Comparison of Student Achievement in the Summer Term and Regular Quarter

Advocates of modality preference posit that individuals have a dominant sense and that when new material is presented in this preferred modality, learning is enhanced. Despite the widespread belief in this position, there is little supporting evidence. In the present study, the authors implemented a Morse code–like recall task to examine whether visual and auditory recall is moderated by modality preference. When the perceptual discriminability of visual and auditory stimuli was controlled for, there was no significant relation between (a) modality preference and (b) visual and auditory recall. The nature of the task did however effect performance. When a temporal discrimination between stimuli was required, recall for auditory stimuli was superior to recall of visual stimuli. In contrast, when the task involved a spatial discrimination, the opposite effect was observed. It is not surprising that in each recall task, sequences with a discernible pattern were recalled more accurately than were sequences that lacked any obvious pattern. The authors concluded that the ability to recall simple material is determined more by the type of stimulus than by the preferences of the individual.     

Faculty Attitude Toward Research in an Emergent College

A total census of the professional staff (N = 374) at a college was taken to assess the staff’s attitude toward a change in the research climate. Approximately 50 percent of the staff responded. A scaling system reflecting the rank-order of research commitment was used. The data were treated three ways: (1) without non-respondent consideration; (2) including non-respondents; and (3) a combination of the first and second approaches. Results indicated that departments included under supporting services had the least favorable attitude toward research. Using non-respondents as data had little effect other than to depress all positions on the attitude scale. It was concluded that the faculty was interested in research but was not highly committed to it.     

Attitudes towards Physics

Unlike in many other countries, physics in secondary education in Scotland is highly popular, with large numbers opting for study at the Higher Grade from which entry to higher education is possible. This paper reports a project which explored attitudes towards physics in Scotland, looking at students aged from about 10 to 20 years old. Overall, over 850 school pupils were surveyed along with 208 level 1 and 2 university physics students. The work was carried out mainly by use of questionnaires and interviewing. The approach allowed the development of 'snap shots' of attitudes held by pupils simultaneously at various stages of education. These attitudes can be compared at the different stages, although care must be taken in such comparison to allow for varying degrees of self-selection. The main factors attracting school pupils into a study of physics are described, together with the pattern of attitude changes which take place with age. From the picture obtained, it is possible to determine areas of the curriculum where there are difficulties. The enormous success of the applications-led course for Standard Grade is apparent in attracting and retaining pupils within physics, including girls. The outcomes suggest some ways by which physics curriculum planners can develop courses in physics which will prove attractive and robust.     

Care into Core

In 2002, the UK Government set the target of increasing participation in higher education to 50% of 18–30 year olds by 2010, with a particular focus on young people from ‘non‐traditional backgrounds’. In order to increase this participation, a range of initiatives have been introduced in an effort to encourage young people to enter post‐16 education. One significant initiative is Aimhigher, which specifically targets lower socio‐economic groups and aims to raise the attainment and aspirations of young people. This paper emerges from research conducted in 2008 into post‐16 withdrawal rates amongst Aimhigher students in the South East of England. Drawing from interviews and case studies with young people, further education (FE) colleges and schools, the paper argues that students benefit significantly from the intensive pastoral support provided in Aimhigher target schools, but that this is rarely carried over into FE. Although there is often significant pastoral support provided to students in FE, it is often quite disparate from that provided in Aimhigher schools and suffers from low take up. Whilst previous research investigating student withdrawal has focused on individual factors (socio‐economic status and ethnicity) or institutional factors (the labour market), this paper highlights the views of young people and argues that, through establishing effective and cohesive mentoring schemes, schools and FE colleges have a substantial role to play in reducing student withdrawal.     

Effect of social setting,self‐concept,and relative age on the social status of moderately and highly gifted students

This study compares the social status of highly gifted (N=42) and moderately gifted (N=86) students across academic (classroom) and social (dormitory) settings. Giftedness was not significantly related to social status in either setting. Two social statuses, popular and rejected, were significantly stable across settings. Furthermore these statuses were related to peer nominations for getting along, fighting, and being shy, to social and academic measures of self‐concept, and to age relative to the peer group. These findings are examined in light of other research on gifted‐ness and social status.     

Public Education Through Community-Based Film Programs: A Report on the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital

Abstract

A leading community-based film program, the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, is described and lessons relevant to practitioners who wish to develop similar programs in other cities are presented.     

Acculturation and religion in schools: the views of young people from minority belief backgrounds

This paper aims to explore the relationship between religious identity, acculturation strategies and perceptions of acculturation orientation in the school context amongst young people from minority belief backgrounds. Based on a qualitative study including interviews with 26 young people from religious minority belief backgrounds in Northern Ireland, it is argued that acculturation theory provides a useful lens for understanding how young people from religious minority belief backgrounds navigate majority religious school contexts. Using a qualitative approach to explore acculturation theory enables an in‐depth understanding of the inter‐relationship between minority belief youth's acculturation strategies and their respective school contexts. Similar to previous research, integrationist attitudes generally prevailed amongst minority belief young people in this study. The findings highlight how young people negotiate their religious identities in a complex web of inter‐relationships between their minority religious belief community and the mainstream school culture as represented through peer and staff attitudes, school ethos and practices and religious education. Young people demonstrated differentiated understandings of acculturation orientations within the school context, which they evaluated on the basis of complex perceptions of educational policy, interpersonal relationships and individuals' motivations. Findings are discussed in view of acculturation tensions, which arose particularly in relation to the religious education curriculum and their implications for opt‐out provision as stipulated by human rights law.     

The effects of facial‐head cue combinations on interpersonal evaluations

Two experiments were conducted to examine the role of visual cues in interpersonal attraction and credibility. In the first study, 128 subjects viewed eight randomly ordered videotape segments of trained actors presenting a short speech accompanied by head nods, eyebrow raises, smiles, combinations of those cues, or no such cues. Ratings of the speakers on task and social attraction revealed that, as expected, the presence of any face or head cues produced more attraction than none; however, instead of the three combined cues producing the most attraction, the smiles‐head nod condition produced the greatest social attraction and the head nod only condition produced greatest task attraction; expected sex differences were largely supported. In the second study, face and head cues were performed by confederates during a live interview situation while subjects observed the interaction from behind a two‐way mirror. Results showed that smiles produced higher attraction and credibility ratings than did no smiles and nods, thus further substantiating the reward power of facial and head cues in social interaction.