The role of social competence in predicting gifted enrollment

The purpose of this study is to examine how children's starting level and development of social competence (i.e., task orientation and peer sociability) during kindergarten and first grade predict gifted program enrollment by third grade, even after considering children's cognitive ability. A second purpose is to examine the extent to which the relationship between children's social competence and gifted program enrollment differs depending on children's socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and gender. Latent growth curve analyses conducted on 347 children revealed that students enrolled in gifted programming were not only those high in cognitive ability, but also those showing early task orientation. Neither peer sociability's initial status nor growth was a significant predictor of gifted enrollment. Multigroup comparisons demonstrated different predictive paths for higher versus lower SES groups. Implications are discussed including important questions raised by this study and the need for teacher training in the identification of giftedness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mathematics and science choice following introduction of compulsory study profiles into Dutch secondary education

Since 1998, upper level secondary education pupils in the Netherlands are required to choose one of four study profiles with their own specific and fixed combinations of final examination subjects. With the aid of multilevel analyses, the extent to which this situation has led to changes in the determinants of mathematics and science choice (i.e. selection of a science profile) is examined for more than 3500 pupils. From a meritocratic perspective, the relative contributions of background characteristics versus personal aptitude are examined. The introduction of the study profiles appears to have produced sharper lines with respect to sex and socio‐economic status. Optimal use is thus not made of existing science talent.     

Non‐at‐risk adolescents' attitudes towards reading in a Singapore secondary school

In this paper, we examine the various nuanced dimensions of adolescents' dispositions towards reading in one secondary school in Singapore, where a high‐stakes examination culture often threatens to colonise the practices of leisure reading. Our focus is on the better and more avid readers as they were the ones that developed the more negative attitudes towards reading at the end of their first year in secondary school. Our analysis found that there were no significant differences between boys and girls in their declining attitudes, and that for both ‘intrinsic motivation’ saw the greatest decline. However, attitudes related to learning orientation remained stable, suggesting both the impact of constraints in an exam‐oriented educational structure as well as possibilities for developing reading pedagogy and adolescent reading programmes. We argue that the more educators are aware of the multidimensionality and complexity of the attitudes and values that students bring to their reading, the more effectively they will be able to design and implement programmes and pedagogy to foster positive attitudes and promote a lifelong love for reading.     

Effect of acquisition rates on off‐task behavior of kindergarten students while learning sight words

Assessing a student's acquisition rates (ARs) is a reliable way to determine how many new words should be taught in one lesson without reducing retention. Exceeding a student's AR can result in frustration and problem behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of AR on the off‐task behavior of kindergarten students while participating in a commonly used sight‐word instruction video. Participants included 39 kindergarten students whose ARs were assessed before showing the sight‐word video. Behavior was measured as on‐ and off‐task using momentary time‐sampling with 10‐s intervals. Results indicated that students' time off task increased after exceeding their ARs, with a noticeable immediate increase. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed.     

Informational capital and the transition to university: First‐in‐family students' experiences in Austrian higher education

The agenda for widening participation in higher education has led to increasing numbers of students with a broader range of education and family backgrounds. However, transitioning to the university landscape remains a highly complex negotiation process, especially for first‐in‐family students, who cannot draw on previous experience from higher education in their families. Gaining access to informational capital—a combination of cultural and social capital—plays a crucial role in managing education transitions. We draw on rich empirical data obtained from 26 autobiographical narrative interviews with first‐in‐family university students in Austria to investigate how transitions to university are affected by informational capital. We also explore how access to informational capital was influenced by (1) institutional practices, such as initiatives to support students, especially first‐year students; and (2) cultural fit—the extent to which a student's cultural capital corresponded with the dominant cultural capital in the field of their chosen discipline or higher education establishment. Our findings show that gaining access to informational capital was strongly affected by the institutional practices at universities within the different disciplines, thus highlighting the importance of higher education institutions in supporting their students during transition processes. We conclude with policy implications for how higher education institutions can assist first‐in‐family students to succeed at university.     

Environmental Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Korea: current developments and future agendas

In the past, environmental education in Korea was not effective, in part at least, because it was not dealt with as an independent subject. However, in the Sixth Curriculum for schools in Korea, which will take effect from 1995, ‘Environment’ subject is included as an optional course for junior high school students. This paper gives details of the curriculum of ‘Environment’ subject and describes the development of the course textbook which focuses on values and attitude change. The paper also discusses Ministry of Education plans for teacher education and training courses for teachers of the new subject. Despite the current lack of qualified teachers for the subject and the fact that it is not mandatory, the introduction of the ‘Environment’ subject in the national curriculum is seen to be of great significance. With rapidly increasing national concern about environmental issues, and with an increasing number of schools teaching ‘Environment’ subject, it is expected that environmental education in Korea will move more efficiently and profoundly towards realizing its ultimate purpose.     

No Difference in the Neural Underpinnings of Number and Letter Copying in Children: Bayesian Analysis of Functional Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy Data

It is under debate whether the neural representation of numbers and letters might rely on distinct neural correlates, or on a mostly shared neural network. In the present study, a total of 47 children in fifth grade (Experiment 1) and sixth grade (Experiment 2) simply copied numbers and letters on a touch screen while brain activation changes were recorded by means of functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). fNIRS data of both experiments and a joint analysis revealed that a shared neural network, particularly in the left hemisphere, was activated in response to both number and letter copying. Interestingly, no difference was observed in brain activation patterns between these two stimuli, as revealed by Bayesian analysis. Our findings indicate that both number and letter copying lead to similar brain activation in children. We further suggest methodological and applied applications of these findings in the frame of educational neuroscience.     

Pictures as Feedback in Single Word Learning

A number of recent studies have indicated that familiarity with pictures can interfere with single word learning, if the pictures are presented with their written equivalents. Research has also suggested that focusing children's attention on written words while responding to the paired stimuli is not sufficient to overcome this interference. Two experiments were carried out to investigate the possibility of eliminating the adverse effects of pictures by encouraging children to elicit naming‐responses in the absence of the pictures and then using pictures as response feedback. The results indicated that this feedback cueing technique can avoid the adverse effect of pictures and achieve a learning rate equivalent to that obtained when words were presented alone. It was concluded that pictures could be used in a way which did not hinder learning, but there is no evidence to suggest that they can be used in a way to enhance learning.