Barriers to environmental education: How do teachers’ perceptions in rural Ecuador fit into a global analysis?

Abstract

We identified 48 barriers to teaching environmental education reported by teachers in global literature and compared frequency to empirical data we collected from rural Ecuador, part of an understudied region and continent. We utilized Q methodology and interviews with 25 (78%) teachers at 6 schools to identify and categorize barriers. Perceptions of barriers ranked by Ecuadorian teachers were statistically classified into three factors: logistical (associated with fieldtrips, time, and money); training and lack of government support; and attitudinal (associated with student disinterest). In contrast, barriers related to student testing and controversial topics were only reported in more developed countries. Results enable region-specific recommendations.     

Knowledge of the alphabet and explicit awareness of phonemes in pre-readers: The nature of the relationship

This study was carried out to examine the extent to which preschool children are aware of the phonemic structure of the spoken word and to investigate how they acquire that knowledge. The four year old non-readers carried out a battery of takss designed to assess product name reading ability, knowledge of the alphabet, rhyme skills and explicit phonemic awareness ability. There was evidence that they generally acquired knowledge of the alphabet before they showed explicit phonemic awareness ability. Fixed order regression analyses showed that ability to read and write the alphabet generally accounted for unique variance in phoneme awareness and product name reading ability over and above that accounted for by rhyme skills but that rhyme ability accounted for no unique variance beyond that accounted for by alphabet knowledge. Further analyses showed that alphabet knowledge also contributed unique variance to product name reading ability over and above that accounted for by phonemic awareness ability but that the reverse was not the case. It was hypothesised that many preschool non-readers may start to gain an insight into the phonemic structure of the spoken word by becoming aware of the connection between the sounds of letters in environmental print and the sounds of the spoken word.     

Improving students' understanding of carbohydrate metabolism in first-year biochemistry at tertiary level

Many introductory biochemistry students have problems understanding metabolism and acquiring the skills necessary to study metabolic pathways. In this paper we suggest that this may be largely due to the use of a traditional teaching approach which emphasises memorisation rather than understanding. We present an alternative approach to teaching carbohydrate metabolism which is designed to promote understanding of pathways. The approach also enables regular monitoring of, and reflection on, student progress and the identification of student reasoning and conceptual difficulties through the use of specially designed problems. Preliminary results are presented giving examples of specific student difficulties and the extent to which they were addressed by the alternative instructional approach. A qualitative evaluation of the approach is also presented. Specializations: metal accumulating plants biochemical education. Specializations: physics education, conceptual development, instructional design, improvement of tertiary science education.     

Exploring the Robustness of a Unidimensional Item Response Theory Model With Empirically Multidimensional Data

Unidimensionality and local independence are two common assumptions of item response theory. The former implies that all items measure a common latent trait, while the latter implies that responses are independent, conditional on respondents’ location on the latent trait. Yet, few tests are truly unidimensional. Unmodeled dimensions may result in test items displaying dependencies, which can lead to misestimated parameters and inflated reliability estimates. In this article, we investigate the dimensionality of interim mathematics tests and evaluate the extent to which modeling minor dimensions in the data change model parameter estimates. We found evidence of minor dimensions, but parameter estimates across models were similar. Our results indicate that minor dimensions outside the primary trait have negligible consequences on parameter estimates. This finding was observed despite the ratio of multidimensional to unidimensional items being above previously recommended thresholds.     

Educator‐Reported Instructional Characteristics of Grade 1 Reading Interventions within a CBM Assessment System

We used data from the 2014–2015 easyCBM assessment system to explore the applied reading intervention characteristics in a sample of 3,074 Grade 1 students (and 5,145 interventions) in school districts applying a multitiered systems of support (MTSS) framework. We describe the number of interventions, number of assessments, the intervention start dates, curricula, instructional strategies, tier, group size, frequency, dosage, total time, and quantitative intensity. We found variance across all instructional variables, with 156 curricula and 59 instructional strategies applied. Based on our data, a “typical” intervention was a Tier 2 intervention that began before October, was delivered for 30 minutes/day for 5 days/week in a group with three to five students, was changed once if at all, and student progress was most likely monitored with word reading fluency measures.     

Foresight analysis in research funding agencies: A UK experiment

Strategic planning and priority-setting have become inevitable for UK research funding agencies in the 1990's. But it is an activity which is viewed with some suspicion by the scientific community, in which it is an aphorism that discovery cannot be planned. There is considerable interest therefore, in the promise offoresight analysis as an alternative to conventional strategic planning. Most previous experience with foresight has been at a macro level, with a focus on national direction-setting. But what role can foresight have at amicro level; how can it help individual funding agencies develop strategies for specific scientific fields? This paper explores the problem by describing an experiment, supported jointly by three UK funding agencies, to apply foresight techniques in a review of a single field (cardiovascular research). The methodology developed for objective consultation with scientists and users is described, and preliminary results presented. Science-push and demand-pull factors emerged clearly, aa did a desire within the scientific community for a number of infrastructural changes to strengthen the future of the field. The study has shown that systematic surveys of users and researchers are capable of detecting coherent views on a number of issues that are relevant to forward planning in research funding agencies. The paper concludes by summarising the limitations of this approach to strategic planning, and presenting some general lessons that may be useful for consideration in other micro-level foresight exercises.     

Why are there virtually no mandatory open access policies at American universities?

Key points

• U.S. university OA policies are far less mandatory than those in the U.K.
• The waiver clauses in U.S. university policies make it easy for authors to decline making their articles OA.
• The relative autonomy – and competitiveness – of U.S. universities may be the reason for weaker OA policies.
• OA in the U.S. is likely to be driven by government funding agency policies rather than by academia.

     

Beyond stacking in American football towards an understanding of cultural transmission,social identity and self-categorization

Relying on cultural transmission, social identity and self-categorization theories, this study uses an innovative two-part photo-pasting and survey method to investigate quantitatively and qualitatively non-fans’, fans’ and players’ assumptions about what positions black and white players should occupy in American football. Both white and black players and fans showed evidence of being cultural transmitters of racial ideologies associated with the quarterback position in American football. Overall, the respondent choices for quarterback diverged significantly from equality but not significantly from the reality of the National Football League. Players and fan and non-fan participants alike showed evidence of being cultural consumers and transmitters of racial ideologies associated with the quarterback position. Narrative reasons for player choices aligned with past literature about racial stereotypes. On most measures, the findings did not differ greatly among the institutions from which study participants were drawn, their diversity in geography, racial composition, ideology, athletic division and public–private status notwithstanding.