We've got minorities,yes we do: visual representations of racial and ethnic diversity in college recruitment materials     

Timothy D. Pippert  Laura J. Essenburg  Edward J. Matchett 《Journal of Marketing for HIGHER EDUCATION》2013,23(2):258-282

Colleges and universities have expanded their use of the internet and social media in marketing strategies, but the direct mailing of admissions brochures continues to be at the heart of recruitment efforts. Because admissions brochures often serve as a potential student's introduction to the campus, they are carefully crafted to provide a specific impression of the institution. This study examined one aspect of the marketing of colleges by examining the portrayal of racial and ethnic diversity. Through a content analysis of over 10,000 photographs from 165 four-year institutions in the US, the accuracy of the photographic portrayal of diversity in recruitment materials was assessed. Findings indicate that the majority of institutions provided images of diversity to prospective students in 2011 that were significantly different than the actual student body. Furthermore, diversity was typically symbolized by portraying African American students at higher rates rather than presenting a more representative student body.  相似文献   

The effects of documentation on young children's memory     

Bethany K.B. Fleck  Michelle D. LeichtmanDavid B. Pillemer  Laura Shanteler 《Early childhood research quarterly》2013

A central aspect of the Reggio approach to early childhood education is documentation, in which educators observe, record, and display children's work. Educational anecdotes and developmental theory suggest that documentation may facilitate children's memory; the current study explored this possibility empirically. Sixty-three preschool/kindergarten children experienced a novel learning event. Two days later, children were reminded with either documentation or worksheets of event details and the factual information that had been presented, or they were not reminded. Three weeks later, children completed a memory interview that included episodic and semantic measures. Children in the documentation and worksheet conditions remembered more factual information than those in the no-reminder condition. Children in the documentation condition produced more on-topic speech than those in the worksheet condition during reminding and a subsequent learning session. Potential benefits of documentation for classroom performance are discussed.  相似文献   

Bi-directional dynamics underlie the complexity of talk in teacher–child play-based conversations in classrooms serving at-risk pupils     

Laura M. Justice  Anita S. McGinty  Tricia Zucker  Sonia Q. Cabell  Shayne B. Piasta 《Early childhood research quarterly》2013

This study examined the transactional, utterance-by-utterance dependencies in the syntactic complexity of teachers’ and children's talk during small-group conversations in preschool classrooms. The sample included 39 teachers and select children in their classroom, which targeted enrollment to children experiencing documentable risk factors. Patterns of sequential dependencies demonstrated a bi-directional interdependence in teachers’ and children's complex syntactic use, whereby both teachers and children appeared sensitive to each other's use of complex syntactic forms. Teachers’ use of complex syntax increased the likelihood that children's adjacent utterance would contain complex syntax; similarly, children's use of complex or simple syntax increased the likelihood that teachers’ adjacent utterance would mirror their syntactic level. Associations were small to moderately large in strength, but varied across individual classrooms. The findings point to complex, bi-directional relationships underlying the complexity of talk within the classroom language environment.  相似文献   

The relationship between child care subsidies and children's cognitive development     

Laura E. Hawkinson  Andrew S. Griffen  Nianbo Dong  Rebecca A. Maynard 《Early childhood research quarterly》2013

Child care subsidies help low-income families pay for child care while parents work or study. Few studies have examined the effects of child care subsidy use on child development, and no studies have done so controlling for prior cognitive skills. We use rich, longitudinal data from the ECLS-B data set to estimate the relationship between child care subsidy use and school readiness, using value-added regression models as well as parametric and non-parametric models with propensity score matching. Compared to a diverse group of subsidy non-recipients in various types of non-parental care as well as parental care only, we find that child care subsidy use during preschool is negatively associated with children's math skills at kindergarten entry. However, sensitivity analysis suggests that these findings could be easily overturned if unobserved factors affect selection into subsidy receipt.  相似文献   

Teacher education in practice: reconciling practices and theories in the United States context     

Elizabeth B. Kozleski  Taucia Gonzalez  Laura Atkinson  Cynthia Mruczek  Lisa Lacy 《欧洲特需教育杂志》2013,28(2):156-172

This paper reports findings from an 18-month qualitative study that followed the experiences of nine teacher residents, their site professors, site coordinators, clinical teachers and principals in three professional learning schools. The study examined the tensions that emerged as teacher preparation theory intersected with the context-bound realities of daily life in schools and the political constraints that diminish possibilities for inclusive education. The paper addresses implications for teacher preparation programmes by reporting how teacher residents negotiated their understanding of and commitment for inclusive education through three themes: (a) critical reflection as an emergent practice, (b) whose learning, and (c) the trouble with behaviour. Interpreting these themes has implications for programmatic designs in teacher preparation.  相似文献   

The advantages of an ADHD classification from the perspective of teachers     

Albert W. Wienen  Maruschka N. Sluiter  Ernst Thoutenhoofd  Peter de Jonge  Laura Batstra 《欧洲特需教育杂志》2013,28(5):649-662

ABSTRACT

In Western countries, the number of ADHD diagnoses and medical treatments of children has risen spectacularly over the last decennia, as has the amount of criticism about this trend. Various studies have shown that children receiving an ADHD classification often follow from initial signals that were raised in a school context. Hence, it becomes important to investigate precisely what advantages attach to ADHD classification in educational practice. In this qualitative study, 30 teachers were interviewed about their experiences and views of ADHD. The results suggest that a small number of interviewees sees no advantages to ADHD classification: the classification does not practically help them as teachers, they are familiar with the drawbacks of ADHD classification, and they take issue with the idea of labelling children. The greater number of interviewees, however, suggest ambivalence about ADHD classification: they are aware of its drawbacks while experiencing mainly advantages. According to the interviewees, ADHD classification explains undesirable behaviours and disappointing academic achievement. Classification thereby removes blame from pupils, parents and teachers, and so can be a starting point for productive agreement and collaboration. We will discuss the implications of these findings in the light of the concept of reification, child-centred problematisation and the development of more inclusive education.  相似文献   

Persisters and nonpersisters: Identifying the characteristics of who stays and who leaves from adult literacy interventions     

Daphne Greenberg  Justin C. Wise  Jan C. Frijters  Robin Morris  Laura D. Fredrick  Victoria Rodrigo  Ryan Hall 《Reading and writing》2013,26(4):495-514

Adult literacy programs are characterized by high attrition rates. Rigorous exploration of student persistence in adult reading classes is lacking. This study was an attempt to understand the profiles of adults who completed reading classes compared to a group of adults who made it to the midpoint and a group of adults who did not make it to the midpoint. Students were offered 100 h of instruction. Of the 395 students who attended the first day of class, only 198 completed the program. Results indicated that English language status, age, some reading related skills, class assignment, avoidance of reading, previous adult education experience, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefit receipt variables significantly predicted persistence. The significance of some of these predictors varied based on analyzing midpoint completion or full completion. To further explore the characteristics of the sample, the most representative participants were selected from the group that did not make it to midpoint and from the group that completed the program. Results indicated that the most representative members of these two groups differed in English language status, gender, age, some reading related skills, and information access.  相似文献   

Chinese and US Middle-School Science Teachers' Autonomy,Motivation, and Instructional Practices     

Laura Robertson  M. Gail Jones 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(9):1454-1489

This study examined Chinese and US middle-school science teachers' perceptions of autonomy support. Previous research has documented the link between teachers' perceptions of autonomy and the use of student-oriented teaching practices for US teachers. But is not clear how the perception of autonomy may differ for teachers from different cultures or more specifically how motivation factors differ across cultures. The survey measured teachers' motivation, perceptions of constraints at work, perceptions of students' motivation, and level of autonomy support for students. Exploratory factor analysis of responses for the combined teacher sample (n?=?201) was carried out for each of the survey assessments. Significance testing for Chinese (n?=?107) and US (n?=?94) teachers revealed significant differences in teachers' motivation and perceptions of constraints at work and no significant differences for perceptions of students' motivation or their level of autonomy support for students. Chinese teachers' perceptions of constraints at work, work motivation, and perceptions of student motivation were found to significantly predict teachers' autonomy support. For the US teachers, teacher motivation was the only significant predictor of teachers' autonomy support. A sub-sample of teachers (n?=?19) was interviewed and results showed that teachers in both countries reported that autonomy was important to their motivation and the quality of science instruction they provided to students. The primary constraints on teaching reported by the US teachers related to materials and laboratory space while the Chinese teachers reported constraints related to the science curriculum and standards.  相似文献   

Scientific Skills as Core Competences in Medical Education: What do medical students think?     

Laura Ribeiro  Milton Severo  Margarida Pereira  Maria Amélia Ferreira 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(12):1875-1885

Background: Scientific excellence is one of the most fundamental underpinnings of medical education and its relevance is unquestionable. To be involved in research activities enhances students' critical thinking and problem-solving capacities, which are mandatory competences for new achievements in patient care and consequently to the improvement of clinical practice. Purposes: This work aimed to study the relevance given by Portuguese medical students to a core of scientific skills, and their judgment about their own ability to execute those skills. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on students attending the first, fourth and sixth years of medical course in the same period. An assessment istrument, exploring the importance given by Portuguese medical students to scientific skills in high school, to clinical practice and to their own ability to execute them, was designed, adapted and applied specifically to this study. Results: Students' perceptions were associated with gender, academic year, previous participation in research activities, positive and negative attitudes toward science, research integration into the curriculum and motivation to undertake research. The viewpoint of medical students about the relevance of scientific skills overall, and the ability to execute them, was independently associated with motivation to be enrolled in research. Conclusions: These findings have meaningful implications in medical education regarding the inclusion of a structural research program in the medical curriculum. Students should be aware that clinical practice would greatly benefit from the enrollment in research activities. By developing a solid scientific literacy future physicians will be able to apply new knowledge in patient care.  相似文献   

Repeating Knowledge Application Practice to Improve Student Performance in a Large,Introductory Science Course     

Ryosuke Fujinuma  Laura A. Wendling 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(17):2906-2922

There is a tendency for lecture-based instruction in large introductory science courses to strongly focus on the delivery of discipline-specific technical terminology and fundamental concepts, sometimes to the detriment of opportunities for application of learned knowledge in evidence-based critical-thinking activities. We sought to improve student performance on evidence-based critical-thinking tasks through the implementation of peer learning and problem-based learning tutorial activities. Small-group discussions and associated learning activities were used to facilitate deeper learning through the application of new knowledge. Student performance was assessed using critical-thinking essay assignments and a final course exam, and student satisfaction with tutorial activities was monitored using online surveys. Overall, students expressed satisfaction with the small-group-discussion-based tutorial activities (mean score 7.5/10). Improved critical thinking was evidenced by improved student performance on essay assignments during the semester, as well as a 25% increase in mean student scores on the final course exam compared to previous years. These results demonstrate that repeated knowledge application practice can improve student learning in large introductory-level science courses.  相似文献