Expanding the definitional criteria for imaginative play: Contributions of sociocultural perspectives

This article proposes expanding four existing criteria for imaginative play in view of recent advances in sociocultural perspectives on the study of human development. Imaginative play is commonly defined as intrinsically motivated, open ended, pleasure seeking, and an escape from reality. Grounded in sociocultural research, and, as such, in the relation between individual and social and cultural environment, we argue that these four criteria should shift from assumptions to research questions: What are the motives for imaginative play? What are the goals for imaginative play? What affective dimensions emerge in imaginative play? What, how, and why do features of reality and imagination emerge through play? Expanding definitional criteria in this fashion enables researchers to remain open to variations in an individual’s experience over time, across participants, and cultural variations rather than imposing dominant cultural assumptions as explanatory heuristics. Implications for research and education are discussed.     

How Diversity Approaches Affect Ethnic Minority and Majority Adolescents: Teacher–Student Relationship Trajectories and School Outcomes

This study aimed to relate school diversity approaches to continuity and change in teacher–student relationships, comparing Belgian-majority (N = 1,875, M_age = 14.56) and Turkish and Moroccan-minority adolescents (N = 1,445, M_age = 15.07). Latent-Growth-Mixture-Models of student-reported teacher support and rejection over 3 years revealed three trajectories per group: normative-positive (high support, low rejection) and decreasing-negative (moderate support, high-decreasing rejection) for both groups, increasing-negative (moderate support, low-increasing rejection) for minority, moderate-positive (moderate support, low rejection) for majority youth. Trajectories differed between age groups. Student and teacher perceptions of equality and multiculturalism afforded, and assimilationism threatened, normative-positive trajectories for minority youth. Diversity approaches had less impact on majority trajectories. Normative-positive trajectories were related to improved school outcomes; they were less likely, but more beneficial for minority than majority youth.     

Developmental antecedents of young adults’ solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of sympathy,social trust,and peer exclusion from early to late adolescence

This study explored characteristics of young adults’ solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic by identifying three different profiles, characterized by low (23%), average (54%), and high solidarity (23%). Based on longitudinal Swiss panel data (N_T1 = 797, M_{age T1} = 12.15 years, 51% female; 28% migration background representing diverse ethnicities; N_T2 = 707, M_{age T2} = 15.33 years; N_T3 = 596, M_{age T3} = 18.31 years), the study combined person- and variable-centered approaches to examine whether sympathy, social trust, and peer exclusion at earlier phases in development predicted membership in pandemic-related solidarity profiles (N_T4 = 300, M_{age T4} = 20.33 years). All developmental predictors were significantly associated with the likelihood of expressing solidarity during the pandemic as young adults.     

Examining Knowledge Levels of High School Students Related to Conductors at Electrostatic Equilibrium and Electric Field Lines Using the Drawing Method

Research in Science Education - The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge of high school students related to conductors at electrostatic equilibrium and electric field lines. The...     

Engaging first year students using a Web-supported inquiry-based learning setting

This paper describes a study that explored the utility and efficacy of the application of a Web-based tool to promote learner engagement among first year students in a large class in an undergraduate communications degree. The Web-based tool was developed to support an inquiry-based learning approach that was characterised by strong learning scaffolds, meaningful contexts, feedback and support and administrative efficiencies. The study explored the forms of engagement that the Web-supported inquiry-based learning approach was able to engender among first year undergraduate students and the factors that were found to influence students’ levels of engagement and achievement in the approach.     

Education,schooling and inclusive practice at a secondary free school in England

Abstract

This paper reports the experiences of staff, parents, governors and students at a secondary free school in the West Midlands of England in relation to the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN). The paper is based on a qualitative research project carried out at a school that opened in 2015, with the explicit aim of examining the extent to which it developed as an inclusive school, particularly for children with SEN. In the paper, we draw on the classic distinction between ‘education’ and ‘schooling’ to identify tensions and overlaps between process and outcome oriented practices and examine the views of different stakeholders on how such practices impact on inclusion. By focusing on the day-to-day practices of the school and linking them to broader notions of schooling and education, we provide a complementary perspective on the current research on free schools, which is overwhelmingly quantitative and focused on admissions.     

中小学"数学情境与提出问题"教学的实验研究

This research tends to make the experimental study on the mathematics teaching model of “situated creation and problem-based instruction” (SCPBI), namely, the teaching process of “creating situations—posing problems—solving problems—applying mathematics”. It is aimed at changing the situation where students generally lack problem-based learning experience and problem awareness. Result shows that this teaching model plays a vital role in arousing students’ interest in mathematics, improving their ability to pose problems and upgrading their mathematics learning ability as well.      

Sustainability education in a botanical garden promotes environmental knowledge,attitudes and willingness to act

Abstract

Creating behavior change to mobilize transitions toward sustainability is a significant challenge of our time. Inspired by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Farmer Field School, we developed a novel community-based education program to engage people in local sustainability topics. In the Sustainable Communities Field School (Field School) program, advertised as team building tours, participants from local organizations are guided by instructors through University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, while receiving verbal and experiential education on topics of food systems and choices, biodiversity conservation, water conservation, and waste reduction. We found that after the Field School program, participants were significantly more knowledgeable about environmental issues, more connected to nature, showed greater intentions and willingness to engage in sustainability actions compared to garden visitors from the general public who did not go through the program. The results suggest that interactive sustainability education in a botanical garden setting can be a useful education model to mobilize public engagement on sustainability.     

Fostering students’ moderation competence: the interplay between social relatedness and perceived competence*

Using a longitudinal design, the present study examined whether two teaching concepts that varied in their capacity to foster students’ self-determination affected students’ sense of social relatedness and their perceived moderation competence, as well as the interplay between these two components and the students’ performance during a moderation exam. We conducted a quasi-experimental field study with university students (N?=?160), who were evenly distributed between an experimental (EG) and a control group (CG). The results of multi-group path analysis suggest that simultaneously fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness (EG), in comparison to providing autonomy and competence support only (CG), leads to a stronger link between perceived competence and social relatedness. If students experience moderation competence, they in turn feel socially related to their teacher, which leads to an even higher competence perception thereafter. The crucial role of teachers’ behaviour, in particular relatedness support, in learning development is discussed.