‘Start treating me like a Dad!’ The impact of parental involvement in education on the paternal identity of fathers in the English prison system

Notwithstanding the increasing number of UK and international studies focused on parental involvement in education and parental imprisonment there remains little focus upon the involvement of imprisoned fathers in children’s education and the impact of this upon paternal identity. Despite the now accepted perspective that parental imprisonment often impacts negatively on family functioning, child outcomes and parental identity, this qualitative study is distinctive in drawing on the discourse of parental involvement in education, using the lens of identity theory to examine the experiences of 15 imprisoned fathers regarding their involvement in their children’s education and their parenting possible selves as educators. Participants demonstrated limited identity standards in relation to education and sometimes a reduced commitment as a result of this. All offered a vision of their possible selves as educators if contextual barriers were addressed. Possible implications are suggested.     

Does parental homework involvement mediate the relationship between family background and educational outcomes?

This research examines whether parental homework involvement mediates the relationship between family background and educational outcomes such as academic achievement and academic self-concept. Data from two studies in which grade 8 students (N = 1274 and N = 1911) described their parents’ involvement in the homework process were reanalyzed via structural equation modeling. Perceived parental homework interference and perceived homework-related conflict were negatively related to students’ academic development, whereas perceived parental support and perceived parental competence to help with homework were positively related to academic outcomes. Although there were small associations between some aspects of parental homework involvement and family background variables, parental homework involvement did not mediate the relationship between family background and educational outcomes. Findings highlight the need for differentiated conceptualizations of parental homework involvement as well as detailed analyses of the processes underlying the association between family background and educational outcomes.     

大学英语高低分数段作文主位推进模式差异分析

主位理论是系统功能语言学的一个重要理论支柱,是语篇分析的常用手段。本文用主位理论来分析大学生英语作文,试图找出高低分数段作文在主位推进模式上的差异,分析其原因,希望能对英语写作教学有所帮助。     

新中国初期拟苏联模式的历史合理性及其弊端

新中国成立初期的拟苏联社会主义建设模式具有历史形成的合理性,是在社会主义改造的推动下予以实现的;拟苏联模式在经济上强调实行社会主义计划经济体制,在所有制上实行生产资料社会主义公有制以及在政治上建立集权型行政管理体制,其实质是具有中国特色社会主义的最初建设模式;同时,拟苏联模式也具有很大的弊端,这是被后来真正意义上的中国特色社会主义模式所取代的根本原因。     

旅游影响下的社区生物资源利用方式演变研究——以香格里拉县洛茸村为例

旅游对社区生计结构的影响,已经逐渐受到学者们的关注,但缺乏对于旅游影响在社区生计方式演变中的所起的作用及影响程度的深入研究。对普达措国家公园内洛茸村的调查发现,当地社区长期受藏传佛教文化的影响,并由此形成了一套具有地方特色的生物资源管理和利用机制。旅游发展为当地社区带来了新的机遇,但也引起社区居民生态价值观的变化和生物资源利用方式的变迁。地方政策变化、经济利益支配、外来文化冲击、社会结构的层序变化等诸多因素在这一变迁过程中都起着重要作用。     

英美澳远程教育质量评估体系研究及启示

在高等教育大众化及教育现代化的背景下,远程教育质量已经引起世界各国的高度重视。不同国家或机构依据自身国情及教育环境,在不同的价值取向和质量观指导下,形成各自的远程教育质量评估体系。近十年我国远程教育质量评估文献表明：从外部评估角度来看,英国、美国、澳大利亚的现代远程教育质量评估体系在质量观、评估标准、执行者、过程及效果反馈等方面有各自的特征,且具有较好的实施效果。我国在建立远程教育质量评估体系时,可以在结合自身国情的基础上,借鉴他国的有益措施。     

Parents' views of the efficacy of conductive education in Sweden

Parents of children who have participated in a conductive education programme in Sweden were asked questions about their reasons for choosing the programme, the expectations they had of it and how they were fulfilled. The results showed that the parents were satisfied with the development of their child, and wanted to continue to take part in further courses with their child. They appreciated the intensive training and found it motivating and enjoyable for the child. They wanted an intensive training for their child because they believed that active training could help the child to develop. The parents learned more about cerebral palsy at the courses and now understood why and how they could train their child. Most of the parents continued the training at home with the child. They experienced financial difficulties in participating in further courses, and found it difficult to stay away from work and family for a long period of time.     

Family,schools and Taiwanese children's outcomes

Background Educational reform is a major challenge facing schools in Taiwan. The new educational reform requires that every primary school must have parental involvement programmes in their school schedules, and to support these new programmes, there is a need for research to examine the extent and nature of parental involvement in primary schools in Taiwan, and to investigate the impact of parental involvement on pupil outcomes.

Purpose The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which parents' involvement in schooling is related to primary pupil outcomes, after taking into account differences in family social status and family structure, and the children's perceptions of their school learning environments.

Sample For the analyses data were collected in 2001 from 261 6th-grade Taiwanese students, 128 boys and 133 girls, from four primary schools in the Taichung City school district. The average age of the children was approximately 11 years.

Design and methods In the analysis of the research model, a quantitative approach was adopted, in which each student completed two questionnaires and two academic achievement tests. The first questionnaire included questions to assess family social status, family structure and parents' involvement in their children's education. In the second questionnaire there were questions to measure pupils' self-concept and perceptions of their schools' learning environments. The data were analysed using multiple-regression techniques to examine relationships among family social status, family structure, parental involvement, the school learning environment and pupils' school-related outcomes.

Results The findings suggested that: (a) children's academic achievement is related to their family social status and perceptions of immediate family learning environments, and (b) children's self-concept is associated with their perceptions of classroom learning environments, parents' aspirations and parents' involvement at home. These propositions indicate the differential nature of the relationships among family and school environments and measures of children's school outcomes.

Conclusions In the Taiwanese context, by showing the particularly important association between Taiwanese family environments and children's school outcomes, the present investigation supports the educational reform movement that encourages schools to involve parents more intimately in shared responsibilities.     

Longitudinal associations between parental rejection and bullying/victimization

The present study investigated the direction of the relationship between parental rejection and children’s engagement in bullying and victimization. Using a cross-lagged design, we examined whether (a) bullying and victimization predict an increase in parental rejection six months later, (b) parental rejection predicts an increase in bullying and victimization six months later, and (c) there is a reciprocal association between bullying/victimization and parental rejection. The participants were 846 early adolescents (mean age = 12.63 years) randomly selected from primary and secondary schools in Cyprus and Greece (375 Cypriots, 471 Greek students) and their parents. Children completed a translated version of the Personal Experiences Checklist – (PECK) and the Rejection subscale of the Parental Acceptance/Rejection Questionnaire. The results showed that parental rejection at Time 1 predicted significantly victimization at Time 2. Parental rejection however, was not a significant predictor of bullying. Moreover, bullying and victimization at Time 1 predicted significantly parental rejection at Time 2. These results provide further insight at the theoretical level in as far our understanding of the familial dynamics in bullying victimization and may provide clinical implications in relation to counselling of victimized children and their parents.     

Effect of verbal instructions and image size on visual search strategies in basketball free throw shooting

We assessed the effects on basketball free throw performance of two types of verbal directions with an external attentional focus. Novices ( n = 16) were pre-tested on free throw performance and assigned to two groups of similar ability ( n = 8 in each). Both groups received verbal instructions with an external focus on either movement dynamics (movement form) or movement effects (e.g. ball trajectory relative to basket). The participants also observed a skilled model performing the task on either a small or large screen monitor, to ascertain the effects of visual presentation mode on task performance. After observation of six videotaped trials, all participants were given a post-test. Visual search patterns were monitored during observation and cross-referenced with performance on the pre- and post-test. Group effects were noted for verbal instructions and image size on visual search strategies and free throw performance. The 'movement effects' group saw a significant improvement in outcome scores between the pre-test and post-test. These results supported evidence that this group spent more viewing time on information outside the body than the 'movement dynamics' group. Image size affected both groups equally with more fixations of shorter duration when viewing the small screen. The results support the benefits of instructions when observing a model with an external focus on movement effects, not dynamics.