Sex education and cultural values: experiences and attitudes of Latina immigrant women

The paper aims to further explore the role that culture plays in the provision and assimilation of sex education among Latina immigrants in the USA. To accomplish this, researchers conducted focus groups and interviews with 30 women from Central and South America who have lived in the USA for at least five years. Participants were asked to reflect on their experience with sex education in their home country and in the USA, and to assess how their attitudes towards sex education may impact their behavioural choices as parents and as sexually-active women. The findings demonstrate a wide range of views that did not follow patterns by common demographical proxy variables, suggesting that such variables are not enough to predict adoption of new cultural values that are different from their family's traditional norms. Instead, adherence to traditional cultural beliefs appeared to be a better predictor of attitudes and behaviours.     

Piecing together the puzzle: development of the Societal Attitudes towards Autism (SATA) scale

The rise in the prevalence of autism creates a need for a reliable and valid measure of attitudes towards autism. The current study describes the development of a brief 16‐ item measure of Societal Attitudes towards Autism (SATA) that exhibits sound psychometric properties and has a demonstrated ability to discriminate between expert and general college student samples. The final SATA was the result of pilot work on 75 items and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on a 45‐item version with 475 undergraduates. Knowledge and personal distance subscales yielded inconsistent reliability and validity outcomes. The SATA showed strong content and construct validity as evidenced by known groups discrimination, and predicted associations with an attitude towards disability measure, an autism preference item, and a measure of implicit attitudes towards disabilities.     

Teach For/Teach First candidates: what conclusions do they draw from their time in teaching?

Teach For and Teach First programs now constitute a significant pathway into teaching in a number of countries. One criterion for selection into these programs is leadership capacity, and evidence indicates that many candidates do move into leadership roles in education, business, and policy in the years following their time as a Teach For/Teach First candidate. Given their capacity to influence policy directions and school practice, and to speak with the authority of at least some experience in challenging schools, it is important to understand the types of conclusions they draw from their time in teaching, and the solutions they propose to the problems of educational inequality. This study set out to explore the types of attributions made by 76 Teach For candidates for the low achievement of disadvantaged students, and what they consider to be potential means of effectively addressing the achievement gap. Participants gave most importance to the types of people attracted to and retained in teaching, and placed relatively little importance on improving school resourcing or addressing systemic and structural contributions to educational disadvantage. Implications for those training and working with Teach For candidates are discussed.     

Pre-service teachers’ science beliefs,attitudes, and self-efficacy: a multi-case study

The aim of this multi-case study was to explore the extent and nature of changes in elementary pre-service teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy toward science and science teaching as a result of participating in a science methods course. The study specifically focused on three groups of pre-service teachers based on their varying beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy prior to the course. The study examined factors that may have contributed to changes in these domains as well as interrelationships among the three constructs.     

泸溪白沙瓦乡人的语言态度与乡话的濒危

从泸溪白沙瓦乡人的语言价值观、语言忠诚度、学习和保护乡话的态度考察瓦乡人的语言态度,透视乡话濒危的现象,剖析乡话使用衰退的原因。     

试论宋太祖对文人的态度

宋太祖于乾德三、四年间所说的“宰相须用读书人”并不能视为他对文人的真正重视。相反,无论乾德三、四年之前或之后,宋太祖对文人均表现出较为轻视的态度。这主要是由整体文化水平的低下而导致的。     

输入理论与大学英语阅读能力培养

克拉申提出的输入理论对我国的外语阅读教学有一定的启迪作用。通过问卷调查发现：非英语专业的大学生在英语阅读方面尚有不尽如人意之处，他们的阅读量小，且学习态度较差，远远无法达到教学的要求。因此，结合学生的具体特点，有意识地加大输入量，并充分激励他们自主学习的积极性，不失为一条较为有效的教学方式。     

大学英语翻转课堂中学习者接受度的路径研究

本研究从理性行为和外语焦虑角度探索大学英语学习者对翻转学习的接受度的影响因素｡ 研究共提取输出态度､输入反感度､自主学习态度､课堂态度､效果预期及整体接受度六个因子｡路径分析显示效果预期､输入排斥度､课堂态度直接决定接受度;其他因子有间接影响｡回归分析发现整体接受度仍然是预测成绩的主要因素;而自主学习态度对口语成绩有较明显的预示力｡研究提示教师应该从内外机制加强整体接受度和自主性｡     

The antecedents of teacher satisfaction with professional development programs

Literature has shown that on-the-job professional development programs are most beneficial when they are long-term, focused on students’ learning, and linked to the curricula. We hypothesized that the higher the control teachers have over job professional development processes, and the greater the resemblance of these processes to the typical teaching culture in classrooms, the greater the teachers’ satisfaction with job professional development processes. The findings of this study demonstrate that the main factors affecting teachers’ satisfaction with the instructional programs are related to their desire to maintain instructional processes “close to home”, and to shape these processes in accordance with their needs and expectations. The implications of the study are discussed with relation to decision-makers in the school setting and at the local authorities’ level.