Vocational education and the binary higher education system in the Netherlands: higher education symbiosis or vocational education dichotomy?

The Netherlands has a binary higher education system in which academic education and higher professional education at EQF levels 5–8 co-exist. There is also secondary vocational education at EQF levels 1 up to 4. In this paper, I analyse policy documents resulting from the Bologna Process and argue that under neo-liberal conditions, higher professional education brings opportunities for both students and employers, but also creates a socio-economic tension in terms of employability. The gap between higher professional education and secondary vocational education adds to the formation of a labour market in which higher professional education graduates are prepared to an international labour market but employability pressure is being put on lower skilled employees, creating unequal employability opportunities for vocational education graduates.     

Teaching multiplication to low math performers: Guided versus structured instruction

The results of an intervention program forstudents with difficulties learning mathematicsare reported. Two kinds of math intervention,guided versus structured instruction, werecompared to regular math instruction. A totalof 75 students from regular and specialeducation, aged seven to thirteen,participated. Ability and automaticitymultiplication tests were administered beforeand after the four-month training period. Theresults show that the students in both of theexperimental conditions improved more than thestudents in the control condition. Someadditional differences were found between thetwo experimental interventions. Guidedinstruction appeared to be more effective forlow performing students than structuredinstruction and especially for those studentsin regular education. Special educationstudents appear to benefit most from structuredinstruction for the automaticity ofmultiplication problems. A three monthfollow-up test showed the acquired knowledge tobe well-established in both groups.     

Mutual perceptions of Chinese and German students at a German university: stereotypes,media influence,and evidence for a negative contact hypothesis

ABSTRACT

In recent years, China and Germany have become invaluable partners in business, politics, and science. However, psychological research indicates that the countries’ large-scale affinity does not translate onto the individual level, with many Germans expressing more reservations towards China than vice versa. Previous content analyses have connected this effect to imbalances in media tonality, as German media mostly criticise Chinese politics, contrasting with idealised portrayals from the other direction. Acknowledging the particularly high number of Chinese exchange students in Germany, we investigate mutual stereotypes (both explicit and implicit) in the context of a German university, while also exploring students’ perceptions of media tonality. Despite observing mostly positive explicit stereotypes, we find that both groups strongly prefer their country of origin on an implicit level, matching their generally sparse contact in university life. Based on our results, we discuss implications for students, educators, and decision-makers in the media.     

What has happened to intuition in science education?

Intuition was one of the four key themes for science education that emerged from the Woods Hole Conference in 1957. Despite the considerable influence of this conference on a generation of curriculum projects the intuition theme was almost completely ignored. Recent studies of intuition, including an analysis of Nobel laureates' views of scientific intuition, are considered. This enables several conceptions of the nature and role of intuition in science to be defined, and its importance to be assessed. The assumption that it is also important in science education is examined by considering conditions in science teaching and learning that may encourage intuitive thinking in the light of current research developments that could lead to a new agenda for school science. Specializations: science and technology curriculum, environmental education, educational disadvantage. Specializations: phenomenography, ways of knowing, higher education—teaching and learning.     

The effects of teacher expectation interventions on teachers’ expectations and student achievement: narrative review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

This study provides a systematic review of the effects of 19 teacher expectation interventions. Prior research on teacher expectations primarily focussed on correlational relationships with student and teacher characteristics, leaving open the questions of whether it is possible to raise teacher expectations and to prevent (too) low expectations from having detrimental effects on student achievement. These questions were the scope of the current review. We distinguished 3 types of interventions: changing teacher behaviour, creating awareness of expectancy effects, and addressing the beliefs underlying the expectations. The results indicated that it was possible to raise teacher expectations and subsequent student achievement. We found summary effects of Hedges’ g?=?0.38 and 0.30, respectively. The narrative review suggested that the intervention type did not affect the effectiveness, but teacher support for the intervention did. However, verification of this suggestion with moderator analysis was not possible due to the limited number of interventions.     

“The fish becomes aware of the water in which it swims”: revealing the power of culture in shaping teaching identity

“The fish becomes aware of the water in which it swims” is a metaphor that represents Yuli’s revelatory journey about the hidden power of culture in her personal identity and professional teaching practice. While engaging in a critical auto/ethnographic inquiry into her lived experience as a science teacher in Indonesian and Australian schools, she came to understand the powerful role of culture in shaping her teaching identity. Yuli realised that she is a product of cultural hybridity resulting from interactions of very different cultures—Javanese, Bimanese, Indonesian and Australian. Traditionally, Javanese and Indonesian cultures do not permit direct criticism of others. This influenced strongly the way she had learned to interact with students and caused her to be very sensitive to others. During this inquiry she learned the value of engaging students in open discourse and overt caring, and came to realise that teachers bringing their own cultures to the classroom can be both a source of power and a problem. In this journey, Yuli came to understand the hegemonic power of culture in her teaching identity, and envisioned how to empower herself as a good teacher educator of pre-service science teachers.     

Learning oceanography from a computer simulation compared with direct experience at sea

Considerable research has compared how students learn science from computer simulations with how they learn from “traditional” classes. Little research has compared how students learn science from computer simulations with how they learn from direct experience in the real environment on which the simulations are based. This study compared two college classes studying introductory oceanography. One class learned using an interactive computer simulation based on a dynamic, three‐dimensional model of physical oceanography. The other class learned by spending a day on a research ship using scientific tools and instruments to measure physical properties of the ocean directly. In classes preceding and following the simulation or field experience, students performed the same exercises regarding currents and salinity, had the same instructor presentations, and did the same homework. The study found that the field experience helped contextualize learning for students with little prior experience of the ocean while the simulation made it easier for students to connect what they learned from it to other content they learned in class. These and other findings shed light on what computer simulations can and cannot help students learn, and what concepts are best learned in the real environment. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 25–42, 2006     

Vocational Interests and Career Efficacy Expectations in Relation to Occupational Sex-Typing Beliefs for Eighth Grade Students

Following the recommendations of Lent, Brown and Hackett's Social Cognitive Career Theory (2000), we measured eighth grade boys' and girls' perception of the proportion of men and women employed in occupations and their level of interest and self-efficacy for those occupations. Results indicated that eighth grade boys and girls expressed stronger career interest in and higher self-efficacy for those occupations that they rated as employing more of their own gender. The study highlights how career practitioners can work with adolescents to widen their perceived range of occupational choices.