Exploring factors that improve mathematics achievement in Brunei

The low pass rate in Brunei Year 13 mathematics is a source of concern for many stakeholders. Success in mathematics is required for students wishing to attend university and pursue courses in the sciences and technology. Many different factors contribute to success and failure in mathematics. This field survey (N = 330 randomly selected Year 13 students representing 179 females and 151 males) determined the extent to which coping mechanisms, study strategies, learning styles, and self-efficacy were related to academic achievement in mathematics. Stepwise multiple regression analysis with backward elimination identified six statistically significant main effect variables with links to mathematics achievement (task-oriented coping, textbook reading, concentration, self-efficacy, time management, and activist learning style). Two-way interactions of the male and female genders with deep processing and reflector learning styles were also significantly associated with mathematics achievement. Other significant interaction variables were beneficial to both genders.     

心理拓展训练对大学生应对方式的影响

采用实验研究法,运用中国大学生应对方式问卷对参加心理拓展训练课程和健美课程的大学生进行心理测量,并对调查数据进行比较分析,结果表明：心理拓展训练课程对大学生应对方式的影响具有积极作用。     

Choosing schools,choosing selves: exploring the influence of parental identity and biography on the school choice process in Delhi,India

Drawing on qualitative interview data from a group of lower income parents in Delhi, India, this paper focuses on the dynamic relationship between parental choice of a particular school and parents’ own identity construction. The data indicate that choice of school is for some parents a symbolic expression of identity, influenced by family dynamics and parents’ educational biographies. The paper outlines the concept of ‘forging solidarities’ and proposes it as an alternative way of understanding school enrolment decisions that recognises the social significance of such choices for the wider family unit. More generally, as school choice mechanisms in various forms become an increasingly important part of the educational landscape in many countries, the findings draw attention to the sociocultural nature of choice in real-world market settings and the contribution of schooling choices to processes of social and educational segregation.     

Parent Resource Centers: An Innovative Mechanism for Parental Involvement in School Choice Decisions

This qualitative investigation reports on the use of Parent Resource Centers (PRCs) as a mechanism for parental involvement in public school choice decisions. Interviews with parents and staff at seven PRCs in Florida revealed that PRCs employ multiple strategies to communicate choice information to parents: community-, school- and media-based outreach; outreach to hard-to-reach parents; and collaboration with other agencies. Personalized assistance and provision of choice materials are also highlighted as useful strategies. Results indicate that there is low level of awareness about school choice options among parents and thus clear and consistent communication of choice information is needed. While PRCs hold promise for increasing parental engagement in school choice, structural and systemic barriers to exercising choice decisions such as transportation and collaboration between schools and PRCs should be addressed. Methodologically, this study illustrates the power of triangulating data from parents and PRCs to illuminate our understanding of how parents make choice decisions.     

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.     

高级护理专业"两段制"教学模式的初步研究

探索学校——医院联合办学的“两段制”教学模式,构建以人的生命周期为特征的临床护理课程体系,以充分利用学校与医院的教育资源,切实提高学生的动手能力。     

The Relation between the Frequency and the Universality of Teaching Activities

ABSTRACT

The author empirically tests the conceptual model of academic socialization, which suggests that parental cognitions about schooling influence parenting practices and child outcomes during the transition to school (Taylor, Clayton, &; Rowley, 2004). More specifically, the author examines associations among parents’ conceptions of school readiness, transition practices, and children's academic achievement in reading and mathematics from kindergarten through Grade 1 using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (N = 12,622). A latent growth curve model was estimated, and results show that parents’ school readiness beliefs were positively associated with children's beginning achievement and growth. Parents’ transition practices were positively associated with children's achievement at the onset of kindergarten. Parents’ beliefs also positively predicted their use of transition practices. The analysis largely confirmed the conceptual model of academic socialization. Furthermore, findings suggest that early interventions seeking to change parenting practices should consider parents’ school readiness beliefs and expectations.     

Exploring the relationship between students’ learning styles and learning outcome in engineering laboratory education

Abstract

It is a commonly accepted notion that people take different approaches in learning. Although attention has been given to learning styles as one of the determinants of learning performance, there is are limitations to the inferential approach to understanding the impact of learning styles on learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of learning preference on student learning outcome in engineering labs. The findings of this paper contribute to the existing literature in two ways. This study describes the typology of participants’ learning styles, confirming some results from similar research. Additionally, it examines the impact of learning styles, using the Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic (VARK) inventory as indicators of students’ learning outcomes, and how the findings confirm or contradict prior research results in important ways. Further, this study includes demographic information to investigate the influence on learning outcome. Discussions of the results from both analyses will contribute to an academic understanding of the critical success factors of the learning process and their practical application in laboratory learning.     

教师为本适应市场--关于高校课程建设文化品格的思考

充分理解并运用市场经济规律的品牌战略原则、利益最大化原则和诚信原则,构建学校与教师的利益及道德认同机制,是高校在市场经济体制下,将课程建设"教师为本"的文化品格之应然,转化为可操作的建设信念及成果的必经之路;学校作为高校课程建设的一级决策主体、保障主体、管理主体和实施主体,应具备"教师为本,适应市场"的文化品格.     

中国古代家训的价值取向初探

中国古代家训滥觞于西周，发展于隋唐，完善于明清。它自始至终以修身、齐家、报国为主要内容，以“仁义”、“孝悌”、“忠敬”为价值取向。在当今家庭教育中仍应提倡“成人”教育，培植“家和”的人文精神，陶冶子女“心怀天下”的高尚情操。