Socioeconomic Status– and Gender‐Based Differences in Students’ Perceptions of E‐Learning Systems

Many universities are pursuing increases in on‐line course offerings as a means of offsetting the rising costs of providing high‐quality educational opportunities and of better serving their student populations. However, enrollments in online courses are not always sufficient to cover their costs. One possible way of improving enrollments is through marketing campaigns targeted to specific demographic groups. In this study, we take a first look into how students’ perceptions of e‐learning systems, prior to their enrollment in an online course, vary across socioeconomic status and gender. Findings suggest that prior to taking an online course, working‐class students perceive e‐learning systems more positively than their middle‐class peers but that little difference exists between genders. Armed with this knowledge, universities may improve online course enrollments by marketing online courses specifically to working‐class students or through campaigns aimed at improving middle‐class students’ perceptions of e‐learning systems.     

Intrinsic Factors for Continued ERP Learning: A Precursor to Interdisciplinary ERP Curriculum Design

Unilateral enterprise resource planning (ERP) curriculum improvements from the instructor's perspective are likely to generate only limited success. Understanding student motivations and beliefs with ERP systems is the missing link to effective ERP education. Relatively little attention in the ERP literature has been given to student learning associated with ERP experience, and almost none to factors influencing current and expected student beliefs and behaviors relative to ERP. The complexity of ERP systems demands that beliefs and behaviors be considered when planning ERP curricula. In the present study, the Theory of Planned Behavior was extended to examine students’ intentions to explore additional aspects of ERP after their class exercises. When considering all students, attitude and subjective norm had positive and significant effects on intentions to continue ERP learning. Subjective norm also affected attitude, and availability of support materials had a positive effect on subjective norm. Distinctive patterns are found for the construct relationships between student groups who valued ERP education (the engaged) and those who placed little or no value on ERP education (the undecided). Results from competing model analyses indicate that support materials influenced the engaged and undecided groups differently. Strategies for ERP curriculum design are provided.     

面向设计实践的学习研究:AERA2011年会学习科学专题述评

本文就全美教育研究联合会(AERA)2011年会中展示的学习科学研究专题进行述评,从学习科学的研究热点、研究方法和研究工具等方面出发,对学习科学专题的研究进行概括和分析,从中透视出学习科学研究领域中前沿的研究动态和发展趋势。     

信息环境下西部地区大学生英语学习现状及其原因分析——以四川外语学院为例

信息技术影响到外语教与学的方方面面。对学生进行调查后发现,近半数学生喜欢通过网络和手机等电子工具学习英语;有1／3左右的学生喜欢通过虚拟学习环境学习英语;只有很少一部分学生喜欢去自主学习中心学习英语。从学生视角对造成上述现象原因进行分析有助于帮助学生提高学习能力。     

开放教育环境下提高英语教学效果的思考

在电大开放教育环境下,学员很难在较短时间内取得良好学习效果。探讨电大开放教育环境下适合各专业学员学习的有效方法,提高英语面授辅导课教学效果,切实增强开放教育各专业学员英语应用能力和综合素质具有十分重要的意义。     

完善英语课程形成性考核提高电大学生英语自主学习能力

应用形成性考核理论,以衢州广播电视大学开放教育英语专业学生为主要调查群体,结合衢州电大外语教研组教师的教学体会和经验,通过教师对学生自主学习方式进行指导,尽快让学生掌握有效学习方法等,进一步完善英语课程形成性考核体系,提高电大学生英语自主学习能力。     

湖南维新派"师日观"初探

甲午战争失败后,湖南维新派欲变法自强,其日本观完全转变,师日成为普遍共识.他们主张,主要从两个方面向日本学习:一、学习日本维新志士的献身精神;二、主张在政治、经济、教育、社会等方面向日本学习.这股在湖南掀起的师日风潮,给湖南维新运动带来积极的推动作用.同时,也对后来的湖南历史发展产生了一定的影响.     

学习科学与教育政策——2011计算机支持的协作学习国际会议回顾

2011计算机支持的协作学习国际会议于2011年7月在香港举行。此次会议的主题是计算机支持协作学习的研究与教育政策和实践的链接,旨在促进CSCL研究对各级正规和非正规教育领域的政策和实践带来新启示。会议集中了全球学习科学、教育技术与协作学习领域的前沿科学家,是一次有关学习科学的盛会。除了在香港的研讨会,本次会议还增设了在广州、上海和北京的连锁会,因此在大陆也吸引了不少学者参与。作为2011CSCL会议的前奏,主办方在香港举行了一个小型的全球教育政策论坛,20位成员之中,一半是前沿的学习科学研究人员,另一半则是各国际机构的教育政策领军人物,他们就教育的微观与宏观研究,做了别开生面的对话。我们相信,有关学习科学的研究,必将成为教育领域的基础研究。     

Modelling parenting styles,moral intelligence,academic self-efficacy and learning motivation among adolescents in grades 7–11

The current study investigated the associations between three maternal and paternal parenting styles, moral intelligence, academic self-efficacy and learning motivation in three serial mediation models. Omani adolescents enrolled in 7th to 11th grades (N = 296) responded to an online survey containing demographic items and scales measuring the variables noted above. Results of Path Analysis indicated that the three models had a good overall fit. In detail, the three paternal styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) had direct associations with moral intelligence and indirect associations with learning motivation. However, only two maternal parenting styles (i.e., authoritative and authoritarian) correlated directly with learning motivation and these two styles did not associate with moral intelligence. All effects were in the hypothesized direction except the effect of authoritative maternal and paternal styles. Moral intelligence had a positive direct correlation with students’ academic self-efficacy and learning motivation. Moral intelligence also mediated the negative associations between three types of fathers’ parenting styles and students’ motivation. Academic self-efficacy had a positive association with students’ motivation. These findings provided useful insights about the various association between external factors (e.g., parenting styles), internal factors (i.e., moral intelligence and self-efficacy) and students’ motivation among adolescents in middle and high schools.     

Revealing future research capacity from an analysis of a national database of discipline-coded Australian PhD thesis records

This article reports how statistical analyses of PhD thesis records can reveal future research capacities for disciplines beyond their primary fields. The previous research showed that most theses contributed to and/or used methodologies from more than one discipline. In Australia, there was a concern for declining mathematical teaching and research capacity. We decided to investigate the ‘hidden’ mathematics research capacity in PhDs outside of mathematics. Australian PhD records were re-coded with up to three fields. Records with mathematics as one of their codes were selected and analysed for their relationships to disciplines in their other codes. Triple-coding revealed ‘hidden’ mathematical research capacity that had previously been single-coded in another field had mathematics as one of their subsequent fields. Our findings have implications for policy and planning for mathematics in Australia, and multiple coding of PhD theses records enables analyses for other disciplines to be undertaken to show their research capacities.