Development of Math Attitudes and Math Self-Concepts: Gender Differences,Implicit–Explicit Dissociations,and Relations to Math Achievement

Three hundred and ninety-one children (195 girls; M_age = 9.56 years) attending Grades 1 and 5 completed implicit and explicit measures of math attitudes and math self-concepts. Math grades were obtained. Multilevel analyses showed that first-grade girls held a strong negative implicit attitude about math, despite no gender differences in math grades or self-reported (explicit) positivity about math. The explicit measures significantly predicted math grades, and implicit attitudes accounted for additional variance in boys. The contrast between the implicit (negativity for girls) and explicit (positivity for girls and boys) effects suggest implicit–explicit dissociations in children, which have also been observed in adults. Early-emerging implicit attitudes may be a foundation for the later development of explicit attitudes and beliefs about math.     

Social inequalities in access to higher education in Croatia: five decades of resilient findings

This article provides a panoramic view of research findings on social inequalities in access to higher education in Croatia since the 1960s, guided by the question of what has changed in the findings. Our review shows that there is stark continuity over the last five decades: students from better educated family backgrounds tend to be overrepresented in higher education; students from better educated and white-collar family backgrounds are more likely to enrol in academic as opposed to professional study courses; students at one Croatian university in particular stand out in terms of their more privileged social background; and medicine seems to be the prime academic field for observing social reproduction. We note that these persistent findings run parallel to a dramatically changing political, economic and social context in Croatia, including transformations in the 1990s resulting from social ownership of the means of production to widespread private ownership, as well as transformations from a one-party political system to the establishment of a multi-party political system. The article maps possible theoretical explanations for the resilience of social inequalities in access to higher education in the context of dynamic times. It also questions the role of educational policies in this process.     

How important is it to my parents? Transmission of STEM academic values: the role of parents’ values and practices and children’s perceptions of parental influences

The success of science education in classroom and out-of-school settings can be influenced by parents’ behaviours and STEM-related values. The present study investigated pathways in parent-to-child transmission of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) values by examining at same time parents’ values and behaviours, along with their children’s perceptions of these parental influences. The study included 1071 students (M_age?=?12.15) and the same number of their parents. Path analysis revealed that children’s importance value of the STEM school fields was best explained by their perceptions of parental values and behaviours in STEM. On the other hand, parents’ self-reported values and behaviours had a weak effect in predicting children’s values, which can be explained by inaccurate children’s perceptions of their parents. The results suggest that parents more easily convey beliefs about the utility than the attainment value of STEM. Namely, parents’ utility value had a larger effect in predicting children’s value, partly mediated through children’s perception of parents’ encouragement of STEM interests. The study highlights the role of children’s perceptions of their parents’ beliefs and behaviours and the importance of communicating STEM-related values within the family. Practical implications for parents and science educators are discussed.     

The Influence of Interactive Learning Materials on Solving Tasks That Require Different Types of Mathematical Reasoning

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of the Interactive Learning Materials Triangle (iLMT) on the learning and knowledge...     

What's sexy? Adolescent girls discuss confidence,danger, and media influence

Building on qualitative research about sexualisation by media and culture and the impact on girls' development, in this article we present a discourse analysis of three focus groups of teen girls of colour and of diverse ethnicities asked to talk about sexiness. We focus on the ways the girls both support and resist hegemonic discourses about femininity and sexuality as well as on the discursive strategies used by the girls to separate sexiness from lack of respectability and present themselves as both knowing consumers of media and passive responders. The girls constructed sexiness in three ways that we refer to as interpretive repertoires and analyse each for paradoxes, contradictions, and resistance to mainstream conceptualisations of sexiness. These are sexy as confident; disadvantages and advantages to sexy; and sexy as sold to you.     

A University Model for Multiple Problem Areas

The author argues strongly for a model of university organization that is based upon problem areas rather than upon the traditional departmental structure that is itself based upon strict disciplinary delimitation. The required shift is made difficult by the bookkeeper mentality of university administrators who find the spontaneous development of problem-based and problem-driven work groups difficult to track and to fit into traditional administrative structures. The shift, however, must be made in order for the university to retain its position on the cutting edge of creativity. University administration must adapt itself to the new realities of knowledge production.     

Facilitating self-directed learning (SDL) and satisfaction with SDL among pre-university students

The aim of the study was to evaluate our practice of self-directed learning (SDL) among pre-university students in Malaysia. Respondents provided data on their previous school learning experiences besides present SDL experiences in college. We carried out exploratory factor analysis based on the school data. We did a confirmatory factor analysis using College SDL experiences of students. Given high similarities between the measurement models, we decided to use the original structure of the instrument. Students provided feedback using a questionnaire based on Prociuk’s. A large majority declared that they needed SDL experiences which they lacked while at school. The study also showed that students had rated their SDL experiences in college more positively than in school, on four factors of SDL experiences. Pearson correlations showed that “knowledgeable and organised teachers” and “promotion of active learning” correlated significantly with students’ current satisfaction with SDL in college.     

Staff Recruitment in Higher Education: Country and Institutional Experiences – The Case of Serbia

When the legislation on higher education in Serbia was enacted in the summer of 2005, Serbian universities started a reform process, which has still not been completed. Since the new law leaves room for any institution to organize itself within the given framework, it is hard to predict the final shape the universities are going to adopt. Consequently, this paper focuses on the existing practice in recruitment policy indicating the eventual pitfalls that threaten the institution in the reform process. In order to allow for a better understanding of the environment in which recruitment is taking place, the first part of the paper outlines the existing environment in terms of the institutional structure, financing and management. The second part concentrates on the recruitment policy.     

Dearth of early education experience: a significant barrier to educational and social inclusion in the Western Balkans

The article summarises the socio-political, cultural, economic and educational background to the Western Balkans region and outlines the wider qualitative research study that provided the data on early and pre-school educational opportunities in the seven countries involved; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The authors examine international research and literature on early education that identifies it as an important means of enabling subsequent educational and social inclusion and attainment. They proceed to discuss and illustrate from the research data five inter-linked factors showing that provision of early education in the Western Balkans is inadequate and exclusive and that children who are already at greatest socio-economic and cultural disadvantage and at potential risk in elementary and secondary education are least likely to participate in, or benefit from, it. Some recent more encouraging developments are noted but the article concludes that substantially more investment and positive actions are needed in raising awareness of the importance of early education and in developing policies and provision for it that will benefit children currently at greatest disadvantage.