Perceived efficacy of teachers in Macao and their alacrity to engage with inclusive education

ABSTRACT

This paper reports findings of a mixed methods study examining private school teachers’ perceptions of efficacy in dealing with the challenges presented by inclusive education in Macao. This is highly pertinent after the Government invited consultation to propose changes to amendments of the Decree Law of 1996 concerning the education of students with Special Education Needs (SEN) which will likely see private schools being required to accept these students in the future. Within the context of teacher preparedness for inclusive education, the study found that a number of teachers felt that they were not at all prepared to teach students with SEN. Whilst some teachers suggested that they lacked skills and knowledge in teaching in inclusive classrooms, some felt overwhelmed with the challenges. The teachers proposed that they would need to know how to provide instructional adaptations and modifications to support students with SEN. Implications for continuous development of teacher training and education are discussed within the context of improving teacher efficacy and how private school teachers could better respond to the challenges of inclusive education in Macao.     

The perception of smiling and its experiential correlates in three-month-old infants

We studied individual differences in 3-month-olds' perceptions of smiling and the experiential correlates of those differences. In the laboratory, infants saw a graduated series of smiles that grew in intensity of expression. As a group, 3-month-olds preferred increasingly intense expressions of smiling, but individually they showed different growth rates of preference across the smiling series. Further, infants' preferences related to their home experiences: Infants who showed greater sensitivity to smiling had mothers who more frequently encouraged attention to themselves when they were smiling and their infants were looking at them. Infant discrimination within and between categories of facial expression and the relative strengths of association between different kinds of naturally occurring experiences and infant perceptual sensitivity are discussed.     

ITEM-EXAMINEE SAMPLING PROCEDURES AND ASSOCIATED STANDARD ERRORS IN ESTIMATING TEST PARAMETERS

Selected parameters for a negatively skewed and a normally distributed normative distribution were estimated in a post mortem item-examinee sampling investigation. Manipulated systematically were number of subtests, number of items per subtest, and number of examinees responding to each sub-test. Each item-examinee sampling procedure was replicated five times. Defining one observation as the score received by one examinee on one item, the results of this investigation support the conclusion that, in estimating parameters by item-examinee sampling, the variable of importance is not the item-examinee sampling procedure but is instead the number of observations obtained by that procedure. Degree of skewness in the normative distribution and failure to distribute all items among subtests were found to be relatively unimportant variables.     

Anatomical studies on water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) under the influence of textile wastewater

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) is a prolific free floating aquatic macrohpyte found in tropical and subtropical parts of the earth. The effects of pollutants from textile wastewater on the anatomy of the plant were studied. Water hyacinth exhibits hydrophytic adaptations which include reduced epidermis cells lacking cuticle in most cases, presence of large air spaces (7∼50 μm), reduced vascular tissue and absorbing structures. Textile waste significantly affected the size of root cells. The presence of raphide crystals was noted in parenchyma cells of various organs in treated plants. Project (No. 30070017) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Introducing the Microcomputer into English. I. Aspects of classroom organization and their consequences for the curriculum

The organizational problems and decisions associated with introducing the microcomputer into the English curriculum are considered. The factors influencing decisions concerning how many machines to use are identified as availability; the classroom environment, in terms of its physical properties, patterns of use, and availability of resources; resources of teacher time, including previewing materials, organizing equipment, and lesson time. The attitudes of teachers and pupils are contrasted. The organization of classroom activities must facilitate learning through small-group discussion, and so accepted English teaching practices at secondary level are challenged by the introduction of the microcomputer.     

Operating systems

The objectives and stages of operating systems introduced in Part 1 are continued here. Four major components —process management, input-output (I/O) device management, memory management, file management and protection are discussed.     

Field-study science classrooms as positive and enjoyable learning environments

We investigated differences between field-study classrooms and traditional science classrooms in terms of the learning environment and students’ attitudes to science, as well as the differential effectiveness of field-study classrooms for students differing in sex and English proficiency. A modified version of selected scales from the What Is Happening In this Class? questionnaire was used to assess the learning environment, whereas students’ attitudes were assessed with a shortened version of a scale from the Test of Science Related Attitudes. A sample of 765 grade 5 students from 17 schools responded to the learning environment and attitude scales in terms of both their traditional science classrooms and classrooms at a field-study centre in Florida. Large effect sizes supported the effectiveness of the field-studies classroom in terms of both the learning environment and student attitudes. Relative to the home school science class, the field-study class was considerably more effective for students with limited English proficiency than for native English speakers.     

Play behavior of hearing impaired children: integrated and segregated settings

The free-play behavior of young hearing impaired children in integrated and segregated settings was compared using a multielement baseline design. Two children, aged 3 and 5, were observed using momentary time sampling of their play as they alternated from one setting to the other. Data were collected in ech setting for various categories of play behavior. The categories were derived from the classic play categories of Parten and Smilansky. Results indicate that the children engaged in more socially advanced play in the integrated setting.