How effective is parental prosecution as a method of improving school attendance among primary‐aged children?

Just under half a million children and young people in state schools in England miss school every day. Indeed, improving school attendance has remained a key aim for successive governments. Various strategies have been adopted at both national and local levels in an attempt to tackle the persistent issue of school attendance with varying degrees of success. This study explores the effectiveness of one of those strategies – that of parental prosecutions – as a means of improving children and young people's school attendance. It reports on the effectiveness of parental prosecutions while highlighting some of the emerging patterns among a cohort of those prosecuted within one local authority during one academic year.     

Studying parental involvement and university access and choice: An ‘interacting multiple capitals’ model

Capital‐embedded parental involvement in education is essential in enhancing university enrolment and maximising the educational potentials for equality and excellence. Previous studies in this field have mainly utilised Perna's ( 2000 , 2006 ) model, which defines parental involvement as social capital and identifies the additive influences of different types of capital (including social, economic and cultural capital) on university access and choice. Yet, little research to date theorises and disaggregates the interplay among various types of capital as well as the multiplicative capital effects on enrolment. This study addressed this gap. We proposed an ‘interacting multiple capitals’ (IMC) model and hypothesised that parental social capital could moderate the effects of cultural and economic capital on entry to university. To validate the model, a pilot survey was administered to 216 university students of Korean ethnicity in China and investigated the models of involvement adopted by Korean parents in the context of the increasing labour mobility of the Korean adult population. Moderated multiple regression analysis was employed and the results confirmed the hypothesis that capital effects upon university access and choice were multiplicative in nature, with social capital moderating the cultural capital influence on students’ educational aspirations. The study findings show that the interaction of various types of capital variables is sufficiently statistically significant to warrant future research and policy and practical discussion of how to promote parental involvement in university preparation and planning.     

摩尔定律的思想潜力和极限

集成电路是电子信息产业的核心,在其发展过程中,摩尔定律起到了预言和导向的作用,所以,摩尔定律的思想潜力和应用极限不仅关系到信息产业的前景,也关系到目前人类技术思想的前沿趋向和社会经济形态的进化与转型。本文结合科学方法论关于在两极中保持张力的准则,分别阐述并预测了摩尔定律在电脑、语言辨识、光纤设备和光器件中的应用以及促使摩尔定律达到极限的几个技术思想方面的问题。     

Parents' involvement in adolescents' schooling: a multidimensional conceptualisation and mediational model

This study examined the impact of parental involvement on adolescents' academic achievement in Korean families. The major strengths of the current research are the study of multiple dimensions of parental involvement, the longitudinal design and the consideration of mediating variables. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of parental involvement on students' academic achievement using data from a nationally representative sample of middle school students from the Korea Youth Panel Survey. Results indicated: (1) parental involvement dimensions positively influenced achievement through its effects on student self‐concept and locus of control; and (2) parents' increased participation in involvement practices (monitoring, educational expectation and affection) increases students' self‐concept and locus of control.     

Paternal involvement in the statutory assessment of special educational needs

There are manifold benefits of parental involvement in a child’s education, but there is evidence of gender imbalances in parental involvement. This article describes research into fathers’ involvement with educational psychologists (EPs) working with children undergoing statutory assessment. A content analysis of children’s files from one educational psychology service was conducted to assess the level of paternal involvement in EPs’ work, and semi‐structured interviews with eight fathers were used to identify factors that affected their involvement with EPs’ work. Fathers were less involved than mothers, and a number of factors affecting fathers’ involvement was identified. The discussion of findings is informed by Community Psychology, Ecosystemic Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and strategies to promote paternal involvement are identified.     

Parental involvement in secondary education schools: the views of parents in Greece

The present study explores Greek parents’ views on parental educational involvement and its impact on adolescent scholastic and social development. Specifically, aspects of parental involvement such as the achieved objectives of current parent–school communication, the psychological climate dominating teacher–parent interactions and parents’ suggestions for improvement of current policies and practices are examined. Four hundred and seventy‐five parents participated in the study. Findings showed that family–school communication is believed to be insufficient in Greece, despite the fact that parents tend to: (1) regard their cooperation with teachers as determinative of adolescent academic and psychosocial development; (2) consider teachers to be friendly and caring; and (3) believe that secondary school provides some opportunities for constructive parental involvement. These paradoxes are discussed and explained as a result of radical changes in current social and educational values, principles and objectives.     

White working class achievement: an ethnographic study of barriers to learning in schools

This study aims to examine the key barriers to learning to raise achievement of White British pupils with low‐income backgrounds. The main findings suggest that the worryingly low‐achievement levels of many White working class pupils have been masked by the middle class success in the English school system and government statistics that fail to distinguish the White British ethnic group by social background. The empirical data confirm that one of the biggest groups of underachievers is the White British working class and their outcomes at each key stage are considerably below those achieved by all other ethnic groups. One of the main reasons for pupil underachievement, identified in the case study schools and focus groups, is parental low aspirations of their children’s education and social deprivation. It is also perpetuated by factors such as low‐literacy levels, feelings of marginalisation within the community exacerbated by housing allocation, a lack of community and school engagement, low levels of parental engagement and lack of targeted support to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage, a legacy of low aspiration that prevents pupils from fulfilling their potential across a range of areas. The study concludes that the main obstacle in raising achievement is the government’s failure to recognise that this group has particular needs that are not being met by the school system. The government needs to recognise that the underachievement of White British working class pupils is not only a problem facing educational services but profoundly a serious challenge. Policy implications and recommendations are discussed in the final section.     

家长参与学生家庭作业的类型及其价值

家庭作业是学校教师布置给学生,让他们在课外时间完成的任务。家庭作业作为学生学习的重要任务,其完成的质与量是检验学习效果、衡量教学质量的重要指标。家长参与学生的家庭作业具有不同的类型及表现形式,对学生的学习会产生不同的影响。通过探讨家长参与学生家庭作业的类型,以期为学校教育和家庭教育提供借鉴。     

课题制实施存在的问题与对策

课题制实施以来在应对市场经济需求和适应国家科技体制改革方面起到重要作用,但也带来新的问题,课题制制定之初的制度预期未能完全实现,同时也暴露出已有制度安排中的一些缺陷。从课题制制度预期和实施成效出发,分析课题制在实施条件及范围、执行环节、经费管理和配套制度四个方面存在的主要问题,并针对这些问题提出完善课题制的措施和建议。     

社会经济地位与新教师发展期待的关系研究

新教师的入职适应和发展期待一直受到国家、地方、社会和学校的密切关注,是教师参与专业发展的关键事件,不仅能够为教师专业发展奠定基础,而且有助于凝聚有效教育资源,推动教师专业发展,建立和谐的师生关系。社会经济地位作为影响教师发展期待的环境变量,对于新教师来说亦是如此。本研究主要参照美国心理协会编制的《社会经济地位量表》,设计更加具体的衡量指标,重新编制了符合教师群体的调查量表;同时编制了新教师的发展期待量表,继而探讨社会经济地位与新教师发展期待之间的关系,希冀基于此帮助新教师寻求实现发展期待的可能路径。