Perceptions of Educational Studies

This paper is based on a recently completed three‐year research project undertaken with staff and students at one department of education studies in a university in England. We explored the reasons given by students for enrolling in a degree‐level programme in Educational Studies, reviewed their experiences and perceptions during their studies and made comments about career destinations. Only some of the findings that emerged from the project are reported here. Through a process of data collection undertaken in depth at one institution, and analysis in the context of literature and publicly available reports about similar work in other institutions, we illuminate some issues concerning the nature of degree programmes in Educational Studies.     

The Development of Early Education Programmes in Chile:lessons for the future

The importance of early childhood education has been recognised for a large number of years in Chile. This paper offers an overview of the history of the Chilean Education System and shows how many early childhood programmes have been developed since the first Froebel kindergarten was introduced in the early 1900s. Although many children under the age of six years are involved in municipal education programmes, other programmes offer support for families in need. Of particular interest is the ‘Sala Cuna’ or ‘crib room’ designed for the youngest children (those under two), the law in Chile requiring employers to make provide for the children of working mothers. The paper closes with a discussion of the training of those involved in early childhood education.     

Sibling Delinquency and the Family Environment: Shared and Unshared Influences

Few family studies of delinquency have focused on siblings. We use a sibling research design to evaluate shared (i.e., family) and unshared environmental influences on delinquency. The 15-22-year-old adolescent siblings were nationally representative, and uniquely, in families of 2 to 4 siblings. No unshared family environmental influences were found for sisters and for mixed-sex siblings, but they may exist for brothers. The data suggested substantial shared environmental and/or shared genetic influences for siblings: the median sibling correlations, averaged over family sizes, were: brothers, r = .30; sisters, r = .28, and mixed sex, r = .21.     

Evaluation of virtual microscopy in medical histology teaching

Histology stands as a major discipline in the life science curricula, and the practice of teaching it is based on theoretical didactic strategies along with practical training. Traditionally, students achieve practical competence in this subject by learning optical microscopy. Today, students can use newer information and communication technologies in the study of digital microscopic images. A virtual microscopy program was recently introduced at Ghent University. Since little empirical evidence is available concerning the impact of virtual microscopy (VM) versus optical microscopy (OM) on the acquisition of histology knowledge, this study was set up in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. A pretest‐post test and cross‐over design was adopted. In the first phase, the experiment yielded two groups in a total population of 199 students, Group 1 performing the practical sessions with OM versus Group 2 performing the same sessions with VM. In the second phase, the research subjects switched conditions. The prior knowledge level of all research subjects was assessed with a pretest. Knowledge acquisition was measured with a post test after each phase (T1 and T2). Analysis of covariance was carried out to study the differential gain in knowledge at T1 and T2, considering the possible differences in prior knowledge at the start of the study. The results pointed to non‐significant differences at T1 and at T2. This supports the assumption that the acquisition of the histology knowledge is independent of the microscopy representation mode (VM versus OM) of the learning material. The conclusion that VM is equivalent to OM offers new directions in view of ongoing innovations in medical education technology. Anat Sci Educ 6: 307–315. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Teachers’ professional knowledge construction in Assessment for Learning

This article attempts to unpack the complexity of teachers’ professional knowledge construction in Assessment for Learning (hereafter, AfL). It presents a qualitative study of a school‐based AfL Project which took place in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Thirty lessons video‐recorded in the AfL Project and nine teacher interviews conducted after the Project were analyzed. The findings enrich our understanding of professional knowledge construction in four aspects: (1) personal nature of teachers’ practical knowledge construction in contrived situations; (2) confined integration of AfL into pedagogical content knowledge in terms of ‘skill progression that accompanies experience’; (3) more sophisticated integration of AfL into pedagogical content knowledge as ‘practicalizing theoretical knowledge’; and (4) reflection, conscious deliberation, and ‘theorizing practical knowledge’ associated with more sophisticated professional knowledge integration. Implications for enhancing teachers’ professional learning are discussed.