Development of learning to learn skills in primary school

In Finland, schools’ effectiveness in fostering the development of transversal skills is evaluated through large-scale learning to learn (LTL) assessments. This article presents how LTL skills—general cognitive competences and learning-related motivational beliefs—develop during primary school and how they predict pupils’ CPS skills at the end of sixth grade. The six-year follow-up of 608 pupils shows that cognitive competences demonstrated in the beginning of the first grade in a learning preparedness test predict both later cognitive LTL competences and CPS, but their development is not fully determined by earlier individual differences in learning preparedness in the first grade. Motivational beliefs begin to be related to cognitive LTL performance gradually from age 10 on, and they may have a slightly stronger effect on CPS than on cognitive LTL performance. It is concluded that the development of CPS is partly depending on pupils’ initial learning preparedness and the development of their LTL skills.     

Teacher change beliefs: validating a scale with structural equation modelling

The objectives of the study were to validate a substantiated Teacher Change Beliefs Model (TCBM) and an instrument to identify critical components of teacher change beliefs (TCB) in Malaysian secondary schools. Five different pilot test approaches were applied to ensure the validity and reliability of the instrument. A total of 936 teachers from 47 high-performing secondary schools completed the survey. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the models. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify the underlying factors, whereas confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the measurement models. The analysis yielded a three-factor TCBM: (1) discrepancy, (2) efficacy and (3) principal support. The results demonstrated a good fit of the model: normed χ² = 3.156, Tucker-Lewis Fix Index = .987, Comparative Fix Index = .991 and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .048. The results also provided evidence for convergent validity, discriminant validity and construct reliability. The TCBM is an empirically tested model derived in a local Malaysian cultural education setting. It provides direction for practitioners in planning and designing training programmes of change management for school principals in the enhancement of TCB among teachers in schools. Besides, Teacher Change Beliefs Scale is a promising and welcome tool for both practitioners and researchers. With only nine items, it is easy to administer and not time-consuming.     

大学生理想信念教育的瓶颈及其突破口--基于上海E大学的实证研究

在价值多元化和处于社会转型期的当今,大学生理想信念呈现出新的特征,主要表现在思想层面上的信念认同和怀疑并存,生活层面上的奉献精神与趋利选择并存,以及教育层面上的主体单一性和“授受”脱节。如何做好理想与现实、教育者与学生间的接轨,是大学生理想信念教育面临的瓶颈,也是突破口和着力点。从主体参与层面引入全员育人的同时,也要整合教育资源,完善分层次教育的载体建设。     

陕北地名文化浅析

陕北地名丰富多彩、种类繁多,为研究陕北历史、地理、文化等提供了丰富的素材。陕北地名与黄土高原自然地理有着高度一致性,并一定程度上表现出了浓厚的宗族思想,作为历史上各民族融合的主要区域,陕北地区还保留了很多涉及少数民族的地名,成为了研究中国古代民族关系、民族文化的重要资料。研究陕北地名文化是在新形势下阐释黄土文化的重要手段,也是弘扬具有陕北地域特色优秀文化的必要方面。     

Instrument adaptation in cross-cultural studies of students’ mathematics-related beliefs: learning from healthcare research

Much comparative research into education-related beliefs has exploited questionnaires developed in one culture for use in another. This has been particularly the case in mathematics education, the focus of this paper. In so doing, researchers have tended to assume that translation alone is sufficient to warrant a reliable and valid instrument for cross-cultural research, prompting concerns that a number of necessary equivalences are unlikely to have been addressed. In this paper, we consider the nature of these equivalences before examining the literature of a different field, healthcare research, to synthesise an approach to instrument adaptation that is pragmatic but rigorous. Finally, we demonstrate how this pragmatic approach, incorporating extensive cognitive interviews, enabled us to adapt and refine a mathematics-related beliefs questionnaire, developed in Flanders, for use with students aged 14–15 in England and Spain. Analyses indicate that the instrument so developed is multidimensional, reliable and cross-culturally valid. Some implications are discussed.     

Who are the future teachers in Turkey? Characteristics of entering student teachers

This exploratory study examines the background characteristics, socio-cultural values and pedagogical beliefs that entering student teachers bring with them into the faculties of education and explores their possible implications for teacher education in the Turkish context. The study comprised 18,226 first-year student teachers from 51 faculties of education who participated in the study by responding to a three-section questionnaire developed by the research team. Their responses indicate that students entering education faculties typically come from families of lower-middle socio-economic status living in urban areas, tend to possess more traditional than secular-rational values and have not yet formed clear pedagogical beliefs.     

商丘市基督教与天主教发展状况浅析

基督教与天主教在商丘市的存在与发展,有其深刻的根源和社会心理因素.为加强对基督教与天主教的事务管理,更好地服务于商丘经济建设,就必须健全宗教管理组织,加强思想政治工作,帮助基督教、天主教爱国团体搞好自身建设.     

异质同构的终末叙事——《驿站长》中宗教伦理的现代性反思

透过阐释学的视角，《驿站长》中源于《圣经》典故“浪子回头”的宗教图式与杜妮亚的人生轨迹有着结构上的同构，却在质性上指涉不同的意向。杜妮亚居于现代意义上的自觉人生选择与典故所隐喻的宗教伦理精神相悖而行，从而暗示俄国传统道德法则的失效，并在更高的意义上对宗教伦理的现代性困境作了一个终末式的叙述：社妮亚整个人生选择所预示的不仅是传统宗教伦理秩序面临的断裂，还是俄罗斯新女性代表的滥觞。