Secondary school science predictors of academic performance in university bioscience subjects

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from ～50 to 99 in Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) scores. Under the previous structure, students in different courses completed a variety of different subjects at first year. Concern about the ability of such disparate groups to complete a common first year led to the current investigation of the relationships between year 12 (final year of secondary school) science subjects and performance in first year university bioscience subjects. Year 12 results for all science‐related units and ENTER scores were obtained for all Victorian students enrolling in a first year course in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2005 and 2006. Regression and other analyses were conducted for five first year bioscience subjects. The ENTER score was the best predictor of academic performance in all units except regional anatomy. Performance in many secondary school science subjects was highly predictive of performance in physiology, combined systematic physiology and anatomy and biomechanics units, but again not for regional anatomy units. It appears that year 12 performance in science subjects and ENTER scores may be important predictors of success in physiology, but not regional anatomy subjects at university. It is possible that regional anatomy is an entirely new subject area that requires new types of learning unrelated to year 12 science subjects. Anat Sci Ed 2:113‐118, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Predictors of primary schoolteachers’ behavioural intention to teach students demonstrating inappropriate behaviour in regular classrooms

This study examined the relationships between primary schoolteachers’ attitudes, efficacy beliefs and perceived support and their behavioural intentions in regard to teaching students who display inappropriate behaviour in regular classrooms. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used to guide the conceptual framework of the study. A total of 1090 teachers from 263 government primary schools located in urban, suburban and rural areas of one educational region of Bangladesh were surveyed. Hierarchical regression was utilized to analyse data. Results revealed that attitudes and efficacy beliefs were significant predictors of teachers’ behavioural intentions in teaching students who exhibit inappropriate behaviour. The three predictive variables (attitudes, efficacy beliefs and perceived support) accounted for 59% of the variance in teachers’ intentions. The findings of the study indicate possible implications for policymakers and teacher educators in Bangladesh.     

A multilevel study of position effects in PISA achievement tests: student- and school-level predictors in the German tracked school system

Abstract

Position effects (PE) cause decreasing probabilities of correct item responses towards the end of a test. We analysed PEs in science, mathematics and reading tests administered in the German extension to the PISA 2006 study with respect to their variability at the student- and school-level. PEs were strongest in reading and weakest in mathematics. Variability in PEs was found at both levels of analysis. PEs were stronger for male students, for students with a migration background (science and mathematics), and for students with a less favourable socio-economic background (reading). At the school level, PEs were stronger in lower school tracks and in schools with a high proportion of students with a migration background. The relationships of the test scores with the covariates partly reflected the covariates’ relationships with PEs. Our findings suggest that PEs should be taken seriously in large-scale assessments as they have an undesirable impact on the results.     

The utility of a standard composite for forecasting academic performance in several liberal arts colleges

In this study, one linear discriminant function of four admissions scores was found to exhaust more than 90% of their predictive power for separating 16 college/level-of-achievement groups — i.e., high- and low-performing freshman women at each of eight liberal arts colleges. Moreover, the corresponding discriminant score yielded validity coefficients vs freshman- and senior-level continuous grade-average criteria within each college comparable to coefficients yielded by group-specific, regression-weighted composites of the four scores in cross-validation samples. Results of the study suggest that multiple-discriminant analysis provides a rigorous and practical basis for adding an important and largely unexplored between-group dimension to studies in the prediction of within-group performance.     

Education for all and attrition/retention of new teachers: A trajectory study in Chile

This article centres on teacher retention and its importance for achieving quality education for all. It analyses the state of early career teaching attrition and turnover in Chile over a ten-year period, and goes on more closely to the study of new teacher trajectories over their first two years of teaching. In line with literature on issues of retention/attrition it considers the impact of school conditions and changes in professional satisfaction and self-efficacy perceptions in the early years of teaching. Data sources include econometric analysis of existing databases as well as surveys, interviews and narratives. Quantitative results indicate high attrition rates of early career teachers in Chile, and teacher narratives show “critical” as well as “protective” conditions that foreshadow decisions to leave or the stay in the profession.     

Predictors of school readiness in five‐ to six‐year‐old children from an Australian longitudinal community sample

This paper reports on school readiness (SR) and its predictors in five‐ to six‐year‐old children from a prospective, longitudinal study of children from eight months to seven years (the Early Language in Victoria Study – ELVS). The ELVS children came from a representative sample of children recruited though the State Government Infant and Child Health Centres at the age of eight months who were studied at yearly intervals with a combination of parent surveys and face‐to‐face assessments. The study had a focus on language, pre‐literacy and behavioural development. In pre‐school and preparatory grade, teachers of the children completed a brief questionnaire rating SR characteristics, including cognitive, language and personal/social competencies. The data bank on these children provided a set of hypothesised child and family predictors of the SR score which were tested via factor analysis and regression analyses. Significant predictors of SR in the equation were evident from two years of age, and were all related to language and pre‐literacy factors from two to six years. Twelve per cent of the children showed language impairment (LI) at five years according to their scores on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, 4th edition (CELF‐4). In an additional analysis we found that these children were significantly lower on SR; they were also of lower social class compared with the remainder of the sample. The most influential factors in readiness for school were child language competencies and pre‐literacy capacities, including phonemic awareness and letter knowledge. Preparation for school involving systematic emphasis on language and pre‐literacy enrichment is recommended for all children before school entry and particularly for children at risk, including those coming from socio‐economic disadvantage and those with delayed and impaired early language development. This addition to pre‐school programmes can have lasting positive effects into pre‐school and beyond, and prevent early school failure.     

关于创伤后应激障碍与创伤后成长的辩证认识——基于整合-比较的视角

经历创伤事件的个体不仅会出现创伤后应激障碍(PTSD),而且也会体验到创伤后成长(PTG)。作为创伤后两种性质不同的心理反应,PTSD与PTG之间并不是彼此无关的,它们往往共存于创伤后的人群之中。从整合-比较的视角对两者的关系、影响因素及其机制进行探讨,可以发现在创伤后的短时间内,PTG作为一种策略,可以缓解PTSD;在创伤后的长时间内,PTG作为一种结果,可以由PTSD转化。PTSD与PTG既分享着诸如创伤暴露、核心信念挑战和恐惧等共同的因素,也可能被诸如侵入性反刍和主动反刍等因素所影响,甚至社会支持对两者也可能产生"双刃剑"的作用。从PTSD与PTG的影响机制角度看,两者产生的认知机制不同,但是两者产生的情绪机制类似;社会支持通过认知活动可以缓解PTSD,并促进PTG;社会支持通过降低情绪的表达抑制能有效地缓解PTSD,但不能促进PTG。     

Covariates and Mixture Modeling: Results of a Simulation Study Exploring the Impact of Misspecified Effects on Class Enumeration

For some time, there have been differing recommendations about how and when to include covariates in the mixture model building process. Some have advocated the inclusion of covariates after enumeration, whereas others recommend including them early on in the modeling process. These conflicting recommendations have led to inconsistent practices and unease in trusting modeling results. In an attempt to resolve this discord, we conducted a Monte Carlo simulation to examine the impact of covariate exclusion and misspecification of covariate effects on the enumeration process. We considered population and analysis models with both direct and indirect paths from the covariates to the latent class indicators. As expected, misspecified covariate effects most commonly led to the overextraction of classes. Findings suggest that the number of classes could be reliably determined using the unconditional latent class model, thus our recommendation is that class enumeration be done prior to the inclusion of covariates.     

应用罚函数方法构建广义指数因子预报模型——黄金价格预测的实证分析

采用不同的损失函数和罚函数构建了广义指数预报因子模型,用该模型来预测国际黄金价格. 构建方法包括:1)岭估计方法;2) 基于L₁、L₂以及二者结合的损失函数L_M,利用LASSO和SCAD 2种罚函数选取不同参数EWMA的线性组合作为预报因子. 实证检验表明,该方法构建的模型有效改进了单参数EWMA预测模型,其预测精度优于已有方法.