Longitudinal trajectories of ethnic identity among urban Black and Latino adolescents

The current study modeled developmental trajectories of ethnic identity exploration and affirmation and belonging from middle to late adolescence (ages 15-18) and examined how these trajectories varied according to ethnicity, gender, immigrant status, and perceived level of discrimination. The sample consisted of 135 urban low-income Black and Latino adolescents (42% male, 34% Black, 66% Latino). Consistent with developmental theory, individual growth modeling identified an average quadratic trajectory of ethnic identity exploration characterized by decelerating levels of exploration after 10th grade. However, ethnicity and perceived discrimination by peers moderated this pattern. No uniform growth pattern in affirmation was found and Black and Latino adolescents displayed equally high levels of affirmation over time.     

The unique contribution of learning approaches to academic performance,after controlling for IQ and personality: Are there gender differences?

The present study investigated the unique contribution of learning approaches to academic performance, also taking gender differences into account. The participant sample consisted of 476 school pupils (53% girls and 47% boys) from two upper secondary schools in Sweden who completed two self-reported measures related to personality and learning approaches and one cognitive ability test. A series of hierarchical regressions were performed with participants' school subject-specific grades as the criterion variable and learning approaches as the predictor variable, after controlling for all variance related to IQ and personality. The results showed that learning approaches accounted for 6% and 16% of the variance in academic performance for girls and boys, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of possible explanations for and implications of the gender differences found.     

Prenatal parental education from the perspective of fathers with experience as primary caregiver immediately following birth: a phenomenographic study

The aim of this phenomenographic study was to capture fathers' conceptions of parental education topics, illuminated by their experiences as primary caregiver of their child immediately following birth. Fifteen fathers were interviewed between 8 days and 6 weeks after the birth of their child. Three categories, five subcategories, and 12 qualitatively different conceptions emerged from the study's findings. The first category showed that parental education emphasizes the importance of normal birth. The second category illustrated that parental education defuses the issue of complicated births. The third category demonstrated that parental education preserves traditional gender roles. The study's results may facilitate efforts to integrate fathers into parental education toward the aim of achieving parity between mother and father in their role as parents.     

Conceptually blindfolded in the optics laboratory. Dilemmas of inductive learning

In modern schooling, student activity and group work are emphasized as important vehicles for learning. Following the perspectives formulated by Piaget and other constructivist thinkers, self-discovery by students of scientific principles is seen as a means for avoiding the pitfalls ascribed to teacher centered lecturing. Teacher explanation in this pedagogical philosophy is often seen as counterproductive to real learning. In the study reported, it is illustrated by means of an example from student group work in a physics laboratory how the understanding of basic principles of optics do not follow from mere observation and physical manipulation of a particular type of educational instrument; the optical bench. It is argued that the optical bench itself is a product of a specific theory of optics and that it embodies principles of understanding the word which are discursive in nature and which are not accessible to learners unless they are provided guidance. In the instance analyzed, students already in some sense had an understanding of the principles illustrated (e.g., that light can only go straight forward, that it cannot go through solid objects, etc.), but they failed to realize the significance of these observations, since they fere not familiar with a theoretical position in which these observations called for an explanation. ‘Seeing’, also in the case of the optics laboratory, relies on the use of cultural tools that provide the observer with relevant contextualizations.     

Validating the proposed structure of the relationships among test anxiety and its predictors based on control-value theory: evidence for gender-specific patterns

Control-value theory (CVT) proposes a framework for the structure of the relationships between the various predictors of achievement-related emotions, particularly anxiety. Despite existing evidence for the role of anxiety predictors, research has not yet justified their proposed structure. Hence, the current study validated the structure of test anxiety (TA) predictors as proposed by CVT. A sample of German adolescent students (N = 845) completed questionnaires that measured their school-related self-efficacy, test-related cognitions (expected grades and their perceived relevance) and the two major facets of TA: worry and emotionality. Multi-group structural equation modelling was used to test for gender differences in the interplay of the variables. Findings supported the assumptions of CVT for girls and boys, in that the proposed structure of relationships among the various predictors of TA was largely equivalent for both genders. However, emotionality was not related to subjective relevance for boys. Implications for further research on predictors of anxiety and its application to the school context are discussed.     

Ressourcen und Anreize im Bildungswesen

Zusammenfassung  ?konomen haben viel Vertrauen in M?rkte und individuelle Entscheidungen. Jeder Staatseingriff bedarf der Begründung. Das gilt auch dann, wenn dies einen für die Wohlfahrt eines Landes so wichtigen Bereich wie die Bildung betrifft. Es muss zun?chst geprüft werden, ob und wo Marktversagen bei individuellen Entscheidungen über Bildungsinvestitionen vorliegt. Weiter bleibt zu diskutieren, wie der Staat geeignete Rahmenbedingungen für ein Bildungssystem setzen kann. Sollen mehr ?ffentliche Mittel in den Bildungssektor flie?en? Oder sind vielmehr im Bildungssystem Anreize zu setzen, damit sich sowohl die Lernenden als auch die Lehrenden intensiver im Bildungsprozess engagieren? Zur Gestaltung von Anreizen gibt es in der bildungs?konomischen Literatur eine Vielzahl von Ansatzpunkten, von denen in diesem Beitrag exemplarisch (und für Deutschland m?glicherweise besonders interessant) die Einführung zentraler Abschlussprüfungen und leistungsabh?ngiger Bezahlung von Lehrkr?ften diskutiert werden.

Flexible goal imitation: Vicarious feedback influences stimulus-response binding by observation

This study investigated whether vicarious feedback influences binding processes between stimuli and observed responses. Two participants worked together in a shared color categorization task, taking the roles of actor and observer in turns. During a prime trial, participants saw a word while observing the other person executing a specific response. Automatic binding of words and observed responses into stimulus-response (S-R) episodes was assessed via word repetition effects in a subsequent probe trial in which either the same (compatible) or a different (incompatible) response had to be executed by the participants in response to the same or a different word. Results showed that vicarious prime feedback (i.e., the feedback that the other participant received for her or his response in the prime) modulated S-R retrieval effects: After positive vicarious prime feedback, typical S–R retrieval effects emerged (i.e., performance benefits for stimulus repetition probes with compatible responses, but performance costs for stimulus repetition probes with incompatible responses emerged). Notably, however, S–R-retrieval effects were reversed after vicarious negative prime feedback (meaning that stimulus repetition in the probe resulted in performance costs if prime and probe responses were compatible, and in performance benefits for incompatible responses). Findings are consistent with a flexible goal imitation account, according to which imitation is based on an interpretative and therefore feedback-sensitive reconstruction of action goals from observed movements. In concert with earlier findings, this data support the conclusion that transient S–R binding and retrieval processes are involved in social learning phenomena.     

Problems in achieving a global perspective of the text in computer-based writing

When writing in a word processor, it is difficult to achieve a global perspective of a long text. For many writers, this creates a conflict with the strategies of on-screen drafting and revision encouraged by the medium. The lack of a global perspective may lead to an insufficient mental representation of the text, and a difficulty in achieving text coherence. This paper reports recent research directed at global aspects of writing, and suggests some distinctions between different types of global view of a document that may be helpful in the design of a computer-based writing system.     

Genetics and Neuroscience in Dyslexia: Perspectives for Education and Remediation

ABSTRACT— Our understanding of the causes of a developmental disorder like dyslexia has received recent input from both neuroscience and genetics. The discovery of 4 candidate genes for dyslexia and the identification of neuronal networks engaged when children read and spell are the basis for introducing this knowledge into education. However, the input from educational practitioners as well as empirical knowledge from research on learning also contribute significantly to our understanding of how children acquire the basic skills for learning to read and spell. It is imperative to merge the knowledge acquired from research in the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and empirical education, as well as to understand how the learning brain and instruction interact. Doing so can be seen as a major step in attaining an optimal approach for teaching, reading, and spelling and for finding the best suited and most effective treatment concepts for dyslexic children and adolescents.     

Social recognition, participation, and the dynamic between the environment and personal factors of students with deafblindness

The study describes environmental and personal factors that, from the student perspective, impede participation in education in secondary upper schools by students with postlingual deafblindness. The discussion is framed by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. The researchers use the theory of social recognition as a theoretical tool in understanding the dynamics between personal factors and environment in the context of secondary upper-school education. Thirty-four students with deafblindness responded to a questionnaire; the survey's findings indicate experiences of barriers in the natural and social environments that restrict participation. Experience of considerateness--such as concern for the special requirements of students with deafblindness--and experience of the lack of considerateness are the most important factors. Negative roles adapted by some students for themselves may be interpreted as resulting from a lack of recognition, in the form of denigration or insults.