Determinanten der Studierbereitschaft unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Studiengebühren

Even more than other European countries, Germany must fear a serious future skills shortage and lack of experts. Therefore, increasing the proportion of high school graduates who wish to study at a university is a clear political objective. The aim of this paper is to identify variables that hinder or support the decision to pursue university studies. We used longitudinal data of 23,000 graduates of upper secondary school of the years 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 to analyze how tuition fees (which are charged only in some of the German federal states), family status, and students?? own cost-benefit analyses impacted their decision in favor or against taking up university studies. Results showed that the subjective costs of higher education were highest for persons of low social economic background, and for women. Also, the introduction of tuition fees in some federal states in the year 2006 lowered the percentage of students who wanted to enter higher education. Contrary to our expectations, however, this effect was observed in all federal states, irrespective of whether they had introduced tuition fees or not. Our results suggest that participation in higher education can be increased by both lowering (social and psychological) costs and raising (social and psychological) benefits of higher education.     

Practical issues in field based testing of oral reading fluency at upper elementary grades

In this series of studies, we explore the ideal frequency, duration, and relative effectiveness of measuring oral reading fluency. In study one, a sample of 389 fifth graders read out loud for 1 min and then took a traditional state-level standardized reading test. Results suggest administering three passages and using the median yields the highest predictive validity. Study two compared oral reading fluency rates at 30 and 60 s for 815 elementary and middle school students on the same passage. Results indicate that the 30 s measures yield a comparable score. Study three found relatively similar predictive validity of oral reading fluency for 67 fourth- and 125 sixth-grade students on Aimsweb, EasyCBM, and DIBELS. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Exploring the Development of Conceptual Understanding through Structured Problem‐solving in Physics

A study on the effect of a structured problem‐solving strategy on problem‐solving skills and conceptual understanding of physics was undertaken with 189 students in 16 disadvantaged South African schools. This paper focuses on the development of conceptual understanding. New instruments, namely a solutions map and a conceptual index, are introduced to assess conceptual understanding demonstrated in students’ written solutions to examination problems. The process of the development of conceptual understanding is then explored within the framework of Greeno’s model of scientific problem‐solving and reasoning. It was found that students who had been exposed to the structured problem‐solving strategy demonstrated better conceptual understanding of physics and tended to adopt a conceptual approach to problem‐solving.     

‘I think a lot of it is common sense. …’ Early years students,professionalism and the development of a ‘vocational habitus’

This paper reports on research from a small-scale project investigating the vocational training of students in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in England. We draw on data from interviews with 42 students and five tutors in order to explore the students’ understandings of professionalism in early years. In the paper, we discuss first, the then Labour Government’s drive to ‘professionalise’ the workforce and second, critically analyse the concept of professionalism, drawing on sociological literature. We then turn to the data, and argue that students’ understandings of professionalism are limited to generic understandings of ‘professional’ behaviour (reliability, politeness, punctuality and so on). The idea of their occupation being a repository of a particular knowledge and skills set is undercut by the students’ emphasis on work with young children being largely a matter of ‘common sense’. Our fourth point is to highlight the processes by which students are inducted into a respectable and responsible carer identity, as illustrated by an emphasis on clothes and appearance. We conclude that the version of professionalism offered to students training at this level is highly constrained, and discuss the implications of this.     

Being ‘fun’ at work: emotional labour,class, gender and childcare

This paper reports on data drawn from an Economic and Social Research Council‐funded project investigating the experiences of UK‐based students training on level‐2 and level‐3 childcare courses. We focus on the concept of emotional labour in relation to learning to care for and educate young children and the ways in which the students’ experiences of emotional labour and the expectations placed upon their behaviour and attitudes are shaped by class and gender. We consider the ways in which students are encouraged to manage their own and the children's emotions and we identify a number of ‘feeling rules’ that demarcate the vocational habitus of care work with young children. We conclude by emphasising the importance of specific contexts of employment in order to understand workers’ emotional labour and argue for more recognition of the intense demands of emotional labour in early childhood education and care work.     

‘Walking yourself around as a teacher’: gender and embodiment in student teachers’ working lives

This paper considers the psychic and social dynamics reported by student teachers when learning to embody their teacher persona in the secondary school environment. Focusing on gender dimensions of embodiment and drawing on qualitative interview data from a UK study of postgraduate teacher‐training students, teaching is examined as a physical experience. The paper conceptualises findings under two related headings: the appropriately gendered body, signified by heteronormative readings of gender and sexuality; and the gendered authoritative body, conceptualised as male. The ‘teacher body’ emerges as an important element of student teachers’ stories of trying to fit with the new professional environment and the paper concludes by arguing for a consideration of gender and body politics in the practice and training of teachers, thus challenging the assumption that professional occupations are essentially ‘disembodied’ and gender neutral.     

The ordinary school – what is it?

In this paper we describe some of the complexities involved in the construction of a sample of ‘ordinary’ schools. We outline the policy context in England that produces pressures to resist ‘ordinariness’. The paper then explores two theoretical tools, fabrication and rhetoric, that are deployed in an analysis of some key artefacts of fabrication from schools in England. Through an examination of artefacts such as school brochures and websites, this paper asks whether there are any ‘ordinary’ schools in these performative times?     

The development of a lifelong guidance system in Hungary

The development of a lifelong guidance system in Hungary Systematic work is currently being undertaken in Hungary to develop a lifelong guidance system, in line with principles outlined by leading international organisations. The origins of career guidance in Hungary, and the nature of the current career guidance system, are outlined. The main features of the current development programme, supported by the European Social Fund, are presented, alongside the strategic work of the National Lifelong Guidance Council. Key issues relating to these developments are discussed.     

Das AutoMoDe-Projekt Modellbasierte Entwicklung softwareintensiver Systeme im Automobil

Die Entwicklung eingebetteter Software für Automobile ist inh?rent komplex und vereint verschiedene Entwicklungsphasen, mehrere fachliche Disziplinen, sowie verschiedene Akteure in beteiligten Unternehmen. Der AutoMoDe-Ansatz zur Entwicklung automotiver Software beschreibt Systeme auf verschiedenen Abstraktionsebenen und definiert schrittweise überg?nge zwischen diesen Ebenen. Neben der Definition geeigneter Ebenen werden zur Modellierung von Echtzeitsystemen ein einheitliches Berechnungsmodell sowie dom?nenspezifische Beschreibungstechniken verwendet. Automatisierte Anbindungen für Analyse und Synthese komplexer Softwaresysteme mit dem Ziel eines konsistenzbetonten Entwicklungsprozesses wurden realisiert. Die beschriebenen Techniken wurden in den Werkzeugprototypen AutoFocus integriert und im Zusammenspiel mit einer Werkzeugkette demonstriert.