Epistemological beliefs,school achievement,and college major: A large-scale longitudinal study on the impact of certainty beliefs

Epistemological beliefs are subjective theories on the structure and acquisition of knowledge. Using data collected in the final year of high school (Time 1) and early in the college career (Time 2) as part of a large-scale longitudinal study, we examined the relationship of beliefs in the certainty of knowledge with school achievement and choice of college majors in Germany. In line with our hypothesis, students high on certainty beliefs showed lower school achievement at Time 1, even when controlling for indicators of intelligence and family background. Certainty beliefs also predicted the choice of future fields of study at college (self-selection hypothesis) and were shaped by enrolment in specific fields of study at college (socialization hypothesis).     

Filming in School—Experiments with Super-8

When the Super-8 system was introduced, providing a much higher picture quality by reason of its larger frame size, the educationist as well as the amateur could not fail to recognize the possibilities opened up by the new development. Even if Super-8 could not rival the 16 mm. film in light output and sharpness of picture, it had the advantages of cheapness and ease of handling, either when ‘shooting’ film or projecting it. From these points of view the new Super-8 format has much to recommend it for the use of film groups in schools and youth organizations.     

Judging students' achievement goal orientations: Are teacher ratings accurate?

Using the theoretical framework of achievement goal theory, this study investigated the accuracy of teachers' judgments of their students' motivation. Self-report data were gathered on the mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals of 1140 German secondary school students (mean age = 14.24) in five academic subjects (English, Mathematics, German, second foreign language, and Biology). Their teachers in each of the five subjects (N = 176) were asked to judge students' achievement goals. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that teacher ratings of students' motivation statistically significantly predicted student ratings in all five subjects for mastery and performance-approach motivation, but not for performance-avoidance motivation. Assessment of differences in teachers' judgment accuracy across classrooms revealed some variability in teachers' ability to judge their students' mastery and performance-approach goals. Exploratory analyses showed that teaching experience, teacher gender, student age, and student gender did not systematically explain variation in judgment accuracy. Future research should examine other characteristics potentially influencing teachers' judgment accuracy and investigate the effect of teachers' judgment accuracy on students' motivation.     

Motivations for choosing teaching as a career: An international comparison using the FIT-Choice scale

Motivations for preservice teachers' choice of teaching as a career were investigated using the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice scale (FIT-Choice scale; Watt & Richardson, 2007). This scale was initially developed and validated in the Australian context; our study applied it across international samples from Australia, the United States, Germany, and Norway. Support for strong factorial invariance implied the scale functioned similarly, and could fruitfully be employed in different contexts. Sample comparisons revealed that motivations for teaching were more similar than they were different across these samples; whereas, perceptions about the teaching profession tended to reflect country differences.     

New perspectives of the relationships between higher education and employment

Abstract

The relationships between higher education and the world of work revived in 1990 as a major issue of debate. Growing enrolment as well as labour market problems in many industrialised countries fuelled the debate. A close look reveals that the systematic information provided on graduate employment is often insufficient or biased. In spite of controversial assessments of graduate employment and work, most experts, however, tend to agree that a growing diversification is an appropriate response. Also, common views are widely held as regards the desirable curricular approaches: emphasis ought to be placed on general knowledge and flexibility, problem‐solving abilities, a confrontation of theory and practice, interdisciplinarity and international competencies. These views are advocated irrespective of whether higher education is expected to follow closely the presumed demands of the employment system or whether higher education is called on to counteract instrumentalist pressures and to prepare students for a proactive role in society.