A new science and engineering career interest survey for middle school students

This study describes the development and validation of a science and engineering (S/E) career interest survey (CIS). This 56 question survey was developed to measure the overall S/E career interests of 7th through 9th grade students. In the CIS, a S/E career is characterized as one which requires the completion of at least a four-year college program with a major in science, science education, or engineering. The CIS is divided into four major parts. In Part I (30 questions), students are expected to select from occupational activities, while in Part II (20 questions) they are to select from various occupations. Part III (5 questions) and Part IV together make up the CIS internal verification scale. The CIS test-retest reliability coefficients for one week and eight months were calculated as 0.96 (n = 57, grades 7–9) and 0.78 (n = 1937, grade 8), respectively. The KR-21 estimate for the CIS was calculated as 0.92. Criterion-related validity coefficients were calculated in two ways: (a) CIS scores were correlated with the Kuder GIS science subscale (r = 0.75, n = 45, grades 7–9), and (b) CIS scores were correlated with a CIS internal verification scale (r = 0.59, n = 127, grades 7–9). Evidence to support the construct validity of the CIS was collected by two methods: (a) for 7–9 grade students (n = 45), the CIS score was found to correlate 0.75 with the scientific subscale and ?0.42 with the artistic sub-scale, of the Kuder GIS. (b) the second method compared the scores of known groups. Test results for students in grades 7-9 (n = 127; n = 1937) showed a statistically significant difference between the scores of boys and girls on S/E career interest. The readability of the CIS was seventh grade level.     

Experimental Impacts of the “Quality Preschool for Ghana” Interventions on Teacher Professional Well-being,Classroom Quality,and Children’s School Readiness

We assessed the impacts of a teacher professional development program for public and private kindergartens in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. We examined impacts on teacher professional well-being, classroom quality, and children’s readiness during one school year. This cluster-randomized trial included 240 schools (teachers N?=?444; children N?=?3,345, M_age?=?5.2) randomly assigned to one of three conditions: teacher training (TT), teacher training plus parental-awareness meetings (TTPA), and controls. The programs incorporated workshops and in-classroom coaching for teachers and video-based discussion groups for parents. Moderate impacts were found on some dimensions of professional well-being (reduced burnout in the TT and TTPA conditions, reduced turnover in the TT condition), classroom quality (increased emotional support/behavior management in the TT and TTPA conditions, support for student expression in the TT condition), and small impacts on multiple domains of children’s school readiness (in the TT condition). The parental-awareness meetings had counteracting effects on child school readiness outcomes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed for Ghana and for early childhood education in low- and middle-income countries.     

Development of a metaconceptual awareness and regulation scale

This study aimed to develop the Metaconceptual Awareness and Regulation Scale (MARS) – a self-report instrument for measuring the extent to which students realise, monitor, and evaluate their ideas. MARS consists of 10 items scored on a six-point Likert scale for two factors: metaconceptual awareness and metaconceptual regulation. A pilot study was conducted with 349 10th grade students while 338 11th grade students participated in the validation study. In order to test the two-factor structure of MARS, confirmatory factor analysis was employed with data from the validation study. Findings supported the two-factor structure of the MARS instrument. For further validity evidence, the relationship between students’ metaconceptual awareness and regulation and their use of learning strategies were examined using canonical correlation analysis. A significant correlation was found between the factors of MARS and learning strategies. Research and practical applications of MARS by science education researchers and teachers are discussed.     

Perceptions of trainers and practitioners regarding assessment and intervention for students with low incidence disabilities

Two national surveys of the perceptions of trainers and practitioners regarding assessment and intervention for students with low incidence disabilities (LID) were conducted. The first survey, sent to the directors of 250 school psychology training programs, was designed to determine the extent and type of training in assessment and intervention for students with LID offered in school psychology training programs. The second survey, mailed to 500 randomly selected National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) members, was developed to assess the extent and type of assessment and intervention for students with LID provided by school practitioners. Responses were received from 121 trainers (50.8% response rate) and 361 practitioners (72.2% response rate). Results indicated, while assessment and intervention for LID remains a small part of the school psychology caseload, school psychologists are using many of the best practice methods. However, recommendations are provided for increased awareness of additional methods, for seeking closer collaboration with special education professionals who specialize in working with this student population, and for more possibilities of subspecialization for future psychologists who will possess expertise in conducting assessment and intervention for LID. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 677–689, 2005.     

Plants as producers: A case study of elementary science teaching

This case study is part of a larger study of teachers' use of curriculum materials in planning and teaching fifth-grade science. This case study focuses on one of the nine teachers observed teaching an activity-based unit on plant growth and photosynthesis. Although the teacher became aware that her students held certain misconceptions about plant growth, she was unsuccessful in helping them replace their misconceptions with the scientific conceptions she wanted them to learn. The analysis revealed several factors that contributed to this disappointing result. The teacher and the curriculum developers held different views about learning and the nature of science, and several problems surfaced about the content and organization of the teacher's guide.     

The relationship between infant day care and socio-emotional development with French children aged 3–4 years

Early day care has been implicated as a risk factor for socio-emotional development. Research findings are not clear. Day care is extensively used in France from infancy onwards and the diverse range of care provides an opportunity for research addressing this issue. 125 children who had diverse day care experience in the first 3 years of life were studied at 3–4 years of age when they were at nursery school. Maternal interviews provided data on day care histories, and family characteristics. Maternal and teacher questionnaires provided data on child temperament and social behaviour. An observation of children’s behaviour during stranger approach/mother separation/reunion sequence provided data on attachment-related behaviours. The child’s socio-emotional development was considered as a function of sex, day care characteristics and family characteristics.     

Management development in Australian colleges and universities

Management development is a relatively recent concern in Australian higher education. Historically, management of colleges was deemphasized; instead, a gentlemen's approach to academic governance has predominated. Recently, as a result of an emerging administrative crisis, colleges and universities have started experimenting with new approaches to management. This article explores the applicability of a general management development model to the Australian context. The model, which identifies a dynamic relationship between the structural characteristics of an institution and its management needs, was developed from research on American colleges and universities. Based on the analysis of three case studies the model appears applicable to the Australian setting, especially for large and complex institutions which confront simultaneous pressures to develop the planning and management capability in basic units, and to increase coordination and planning at the institutional level.     

First Contact in Verb Acquisition: Defining a Role for Syntax

The goal of this research was to address 2 questions regarding children's use of syntactic information in acquiring verbs: First, what are children's biases for actions in the absence of syntactic information; and second, how specific is the meaning derived for verbs when syntactic information is present? In 3 experiments we presented nonsense verbs either in syntactic isolation (e.g., "Look! Sebbing!") or embedded within a transitive syntactic frame (e.g., "The frog is sebbing the duck"). These actions were then separated, and the children (mean age = 2 years, 3 months) were asked to select the action which was the referent of the verb. In Experiment 1, Causative actions (in which 1 character forces another to move in some way) were paired with Synchronous actions (in which both characters move simultaneously). In Experiment 2, the same Synchronous actions were now paired with Contact actions (in which 1 character merely touches the other). In Experiment 3, the Contact actions were paired with Causative ones. 2 results emerged: (1) Children have identifiable action biases in the absence of syntactic information and (2) these biases can be shifted by the addition of a transitive syntactic frame. We conclude that the meaning derived from the transitive frame is not specifically Causative or Contact but, more generally, a sense that 1 character is affecting another.