Some effects of parent involvement in schools

This study examines the interrelationships among components of parent involvement at schools and investigates their effects on school outcomes. The study used data collected during an evaluation of California's Early Childhood Education Program. Varinbles included socioeconomic status, the frequency of school-parent communications, parent awareness of school events, amount of parent involvement at the school, parent influence in school decision making, the nature of parent-teacher relationships, parent satisfaction with the school, and student achievement in reading and mathematics. The results indicated that there are positive effects associated with parent involvement at schools, and the interrelationships between the endogenous variables suggested ways in which such benefits may be maximized.     

Young children's ability to infer spatial relationships: evidence from a large, familiar environment

Young (mean age = 3-9) and old (mean age = 5-0) nursery school children were tested on their ability to infer spatial relationships in a large, familiar environment. Each child in the younger group was matched to a child of the same sex in the older group who had been attending the nursery school for the same number of months. Subjects were taken to 3 different locations in their nursery school and were asked to point to 5 targets on the school grounds. Older children were more accurate than younger children on nursery school targets, but children's spatial representations were relatively nonintegrated at both age levels. Consistent sex differences in favor of males were discussed in the context of a new framework that could potentially explain the appearance of sex differences on spatial tasks conducted in large-scale environments. It was concluded that very young children have difficulty inferring spatial relationships, even in a large, familiar environment. This difficulty seems to be due to a relative lack of symbolic capacity.     

Gender‐role identity and perceived peer group acceptance among early adolescents in Belgian mixed and single‐sex schools

Drawing on survey data, this paper explores the association between early adolescents’ gender‐role identity and sense of peer group acceptance, and how this association may vary as a function of the gender context of the school. Two indicators of gender‐role identity were included in the analysis: in one measure the items reflect features of masculine and feminine stereotypes, while the other measures assertiveness in classroom situations. Support for the context framework was provided for boys only and then solely with regard to the first indicator; that is, boys highly endorsing feminine‐typed behaviours were found to experience lower levels of acceptance from peers in single‐sex schools but not in coeducational schools. As for assertiveness, it was found that highly assertive girls as well as boys report higher levels of peer acceptance, regardless of the gender context of the school.     

Sorting or mixing? Multi-track and single-track schools and social inequalities in a differentiated educational system

In the Dutch stratified secondary educational system, schools vary in how many tracks are offered. While the tendency in the Netherlands is for schools to become smaller, a relevant policy question is whether multi-track school settings promote equality of educational opportunity. Comparing single-track schools at the pre-university and pre-vocational levels with multi-track schools offering the same exams, and using relative geographical distance as an instrument of school choice, the analyses showed that single-track pre-university schools enhance the probability of obtaining a pre-university diploma without delay, but more strongly so for students from disadvantaged backgrounds (who have a lower chance of going to such schools). The single-track pre-vocational schools were associated with a lower likelihood of achieving a diploma at a level higher than pre-vocational education. Multi-track schools within a varied system will not automatically enhance equal opportunities, as middle-class children will also benefit from the additional options that multi-track schools provide.     

De Colorando Auro: Experiments and literature study of medieval colouring recipes on gilded plates

In the restoration-conservation practice of medieval art masterpieces, such as the Holy Lady Shrine from Huy, knowledge about the techniques used to create and shape them is of major importance, especially when they concern the surface finishing treatments. This influences the selection of methods employed for the conservation-restoration process. This paper discusses the method and the materials that might have been employed to modify the colour of gilding on silver. Recipes for chemically modifying the colour of the gilded surface can be found in medieval texts and might have been used on the masterpiece discussed in this paper. This article gives an overview of technical instructions related to this topic and presents a method to interpret their contents in order to be able to implement them. It reports observations carried out during the implementation tests, such as information about the temperature, timing, and other important elements. It concludes with the visual and the colorimetric results on the samples after application of the tested recipes.     

Early career researchers and their publishing and authorship practices

This study presents findings from the first year of the Harbingers research project, a 3‐year longitudinal study of early career researchers (ECRs), which sought to ascertain current and changing habits in scholarly communication. The study recruited 116 science and social science ECRs from seven countries who were subject to in‐depth interviews, and this paper reports on findings regarding publishing and authorship practices and attitudes. A major objective was to determine whether ECRs are taking the myriad opportunities proffered by new digital innovations, developing within the context of open science, open access, and social media, to publish their research. The main finding is that these opportunities are generally not taken because ECRs are constrained by convention and the precarious employment environment they inhabit and know what is best for them, which is to publish (in high impact factor journals) or perish.     

Exploring the Complexity of Students’ Scientific Explanations and Associated Nature of Science Views Within a Place-Based Socioscientific Issue Context

Science & Education - In addition to considering sociocultural, political, economic, and ethical factors (to name a few), effectively engaging socioscientific issues (SSI) requires that...     

Creating school environments that deter antisocial behaviors in youth

School violence has become of paramount concern in recent years, leaving many schools unprepared to deal with the varied problems students bring to the classroom. Conditions within the school can be readily identified that predict and contribute to problematic behavior. The success of preventive and intervention programs for youth violence hinges upon recognizing and modifying aspects of school climate, teacher/school personnel interactions with students, and school structure. Several of these aspects are identified in this article and suggestions for improving the educational environment to prevent the development of antisocial behaviors in youth are offered. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.