Family socioeconomic status,parental expectations,and adolescents’ academic achievements: a case of China

This study examines direct and indirect effects of family socioeconomic status (SES) and parental expectations on adolescents’ mathematics and problem-solving achievement in mainland China. SES here is composed of family wealth, home educational resources, and parental education. Over 5,000 ninth-grade students in 5 geographical districts of China participated in the study and were assessed by using the items adapted from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results from structural equation modelling indicated that 2 components of SES – home educational resources and parental education – positively predicted parental expectations; however, the 3rd component – family wealth – negatively predicted parental expectations. Family wealth, parental education, and parental expectations significantly predicted mathematics achievement, and home educational resources, parental education, and parental expectations significantly predicted problem-solving achievement. The 3 components of SES also had significant indirect effects on both mathematics and problem-solving achievement through parental expectations, and the effect of family wealth was a suppression effect. These results were further discussed from Chinese cultural contexts.     

How Prepared Are MSW Graduates for Doctoral Research? Views of PhD Research Faculty

ABSTRACT

This national survey of PhD faculty assessed the research preparation of entering doctoral social work students on a wide range of research knowledge and related skills. The prior literature shows that PhD programs repeat much BSW and MSW research course content. This study shows that the trend continues and has perhaps widened. PhD research faculty report that the typical entering PhD student displayed solid conceptual, ethics, and writing skills but lesser preparation for conducting quantitative and qualitative research, including methods related to understanding evidence-based practice. The research expectations of responding PhD faculty were low, reflecting limited retention and little production of research among typical entering doctoral students. These findings raise the issue of how effectively the social work profession prepares students for research and for future PhD education.     

Relationships between the use of test results and US students’ academic performance

In this study, we examined relationships between the use of test results and US students’ math, reading, and science performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009. Based on a literature review, we hypothesized that the 16 items in the PISA school questionnaire, which are related to the use of test results, can be categorized according to 4 factors. We validated this hypothesized factor structure using a confirmatory factor analysis and then obtained composite scores for each factor. As revealed by a multilevel analysis, when student and school demographic variables were controlled for, using test results to hold schools accountable to authority and the public was significantly positively related to students’ performance across all 3 subjects. No statistically significant relationship, however, was detected between students’ performance and the following uses of test scores: informing parents of their children’s performance, providing information for instructional purposes, and evaluating teachers and principals.     

日本小学新国语教科书的特色与启示

本文通过具体案例对日本小学新国语教科书的特色进行了分析,并同我国现行的小学语文实验教科书进行了比较,提出了若干启示与思考。     

PISA2009上海测试的考务实施及其启示

从测试的实施角度看,不同的测试可以有不同的实施规定和办法,但是这些规定和办法的目的都是为了使学生在相等的条件和情境下参加考试或测试,从而减少测量误差,保持测量结果的客观、公正和准确.从这一角度来看,HSA带给我们的不仅是国际化的测试理念,在测试具体实施层面也为国内的教育质量监测提供了很多值得借鉴的经验.     

从个人和学校视角看家庭社会经济地位对学生学业成绩的影响——国际学生评估项目(PISA)的启示

国际学生评估项目(PISA)的研究发现,PISA经济社会文化地位指数不仅影响学生个人的学业成绩,同时也影响不同学校间的教育质量差异.本文以PISA2006为例,详细说明了PISA经济社会文化地位指数的具体测量方法,解释PISA报告中学生家庭背景因素通过个人和学校对教育公平影响的一些研究结果,最后提出对上海教育均衡化发展研究视角的一些思考.     

中考语文阅读开放题与PISA阅读开放题例析

本文以PISA2009阅读试题、2009年上海中考语文试题为样本,从试题数量、问题和指导语、试题难度和评分标准等方面比较了PISA阅读开放题和中考语文现代文阅读开放题的异同,为中考语文开放题的设计提供了参考.     

PISA中阅读测试的测评框架与设计思路——兼谈对我国阅读测试的启示

PISA中阅读测试在阅读情景的确定、阅读材料的选择、阅读能力的构成、阅读能力的层级等方面构筑了一个完整的阅读测评框架,体现出了独具特色的阅读测试设计思路。这对我国的阅读测试有许多的启示,我们应明确阅读能力的内涵和层级,联系学生,使阅读试题走向情景化、生活化,不断拓展阅读材料的类型。     

Leveraging events to ensure enduring benefits: The legacy strategy of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup is the largest soccer event on the Asian continent. Australia hosted the 2015 AFC Asian Cup which provided the nation with an opportunity to not only celebrate the sport of soccer, but also leverage the event to deliver enduring legacies. This case study examines the three key legacies of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup which were tourism, trade and investment, and multicultural engagement, and considers the leveraging strategies that were implemented to achieve the stated legacies.     

Transformation or continuation? A critical analysis of the making of the post-2015 education agenda

As the target date of 2015 draws near for both the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals, consultations are well-underway to begin defining the shape and scope of the post-2015 development agenda. Between September 2012 and March 2013, UN Member States, private sector representatives, multilateral development agencies, epistemic communities and non-governmental organisations participated in the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Participants involved emphasised education as a societal good and a fundamental human right. Participants also highlighted the importance of education in addressing broader global challenges, stating that ‘education and learning should be transformative and foster global citizenship, thereby assuming its central role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies’. Such discourse suggests a shift in the objectives and priorities of global education in the post-2015 context. Is it possible that the post-2015 education agenda will represent a counter-hegemonic vision for global education? This paper engages in discursal analysis of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda to offer a preliminary answer to this question.