Teachers’ Goal Orientation Profiles and Participation in Professional Development Activities

Participation in professional development activities is important for teachers to continuously improve their knowledge and skills. However, teachers differ in their attitude towards learning activities. This paper examined how different goal orientation profiles are related to participation in professional development activities (acquiring information and asking feedback). To this end, we conducted latent profile analysis based on a sample of 984 teachers in vocational education. Five profiles were identified: diffuse (50.1%), moderate learning (12.3%), high avoidance (10.9%), performance oriented (15.9%) and success oriented (10.7%). Furthermore, means of acquiring information and asking feedback from teachers were compared across the profiles. Teachers with a success-oriented profile (high learning and performance approach goals) scored significantly higher while teachers with a high-avoidance profile scored significantly lower on asking for feedback and acquiring information. Exploration of background characteristics indicated that age, gender and work experience outside education were related to the goal orientation profiles. Our findings show that goal orientation profiles can be used to explain individual differences in teachers’ propensity to engage in professional development activities.     

The mental development of abused children in South Africa

The question of the mental development of abused children has been researched extensively overseas. In this paper the patterns of mental development in White South African children who have been definitely abused, are presented.     

The role of domain knowledge in cognitive modeling of information search

Computational cognitive models developed so far do not incorporate individual differences in domain knowledge in predicting user clicks on search result pages. We address this problem using a cognitive model of information search which enables us to use two semantic spaces having a low (non-expert semantic space) and a high (expert semantic space) amount of medical and health related information to represent respectively low and high knowledge of users in this domain. We also investigated two different processes along which one can gain a larger amount of knowledge in a domain: an evolutionary and a common core process. Simulations of model click behavior on difficult information search tasks and subsequent matching with actual behavioral data from users (divided into low and high domain knowledge groups based on a domain knowledge test) were conducted. Results showed that the efficacy of modeling for high domain knowledge participants (in terms of the number of matches between the model predictions and the actual user clicks on search result pages) was higher with the expert semantic space compared to the non-expert semantic space while for low domain knowledge participants it was the other way around. When the process of knowledge acquisition was taken into account, the effect of using a semantic space based on high domain knowledge was significant only for high domain knowledge participants, irrespective of the knowledge acquisition process. The implications of these outcomes for support tools that can be built based on these models are discussed.     

Conservation strategy for food-based perishable art: preservation versus reconstruction illustrated by Piece in Ghent by Jason Rhoades (1994)

The aim of this paper was to discuss the role of food preservation science and technology in the conservation of complex food-based installations. By introducing the principles of food science and food preservation into the decision-making process for the conservation of contemporary art, more insight on conservation and presentation possibilities was created. Considering the installation Piece in Ghent (P.I.G.) by Jason Rhoades, which contains French fries, the principles of food preservation science were evaluated. The preservation of the original foods was discussed against the potential of a reproduction of the foods. The context for conservation was determined by analysing the artist's intention, the production method of the artwork, and the degradation processes of the food materials. From the results obtained, guidelines to preserve the ‘original’ foods were proposed, as well as guidelines to reproduce foods that can last longer. The study demonstrated that food preservation science contributed to the development of effective strategies for the conservation of contemporary food-based art.     

Disentangling the predictive validity of high school grades for academic success in university

To refine selective admission models, we investigate which measure of prior achievement has the best predictive validity for academic success in university. We compare the predictive validity of three core high school subjects to the predictive validity of high school grade point average (GPA) for academic achievement in a liberal arts university programme. Predictive validity is compared between the Dutch pre-university (VWO) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma. Moreover, we study how final GPA is predicted by prior achievement after students complete their first year. Path models were separately run for VWO (n = 314) and IB (n = 113) graduates. For VWO graduates, high school GPA explained more variance than core subject grades in first-year GPA and final GPA. For IB graduates, we found the opposite. Subsequent path models showed that after students’ completion of the first year, final GPA is best predicted by a combination of first-year GPA and high school GPA. Based on our small-scale results, we cautiously challenge the use of high school GPA as the norm for measuring prior achievement. Which measure of prior achievement best predicts academic success in university may depend on the diploma students enter with.     

Profile of South African secondary-school teachers’ teaching quality: evaluation of teaching practices using an observation instrument

The need for quality teaching is reflected in the poor performance of students in international tests. Teachers’ practices and contextual factors could contribute to substandard quality of teaching in South Africa. Several studies indicate that successful learning is largely dependent on the teachers’ practices in class. The focus of the present research was to profile the effective teaching practices of 424 secondary-school teachers in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. Teachers were observed by trained observers using a valid and reliable observation instrument measuring six domains of effective teaching practices. Results showed that teachers find it difficult to differentiate in class and to activate learning. Additionally, teachers with more than 15 years of teaching experience scored lower than teachers with less experience, in all six teaching domains. Presumably, experienced teachers may lack motivation and/or insufficient training in implementing interactive and differentiated teaching methods that are needed for effective teaching practices.     

Measuring teaching quality and student engagement in South Korea and The Netherlands

Six observation scales for measuring the skills of teachers and 1 scale for measuring student engagement, assessed in South Korea and The Netherlands, are sufficiently reliable and offer sufficient predictive value for student engagement. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis shows that the factor loadings and intercepts of the scales are the same, within acceptable boundaries, in both countries. Therefore, we can compare the average scores of teachers in both countries in a reliable and valid way. The 289 Dutch teachers score significantly better on “creating a safe and stimulating learning climate” and “intensive and activating teaching” and almost significantly on “efficient classroom management”. We find no significant differences in “clear and structured instruction”. The 375 South Korean teachers perform significantly better than the Dutch teachers on “teaching learning strategies” and almost significantly on “differentiating instruction”. Furthermore, we find better student engagement in South Korea.