The treatment of science discipline knowledge in primary teacher education

Whilst there is general agreement that primary teachers have a rather limited understanding of science, as Symington and Mackay (Note 1) have shown there is no universally accepted view amongst teacher educators in Victoria about the steps that need to be taken to improve their subject matter competence in science. This paper addresses the issue by taking a topic which is widely included in primary science programs, namely floating and sinking, and asking what knowledge primary teachers should have to enable them to handle the topic in a primary classroom in a way consistent with constructivist ideas. The paper will also address the issue of how that knowledge could be assessed. Specializations: learning theories, history and philosophy of science, chemical education. Specialization: primary school science.     

Examining the Effects of Changes in Classroom Quality on Within-Child Changes in Achievement and Behavioral Outcomes

This study examines whether changes in classroom quality predict within-child changes in achievement and behavioral problems in elementary school (ages spanning approximately 6–11 years old). Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of children in predominantly low-income, nonurban communities (n = 1,078), we relied on child fixed effects modeling, which controlled for stable factors that could bias the effects of classroom quality. In general, we found that changes in classroom quality had small and statistically nonsignificant effects on achievement and behavior. However, we found that moving into a high-quality classroom, particularly those rated as high in Classroom Organization, had positive effects on achievement and behavior for children with significant exposure to poverty in early life.     

A Model of Technology Incidental Learning Effects

Educational Psychology Review - Increases in technology use, among youth and adults, are concerning given the volume of information produced and disseminated in the modern world. Conceptual models...     

Education policy and mental weakness: a response to a mental health crisis

Educationalists have been concerned with the labelling and treatment of children with mental health difficulties in the education system in England for some time. These concerns have centred on the role of policy in ‘othering’ such students as deviant learners. The unprecedented number of children suffering from mental illnesses, has forced policymakers to address children’s mental health difficulties. This has involved the identification of a sub-set of the school population experiencing ‘less-severe’ mental health issues, to be addressed through a suite of policy interventions delivered by whole-school approaches, but targeted towards children situated as mentally ‘weak’. Drawing upon a Foucauldian theory of governmentality that addresses children’s behavioural motivations, an in-depth analysis of a number of educational policy initiatives related to mental health is conducted, that it is argued are fundamentally flawed. This analysis is followed by a discussion of the performative culture of High Stakes Testing in contributing to children’s mental health difficulties. Here it is argued that a narrative of mental weakness serves to justify a neoliberal rationality towards the treatment of children for whom the performative logic assumed to motivate all learners, fails.     

Gender,student perceptions,institutional commitments and academic dishonesty: who reports in academic dishonesty cases?

The academic dishonesty literature generally focuses on the causes of academic dishonesty, and outlines deterrence strategies, as well as the punishment methods used in formal sanction. Student self-monitoring techniques are becoming a more visible alternative that places greater emphasis on proactive prevention methods as opposed to reactive punishment policies. Increasing the formal level of student responsibility in deterring academic dishonesty assumes that students will actively monitor the behavior of their classmates. Our findings indicate that student perceptions of campus climate and gender differences are important factors when explaining student reporting of suspected academic dishonesty and may illustrate important prerequisite conditions that must exist prior to the establish of a successful student self-monitoring programme.     

An Interactive Video System for Education and Training

This paper describes the CAVIS interactive video system. CAVIS is an interactive teaching system that mixes videocassette pictures, text and videotex diagrams and presents these via a single television screen with sound. The student uses a keypad to respond to questions asked via the screen or narrative and, interactively, CAVIS adapts its presentation according to the responses given. Existing learning materials on VHS videocassette can be made interactive by CAVIS and have text and branching video segments integrated with their presentation. Material which has been originated on film, slide and video can be transferred on to the system. Information processing techniques are provided for the teacher to enable the authoring of text and diagrams and the mixing of text, diagrams, videocassette pictures and sound. Student performance and the effectiveness of the teaching materials used are automatically monitored and can be displayed graphically using the colour videotex display. CAVIS was designed to meet certain training needs within BP International. These are discussed along with research relating to its development.     

The pupil as philosopher

Discussion of the need for an understanding of the philosophy of science to inform classroom practice is mostly directed at clarifying the nature of science, the history of science, the nature of scientific evidence, and the nature of scientific method for curriculum developers and teachers. The discussion assumes no input from pupils. The constructivist perspective, however, assumes that pupils do not come to lessons with blank minds. What insights and questions do students bring to lessons about issues relevant to the philosophy and history of science? Can these be used to develop understanding? Classroom discussions about the energy concept imply that students have valuable ideas and questions related to the exploration of philosophical issues. Rather than developing curricula to tell students about the philosophy and history of science, this paper argues for exploration of student’s ideas and questions when abstract concepts are being discussed in the classroom.     

Cultural and organisational issues facing online learning communities of teachers

Collegial sharing and reflection about practice has been widely suggested as an effective form of teacher professional learning. Information and communications technology (ICT) has the potential to foster this professional learning through online community environments. Whilst the potential of self-sustaining online teacher communities to support professional learning through reflective sharing of practice is recognised, the journey to realising this potential is not straightforward. This paper identifies two key aspects of school culture that are acting as barriers on the journey—schools do not adequately value collegial reflective sharing of practice, and classroom teachers do not use online communications tools as an integral part of their professional practices. The paper suggests a framework for maximising participation in online teacher communities.     

Helping children to the other side of silence: a study of the impact of the stay safe programme on Irish children's disclosures of sexual victimization

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school based safety skills program--The Stay Safe Programme--in facilitating the disclosure of sexual abuse among sexually victimized children and adolescents in Dublin. METHOD: A Cohort of 145 children who had participated in the Stay Safe Programme prior to their referral to a sexual abuse assessment unit were compared with a cohort of 443 children who had not participated in the prevention program on a range of disclosure related variables abstracted from case notes. RESULTS: More Stay Safe participants, particularly female adolescents, made disclosures of suspected sexual abuse than non-participants. A higher rate of initial disclosure to teachers was made by Stay Safe participants and more teachers in schools participating in the Stay Safe Programme initiated referrals for evaluation of suspected child sexual abuse. Following assessment a higher rate of confirmed abuse occurred among Stay Safe participants and for these confirmed cases more Stay Safe participants made purposeful disclosures and in significantly more cases referral was due to the child telling someone about the abuse. These differences in disclosure between program participants and non-participants were unrelated to demographic factors or characteristics of the abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The Stay Safe Programme was an effective secondary prevention intervention deserving widespread implementation.     

INFLUENCES OF MOTIVATION AND APTITUDE ON LEARNING ELEMENTARY ACCOUNTING IN A JUNIOR COLLEGE THROUGH INDIVIDUALIZED SELF‐PACED AND TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

The purpose of this study was to compare two teaching methods in elementary accounting: an individualized self‐paced method and a traditional method. One hundred students enrolled in an individualized self‐paced elementary accounting class and 150 students enrolled in traditional elementary accounting classes were used in this study. The pre‐experimental equivalence of age, sex, college grade point average, business courses previously taken on the college level, and previous work experience were compared for the two groups. All of the students were administered the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Orientation Test and the Mehrabian Measures of Achieving Tendency at the beginning of the courses. Students in both groups completed the first 14 chapters in the same textbook. Students were then given the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Achievement Test, Level 1, Form GS. A significant relationship was found between students’ aptitude as measured by the AICPA Orientation Test and students’ age. Average age was significantly higher for those students in the individualized self‐paced accounting laboratory class. Age, along with aptitude, was found to be a significant predictor of success in the individualized self‐paced laboratory class but not the traditional classes. A multiple regression analysis showed that aptitude was found to be the best single predictor of students’ achievement in elementary accounting. Only 17 of the 100 students in the self‐paced class completed the course; 16 of those had high aptitude and high achievement motivation scores. A general conclusion of the study was that if individualized self‐paced accounting laboratories are to be used in teaching elementary accounting, counselors should select students who have high scores in both motivation and aptitude. Students with other than a combination of high aptitude and motivation scores should be provided with remedial work in order to raise their achievement and retention level or they should be advised to take traditional courses.