Pathways to Achievement: Career and Educational Aspirations and Expectations of Latina/o Immigrant Parents and Early Adolescents

Drawing on sociocultural and related theories, 4 questions examined career and educational aspirations and expectations among 24 immigrant Latina/o early adolescents and their parents as predictors of students’ grades. First, adolescents’ career aspirations and expectations were correlated, and both parents and adolescents held educational aspirations that exceeded their expectations. Second, most adolescents and parents held congruent educational aspirations. Third, congruence between students’ career and educational aspirations was uncommon. Fourth, parents’ educational aspirations and adolescents’ career–education congruence predicted students’ grades. Discussion highlights students’ ongoing reconciliation between aspirations and academic skills and multiple ways immigrant Latino parents contribute to their adolescents’ future.     

Nurturing learning or encouraging dependency? Teacher constructions of students in lower attainment groups in English secondary schools

‘Ability’ or attainment grouping can introduce an additional label that influences teachers’ expectations of students in specific attainment groups. This paper is based on a survey of 597 teachers across 82 schools and 34 teacher interviews in 10 schools undertaken as part of a large-scale mixed-methods study in England. The paper focuses on English and mathematics teachers’ expectations of secondary school students in lower attainment groups, and explores how low-attaining students are constructed as learners who benefit from specific approaches to learning justified through discourses of nurturing and protection. The authors argue that the adoption of different pedagogical approaches for groups of low-attaining learners to nurture them may in some cases be fostering dependency on teachers and cap opportunities for more independent learning. Furthermore, more inclusive whole-school learning-culture approaches may better allow for students across the attainment range to become independent learners.     

Australian teachers voice their perceptions of the influences of stereotypes,mindsets and school structure on teachers’ expectations of Indigenous students

Research demonstrates that teachers’ expectations of students have long-term effects on students’ educational, occupational, health and well-being outcomes. In this Australian-based study, teachers were invited to explore the questions Do teachers have different expectations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students? Why/why not? The findings provide insight into how teachers perceive the expectations of other teachers in relation to Indigenous learners and highlight the underlying assumptions of those perceptions. Teachers also provide valuable insight into what they feel is needed to address these issues. Recommendations are made to enhance pre-service teacher education and professional development to better support those working with Indigenous learners.     

Teacher's academic optimism: The development and test of a new construct

The objective of this exploratory study of teacher beliefs was twofold: first, to determine whether the construct of academic optimism could be defined and measured as an individual teacher characteristic as it has been at the collective school level, and second, to identify sets of teacher beliefs and practices that were good predictors of academic optimism. With a diverse sample of American elementary teachers, a second-order principal components analysis supported the hypothesis that academic optimism was a general construct composed of efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis. In addition, dispositional optimism, humanistic classroom management, student-centred beliefs and practices, and organizational citizenship behaviour were individually and collectively related to the explanation of a teacher's sense of academic optimism, controlling for SES.     

An exploratory study of the relationship between the use of the Learning Commons and students' perceived learning outcomes

This study proposes and empirically tests a model explicating the impact of the Learning Commons on university students' learning behaviors and skills development. Adapting the information literacy instruction model that is based on expectation disconfirmation theory, a series of hypotheses were developed, and data were collected through an online survey at a Hong Kong university. Responses from 388 students were subjected to a partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis. The results suggest that expectation disconfirmation theory can be applied in the domain of the Learning Commons, and that the degree to which students' expectations are confirmed affects their degree of perceived quality of and satisfaction with the Learning Commons. Perceived quality in turn influences satisfaction. Both perceived quality and satisfaction lead to psychological outcomes that produce behavioral changes and possible benefits, including time savings, effort reduction, better grades, advanced problem-solving skills, and improved learning outcomes.     

陕西方言研究六十年述评

陕西方言研究60年来大致经历了三个阶段:建国至改革开放前期(1949-1978)为第一阶段,这一阶段主要是以推广普通话和方言普查工作为主;改革开放时期(1979-1999)为第二阶段,这一阶段主要是围绕编写方志开展方言研究工作;新世纪时期(2000-2009)为第三阶段,这一阶段方言研究工作全面展开,从组织、人力、资金、成果等方面看,都是前两个阶段所不能企及的。     

家庭教育的“期望共鸣区”建构研究

家庭教育的＂期望共鸣区＂建构,是个体成长与发展的需要,有其充分的家哲学依据;必须符合现代教育观和孩子独特的个性与智能优势,必须符合后喻文化的时代精神,必须符合品性优先原则。在此基础上,还必须构建科学的现代家庭教育文化,选择科学的家庭教育内容,准确把握家庭教育原则,实现亲子之间的有效沟通。     

Predicting the Grades of Low-Income–Ethnic-Minority Students From Teacher-Student Discrepancies in Reported Motivation

The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of discrepancies between teachers' perceptions of students' motivation and students' reports of their motivation on math and English grades and to identify possible gender and ethnic differences. Participants included 215 low-income, ethnic-minority students and their teachers in academically struggling schools. Discrepancy in motivation ratings accounted for a significant amount of variation in final grades. This teacher-student discrepancy effect was larger than both the effect of students' recent standardized test scores and the effect of self-efficacy in both subjects. Girls were found to attract positive teacher bias, but their grades were not differentially affected. Differences in teacher-student discrepancy effects between African American and Latino students were not found.     

关于中学教师对中学生性别角色期望的调查

为了解中学教师对中学生未来性别角色发展的期望,本研究采用性别角色期望调查表调查了99名中学教师,结果发现：中学教师对男生的性别角色期望趋近于男性化,对女生的性别角色期望趋近于双性化。教师期望男生在下列特质中高于女生：快乐的、有幽默感的、自立的、有创造力的、喜欢运动的、善交际的、精干的、胆大的、心宽的、不屈不挠的、主动的、奔放的、侠义心肠的、豪放的、外向的、直性子的;教师期望女生在下列特质中高于男生：善良的、爱整洁的、洁身自好的、文雅的、和气的、纯真的、含蓄的、心细的、守本分的、安分的、温柔的、柔情的、温顺的、文静的、贤淑的。     

Parents’ expectations about early years services

This exploratory study was conducted amongst 518 families using early years facilities within the Maltese context. Although availability of early years services, especially for the under-threes has increased substantially, there is a lack of research documenting who uses these services; parents’ perceptions and expectations about such services; factors considered in determining choice of settings; and satisfaction with the service provided. Results obtained from questionnaires indicate that parents rely on recommendations of friends and relatives as the main criterion which contributes to a final decision about choice of settings. Over half the participants reported that they had never visited an early years setting prior to taking a decision even where respondents were using services for the first time. Within a split early years system, whilst childcare services are seen as an opportunity for women to return or continue to work, attending kindergarten is perceived as an opportunity for children to socialise and be prepared for school.