Co-developmental trajectories of psychological need satisfactions at school: Relations to mental health and academic functioning in Chinese elementary school students

This study explored the co-developmental trajectories of autonomy, competence and relatedness need satisfactions at school and their relations to mental health and academic functioning in Chinese elementary school students. An accelerated longitudinal design was used with a sample of three cohorts (grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5) (N = 1070, 45.8% female; M_age = 9.44, SD = 0.97) on four occasions at 6-month intervals. Parallel process latent class growth models revealed five heterogeneous patterns (i.e., Congruent-moderate; Congruent-high; Congruent-low; Congruent-decreasing; Low-autonomy, High-competence and relatedness), all of which significantly associated with time-varying mental health and academic functioning indicators. The findings highlight the importance of subgroup differences and possible cultural considerations in understanding the progression of psychological need satisfactions and the need for universal screening and dynamic monitoring of students’ psychological need satisfactions at school and implementing more sophisticated interventions tailored to the unique characteristics of the relevant subgroups to promote optimal mental health and learning.     

Six into One: The Contradictory Art School Curriculum and how it Came About

This article reports historical research which sought to understand the present‐day post‐secondary art curriculum through analysing its history in terms of changes in conceptions of art. It found that there have been six distinctive curricula: Apprentice, Academic, Formalist, Expressive, Conceptual and Professional. As a new curriculum has been introduced, it has co‐existed with much contained in a previous one. Most of the curriculum changes have taken place in the past 65 years. During this time, there has been a massive expansion in the education of artists and at the same time art schools accommodated first modernism and then post‐Duchampian aesthetics. A conclusion is that this has made for a very crowded curriculum. Moreover, despite there being an ever increasing choice of things a student might learn, it appears that there is nothing which all students have to learn. It can be problematic that one part of the curriculum is in contradiction to another part, and moreover this lack of a core raises fundamental, ontological questions about what art as a discipline is.     

关于城乡结合部中小学生心理困境现状的调查分析——以河南省周口市为例

城乡结合部中小学生面临的心理困境有日趋增多的趋势。困境产生的原因主要来自社会、学校、家庭和学生个人四个方面。只有采取强化心理健康教育工作、提高教师心理健康教育能力、构建心理健康教育体系等对策,才能使中小学生走出心理困境,实现全面发展。     

Caregivers of school children with epilepsy: findings of a phenomenological study

Epilepsy is one of the most frequently diagnosed neurological disorders among children. Epilepsy is continuously linked with academic underachievement and social challenges. Despite the implications that these difficulties have for a child's educational success, little is known of how children with epilepsy experience school. Understanding how to best support and accommodate these children can contribute to their positive adaptation and quality of life. The purpose of this phenomenological study by Jillian Roberts and Cheryl Whiting of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is to understand the school experiences of children with epilepsy. Data was gathered through open‐ended, semi‐structured interviews. The caregivers' narratives were transcribed and analysed to elicit the essential experiences of school children with epilepsy. Five categories were elicited from the families' narratives: (1) health‐related issues, (2) family coping, (3) academic experience, (4) social belonging, and (5) awareness. This information will be particularly useful for teachers and allied professionals serving the needs of children with epilepsy – as well as those with other chronic health conditions.     

关于加强高职电子商务专业外贸实践能力培养的思考

本课题旨在通过研究目前电子商务专业课程设置、师资队伍、教学状况和毕业生素质等方面存在的问题,提出培养学生外贸实践能力的粗浅建议。     

Increasing engagement of students with learning disabilities in mathematical problem‐solving and discussion

Engagement in problem‐solving and mathematical discussion is critical for learning mathematics. This research review describes a gap in the literature surrounding engagement of students with Learning Disabilities in standards‐based mathematical classrooms. Taking a sociocultural view of engagement as participation in mathematical practices, this review found that students with LD were supported towards equal engagement in standards‐based mathematics through multi‐modal curriculum, consistent routines for problem‐solving, and teachers trained in Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Using this small set of studies (7), we identify the need to deepen the engagement of students with LD in mathematical problem‐solving and discussion. This review concludes with implications for teaching and learning.     

Elementary school children’s understanding of science: The implementation of an extracurricular science intervention

The promotion of students’ achievement and competence in the so-called STEM disciplines is one cornerstone of current educational research and practice. In particular, as early as elementary school, the fostering of an adequate understanding of science is a normative goal of science education. It facilitates students’ science learning and enables them to understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge. Based on the relevance of the promotion of young children’s understanding of science, a corresponding science intervention was recently developed and successfully evaluated in a first study under highly controlled conditions. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of this intervention when implemented in practice. One hundred seventeen third- and fourth-grade students and 10 trained course instructors participated in this study. We applied a randomized block design with waitlist control groups and repeated measures. The results revealed that children assigned to the intervention compared with children assigned to the waitlist control group showed better inquiry-related methodological competencies (a better understanding of the scientific inquiry cycle and experimentation strategies) and a higher need for cognition. The findings point to the successful implementation of the intervention and are compared with the results of the first study.     

Heritage education in the Primary School Standard Curriculum of Malaysia

Due to the importance of education for sustainable heritage preservation, it is imperative to pay attention to how heritage is taught in the education system. As a multicultural country with a rich cultural heritage, Malaysia is home to four world heritage sites. This paper investigates Malaysia's new primary school curriculum to determine to what extent the core curriculum cultivates an awareness of and sense of respect for heritage. The results reveal a focus on Malaysian intangible cultural heritage in some core subjects, such as history, Bahasa Malaysia, art, and music education.     

Bad boys,good girls? Implicit and explicit attitudes toward ethnic minority students among elementary and secondary school teachers

Teachers’ attitudes toward ethnic minority students might differ by students’ gender and the type of school teachers are working in because of different motivations for teaching and different school practices. Hence, the aim of the current research was to investigate elementary (n = 82) and secondary school (n = 82) teachers’ implicit and explicit attitudes toward male and female ethnic minority students. Teachers worked on either a male or a female Implicit Association Test and filled out a gender-specific questionnaire for measuring explicit attitudes. The results showed that elementary and secondary school teachers had negative implicit attitudes toward ethnic minority students, independent of students’ gender. Whereas secondary school teachers were implicitly more positive toward boys, elementary school teachers were implicitly more positive toward girls. Elementary school teachers were more enthusiastic about teaching ethnic minority boys than girls. The findings provide the first insights into differences in attitudes between elementary and secondary school teachers.     

高职院校图书馆内涵建设的几点思考——由“三馆”免费开放引发的启示

高职院校图书馆内涵建设一直受到各职能部门的关注,虽然有所发展,但不尽人意。这次＂三馆＂免费向社会公众开放,对高职院校图书馆内涵建设无疑是一个重大启示：高职院校图书馆内涵建设应立足长远发展,除馆员素质有待提高外,服务方式、模式的转变及资源库的建设等应引起各高职院校的重视。