Personal and contextual determinants of ethnically diverse female high school students’ patterns of academic help seeking and help avoidance in English and mathematics

This study investigated female high school students’ (N = 293) patterns of help seeking in the domains of English and mathematics. Help seeking was operationalized using both self-report measures of need-contingent help seeking and help avoidance, as well as a behavioral measure of help seeking, namely the number of times students attended after-school tutoring sessions. As predictors of help seeking, the motivational variables of achievement goals, task-value, and expectancy for success were considered, alongside cognitive and metacognitive strategy-use, need for cognition, academic procrastination, and a belief in quick learning. Overall, the motivational variables of expectancy for success, task-value, and mastery goals and the cognitive variables of metacognitive self-regulation and rehearsal were found to significantly predict help seeking in English and math. No discernable effects of grade level or ethnicity on patterns of help seeking were detected. Several subject-level differences, however, were found, suggesting that students’ help-seeking patterns do vary by domain.     

The Impacts of System and Human Factors on Online Learning Systems Use and Learner Satisfaction

Success in an online learning environment is tied to both human and system factors. This study illuminates the unique contributions of human factors (comfort with online learning, self‐management of learning, and perceived Web self‐efficacy) to online learning system success, which is measured in terms of usage and satisfaction. The research model was tested employing SEM on a sample of 674 college students enrolled in at least one online course. The factors of comfort with online learning and perceived Web self‐efficacy were significant predictors of satisfaction. Comfort with online learning was significant in predicting usage. The impact of demographic variables was examined.     

Reflections on the need for continued research on writing

A focused scientific research effort on writing research and its relationship to language development and reading is needed to address the writing and broader literacy needs of today’s and tomorrow’s learners and workers. In the United States, as well as in many other nations, research on writing has been neglected in relation to the emphasis on reading and oral language more generally. The authors argue first for why there is a need for this refocused effort, what should be focused on, and how as a field we should consider moving forward and addressing this imperative. In addressing the why, the authors argue that need is not limited to a particular age or developmental range but rather is broad-based, beginning with our youngest learners and continuing through those transitioning into post-secondary and the workplace. The clear message is that the picture is surprisingly similar across age ranges with a demonstrated need beginning with those coming from less advantaged backgrounds into formal education to the majority of students transitioning from twelfth grade into the workplace or post secondary settings. The authors suggest next steps for research addressing both what and how: what areas of science are areas of high need and how the field may consider moving forward to address these needs. Interdisciplinary research on writing is needed that addresses and integrates cognitive, biological, and social-cultural traditions, contributions, and methods.     

Different moves,similar outcomes: a comparison of Chinese and Swedish preschool teacher education programmes and the revisions

A Chinese and a Swedish preschool teacher education programme were examined in search for commonalities and differences of the curriculum decision-making considerations involved in the respective programme revision process. Findings include: (1) the two programmes have shifted orientations and become similar, yet there was no fundamental paradigmatic shift after the revisions; (2) the Swedish programme has been heavily influenced by political agenda and national curriculum guidelines, while the Chinese one gives considerable attention to the opinions from the preschool circle; (3) the discussion of programme revision revolved around the diverse views of quality preschool education and teacher education; and (4) a strong relationship between the institutional/organisational features identified and the programme orientations was found. The empirical data suggested teacher educators’ professional views of quality preschool education and organisational/institutional characteristics are critical to the curriculum decision-making in the specific contexts.     

Four generations of women's educational experience in a rural Chinese community

Our study sought to understand changes in gender inequality in education across four generations of rural Chinese women's educational experiences in a small community in southern China. The 24 interviews and numerous informal conversations with 12 women showed that gender-based favouritism for men and against women undergirded family expectations, support, and decisions about women's formal education, but this manifested in different ways over generations. It appeared as strict gender division of labour within families, control, or ignorance of women's access to schooling, participants' emotional trauma, lower expectations of daughters' schoolwork, and gender-discriminating language in schools.     

Plan Before You Play: An Activity for Teaching The Managerial Process

This article describes a 60‐minute classroom activity using LEGO^® bricks that demonstrates and reinforces the importance of the managerial process. The activity, Plan Before You Play (PBP), is targeted to introductory business classes, and differs from others in that it requires little investment or up‐front planning, is easily scalable, and, with a few minor adjustments, can be altered sufficiently to discourage information drift across multiple class offerings and academic terms. It can also be modified to subject specific discussions. Students can participate in PBP regardless of their level of knowledge or interest in the subject. Participating in PBP provides students with a concrete example of how good communication and a decision framework can result in more efficient use of resources. The activity also encourages creativity and can be used to generate healthy competition between student groups.     

Neural Differences in Bilingual Children's Arithmetic Processing Depending on Language of Instruction

Many children in bilingual regions follow lessons in a language at school (school‐language) that they hardly ever speak at home or in other informal settings. What are the neural effects of this phenomenon? This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigates the effects of using school‐language on brain activity during a high cognitive task in two groups of French/Dutch bilingual children. Participants were asked to assess the correctness of 3‐operand (e.g., 5 ? 2 = 3) and 4‐operand (e.g., 3 ? 2 = 1 + 4) equations, respectively. Instructions about the task were given either in the children's school‐language or in another language that they only used at home. It was found that although both groups recruited a visuomotor occipitofrontal network in the left hemisphere, the children who performed the task in their school‐language showed less activation than the children who did not, indicating the importance of language of instruction for bilingual children's arithmetic processing.     

Children's Museums as Citizens: Four Inspiring Examples

Abstract The audience‐centered mission of childrens' museums has caused these institutions to look at their role in their respective communities and to take bold steps in envisioning new ways of relating to their constituents. Here is a selection of four childrens' museums which have founded inspiring and imaginative programs centered on children's welfare.