Lesen Mädchen anders?

Zusammenfassung Die Gender bezogene Forschung der letzten Jahre setzte sich insbesondere mit Differenzen in mathematischen und naturwissenschaftlichen Kompetenzen auseinander, w?hrend die Unterschiede im Leseverst?ndnis weniger Beachtung fanden. Dabei sind national wie auch international die Befunde von gro? angelegten Schulvergleichsstudien konsistent: M?dchen lernen schneller und besser lesen, und auch wenn die Jungen in der Sekundarstufe aufholen, so erreichen sie den Stand der M?dchen auch im Jugendalter noch nicht. Anhand der 2001 durchgeführten Internationalen Grundschul-Lese-Untersuchung (IGLU) wird untersucht, ob der Vorsprung der M?dchen im Leseverst?ndnis schon in der Grundschule angelegt ist. Anhand differenzieller Item Analysen wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob sich auch bei einzelnen Fragen systematische Unterschiede zwischen M?dchen und Jungen nachweisen lassen. Anhand der Analysen kann gezeigt werden, dass geringe Geschlechtsdifferenzen bezüglich des Frageformats (offenes Antwortformat vs. Multiple Choice) und den Leseleistungen bei literarischen und Informationstexten bestehen. Bei Betrachtung der in IGLU getesteten Verstehensaspekte ergeben sich keine Differenzen zwischen Jungen und M?dchen. Hingegen ist bezüglich der Aufgabenschwierigkeiten ein Zusammenhang mit geschlechtsspezifischen L?sungsh?ufigkeiten festzustellen, was ?ltere Befunde stützt, die gezeigt haben, dass M?dchen routinierter lesen. Als m?gliche Konsequenz dieser Untersuchung k?nnte die Anregung gegeben werden, im Unterricht vermehrt Leseanreize zu geben, welche Jungen eher ansprechen, um sie so zum vermehrten Lesen zu führen. In sp?teren Untersuchungen w?re dann zu kl?ren, ob die Jungen so mehr Sicherheit bei routinierten Leseaufgaben erreichen k?nnten und ggf. zu dem von M?dchen gezeigten Niveau des Leseverst?ndnisses aufschlie?en k?nnten.

---

Summary Over the last few years research has particularly concerned itself with gender differences between competencies in mathematics and natural sciences, whilst differences in reading comprehension have had little attention. At the same time, national and international evidence from large-scale school comparisons has shown consistently that girls learn to read faster and better. Even when boys catch up at secondary level, they do not reach the girl’ standard in their teens. On the basis of the international reading study IGLU carried out in 2001, this contribution will ask whether the girl’ head-start can already be observed at primary school level. Using differential item-analysis, the question of whether answers to individual questions show systematic differences will be investigated. The analysis shows only small gender differences regarding question format (open questions vs. multiple choice) and reading performance for literary and informational texts. Also, no differences between boys and girls can be found in the aspects of comprehension tested for in the IGLU-study. However, there is a connection between the level of task difficulty and the frequency of solving tasks by gender, which supports previous evidence that girls read more proficiently. A possible consequence of this study could be the using of reading incentives in class, which are particularly aimed at boys, to encourage their reading. Further studies would have to investigate whether boys achieve an improved confidence in tasks calling for reading proficiency and are therefore able to reach the standards of reading comprehension set by the girls.

     

Who wants to become a teacher? Typology of student-teachers’ commitment to teaching

Understanding student-teachers’ decisions to enter and stay in the teaching profession after graduation could help teacher educators to find appropriate procedures to enhance commitment to teaching. This study classified student-teachers based on their levels of commitment to teaching, and described these types based on student-teachers’ motivation to enter the teaching profession and their perceptions of the teaching profession and environmental aspects e.g. school condition and significant others. Thirty-seven undergraduate student-teachers from the Dar es salaam University College of Education in Tanzania were interviewed. Four student-teacher types from our results were identified: (1) committed passionate, (2) committed compromisers, (3) undecided and (4) uncommitted. Implications from the findings include the importance of designing teacher education curriculum in a way that caters for the needs of student-teachers in each type in order to enhance their commitment to teaching.     

A review of the characteristics of intermediate assessment and their relationship with student grades

In-course assessment, such as midterms, quizzes or presentations, is often an integral part of higher education courses. These so-called intermediate assessments influence students’ final grades. The current review investigates which characteristics of intermediate assessment relate to these grades. In total, 88 articles were reviewed that examined the relationship between intermediate assessment and student grades. Four main characteristics were identified: the use of feedback, whether the assessment is mandatory, who is the assessor, and the reward students get for participating. Results indicate that corrective feedback leads to the most positive results, but elaborate feedback may benefit lower achieving groups. No difference in results was found for mandatory versus voluntary intermediate assessments. Peer assessment seemed to be beneficial, and rewarding students with course credit improves grades more than other rewards. Three scenarios are presented on how teachers can combine the different characteristics to optimise their intermediate assessment.     

The effect of blended instruction on accelerated learning

While online instructional technologies are becoming more popular in higher education, educators’ opinions about online learning tend to be generally negative. Furthermore, many studies have failed to systematically examine the features that distinguish one instructional mode from another, which weakens possible explanations for why online instructional technology can be beneficial. The current study isolates three benefits of the authors’ particular online instructional technology: (1) providing flexibility in how students learn, (2) offering immediate and targeted feedback and (3) increasing student participation and engagement with instructional material. Maximum benefits were observed when students used the online instructional technology to prepare for their face-to-face class – that is, students with this blended instruction learned twice as much content in the same amount of time in comparison to students with face-to-face instruction alone, without creating an atypically high workload.     

Ergebnisse nationaler und internationaler Forschung zu schulischen Innovationsnetzwerken

Accompanied by the increasing relevance of school networks, there are a lot of reports available in national and international research regarding this topic. However, a compact summary of those studies and their findings is missing by now. Therefore, this article synthesizes the current research on school networks. Starting with the introduction of theoretical concepts for a better understanding of academic innovation networks, the article examines the empirical findings concerning those networks. This examination is conducted separately for German language and English language research. According to the presented findings, a consistent positive effect of school networks can be traced. The article concludes with a discussion of future research potentials concerning networks. Concrete suggestions for methodical and theoretical designs regarding network research are submitted.     

Experiencing churches as spiritual and religious places: a study on children’s emotions in church buildings during scholastic field trips

Going on a field trip to the church, pupils can experience lived religion. But how do they feel during such a church visit? In this paper, we analyse statements of 516 German third graders (about 8 years old) made after they had visited their local church on a field trip. Using affective schema theory, we develop a conceptual model of emotions in churches that serves as theoretical framework for our quantitative content analysis. All in all, the vast majority of the participants report about positive feelings during their church visit. Moreover, it is one-third of the children who show spiritual or religious references in their statements. They talk about personal peace and comfort during the visit, or describe the church as a place to pray and experience the presence of God. Regression analysis identifies that it is the religiously educated children who express such references. Furthermore, children with high centrality of religiosity tend to choose traditional religious concepts, symbols and practices to express reference. These results are mostly in line with relevant theory from sociology of religion and primarily support the concept of subjective turn in religion.     

The use of the internet in university teacher training

Education students often complain about the style of learning practiced at universities. In addition to theoretical knowledge, they want to gain more experience with “real” students. We are investigating new ways of combining theoretical learning and practical teaching by using digital communication techniques. We design courses for the study of German in primary and secondary schools, where our students cooperate with high school students via E-mail, messageboard, and chat. We aim to interest future teachers of German language and literature in media literacy and to prepare them for their future tasks in German classrooms against the background of the new information society. We developed the coursework over the last 5 years in the light of the experience we have gained, research performed, and the changes in hardware and software. Our program can also be transferred to other fields of teacher education.     

Veteran teachers’ job satisfaction as a function of personal demands and resources in the relationships with their students

Many teachers experience their profession as stressful, which can have a negative impact on their job satisfaction, and may result in burnout, absenteeism, and leaving the profession. The relationship with students can have both positive and negative implications for the job satisfaction of teachers, both early and later in their careers. The current study focused on the relationship between veteran teachers’ job satisfaction and their aspirations in teacher-student relationships. Data were gathered among 12 Dutch veteran secondary school teachers, including interviews, the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction, and the Questionnaire on Teachers’ Self-Efficacy. Veteran teachers’ job satisfaction appeared to be positively related to the extent to which their aspirations in teacher-student relationships had been realized. Teachers who had failed to realize their aspirations in teacher-student relationships showed relatively low job satisfaction, or avoided feelings of low job satisfaction by reducing the number of tasks that were directly related to teaching students. An implication for coaching veteran teachers is the need to pay more attention to the teacher-student relationship so that they can adhere to the way they would like to teach students.     

University-School Partnership in China: Teachers’ Personal Factors,Working Conditions,and Principal Leadership That Explain Their Development in Teaching

In China, the university-school partnership (USP) is a community of continuous professional development (PD) for teachers, involving teacher educators who visit schools. This study explores teachers’ personal factors, school working conditions, and principal leadership in order to explain differences in teachers’ learning when they have participated in the training program. Using a one-group pretest-posttest design, 375 teachers from 12 primary schools in Shanghai participated. Their learning performances are measured by changes in their teaching quality as evaluated by their students. Results of regression analyses show that teachers generally receive higher scores on teaching quality after the program than before. Three factors are significantly and negatively related to the changes in quality: teachers’ educational level, the extent to which teachers feel emotional pressure in their profession, and the support from their school principal. Implications for school leaders and policymakers are discussed.