Supporting Kindergarten Teachers’ Mathematics Instruction and Student Achievement Through a Curriculum-Based Professional Development Program

This study investigates the impacts of a year-long professional development program on Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices and the association of these changes with student achievement in mathematics measured by curriculum-based instruments. Although teacher content knowledge was not statistically significantly different before and after participation in the program, changes in teachers’ beliefs and practices were both noticed: a trend towards discovery/connectionist orientation and student-centered practices. Teachers’ gain scores on a measure of mathematics content knowledge was positively related to the linear growth rate of student achievement.     

Confident in a Kiss?

This article describes an interactive activity for illustrating general properties of confidence intervals and the construction of confidence intervals for proportions. In completing this activity, students generate, collect and analyse data.     

Black-white discrimination and orienting behavior in the desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)

Six desert iguanas (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) were trained on a black-white discrimination problem using a modified Lashley maze I. The results, in terms of number of trials to criterion, compared favorably to those reported for turtles on the same brightness difference. Efficiency of learning was attributed to (1) the angle separating the discriminanda, (2) intertrial substrate temperature, and (3) visual attentional characteristics of the apparatus. In addition, orienting responses (VTE) varied in expected directions according to speed of learning and difficulty of maze choice points.     

Mature students in higher education: Academic performance and intellectual ability

Mature students are sometimes said to be deficient in the basic skills needed for effective studying in higher education or to be impaired by age-related intellectual deficits. However, the research literature on the academic performance of mature students contains no good evidence that mature students perform any less well than younger students on courses of study in higher education. Moreover, the idea that normal ageing impairs the capacity for learning in higher education is most questionable: even the oldest mature students can obtain good results when assessed by means of both examinations and coursework.     

Organizational Identification: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Students’ Relationship with Their University

Organizational identification (OID) is the outcome of social construction processes in which individuals define themselves in terms of their organizational membership. Students’ identification with their university reflects value congruence with the institution and is reflected in communication. Drawing on social identity theory (SIT) and utilizing quantitative and qualitative data from students (n = 555), we found relationships between OID and construed external image of the university, trust in the university, satisfaction with the university, perceived interorganizational competition, and outcomes, including intended future involvement. Students were re-surveyed nine months later (n = 397, with 83 respondents matching Time 1 and Time 2) to assess their OID stability. Open-ended responses describe situations and events that strengthen/lessen OID. We offer implications for OID, SIT, and for organizational communication research and practice.     

Counseling and advisory service for adult learners: An Open University perspective

The nature of counselling and advisory services which the Open University offers its students and applicants is dictated by the fact that its students are learning at a distance, are adults, and are not engaged in full-time study. In addition, a policy of open entry means that while some students come from a background of higher education, others have few or no previous qualifications. These factors require the University to try to provide an individual service to its applicants and students whenever possible. In pursuit of this aim students are allocated to Tutor-Counsellors, part-time staff who are locally based and who have a continuing responsibility for the progress of individual students from their initial registration until graduation. These Tutor-Counsellors play a considerable part in determining the extent, nature, and timing of the resources with which the university can support an individual student. Tuition for higher level specialist courses is normally provided by tutors at a greater distance, with the Tutor-Counsellors continuing to provide local generalist support. The Open University has set up a regional infra-structure of full-time academic and administrative staff for the support, briefing, supervision, and organization of this local network of part-time staff.     

The needs of students with intersex variations

To date, people with intersex variations have been mainly studied via small-scale clinical research, with only a small amount of reflective commentary contributed by sociocultural scholars. This paper reports on findings from a 2015 online Australian survey of 272 people with intersex variations, which aimed to redress the gap in research on this groups’ experiences and perspectives concerning education. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 87 years, and represented all Australian states and territories. Most had experienced two medical treatment interventions related to their intersex variation: commonly reported interventions included hormonal treatment and genital surgery delivered to participants when they were aged under 18 years of age. Participants reported various physical and psychological impacts from these treatments. Well-being risks were high; most of the group had engaged in suicidal ideation, particularly when individuals first found out about their variation. This impacted on their schooling – almost one-fifth of survey respondents had received no high school certification due to their early dropout and the overwhelming majority did not attend schools with inclusive puberty/sex education provision or counselling. Most survey participants had not disclosed their intersex variation to staff, although more than half had done so to their classmates. Many had experienced bullying. Only one-quarter of participants rated their overall education experiences positively. Participants suggested improvements to schools’ information provision and support features.     

School experiences of transgender and gender diverse students in Australia

Over the last decade, there has been an increase in global and local policy protections on the basis of gender identity and expression in education and a recent spate of coverage of transgender students on Australian television and news media. This paper explores the school experiences of Australian transgender and gender diverse students', with particular consideration of recognition of their gender identity in documentation, experiences of puberty and sexuality education, treatment by staff and students, and other forms of provision. It reports on the findings of a 2013 study which combined a survey of 189 transgender and gender diverse Australian students aged 14–25 years, with 16 online interviews with members of this group. The study was informed by a community advisory group which included a range of transgender, gender diverse and intersex people. Findings include both quantitative and qualitative data, detailing a trend towards more disruptive, fluid and inconsistent identifications by members of this student group, and a diversification of their needs at school. Student advocacy on topics including sexuality and puberty education was shown to be common and also useful in improving individual well-being and social outcomes. We offer some reflections towards more useful school practices and future research.     

Approaches to Studying in Higher Education: a comparative study in the South Pacific

A short version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI), commended as a ‘quick and easy’ means of assessing student learning, was administered to two groups of students at the University of the South Pacific. Measures of its internal consistency and test‐retest reliability were comparable with those obtained in European research, but were not wholly satisfactory. Moreover, its factor structure was found to be qualitatively different in this context and constituted by different forms of motivation for studying in higher education. It is concluded that approaches to studying are culture‐specific and, in particular, that one should be cautious about using this version of the ASI in systems of higher education in non‐Western countries.