Relationships between reading comprehension and its components in young Chinese-as-a-second-language learners

Based on the Simple View of Reading model, this study examines the relationships among Chinese reading comprehension and its two componential processes, Chinese character reading and listening comprehension, in young learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) using a longitudinal design. Using relevant measures, a sample of 142 senior primary ethnic minority students in Hong Kong was assessed twice a year. The results of regression analyses showed that character reading and listening comprehension could together account for a significant portion of the variance in reading comprehension at grades 4 and 5 both concurrently and predictively. Subsequently, a trivariate, cross-lagged path model was specified to evaluate the relationships among these variables after controlling for their autoregressive effects. The study identifies statistically significant and unique contributions of character reading and listening comprehension to reading comprehension; further, it finds reciprocal relationships between reading comprehension and its componential processes. Moreover, the two componential processes themselves are significantly related across grades 4 and 5. Apart from supporting the predictive influence of character reading and listening comprehension on reading comprehension, the findings of this study reveal how Chinese language comprehension and literacy development are interrelated in young CSL learners.     

Patterns of participation in year 9 academic testing and factors predicting absence on the day of test

Policies aiming to improve educational outcomes are typically based on academic testing data. However, such data only reflect the performance of students who completed the tests. It is possible that students who were absent have shared characteristics. The proportion of students absent out of all eligible school students and whether they have shared characteristics has not been investigated, as this is only possible through the use of linked administrative data. Participants were born in Western Australia in 1994 and 1995, and their birth records were linked to participation status in the Year 9 academic tests to determine the proportion of students who were absent. Logistic regression was conducted to investigate characteristics which predicted absence on test day. A proportion of non-Aboriginal (3.2 %) and Aboriginal students (21.9 %) were absent on test day. Risk factors which predicted the absence included contact with Child Protection and Family Services, history of maternal mental health problems, and fathers aged below 20 years at the time of their child’s birth. A significant proportion of students was absent and therefore not represented in academic achievement information. These students were more likely to have experienced adverse events and therefore are not randomly absent. As these data are typically used to inform policies which aim to improve educational outcomes, they may lack the necessary information to adequately address the complex needs of students who are absent on test day. However, findings suggest that service providers, as well as schools may play an important role in encouraging participation in school.     

Application of a transversal laguerre network in adaptive equalization

Synchronous data transmission systems that transmit information over dispersive channels often employ adaptive equalization techniques in the processing of the received signals. Most equalizers presently used in communication systems are of the tapped delay line (TDL) type. In this paper, we propose a class of adaptive equalizers of which the TDL equalizer is a member. Another interesting member of this class is the Laguerre adaptive equalizer which is to be introduced in this paper. The configuration of the Laguerre equalizer is developed. It is found, as shown by the examples, that the Laguerre equalizer is more accurate, and is less sensitive to timing error than the conventional TDL equalizer.     

Research engagement and educational decentralisation: problematising primary school English teachers’ research experiences in China

Teachers are encouraged to enhance professional competence through reflective practice and they are also asked to undertake research to generate evidence for their professional practices. This paper reports on an inquiry into a group of primary school English language teachers’ research engagement in the province of Guangdong on the Chinese mainland. The inquiry explored the effect of educational reforms on the participants’ research engagement through the use of an open‐ended questionnaire and group interviews. The inquiry revealed that research engagement had become an important part of the teachers’ professional lives. Emerging findings from the inquiry also problematised their research engagement as it was found to have been undermined by a competitive promotion mechanism, the teachers’ conceptualisations of research and challenges in the knowledge dissemination process. The paper ends with reflections on how to make teacher research “educational” for teachers and serve as an effective way for professional development.     

仁者“力行”:教学悖论与教师自由实践

教学悖论指教师教育教学过程中存在的必须解决却永难得到答案的一系列困惑与矛盾,如语言暴力与无言之教的悖论、规训与自我创造的悖论、理想之境的描绘与苦难之境的揭示之间的悖论、功利追求与精神修养的悖论等等。教学悖论对教师的自由实践造成了重大影响。教师自由实践的本质和精髓在"力行",教师权力的真正体现也在"力行"。教师的自由实践是一种精神实践,也是一种科学的政治实践。教师自由实践的最高境界表现为教师能进行原创性教学,即教师创造课堂、教师创造学生。而这一切自由实践的根本则在教师能够自我创造。     

汉字文化的真人秀——解读《汉字英雄》、《中国汉字听写大会》

一些电视文化节目一味追求高端大气严肃,但因不接地气,远离市场,很多节目不得不黯然退场.《汉字英雄》、《中国汉字听写大会》强调文化的大众性,将文化内容和娱乐形式有机结合起来,开拓了文化节目的一片新天地.     

Development of an instrument for assessing senior high school students’ preferred and perceived laboratory classroom environment

This study aimed to develop an instrument, named the inquiry-based laboratory classroom environment instrument (ILEI), for assessing senior high-school science students’ preferred and perceived laboratory environment. A total of 262 second-year students, from a senior-high school in Taiwan, were recruited for this study. Four stages were included in the development of the ILEI: (1) item formulation, (2) content validation, (3) construct validation and (4) reliability calculation. The study revealed that the ILEI was valid and reliable. Most students showed a preference for a student-directed and teacher-guided hybrid learning environment. The development of the ILEI is likely to help researchers and teachers to more effectively understand student views of the laboratory classroom environment. Our profound hope is to utilise ILEI to improve teachers’ assessment and students’ learning in inquiry-based laboratory classroom environments.     

Beginning teachers’ conceptions of competency: implications to educational policy and teacher education in Malaysia

When any innovations or measurement procedures are introduced into the education system to improve or judge the quality of its teaching force, beginning teachers often have to adapt to these new concepts of what constitute a high quality teaching. This article contends that these new concepts neither necessarily match beginning teachers’ own conceptions about their own competency nor has it given beginning teachers a chance to be heard. This study provides an opportunity for beginning teachers’ ‘voices’ to be heard through phenomenography which is an interpretive research approach to discover what beginning teachers in Malaysia conceive and understand as competence in relation to what they do every day as teachers. The main finding of this study is the key role played by beginning teachers’ conceptions of competency which has provided strong implications for educational policies and teacher education. The findings suggest that teachers need to be represented in any quality improvement measures. Careful attention should also be paid to the school systems and to teacher training programmes to support and encourage teachers in their professional growth as competent teachers.     

城与乡的关系史:新型城镇化思考

从古代的城乡一体,到近代的城乡分离,直至当代的城乡割裂,中国城市的起源和进化以及城乡关系发展史,是中国未来城镇化发展的背景和前车之鉴。中国城市化的本质是关于一个植根于超过五千年农业文明的乡村社会,在经过20世纪50~70年代的高度集体化后,如何在政府主导的市场改革下迈向城市化的进程。中国未来城镇化需要跳出以工业化推动城市化的传统西方思维,从历史的视角重新审视中国城市及传统乡村社会的内涵,探索如何在新一轮城镇化进程中构建互动共融的城乡关系。