Why teachers cooperate: an expectancy-value model of teacher cooperation

European Journal of Psychology of Education - While cooperation among teachers is considered an important indicator of school quality, the empirical evidence on the efficacy of teacher cooperation...     

Potenziale schulstatistischer Individualdaten für die Bildungsforschung und Bildungspolitik – Das Beispiel Bremen

Education policy and educational practitioners have increased their demand for evidence-based knowledge. In 2003, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) decided to establish a core dataset for individual-level administrative school statistics, the ?Kerndatensatz für schulstatistische Individualdaten“, to close the gaps in education statistics and to support evidence-based policy. In the federal state of Bremen, individual-level student data has been collected since 1997/98. These data are of great value for educational planning and policy, educational reporting, as well as educational research, as the analysis of individual educational trajectories depends on the availability of individual-level longitudinal data. Using the Bremen data, this paper demonstrates that highly relevant issues regarding the education system can indeed be analyzed with individual-level student data. Examples include: the effects of age at school entry, educational trajectories and graduation certificates. The results show that demographic information and critical events during early years of education are good predictors for educational success. These findings highlight the potential for student-level data in establishing education policy.     

Developmental changes in item and source memory: evidence from an ERP recognition memory study with children, adolescents, and adults

Event-related potential (ERP) correlates of item and source memory were assessed in 18 children (7-8 years), 20 adolescents (13-14 years), and 20 adults (20-29 years) performing a continuous recognition memory task with object and nonobject stimuli. Memory performance increased with age and was particularly low for source memory in children. The ERP difference between first presentations of objects and nonobjects, reflecting generic novelty processing, showed only small developmental changes. Regarding item memory, adults showed the putative ERP correlates of familiarity and recollection, whereas ERP effects in children and adolescents suggested a strong reliance on recollection. ERP correlates of source memory refined with age, suggesting maturation of strategic recollection between childhood and adolescence and the development of postretrieval control until adulthood.     

The OECD PISA Study as a Soft Power in Education? Lessons from Switzerland and the US

Although originally created for economic purposes, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has increasingly gained weight in education policy in recent years and is now regarded as an international authority in the field, particularly through its ‘Programme for International Student Assessment’ (PISA), which was highly esteemed in many countries and enabled diverse domestic education reforms. OECD derived a variety of policy recommendations from the PISA results. However, which of these were implemented at the national level and how OECD was able to achieve an impact on its member states have not yet been analysed in sufficient depth. To answer these questions, we analyse which OECD recommendations were reflected in Switzerland and the US. As their reception differs across countries, we assess under which conditions policy convergence towards the OECD ‘model’ took place. Then we elaborate on the governance mechanisms that caused policy convergence. We show that in Switzerland PISA's platform for transnational communication enabled policy learning at the expert level, thus leading to a rather high degree of policy convergence. This was not the case in the US, where PISA was regarded only as one of many studies assessing the performance of education systems.     

Swelling damage in clay-rich sandstones used in the church of San Mateo in Tarifa (Spain)

This study shows that the sandstone used in the construction of the Church of San Mateo in Tarifa (Cádiz, Spain) is highly sensitive to processes of decay because of a combination of factors that are intrinsic and extrinsic to the material. The mineralogy, texture and porous system of the sandstone and the proximity of the church to the sea all play a part in these processes. X-ray diffraction reveals that there are interstratified chlorite/smectite clays among the minerals that make up the rock. These mixed layer clays have been shown to undergo hydric expansion. This phenomenon may be accompanied and augmented by the presence of NaCl which acts as an electrolyte in osmotic swelling processes. Two varieties of sandstone were used in the construction of the church, namely grey sandstone and brown sandstone. The latter is more porous and undergoes greater hydric expansion, showing a higher degree of deterioration. Ultrasound analysis has demonstrated that both varieties are anisotropic because they contain bedding planes and are affected by the preferred orientation of the phyllosilicates in the rock. The anisotropic nature of these stones was confirmed by capillary suction tests. The capillary front reaches a relatively low height which means that when water is absorbed, the anisotropic textural properties combined with the presence of chlorite–smectite mixed layers in the sandstone result in mechanical (shear) stress between the first few centimetres of the wet stone and the dry area behind. The latter effect favours the development of flakes, so causing the decay of the ornamental stone and the church façade.     

Educational usage of Facebook and academic achievement in distance university students: Mediated by basic needs satisfaction

Education and Information Technologies - Facebook has been widely used among students, not only for socializing, but also for educational purposes. However, it is much less clear whether...     

K-12 teachers’ perceptions of and their satisfaction with interaction type in blended learning environments

Blended learning is an effective approach to instruction that combines features of face-to-face learning and computer-mediated learning. This study investigated the relationship between student perceptions of three types of interaction and blended learning course satisfaction. The participants included K-12 teachers enrolled in a graduate-level course. Results indicate that students (a) perceived interaction as important to their learning experiences and (b) were moderately satisfied in their blended learning course. The predictive model of student satisfaction including three types of interaction was reliable. Of the three types of interaction, learner–content interaction was the strongest predictor of student satisfaction when the course design involved a low amount of collaborative activities. Additionally, student personality was found to be a vital factor for interaction and satisfaction in this type of course design. Students who reported having an extroverted personality noted more interaction and a higher level of student satisfaction than those who self-reported as introverted.     

Does Self-image Matter? Client’s Self-image, Behaviour and Evaluation of a Career Counselling Session: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study addresses differences in self-image as a client characteristic in career counselling by using the Structural Analysis of Social Behaviour (Benjamin, L., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(6), 1203–1212, 1996; Benjamin, L., Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(2), 248–266, 1996) and an adaptation (Andersson, W.P, and Niles, S.P., The Career Development Quarterly, 48(3), 251–263, 2000) of the Therapist Intention List (Hill C. E and O’Grady K. E., Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32(1), 3–22, 1985; Hill et al., Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35(3), 222–233, 1988). Expected and experienced behaviour of self and other, recalled helpful and non-helpful events during sessions, and evaluation of sessions were compared between two clients with identified positive self-image and two clients with identified negative self-image. The results indicated that the clients with a positive self-image compared to clients with a negative self-image expected more positive behaviours and experienced more positive in-session behaviours from both themselves and from the counsellor; they recalled more positive and fewer negative events in-session and they evaluated their session more positively. Implications for career counselling are discussed.     

Strengths and Weaknesses of Non-enhanced and Contrast-enhanced Cadaver Computed Tomography Scans in the Teaching of Gross Anatomy in an Integrated Curriculum

Cadaver-specific postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) has become an integral part in anatomy teaching at several universities. Recently, the feasibility of contrast-enhanced (CE)-PMCT has been demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to identify particular strengths and weaknesses of both non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced PMCT compared to conventional cadaver dissection. First, the students’ perception of the learning effectiveness of the three different modalities have been assessed using a 34-item survey (five-point Likert scale) covering all anatomy course modules. Results were compared using the nonparametric Friedman Test. Second, the most frequent artifacts in cadaver CT scans, were systematically analyzed in 122 PMCT and 31 CE-PMCT data sets to quantify method-related limitations and characteristics. Perfusion quality was assessed in 57 vascular segments (38 arterial and 19 venous). The survey was answered by n = 257/320 (80.3%) students. Increased learning benefits of PMCT/ CE-PMCT compared to cadaver dissection were found in osteology (2/3 categories, P < 0.001), head and neck (2/5 categories, P < 0.01), and brain anatomy (3/3 categories, P < 0.01). Contrast-enhanced-PMCT was perceived particularly useful in learning vascular anatomy (10/10 categories, P < 0.01). Cadaver dissection received significantly higher scores compared to PMCT and CE-PMCT in all categories of the abdomen and thorax (7/7 categories, P < 0.001), as well as the majority of muscular anatomy (5/6 categories, P < 0.001). Frequent postmortem artifacts (total n = 28, native-phase n = 21, contrast injection-related n = 7) were identified and assessed. The results of this work contribute to the understanding of the value of integrating cadaver-specific PMCT in anatomy teaching.