The Impact of High School Science Teachers’ Beliefs,Curricular Enactments and Experience on Student Learning During an Inquiry-based Urban Ecology Curriculum     

Katherine L. McNeill  Diane Silva Pimentel  Eric G. Strauss 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(15):2608-2644

Inquiry-based curricula are an essential tool for reforming science education yet the role of the teacher is often overlooked in terms of the impact of the curriculum on student achievement. Our research focuses on 22 teachers’ use of a year-long high school urban ecology curriculum and how teachers’ self-efficacy, instructional practices, curricular enactments and previous experience impacted student learning. Data sources included teacher belief surveys, teacher enactment surveys, a student multiple-choice assessment focused on defining and identifying science concepts and a student open-ended assessment focused on scientific inquiry. Results from the two hierarchical linear models indicate that there was significant variation between teachers in terms of student achievement. For the multiple-choice assessment, teachers who spent a larger percentage of time on group work and a smaller percentage of time lecturing had greater student learning. For the open-ended assessment, teachers who reported a higher frequency of students engaging in argument and sharing ideas had greater student learning while teachers who adapted the curriculum more had lower student learning. These results suggest the importance of supporting the active role of students in instruction, emphasising argumentation, and considering the types of adaptations teachers make to curriculum.  相似文献   

Evaluating a Professional Development Framework to Empower Chemistry Teachers to Design Context-Based Education     

Machiel Johan Stolk  Astrid Bulte  Onno De Jong  Albert Pilot 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(10):1487-1508

Even experienced chemistry teachers require professional development when they are encouraged to become actively engaged in the design of new context-based education. This study briefly describes the development of a framework consisting of goals, learning phases, strategies and instructional functions, and how the framework was translated into a professional development programme intended to empower teachers to design context-based chemistry education. The programme consists of teaching a pre-developed context-based unit, followed by teachers designing an outline of a new context-based unit. The study investigates the process of teacher empowerment during the implementation of the programme. Data were obtained from meetings, classroom discussions and observations. The findings indicated that teachers became empowered to design new context-based units provided they had sufficient time and resources. The contribution of the framework to teacher empowerment is discussed.  相似文献   

The Development of Science Education Research in Brazil and Contributions from the History and Philosophy of Science     

Alberto Villani  Valeria Silva Dias  Juarez Melgaco Valadares 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(7):907-937

Over the last 50 years a new research area, science education research, has arisen and undergone singular development worldwide. In the specific case of Brazil, research in science education first appeared systematically 40 years ago, as a consequence of an overall renovation in the field of science education. This evolution was also related to the political events taking place in the country. We will use the theoretical work of Rene Kaës on the development of groups and institutions as a basis for our discussion of the most important aspects that have helped the area of science education research develop into an institution and kept it operating as such. The growth of this area of research can be divided into three phases: The first was related to its beginning and early configurations; the second consisted of a process of consolidation of this institution; and the third consists of more recent developments, characterised by a multiplicity of research lines and corresponding challenges to be faced. In particular, we will analyse the special contributions to this study gleaned from the field known as the history and philosophy of science.  相似文献   

Recognition and difference: a collective biography     

Bronwyn Davies  Elisabeth De Schauwer  Lien Claes  Katrien De Munck  Inge Van De Putte  Meggie Verstichele 《International journal of qualitative studies in education》2013,26(6):680-691

This paper opens the space of post-qualitative research through an exploration of how acts of recognition and non-recognition work on and through the bodies of individual subjects. Using stories generated in a collective biography workshop and drawing on concepts from Foucault and Butler, and also, in contrast, Barad and Deleuze, the paper explores the way these different epistemologies intra-act with ways of seeing/reading/being recognizable subjects.  相似文献   

Adult learners’ social connectedness and online participation: the importance of online interaction quality     

Anh Nguyet Diep  Chang Zhu  Celine Cocquyt  Maurice De Greef  Tom Vanwing 《Studies in Continuing Education》2013,35(3):326-346

ABSTRACT

Online interaction has been associated with positive outcomes, academically and psychologically. Regarding the latter, social connectedness has been recognised as an important outcome on the basis of its link to subjective well-being and course satisfaction. In adult educational settings, how online interaction can foster social connectedness has not been widely examined. The study investigates how (1) adult learners’ online participation operationalised as discussion contribution, collaborative facilitation, and social interaction, and (2) their perceived online interaction quality are related to their feeling of social connectedness. The role of online interaction quality related to the three types of online participation and social connectedness is also examined. A questionnaire was developed to collect data from adult learner participants in Belgium (N?=?170). Multiple regressions and mediation analysis were conducted. The result shows that collaborative facilitation and online interaction quality significantly contribute to adult learners’ perceptions of social connectedness. Furthermore, the finding reveals that online interaction quality fully mediates the relationship between discussion contribution, social interaction, and social connectedness. Thus, the implications for research and instructional design are discussed.  相似文献   

Achievement among first-year university students: an integrated and contextualised approach     

Mikaël De Clercq  Benoît Galand  Serge Dupont  Mariane Frenay 《European Journal of Psychology of Education - EJPE》2013,28(3):641-662

This paper presents a prospective study aimed at identifying the predictors of academic achievement among first-year university students. It tries to develop an inclusive view of academic achievement by taking into account the possible differential impact of several predictors in two different faculties of the university. Some 317 university students from the two faculties (science and physical education), who were in their first year at university, participated in the study. During the academic year, these students completed a questionnaire. The outcome variable was their average academic mark at the end of the year. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify the most powerful predictors of achievement. The results showed that past school failure, parental education and self-efficacy beliefs predicted achievement in both programs. Age, secondary-school specialisation, reasons for choosing the program, deep processing, time spent studying and intention to persist have also been highlighted as significant predictors of success, but only in one of the two faculties. Self-efficacy was the most powerful predictor of achievement in physical education courses, whereas intention to persist was the most powerful predictor in science. These results show the importance of adopting an integrated and contextualised approach to exploring the predictors of academic achievement at university.  相似文献   

Farmers’ Visions on Soils: A Case Study among Agroecological and Conventional Smallholders in Minas Gerais,Brazil     

Klarien Elisabeth Klingen  Jan De Graaff  Maria Izabel Vieira Botelho  Aad Kessler 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2013,19(2):175-189

Abstract

Purpose: Why do farmers not take better care of their soils? This article aims to give insight into how farmers look at soil quality management.

Design/methodology/approach: It analyses diverse land management practices and visions on soils and soil quality of ten agroecological and 14 conventional smallholder farmers in Araponga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. As agroecological farming (that is, managing soils with minimum use of external inputs) requires more complex knowledge, it is assumed that agroecological farmers would be more knowledgeable on soils compared to conventional farmers. This case study tests the hypothesis that differences in land management practices between agroecological and conventional farmers can be explained by differences in their knowledge on soils.

Findings: The hypothesis turned out to be faulty: agroecological and conventional farmers do not differ in what they know about soils, but how they use their knowledge in their farming strategy. Both groups of farmers have different but rational farming strategies.

Practical implications: Designing policies and measures to make farming more environmentally friendly and more sustainable as two-way knowledge exchange between farmers and science (and not as one-way knowledge transfer from science to farmers), to benefit from vital and context-based farmers’ knowledge and to ensure successful implementation of more sustainable land management practices.

Originality/value: By analysing farmers’ visions on soil quality management and farming strategies, this study shows that farmers’ knowledge is valuable for farmers, for scientific knowledge on soil quality management and for policies which are to be effective and adapted to the local environment.  相似文献   

Educational choice in secondary school in Flanders: the relative impact of occupational interests on option choice     

Maarten Pinxten  Bieke De Fraine  Wim Van Den Noortgate  Jan Van Damme  Dickson Anumendem 《Educational Research and Evaluation》2013,19(6):541-569

The present study aims at unravelling the myriad of student-level (i.e., gender, socioeconomic status [SES], academic self-concept, achievement, ability, and occupational interests) and school-level (i.e., gender composition, maths composition, and SES composition) determinants of option choice in the academic track of secondary school in Flanders. We focused on 2 decisional thresholds in Flemish secondary education, namely, the transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9 (N = 2518) and from Grade 10 to Grade 11 (N = 2871). Data were analyzed through multinomial multilevel analysis. Our results strongly confirm Lent's (2005) jigsaw puzzle metaphor in that different factors go into a complex and dynamic interplay. Especially in the first grades, prior achievement is a major predictor of option choice in secondary education, whereas in the last years occupational interests become increasingly important. From a gender perspective, boys rather choose math/sciences-oriented options than girls. Option choice is mainly determined by student-level rather than school-level predictors.  相似文献   

国外社会养老服务体系对我国的启示     

周媛也  周德 《湖南城市学院学报》2013,(5):52-56

随着我国老龄化程度的加深,建设社会养老服务体系成为了政府和社会关注的焦点。分析我国社会养老服务的发展历程,可见目前还存在法律和政策不健全、专业化程度低以及总量投入不足等问题。国外社会养老服务有多种先进模式,借鉴国外的经验,我国应当完善相关法律框架、建立多级别的养老护理服务并发展养老服务产业。  相似文献   

Connection,Restructuring, and Buffering: How Groups Link Individuals and Organizations     

Deborah Silva 《Journal of Applied Communication Research》2013,41(2):145-166

Research examining the individual–organization relationship has largely ignored the linking role of groups. Grounded in Scott, Corman, and Cheney's (1998) structurational model of organizational identification, we analyzed data obtained from members of groups embedded in a large religious organization. Results revealed three primary ways groups link individual members and the organization via identification. The connection function provides members with local copresent linkages to the organization and an environment in which to express their connection/relationship to the organization. The restructuring function enables members to restructure conflicting individual and organizational identity structures. The buffering function enables members to disidentify with a portion of the organizational identity and still maintain a sense of organizational identification.  相似文献