Relationship of sex,achievement, and science self-concept to the science career preferences of black students

Science career preferences of junior high school-aged students, while not stable predictors of ultimate career choice, do serve to direct and maintain individuals along the paths to careers in science. In this study, factors relevant to science career preferences of black eighth grade students were investigated. This issue is of particular import to blacks since they are severely underrepresented in the scientific fields. The sample consisted of 113 males and 148 females in an inner city junior high school. The Science Career Preference Scale, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Self-Concept of Ability Scale (Form B-Science) were administered. Mathematics and science grades were obtained from class rating sheets. Treatment of the data involved multiple regression analysis according to a hierarchical model. Results showed that of all the independent variables, sex was the strongest predictor of science career preferences, accounting for 25% of the criterion variance. The findings suggest that early adolescent science career preferences are related more to interests that are consonant with sex-role considerations than realistic assessment of mathematics or science achievement.     

Reading comprehension interventions for middle school students with learning disabilities: a synthesis of 30 years of research

The authors conducted a synthesis of studies of reading comprehension interventions for middle school students (Grades 6-8) identified with a learning disability. They identified 12 studies between 1979 and 2009 with treatment and comparison designs and 2 single-participant studies. Findings from the studies indicate large effect sizes for researcher-developed comprehension measures. Few studies (n = 4) reported standardized measures of reading comprehension, which indicated medium effect sizes. The majority of study treatments (n = 13) utilized strategy instruction related to main idea or summarization.     

Pedagogical content knowledge as reflected in teacher–student interactions: Analysis of two video cases

Despite the theorized centrality of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching, we have little evidence of the relationship between PCK and students' learning and know relatively little about how to help teachers to develop PCK. This study is a preliminary attempt to address these gaps in our knowledge of PCK through exploration of two German physics teachers' classroom instruction in consecutive lessons on optics. We show how video analysis can be used to gather evidence for one aspect of teachers' PCK: their use of content knowledge in interactions with students. We identify three potentially important characteristics of this aspect of PCK: flexibility, richness, and learner‐centeredness. By contrasting teachers with high and low gains in student knowledge and interest, we explore potential mechanisms by which this aspect of PCK might affect student outcomes. Because German teacher preparation programs emphasize content more than pedagogical knowledge, these cases contribute to our understanding of the support that teachers with strong content knowledge may need in translating this knowledge into a form useful for teaching.Fachdidaktisches Wissen ist aus theoretischer Sicht besonders zentral für das Unterrichten. Aus empirischer Sicht gibt es bislang allerdings noch wenig Evidenz für den Einsatz fachdidaktischen Wissens während des Unterrichtens und seine Bedeutung für das Lernen von Schülerinnen und Schülern. Außerdem wissen wir wenig darüber, wie Lehrpersonen über die Zeit fachdidaktisches Wissen entwickeln. Diese Studie ist ein Versuch, diese Wissenslücken zum fachdidaktischen Wissen von Lehrpersonen zu bearbeiten. Dabei wird exemplarisch der Unterricht von zwei deutschen Physiklehrern in aufeinanderfolgenden Stunden zum Thema Optik untersucht. Die Studie zeigt wie Videoanalysen genutzt werden können, um Belege für einen Aspekt des fachdidaktischen Wissens der Lehrpersonen zu sammeln: Ihre Nutzung von inhaltlichem Wissen in der Interaktion mit den Schülerinnen und Schülern. In dieser Studie werden drei potentiell wichtige Charakteristika dieses Aspekts des fachdidaktischen Wissens identifiziert: Flexibilität, Reichhaltigkeit und Schülerorientierung. Durch die Gegenüberstellung von Lehrpersonen mit hohem und niedrigem Wissens‐ und Interessenzuwachs wurden potentielle Mechanismen untersucht, durch die dieser Aspekt des fachdidaktischen Wissens die Lernergebnisse von Schülerinnen und Schülern beeinflussen kann. Die Lehrerausbildung in Deutschland betont das inhaltliche Wissen stärker als das fachdidaktische Wissen. Die ausgewählten Fälle beschreiben, welche Unterstützung Lehrpersonen mit einem hohen fachlichen Wissen benötigen, um dieses Wissen so zu verändern, dass es für das Unterrichten genutzt werden kann. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1211–1239, 2012     

Responsiveness-to-intervention: a decade later

In this introduction to this special issue, "A Decade Later," we provide an overview of the accomplishments as well as the persistent questions surrounding RTI. We organize this discussion within 3 categories: assessment, instruction, and policy. Within each of these sections, we also highlight how the articles in the present special issue expand upon the key issues. Developed initially for the early grades (kindergarten through third grade) and primarily in the area of reading, many-although not all-of these issues speak to the expansion of RTI to address a broader set of academic content areas and the full range of grade levels.     

Gateway finder in large graphs: problem definitions and fast solutions

Given a graph, how to find a small group of ‘gateways’, that is a small subset of nodes that are crucial in connecting the source to the target? For instance, given a social network, who is the best person to introduce you to, say, Chris Ferguson, the poker champion? Or, given a network of people and skills, who is the best person to help you learn about, say, wavelets? We formally formulate this problem in two scenarios: Pair-Gateway and Group-Gateway. For each scenario, we show that it is sub-modular and thus it can be solved near-optimally. We further give fast, scalable algorithms to find such gateways. Extensive experimental evaluations on real data sets demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed methods.     

The CAEP Standards and Research on Educator Preparation Programs: Linking Clinical Partnerships With Program Impact

Responding to the challenge of more rigorous and outcome-oriented program evaluation criteria of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), authors take a critical look at the intersection of two standards: Clinical Partnerships and Practice (Standard 2) and Program Impact (Standard 4). Illustrating one aspect of a secondary education teacher preparation program, authors consider how clinical partnerships can be designed in light of these standards to have a positive impact on P-12 student learning. Focusing on the program evaluation framework, authors describe a spectrum of diverse formative and summative growth measures that document the scope of impact for all stakeholders, including students. In light of the Feuer, Floden, Chudowsky, and Ahn (2013) questioning framework, authors assess program outcomes. In closing, the authors (a) conclude that comprehensive evaluation models are needed to document complex outcomes, which will make program impact more visible and measureable; (b) recommend using the Feuer et al. decision-making framework to initiate and guide programmatic design and evaluation model development; and (c) affirm CAEP's expectations—clinical partnerships go beyond positive relationships, coselection of mentor teachers and candidates, and commitment to diverse settings to ensuring P-12 student achievement—as attainable goals for educator preparation accreditation.     

Academics transformational leadership: an investigation of heads of department leadership behaviours in Malaysian public universities

Presently, the role and the function of universities in Malaysia have been described as being in a state of change. Several strategies have been adopted to assist in the re-branding of higher institutions of learning. As a consequence, an effective model of leadership practices, particularly at the Malaysian academic departmental level, has to be generated in order to replace the traditional leadership practices in meeting the national aspirations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between department heads’ leadership behaviour with academics’ organisational commitment. Survey responses from 430 academics from Malaysian public universities were received and analysed. The main finding of this study reveals that the adoption of encouraging leadership behaviour (Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership) shows a 55% direct positive relationship with academics’ organisational commitment, with demographical factors playing no role as a moderator with either variable. This reinforces the rationalisation for adopting the model within the Malaysian academic setting, where department heads should indeed lead the academic organisation.     

The empowerment dilemma: The dialectic of emancipation and control in staff/client interaction at shelters for battered women

This study investigated the dialectic of emancipation and control in the relationship between staff and clients at shelters for battered women. Accounts from shelter workers indicated that the power structure of their relationship with clients is characterized by four properties: a circumstantial dichotomy, contrasting experiences, asymmetrical roles, and resource control. Additionally, the workers discussed four contradictory aspects of the shelter worker/shelter client relationship (their relationship with clients, the shelter environment, the clients' options, and the amount of time the client spends at the shelter) which reflected the existence of the dialectic of emancipation and control in their interaction with clients. Findings are discussed in terms of domestic shelters, shelter worker/shelter client relationships, and dialectical theory.