Character,Social–Emotional,and Academic Outcomes Among Underachieving Elementary School Students

Students with persistent disruptive behavior problems lose valuable time in academic lessons, are a distraction for classmates, and cause stress for teachers. Recent meta-analyses indicate that 87% to 92% of published studies on school-based interventions targeting student problem behaviors report results from demonstration projects (involving highly trained staff under ideal circumstances) rather than routine practice programs. This study investigates the routine use of a schoolwide classroom management program and its relationship to elementary students’ social and academic outcomes. Three years after training in the classroom management program, 56 second-, third-, and fourth-grade teachers in an urban school district were assessed for fidelity to the program. Program fidelity was determined via direct observation in the classroom and validated by teacher self-ratings of fidelity and administrator ratings of teacher fidelity. Dependent variables included student engagement during academic lessons, out-of-school suspension rates, and report card grades. Results indicated that high program fidelity was significantly related to greater academic engagement and fewer suspensions, but not higher report card grades. This study adds to the scant literature on implementation fidelity of routine programs with high-risk populations.     

Loss of the world: A philosophical dialogue (1)

Humanity has begun to move from the natural world intothe cyber world. Issues surrounding this mentalmigration are debated in philosophical dialogue. Thelead character is Becket Geist, a romantic philosopherwith views tempered by 20th century science. He openswith a monologue in which he argues that loss of theworld in exchange for the cyber world is dark andinevitable. His chief adversary is Fortran McCyborg,a cyborg with leanings toward Scottish philosophy. The moderating force is Nonette Naturski who championsnaturalism, conservation of humanist ideals, andprudent conclusions. The ensuing dialogue examineseight counter-arguments to Geist's vision. Thearguments and Geist's replies lead to unanticipatedchanges in position that cascade to a chillingclose.     

Expert and preservice secondary teachers’ competencies for noticing student thinking about modelling

Educational Studies in Mathematics - This study examined how expert and novice (preservice) teachers solved mathematical modelling tasks as well as how they noticed written artifacts of student...     

Understanding teachers’ will and capacity to accomplish physical education curriculum reform: the implications for teacher development

Drawing on data generated by a two-year ethnographic study in a high security Spanish prison, this article explores the multiple meanings given to the social practices of sport and physical activity. We provide details of the following key themes that emerged from the analysis: (a) escaping time; (b) perceived therapeutic benefits; (c) social control; (d) gendered dimensions; and (e) performing masculinity. The findings suggest that a diverse and contradictory set of meanings are associated with sport and physical activity within this particular prison culture, and that the performance of specific kinds of masculinity is both a process and product that shapes the construction of experience in powerful ways.     

The relative power output and relative lean body mass of World and Olympic male and female champions with implications for gender equity

Abstract

A uniform measure of the gender-related differential performance of female and male Olympic and World champions is proposed: relative power output applied to the environment. Laws of physics are employed to derive equations for estimating relative power output. In previous controlled laboratory studies, equally trained male and female athletes were shown to have a relative power output not significantly different from relative lean body mass. As to the estimated power output for 32 Olympic and World championship events contested between 1976 and 2004, eight in running, four in speed skating, three in jumping, twelve in swimming and five in rowing: 100% of the 32 event mean percentage differences in power output and 96% of the 411 event percentage differences in power output are within one standard deviation of the appropriate lean body mass percentage difference, consistent with equality of training. For 1952 – 1972, significantly higher percentage differences in power output are estimated in running and swimming compared with 1976 – 2004, consistent with women being less well trained than men during that earlier period. It is noted that efforts in recent years to provide equality of opportunity for female athletes coincide with equalization of estimated relative power output in competition with the relative lean body mass.     

Promoting deep learning in a teacher education programme through self- and peer-assessment and feedback

The incorporation of self- and peer-assessment and feedback has significant potential as a pedagogical strategy to promote deep learning in project based coursework. This study examined the impact of a deeper approach to learning on pre-service teachers’ critical thinking and metacognitive skills. It also examined the impact on student learning outcomes within a project based module with a significant design element. Forty-seven students participated in the pilot of an online peer feedback system. Results suggest that the quality of students’ reflections through peer feedback and overall satisfaction with the module remained high despite students’ citing a preference for instructor feedback. The data also indicate that the incorporation of self- and peer-assessment and feedback resulted in higher quality learning outcomes and enhanced critical thinking skills.     

Examining perceived control level and instability as predictors of first-year college students’ academic achievement

The aim of the present study was to examine the intraindividual level and instability of perceived academic control (PC) among first-year college students, and their predictive effects on academic achievement. Two studies were conducted measuring situational (state) PC on different schedules: Study 1 (N = 242) five times over a 6-month period and Study 2 (N = 80) daily over a 2-week period. Consistent across both studies were confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models demonstrating significant PC instability, as well as negative correlations between intraindividual PC levels (average across measurements) and instability (standard deviation across measurements). Also, in both studies PC level positively predicted subsequent academic achievement, although no significant PC instability first-order effects were found. Both studies revealed a PC level by instability interaction, as students with high-unstable PC typically received poorer grades than high-stable PC students. Study findings highlight the importance of considering both PC level and instability, and identify a previously unknown group of first-year college students at-risk of under-achieving academically – students with high-unstable perceived control.     

Self-report measures of the home learning environment in large scale research: Measurement properties and associations with key developmental outcomes

Favourable home learning environments (HLEs) support children’s literacy, numeracy and social development. In large-scale research, HLE is typically measured by self-report survey, but there is little consistency between studies and many different items and latent constructs are observed. Little is known about the stability of these items and constructs over time when used in either longitudinal research or studies with children with a wide range of ages. A review of the literature shows commonalities and differences between approaches in research on HLE. When we tested the psychometric properties of a short-form measure of HLE with a Rasch item-response-model using longitudinal data from over 1600 Australian families, there was support for two dimensions of HLE—formal and informal learning frequency. We found that this measure was stable over the transitional period from pre-K to school as well as between gender and family language background. There were small but significant associations between the HLE measures and cognitive and behavioural developmental outcomes. We recommend that other measures of HLE could be similarly validated to assess their suitability for use in longitudinal research on learning environments. Recommendations are made for the future development of measures of broader constructs of the HLE.     

Faculty Environments,Psychosocial Dispositions,and the Academic Achievement of College Students

Postsecondary institutions seek to create a pedagogical environment that increases students' knowledge, expands their powers of reasoning, and shapes their psychosocial dispositions. In this study, we examined a conceptual model of academic attainment including two aspects of the pedagogical environment experienced by students, namely the cognitive demands set by professors and the social support provided by both professors and other students. Along with these climate variables, three psychosocial dispositions of students, self-esteem, perceived academic control, and coping strategies, were also included. A sample of 854 undergraduate students in the faculties of Arts and Science from a mid-western Research-1 (Canadian) university was used to estimate the effect parameters in the model. The results suggest that both cognitive demands and social support affected the students 9 perceived academic control and coping strategies. In turn, the pedagogical environment and the psychosocial dispositions affected the students' academic achievement. Implications for establishing and maintaining supportive pedagogical environments and for helping students improve their perceived control and coping strategies are discussed.