity activities during a match is a valid measure of physical performance in elite soccer. Recently, sprinting activities have been analysed in more depth. The aim of this study was to develop a detailed analysis of the sprinting activities of different playing positions during European Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. Altogether, 717 elite outfield soccer players were evaluated throughout 2002-2006 using ProZone? (Leeds, UK). Sprinting (explosive and leading) was analysed for each playing position. To compare positional differences, a Kruskal-Wallis analysis was performed. Differences were found among positions for total number of sprints and total sprint distance covered: wide midfielders > (attackers = wide defenders) > central midfielders > central defenders (P < 0.001), as well as for explosive sprints: (wide midfielders = attackers = wide defenders) > central defenders, wide midfielders > central midfielders > central defenders and attackers = wide defenders = central midfielders (P < 0.001), and leading sprints: wide midfielders > (attackers = wide defenders) > central midfielders > central defenders (P < 0.001). For each group, there were no differences in ratio of explosive to leading sprints. Wide midfielders performed a higher number of sprints in all five distance categories than all other positions. This study showed that sprinting characteristics are influenced by position. Wide midfielders have to complete additional high-intensity activities during training sessions compared with the other positions to achieve the performance level required during the match.     

POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE, ATTRIBUTION, AND INFERRED INTEREST IN POLITICS: THE OPERATION OF BUFFER ITEMS

Bishop (1987) observed that being unable to answer a politicalknowledge question decreased self-reported interest in publicaffairs. This effect was unaffected by the introduction of upto 101 unrelated buffer items. In contrast, a single bufferitem that provided respondents with an external explanationfor their lack of knowledge greatly reduced the context effectin the present study. Implications for the operation of bufferitems are discussed.