Stigmatised learners: mature-age students negotiating university culture

Research on the socially-situated nature of learning shows how practices and identities are affected by participation in communities, but very little is known about how mature-age students experience the relational dynamics of university. Based on data from a qualitative study of first-year students, we consider written accounts by older learners to examine how they negotiate the culture of higher education. We found that mature-age students encounter a university culture dominated by younger students, who draw separating boundaries between the social and the academic and stigmatise older students because of their academic practices. Drawing on Lave and Wenger’s learning theory, we examine the way mature-age students negotiate the process of becoming legitimate members of the learning community, and the resistance they face in doing so. Knowing how mature-age students learn, and how to support them, depends on examining their negotiation of university culture, as well as their differing aspirations and needs.     

Effect of context and gender on application of Science Investigation Skills

Two parallel versions of a Test of Science Investigation Skills were developed to assess students' application of science investigation skills in biology and physics contexts. Repeated pilot testing and critical appraisal were used to ensure the validity of the tests and their equivalence. Both versions of the test were administered to 112 Year 10 science students. The results indicated a satisfactory level of test reliability, the test set in a physics context proved to be significantly more difficult than the test set in a biology context, and mean scores for male and female students were not significantly different. Specializations: science teacher education, development of problem-solving expertise, concept development and conceptual change, assessment of laboratory work. Specializations: Chemistry education, concept development and conceptual change, effective laboratory teaching.     

报复

[1]就在此时此刻,我知道该停下来了。这么高的目标,我真不知道该怎样去实现,但很清楚这已经是必然的了。起初只不过是想报复一下对方,现在却已经发展得无法控制。对我们两个人来说,这7年的生活犹如地狱一般,而我们幼小的女儿也被卷在里面。     

Structured Constructs Models Based on Change‐Point Analysis

This study proposes a structured constructs model (SCM) to examine measurement in the context of a multidimensional learning progression (LP). The LP is assumed to have features that go beyond a typical multidimentional IRT model, in that there are hypothesized to be certain cross‐dimensional linkages that correspond to requirements between the levels of the different dimensions. The new model builds on multidimensional item response theory models and change‐point analysis to add cut‐score and discontinuity parameters that embody these substantive requirements. This modeling strategy allows us to place the examinees in the appropriate LP level and simultaneously to model the hypothesized requirement relations. Results from a simulation study indicate that the proposed change‐point SCM recovers the generating parameters well. When the hypothesized requirement relations are ignored, the model fit tends to become worse, and the model parameters appear to be more biased. Moreover, the proposed model can be used to find validity evidence to support or disprove initial theoretical hypothesized links in the LP through empirical data. We illustrate the technique with data from an assessment system designed to measure student progress in a middle‐school statistics and modeling curriculum.     

Race and School Vouchers: Legal,Historical, and Political Contexts

This article investigates legal and political issues as they relate to school vouchers serving students of color. Specifically, we draw on the empirical, historical, and legal research to examine whether school vouchers will create a more equitable system of education for poor students of color. First, we present a history of vouchers, including how they were used to support segregation. We then discuss how vouchers as a broad opportunity for educational equity for poor children (of color) might present particular challenges in light of, first, the race-neutral approach in contemporary case law and state statutes and, second, the relatively small percentage of U.S. children taking advantage of such programs. Finally, we present empirical results regarding African American families’ support and use of vouchers and a discussion of the racial politics of school vouchers. We argue that unless voucher programs and proponents address race directly, operate on a larger scale, and attend to the broader social justice issues facing urban communities, it will be difficult for such policies to support the greater good for African American children or society as a whole.     

A Review of The Teaching Transgender Toolkit: A Facilitator's Guide to Increasing Knowledge,Decreasing Prejudice & Building Skills

This is a review of the book The Teaching Transgender Toolkit by Eli R. Green and Luca Maurer (2015 Green, E. R., &; Maurer, L. (2015). The teaching transgender toolkit: A facilitator's guide to increasing knowledge, decreasing prejudice &; building skills. Ithaca, NY: Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes. [Google Scholar]). Overall, the book is an extremely helpful guide for facilitators of varying skill levels and gender identities implementing educational interventions. The authors' familiarity with the range of participant/learner responses led them to include several helpful components. With helpful sections on how to use the book, how to compile lessons to conduct one's own trainings, and resources for further reading, the authors effectively give educators the tools they need to educate various populations about transgender identities. Limitations include the ever-changing language around gender identities and the lack of specific focus on workplace discrimination. The authors do include an online, frequently updated resource for changing terminology. This is a recommended resource for those who educate about gender and gender identity.     

Adolescent Weak Decoders Writing in a Shallow Orthography: Process and Product

It has been hypothesized that students with dyslexia struggle with writing because of a word-level focus that reduces attention to higher level textual features (structure, theme development). This may result from difficulties with spelling and/or difficulties with reading. Twenty-six Norwegian upper secondary students (M = 16.9 years) with weak decoding skills and 26 age-matched controls composed expository texts by keyboard under two conditions: normally and with letters masked to prevent them reading what they were writing. Weak decoders made more spelling errors and produced poorer quality text. Their inter-key-press latencies were substantially longer preword, at word end, and within word. These findings provide some support for the word-level focus hypothesis, although we found that weak decoders were slightly less likely to engage in word-level editing. Preventing reading did not affect differences between weak decoders and controls, indicating that their reduced fluency was associated with production rather than reading difficulties.     

Career Decisional States of Australian and South African High School Students

The influence of contextualfactors on the career decision states of 429South African and 623 Australian male andfemale students in grades 8 to 12 wasinvestigated. The results for both nationalsamples on the Career Decision Scaledemonstrate that grade, gender, and theinteraction of grade and gender impact on thedevelopmental progression of career decisionbehaviour. Gender differences across nationswere more pronounced for males than females.Both South African and Australian students aremore decided in lower grades. Internationaldifferences suggest that South African studentsare less certain and evidence greaterindecision than Australian students. Theimplications for educational decision pointsand career education practices are discussed.