From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses

The lack of academic engagement in introductory science courses is considered by some to be a primary reason why students switch out of science majors. This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed methods approach to provide a richer understanding of the relationship between student engagement and introductory science instruction. Quantitative survey data were drawn from 2,873 students within 73 introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses across 15 colleges and universities, and qualitative data were collected from 41 student focus groups at eight of these institutions. The findings indicate that students tended to be more engaged in courses where the instructor consistently signaled an openness to student questions and recognizes her/his role in helping students succeed. Likewise, students who reported feeling comfortable asking questions in class, seeking out tutoring, attending supplemental instruction sessions, and collaborating with other students in the course were also more likely to be engaged. Instructional implications for improving students’ levels of academic engagement are discussed.     

Practicalising theoretical knowledge in student teachers' professional learning in initial teacher education

This paper reports the findings collected from a four year longitudinal study aiming to investigate the professional learning of student-teachers in Bachelor of Education programmes. Four case studies which suggest a typology of ways of practicalising theoretical knowledge with one extreme as the testing out of teaching approaches mainly to find out their practicality in the school context to the other extreme whereby the student-teacher sought to work out a schema or personal theory were identified. Influences from the campus-based and the field-based components of the teacher education programme are drawn. The paper ends with implications for initial teacher education.     

Consecuencias cognitivas de la educación formal e informal

RESUMEN

Muchos trabajos han evidenciado la hipótesis de que las diferencias entre el aprendizaje formal (encarnado por la escuela) y el aprendizaje informal de la vida práctica dan lugar a diferentes sistemas de aprendizaje funcional. En el aprendizaje escolar el lenguaje tiene un papel crucial, pero muchas veces el esquema verbal aprendido no se conecta con sus referentes empíricos. Es un aprendizaje fuera de contexto que cubre una amplia gama de contenidos y cuya tendencia es generalizar las reglas y las operaciones. Las herramientas intelectuales son diferentes de las utilizadas en el aprendizaje de la vida diaria, que suele estar mediatizado por los instrumentos y tiene un carácter observacional. Sería necesario un estudio para ver en qué forma estos dos sistemas de aprendizaje interactúan en el aula. Parece que la base del conocimiento de la escuela está en conflicto con la cultura tradicional del adulto. En este sentido, se señala la necesidad de cambios básicos en la organización social de la educación.     

Counseling and Family Therapy in India: Evolving Professions in a Rapidly Developing Nation

Outpatient counseling is a relatively new concept and form of clinical practice in India. This article provides an overview of the need for and current status of counseling and family therapy in India. Examples of training programs are presented, and future prospects for the counseling and family therapy professions are highlighted. The authors discuss therapeutic issues that clinicians may need to consider when working with Indian clients, as well as some of the potential barriers to counseling individuals, couples, and families in or from the Indian subcontinent. The future of these professions looks bright and parallels India’s rapid development as a nation.     

Teacher commitment trends: Cases of Hong Kong teachers from 1997 to 2007

This article examines the commitment of Hong Kong teachers in the decade after the political transition in 1997, when large-scale education reforms were launched. The life history method was employed to investigate teachers’ self-appraisal of their commitment levels in their career course and factors contributing to such trends. Findings not only affirm the previous view that teacher commitment involves the interplay of personal, workplace and education systemic factors but also illuminate how these factors interplay differently to effect sustained/increased or decreased commitment. ‘Love for students’ is argued to be a crucial personal factor which counteracts unfavorable external conditions to sustain teacher commitment.     

Pre-service teacher education students' epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of teaching

A study using both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted in the final year of a Bachelor of Education programme to examine the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching. The results show that most of the student-teachers (i) strongly believed that learning effort was more important than innate ability, (ii) strongly believed that knowledge changes, and (iii) were inclined to question the authority of knowledge. Although student-teachers who had sophisticated or mixed epistemological beliefs tended to believe in constructivist or mixed conceptions of teaching as predicted, inconsistent cases were identified. Implications for teacher education programmes are discussed.     

The effects of self-efficacy,hope, and engagement on the academic achievement of secondary education in the Dominican Republic

Achievement in the academic settings has long lasting positive outcomes. In this study, hope, self-efficacy, and engagement are linked to academic success. The aims of this study were to test a model which predicts academic success in the Dominican Republic while testing for the mediator role of engagement. The sample was composed of 614 middle-school students. Scales of Dispositional Hope, Academic Self-Efficacy, Academic Self-concept, and Engagement were used. Academic performance was measured with students' grades in Spanish and Mathematics. Three structural equation models were tested. The retained model stated hope and self-efficacy as antecedents, engagement dimensions as mediators and grades and academic self-concept as final outcomes. There were significant effects of hope and self-efficacy on engagement, and behavioral engagement was the best predictor of academic success. These results point out that interventions should target variables, such as hope or engagement to increase academic success.     

Developing and extending the literacy of bilingual pupils through the secondary years

Jean Bleach (a secondary English teacher) and Sylvia Riley (a specialist ESL teacher with in-school experience) together make up the ILEA project team, Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Project (10–14). The Project has an action-research orientation exploring and promoting conditions necessary for bilingual learners to develop English in the whole school context.