University Choice: What Influences the Decisions of Academically Successful Post‐16 Students?

The questionnaire survey reported in this paper is part of an ongoing evaluation of the effect of a bursary scheme on recruitment to Cambridge University. It sought to identify factors that encouraged or discouraged highly successful A Level students from applying to Cambridge. Findings reveal three main dimensions associated with the decision to apply to Cambridge, the nature of the courses, the prestige of the university and anxiety about the application process combined with fear of failure. Further analyses showed that there were complex interactions between these three dimensions which governed the decision to apply to Cambridge. These findings are relevant to other prestigious universities. The availability of a bursary did appear to influence the decisions of those who were eligible, but its influence was not as great as some of the other factors.     

Letting girls speak out about science

The purpose of this study was to try to determine what influences girls to choose science. Forty girls were interviewed in Grades 2, 5, 8, 11 using a semistructured protocol. The interview focused on feelings about science, science careers, peer and parental support, and how science is taught. To determine whether their responses were based on gender, each girl was asked to respond to questions as if she were a boy. The girls were highly self-confident and positive about science. All of the girls took a strong equity position and asserted that women can and should do science. The girls liked learning science in an interactive social context rather than participating in activities that isolated them such as independent reading, writing, or note taking. Those who chose science careers were drawn to them because of strong affective experiences with a loved one and a desire to help. The interviews were analyzed through the framework of women's affective and psychological needs.     

The “How” and “What” of learning physics

Recent research on student learning in higher education has increasingly focussed on experiential aspects of how students approach their studies and what they learn from their studies. In this paper we describe the results of a study using phenomenographic research techniques, which focusses on student learning in a first year university physics course. The study, using interviews with sixteen volunteer students from the course, shows that only those students who actively sought to change their conceptions of the subject matter did so, while those who sought only to reproduce that subject matter did not.     

SKWL DAS: Emerging literacy in children

“There Mommy.” A little girl turns to her mother from the kitchen blackboard on which she has written SKWL DAS. “That's to help you remember the name of the song my class will be dancing to in the recital.” The mother observes the proud look upon her kindergartner's face and looks at SKWL DAS on the board. Quickly, the mother says, “Thank you for writing the name of the song. Now I will remember it. Can you read what you wrote, too?” “Of course,” retorts the girl. “It says SCHOOL DAYS.”     

Four-year follow-up study of language impaired children

Children identified as normal or as specifically language impaired (SLI) were given speech, language, and intelligence testing on a longitudinal basis. Fourteen normal and 29 SLI children between the ages of 4 1/2 and 8 years were tested at Time 1. They were retested three to four years later when they were 8 to 12 years old. The results indicated that both the normal and the SLI children continued to develop skills in receptive and expressive language and speech articulation across the 3- to 4-year period intervening between evaluations. Overall, however, the SLI children appeared to develop language skills at a slower than normal rate and 80% of them remained language impaired at Time 2. In addition, the majority of the SLI children manifested reading impairment at Time 2, while none of the normal children did so. The implications for the educational management of SLI children are discussed. Research supported by the March of Dimes, Grant #12-84. Presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of The Orton Dyslexia Society, Baltimore, Maryland, November 1982.     

Employment procedures and practices challenge teacher assistants in mainstream schools

Reliance on teacher assistants (TAs) in mainstream schools to support students with disability and learning difficulties is an increasing trend in Australia. In 2011, over 80,000 TAs were employed costing approximately $3billion per annum [DEEWR. 2012. Job Outlook. Accessed June 2013. http://joboutlook.gov.au/default.aspx]. This paper reports on the employment procedures and practices that affect TAs working in four mainstream schools in Australia. Using data gathered from a qualitative case study conducted over three years, the study found that TAs and teachers have minimal understanding of the TA role. In addition, TAs have limited understanding of employer expectations, education department system policies, the TA career structure and school policies. Existing procedures and practices, both at the education department system level and at the individual school level, exclude TAs from accessing information afforded to other school staff. As a result, TAs work alone and often fail to provide effective support to both students and teachers. It is recommended that school leaders improve employment conditions for TAs at both system and school levels to ensure that students and teachers receive maximum benefit from employing TAs.