Transforming Environmental Knowledge Into Behavior: The Mediating Role of Environmental Emotions

The present study was based on the premise that environmental knowledge can drive environmental behavior only if it arouses environmental emotions. Using a structural equations modeling approach, we tested the direct, as well as the indirect (mediated) effects of knowledge on behavior and assessed the mediating role of environmental emotions. We found that knowledge is an important but distal variable, whose significant effect is fully mediated by emotions. The high explanatory power and good fit indices of the model supported and validated the important role of emotions in the learning process.     

Reliability and Validity of a Hebrew Version of the Kogan's Attitudes Toward Old People Scale

The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Hebrew version of Kogan's (1961 Kogan , N. ( 1961 ). Attitudes Toward Old People: The development of a scale and an examination of correlates . Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , 62 ( 1 ), 44 – 54 . doi: 10.1037/h0048053 [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Attitudes Toward Old People scale. A self-administered questionnaire in Hebrew was given to a convenience sample of 300 people under the age of 65 who resided in three neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. The Hebrew version of the Attitudes toward Old People scale demonstrated good psychometric properties. Internal consistency of Cronbach's alpha was high (α = .89). Factor analysis showed five loading factors. The Israeli version of the scale was found to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the general population's attitudes toward older people. It can be a useful instrument for studies in Israel as well as for cross-national and comparative studies to assess the degree of ageism towards older people.     

Age and Third-Person Perception in Response to Positive Product Advertisements

The research presented here examined the occurrence of the third-person perception (TPP) among children compared with older people. Unlike in previous research, the TPP was examined in response to positive product advertisements. These advertisements are considered negative only when people understand their persuasive intent and manipulative nature. In that context, there was no indication of the TPP in children, whereas adolescents and adults showed the usual effect. The research further documented the existence of an intuitive understanding of media influence on various age groups. For example, adults perceived themselves as less influenced by an adult-targeted ad than other adults but not less influenced than children and adolescents. The results are discussed in terms of self-serving bias, understanding of persuasion intent, and the intuitive understanding of media influence.     

The dialectics of assimilation and multiculturalism: the case of children of refugees and migrant workers in the Bialik-Rogozin School,Tel Aviv

This paper focuses on children of refugees and migrant workers from 48 countries who study together in one multicultural school in the city of Tel Aviv, Israel. The context of our study is the current ethos of globalisation and within it the phenomenon of vast migrations and creation of intercultural social realities. The aims of the study were to illustrate the principles, practices and dilemmas that form the very basis of the school culture, to let the special or ‘foreign’ voices of the children and the teaching staff be heard, and to identify the educational qualities that are responsible for the school’s success. In our research we employed both the method of qualitative case study and the philosophical interpretive discourse. On the basis of our observations, interviews and text analyses of the school’s educational manifesto, we suggested the following pedagogical virtues as the key factors responsible for the school’s extraordinary achievements: (1) a firm commitment to a humanist and multicultural stance; (2) a progressive and pragmatic dialectic approach regarding students’ empowerment, via social integration and academic success as well as via multicultural pedagogy; and (3) a dialectic pedagogical approach that stresses therapeutic-individualised teaching as well as challenging students to attain high academic standards.     

Qualitative evaluation of mathematical activity and its relation to effective guidance

A model of qualities of mathematical activity was developed within a framework of learning goals. In this paper we describe a clinical application of the model, from which a hierarchy of effective guidance was established, permitting diagnostic evaluation and progressive development of mathematical activity.     

Responses to the Negative Emotions of Others by Autistic, Mentally Retarded, and Normal Children

Attention, facial affect, and behavioral responses to adults showing distress, fear, and discomfort were compared for autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. The normal and mentally retarded children were very attentive to adults in all 3 situations. In contrast, many of the autistic children appeared to ignore or not notice the adults showing these negative affects. As a group, the autistic children looked at the adults less and were much more engaged in toy play than the other children during periods when an adult pretended to be hurt. The autistic children were also less attentive to adults showing fear, although their behavior was not different from the normal children. Few of the children in any group showed much facial affect in response to these situations. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of affect in the social learning experiences of the young child.     

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS AS A REFLECTION OF LARGE-SCALE ASSESSMENT

Professional development (PD) of teachers comprises a major challenge in many countries. The empirical relations between teaching–learning processes and student achievements occupy educators who construct teachers’ in-service training programs. Student achievements serve as a measure for testing improvements in learning. Many investigators view teachers’ content–didactic knowledge as influencing the quality of teaching and student achievements. Large-scale assessments (national and international evaluation frameworks) in the Israeli educational system offer teachers opportunities for improving their teaching–learning processes and student achievements. We developed a program for the PD of science teachers based on the curriculum and large-scale assessments. The model is long term and integrates theoretical and practical knowledge. The activities should be effective and cooperative and should use diverse teaching methods and integrate advanced technologies. This article presents considerations for the construction of the program, its goals, its performance, teachers’ reports on the components, and the contribution of the program’s components to their PD.     

Caring about tomorrow: future orientation,environmental attitudes and behaviors

Almost any pro-environmental behavior arouses a temporal conflict, as protecting long-term interests requires the sacrifice of short-term ones. Similarly, many health promoting behaviors may involve present discomfort for the sake of future well-being. In both contexts, health or environmental, developed future orientation (FO) is required to succeed in achieving long-term goals. This study examined FO, measured by Zimbardo's time perspective inventory (ZTPI), in both contexts in a sample of 333 Israeli undergraduate students. FO correlated positively with health concern and behavior. In the environmental context, the results were different. Highly future-oriented (according to ZTPI) respondents did not express stronger pro-environmental attitudes, and their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the environment was significantly lower. They adopted pro-environmental behavior only if it coincided with their personal benefit. The study suggests that the future of the environment may not be perceived in the same way as people's personal future health. The implications for environmental education and communication are discussed.     

The role of contradiction and uncertainty in promoting the need to prove in Dynamic Geometry environments

In many geometrical problems, students can feel that the universalityof a conjectured attribute of a figure is validated by their action in adynamic geometry environment. In contrast, students generally do not feelthat deductive explanations strengthen their conviction that a geometricalfigure has a given attribute. In order to cope with students' convictionbased on empirical experience only and to create a need for deductiveexplanations, we developed a collection of innovative activities intended tocause surprise and uncertainty. In this paper we describe two activities, thatled students to contradictions between conjectures and findings. We analyzethe conjectures, working methods, and explanations given by the studentswhen faced with the contradictions that arose.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Population genetics in Israel in the 1950s. The unconscious internalization of ideology

This essay describes the effects of Zionist ideology on research into human population genetics carried out in Israel during the 1950s and early 1960s. I argue that the internalization of the dominant Zionist narrative is reflected in the articles that were written by Israeli geneticists and physicians during these years. My claim is based on a comparison of articles about human population genetics written and published by Israeli scientists between 1951 and 1963 with similar articles written by non-Israelis. The comparison reveals that during this period the Israeli human geneticists and physicians emphasized the sociological and historical aspects of their research and used their work, among other things, as a vehicle for establishing a national identity and confirming the Zionist narrative.