Singaporean gifted adolescents under scrutiny: The gender factor

Research on the sex-role problems of gifted adolescents rarely lifts its sight beyond Western developed countries, making generalizations to the Third World suspect. The present study, by exploring the relationship between gender and adjustment among gifted adolescents in Singapore, hopes to extend the consideration of developmental sex-role issues to a society different from the West. Specifically, it reports that Singaporean gifted girls, like some of their Western counterparts, had difficulty in reconciling their giftedness with societal notions of femininity.Conceivably, this conflict placed them on the threshold of stress, leaving them more vulnerable than the gifted boys to adjustment problems. In addition, having internalized the gender stereotypic view that academic excellence was less important to them than to the boys, the gifted girls might inadvertently put ceilings on their own achievements. The paper concludes with several remedies for educators, counsellors, and parents to help gifted girls embark upon their road to self-fulfilment.

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Zusammenfassung Forschungen über die Probleme begabter Jugendlicher bezüglich geschlechtsspezifischer Rollen erfassen selten Zielgruppen außerhalb der entwickelten westlichen Länder. Demnach wird jede Übertragung auf die dritte Welt fragwürdig. Diese Studie beabsichtigt, mit einer Untersuchung über die Beziehungen zwischen Geschlecht und Anpassungsfähigkeit unter begabten Jugendlichen in Singapur, den Kontext der Debatte über entwicklungsbezogene geschlechtsspezifische Rollen auf eine nicht-westliche Gesellschaft zu erweitern. Insbesondere wird berichtet, daß begabte singapurische Mädchen es ebenso wie westliche Mädchen schwierig finden, ihre Begabtheit mit gesellschaftsüblichen Begriffen der Weiblichkeit zu vereinbaren. Es wäre durchaus möglich, daß dieser Konflikt sie bis an die Schwelle des Stresses bringt, so daß sie für Anpassungsprobleme anfälliger als begabte Jungen sind. Indem sie die geschlechtstypische Ansicht verinnerlichen, daß wissenschaftlicher Erfolg für sie weniger bedeutsam ist als für Jungen, könnten die begabten Mädchen ihren eigenen Leistungen unbewußt Grenzen setzen. Der Artikel endet mit verschiedenen Vorschlägen, wie Pädagogen, Berater und Eltern begabter Mädchen dazu beitragen könnten, daß diese Mädchen zu ihrer Selbsterfüllung finden.

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Résumé La recherche sur les problèmes liés au rôle des sexes des adolescents doués porte rarement son regard au-delà des pays industrialisés occidentaux, rendant les généralisations au Tiers Monde suspectes. En étudiant le rapport entre les sexes et l'adaptation chez les adolescents talentueux de Singapour, la présente étude espère étendre l'examen des problèmes de développement liés au rôle des sexes à une société différente de celles du monde occidental. En particulier, elle relate que les filles douées de Singapour, comme certaines de leurs homologues occidentales, ont des difficultés à concilier leur talent avec les notions sociales de fémininité. II est concevable que ce conflit les ait mises sous pression, les rendant ainsi plus vulnérables que les garçons doués aux problèmes d'adaptation. Par ailleurs, ayant assimilé le point de vue stéréotypé des sexes selon lequel l'excellence scolaire est moins importante pour elles que pour les garçons, il se peut que les filles douées fixent, par inadvertance, un plafond à leurs propres performances. Cet article conclut en proposant quelques remèdes aux éducateurs, conseillers et aux parents pour aider les filles capables à s'engager dans la voie qui leur permettra de s'accomplir.

     

Measurement of badminton racket deflection during a stroke

The compliance of a badminton racket is an important design consideration, which can be better understood by studying the deflection behaviour of the racket during a stroke. Deflection can be measured using direct methods, such as motion capture or high speed video, or by indirect methods, which then require a mathematical model in order to calculate the deflections from indirect measures. Indirect methods include strain gauges and accelerometers. Here, racket deflection is measured directly using motion capture and compared with deflections calculated from strain gauge data using a beam model. While the elastic behaviour is better calculated from strains than measured by motion capture, it is not possible to extract the whole motion of the racket from strain data. Motion capture is therefore also necessary to determine the rigid body velocity, in order to put the elastic velocity (as calculated from strains) in perspective.     

Psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey among secondary-school students in Hong Kong

Learning Environments Research - The study examined the factor structure, reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (C-CLES), an instrument for...     

How Fair are Student Ratings in Assessing the Teaching Performance of University Teachers?

This paper examines the effects of course characteristics on student ratings of university teaching. The multivariate effects of various course characteristics on student ratings of university teachers were examined by a 5×4×3×2×2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with academic discipline, class size, level of course, type of course, and mode of study as independent variables and a set of six composite student ratings as the dependent variable. Data were obtained from a university in Hong Kong and consisted of 4996 course average ratings collected from 25 departments over two academic years. Significant differences were found in course average student ratings across academic disciplines, class size groups, course levels, types of course, and modes of study. The effect sizes of the largest differences between sub‐groups within each of the factors were also estimated. Academic discipline differences and class size were found to have the largest effect on student ratings, with effect sizes of 0.43–0.86 and 0.55–1.01 respectively. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Lecturers' approaches to teaching and their relationship to conceptions of good teaching

Previous research has established a close link between students'conceptions of learning, approaches to study and learning outcomes.Until recently, there have been few studies of lecturers' approaches toteaching in higher education and their relationship with conceptions ofteaching. This study aimed to characterise the alternative approaches toteaching of university lecturers, and to examine the relationshipbetween lecturers' approaches to teaching and their conceptions of goodteaching. This study adopted an open naturalistic approach. Seventeenlecturers in three departments in a university were selected forinterview based on their rank, years of teaching and industrial orprofessional experience. Lecturers were interviewed individually abouttheir conceptions of good teaching, motivational strategies andeffective teaching. The interview records were then content analysed bythe two researchers of the study. The study found that (a) it waspossible to characterise lecturers' approaches to teaching with onemotivation and five strategy dimensions; (b) the conceptions of teachingof the lecturers were best described by two main orientations oftransmissive and facilitative teaching; (c) lecturers who conceivedteaching as transmitting knowledge were more likely to usecontent-centred approaches to teaching, while those who conceivedteaching as facilitative tended to use learning-centred approaches. Thestudy concludes by suggesting that fundamental changes to the quality ofteaching and learning are unlikely to happen without changes tolecturers' conception of teaching.     

Examining the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relation between responsibilities and career aspiration of vice-principals

This article reports a study designed to examine the mediating effect of vice-principals’ job satisfaction on the relation between their responsibility roles and career aspirations. Based on a Hong Kong data set, the study confirmed that responsibilities had both a direct effect and an indirect effect on career aspiration; the latter was mediated by job satisfaction. When specific responsibility dimensions were being considered, the two dimensions of leader and teacher growth and development, and teaching, learning, and curriculum were found to have an effect on job satisfaction, which in turn, influenced career aspiration. The dimension of Resource Management did not link to job satisfaction, it was however a predictor for career aspiration. Implications of the findings were discussed.     

Are we looking through the same lens? Principal recruitment and selection

This article reports a study designed to identify the factors that both hiring bodies and applicants believe are most important when making decisions about principal selection, appointment and acceptance. Based on a quantitative study involving the four main groups of players in the principal selection process, we confirmed a four-factor structure. In order of importance the four factors were, Generic Managerial Skills, Communication and Presentation Skills, Experience and Credence, and Religious Affiliation and External Connection. The fourth factor is rarely mentioned in the literature. The findings indicate a shift in the role expectation of principals from educational leaders to administrative managers. Findings also challenge the use of interviews as the sole principal selection mechanism.     

Batting last as a home advantage factor in men's NCAA tournament baseball

In baseball and softball, there is a rule that allows the home team to have the last at-bat and thus the final opportunity to win the game. However, in tournament play, this rule is often set aside and, instead, batting order is decided by other means (e.g. tournament rules, the flip of a coin). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the batting last rule on game outcome in NCAA men's regional tournament baseball. It was hypothesized that host (i.e. home) teams would win a greater percentage of the games in which they batted last compared with when they batted first. This hypothesis was not supported. Closer examination of the last inning of play showed home teams were no more likely to have won the game during their last bat than visitors playing other visitors. The results suggest that the batting last rule contributes minimally, if at all, to home advantage in NCAA tournament baseball.     

Research at home: Being creative in running an undergraduate final research project in Food Science amidst the COVID‐19 crisis

The pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) in early 2020 has led to tremendous disruptions in education systems worldwide, including the closure of majority of education institutions and the shifting from face‐to‐face learning toward remote learning. More than 70% of the world's student population were affected by such a disruptive event, inclusive of undergraduate students in their final year preparing their research project. Senior students in Food Science generally perform laboratory‐oriented research project, which can be problematic due to the closure of laboratories and universities. I wrote this article to give an insight into conducting final year research projects from home amidst the COVID‐19 crisis based on my personal experience as a research supervisor. The research methods discussed include literature review, analysis of secondary data, survey research, simple food processing, remote sensory evaluation, and glycemic index analysis. Regardless of the type of research chosen, consistent guidance and support from a research supervisor toward the student, both academic and moral, appears to be a fundamental factor determining the success of the student in completing his/her final research project, particularly during these difficult times.