Showing papers in "British Journal of Educational Psychology in 2001"
TL;DR: A revised two-factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) suitable for use by teachers in evaluating the learning approaches of their students is produced, using fewer items.
Abstract: Aim. To produce a revised two-factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) suitable for use by teachers in evaluating the learning approaches of their students. The revised instrument assesses deep and surface approaches only, using fewer items. Method. A set of 43 items was drawn up for the initial tests. These were derived from: the original version of the SPQ, modified items from the SPQ, and new items. A process of testing and refinement eventuated in deep and surface motive and strategy scales each with 5 items, 10 items per approach score. The final version was tested using reliability procedures and confirmatory factor analysis. Sample. The sample for the testing and refinement process consisted of 229 students from the health sciences faculty of a university in Hong Kong. A fresh sample of 495 undergraduate students from a variety of departments of the same university was used for the test of the final version. Results. The final version of the questionnaire had acceptable Cronbach alpha values for scale reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit to the intended two-factor structure. Both deep and surface approach scales had well identified motive and strategy subscales. Conclusion. The revision process has resulted in a simple questionnaire which teachers can use to evaluate their own teaching and the learning approaches of their students.
1,823 citations
TL;DR: Intrinsic motivation was related to positive consequences, whereas external regulation and amotivation were predictors of negative consequences and the model was largely invariant across gender.
Abstract: Background. It is widely acknowledged that Physical Education (PE) can play a potentially important role in enhancing public health by creating positive attitudes toward exercise and by promoting health-related fitness programmes. However, these initiatives will have limited success if students are not motivated to participate actively in their PE lessons. Aim. A sequence of motivational processes, proposed by Vallerand (1997), was tested in this study. The sequence has the formsocial factors !psycho- logical mediators !types of motivation !consequences'. Sample. Participants were 424 British students aged 14± 16 years from Northwest England. Method. Questionnaires were used to measure cooperative learning, self- referenced improvement, and choice of tasks (social factors), perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness (psychological mediators), intrinsic motivation, identification, introjection, external regulation, and amotivation (types of motivation), and boredom, effort, and future intention to exercise (consequences). Results. A SEM analysis showed that perceived competence was the major psychological mediator. Intrinsic motivation was related to positive con- sequences, whereas external regulation and amotivation were predictors of negative consequences. A multisample analysis indicated that the model was largely invariant across gender. Conclusions. The findings underline the importance of perceived competence and intrinsic motivation in compulsory PE.
961 citations
TL;DR: The structural equation modelling of the theoretical model of teacher stress revealed that the predications of the stress model hold true: Workload and mobbing lead to stress reactions, whereas principal support reduces the perception of workload and Mobbing.
Abstract: Background. School teaching seems to be particularly stressful. The stress model of Lazarus and colleagues and its adaptation to educational settings by Kyriacou and Sutcliffe is the basis for an analysis of antecedents and consequences of teacher stress. Aims. The first aim was to test the theoretical model of teacher stress on a large sample using structural equation statistics (study I). The results should then be cross-validated and the model enlarged by additional operationalisations (study II). Samples. Heterogeneous samples of German school teachers (study I:N = 356, study II: N = 201). Methods. In study I, standardised questionnaires measuring workload and mobbing as stressors, physical symptoms as stress reactions, and social support and self-efficacy as moderating variables. In addition to these concepts, coping strategies, burnout and absenteeism were assessed in study II. Results. The structural equation modelling in study I revealed that the predications of the stress model hold true: Workload and mobbing lead to stress reactions, whereas principal support reduces the perception of workload and mobbing. Global support and self-efficacy moderate the relationships between the variables. These results were confirmed in study II and the model was enlarged by burnout and coping strategies. With all concepts, 12% of the variance of absenteeism can be explained. Conclusions. Limitations of the studies, using cross-sectional data and self-reported measures are discussed. Practical implications for improving the situation are provided.
466 citations
TL;DR: Students see university study, and in particular the first year, as a survival course and adopt strategies suited to that task and are in general more successful in the tertiary environment.
Abstract: Background. Longitudinal studies of students’ approaches to learning in higher education can tell us much about the impact of the tertiary experience. More information about teaching and learning practices and how students respond to these may enable educators to better assist students to gain the maximum benefit from their tertiary studies. Aims. The study set out: (i) to monitor the change in approaches to learning over a three-year period; (ii) to evaluate the relationship between student age, sex and university entry mode on students’ approaches to learning; and (iii) to evaluate the predictive validity of the SPQ scales on one mode of learning outcome, that being annual GPA. Samples. The sample consisted of 200 commencing students studying in a science course at an Australian university. Method. The Biggs SPQ was administered in a first-year chemistry class and repeated at intervals of 4 and 8 months. This was followed by administration by post after 16 months and 30 months. Results. Student approach to learning is dynamic and amenable to change as a result of the learning experience. Of the three SPQ scales, the achieving approach appears to undergo the greatest change with time, while the deep approach showed a consistent positive correlation with assessment outcomes. Student age was a major factor in both the SPQ scores and assessment outcomes but no gender effect was evident. Conclusions. Students see university study, and in particular the first year, as a survival course and adopt strategies suited to that task. Older students adopt approaches to study which differ from their younger colleagues and as a consequence they are in general more successful in the tertiary environment.
365 citations
TL;DR: The behaviour rating scale could be a useful tool for raising the awareness of teachers to young children with severe behavioural problems of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity who have not been diagnosed as having ADHD but may nevertheless be at risk of similar outcomes.
Abstract: Background. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been found to achieve lower grades at school than their peers. Does this extend to pupils who are apparently exceptionally inattentive, hyperactive or impulsive, but have not been diagnosed as having ADHD? Aims. This study determined the proportion of children who were assessed by their teachers as exceptionally inattentive, hyperactive or impulsive in the classroom. The relationships between these traits, achievement and progress were examined. Sample,. The participants comprised 4148 children from a nationally representative sample of schools in England. Methods. Reading and mathematics achievement of the participants was assessed at the start and end of the reception year, and in year 2. Behaviour was assessed at the end of reception using a rating scale based on the diagnostic criteria for ADHD (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Results. The proportion of children with exceptional scores on the behaviour rating scale was reported. The reading and mathematics attainment and value-added of children with high scores on the behaviour rating scale were found to be educationally and statistically significantly lower than children with zero scores. Conclusions. The achievement of children with high scores on the behaviour rating scale replicated previous studies which investigated the achievement of children with ADHD. The behaviour rating scale could be a useful tool for raising the awareness of teachers to young children with severe behavioural problems of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity who have not been diagnosed as having ADHD but may nevertheless be at risk of similar outcomes.
241 citations
TL;DR: There was some evidence that the paired writers also had more positive self-esteem as writers, and the pre-post gains of the children who wrote interactively were significantly greater than those of the lone writers.
Abstract: Background. The structured system for peer assisted learning in writing named Paired Writing (Topping, 1995) incorporates both metacognitive prompting and scaffolding for the interactive process. Aim. This study sought to evaluate the relative contribution of these two components to student gain in quality of writing and attitudes to writing, while controlling for amount of writing practice and teacher effects. Sample. Participants were 28 ten- and eleven-year-old students forming a problematic mixed ability class. Methods. All received training in Paired Writing and its inherent metacognitive prompting. Students matched by gender and pre-test writing scores were assigned randomly to Interaction or No Interaction conditions. In the Interaction condition, the more able writers became ‘ tutors’ for the less able. In the No Interaction condition, the more able writers acted as controls for the tutors and the less able as controls for the tutees. Over six weeks, the paired writers produced five pieces of personal writing collaboratively, while children in the No Interaction condition did so alone. Results. On pre- and post-project analyses of the quality of individual writing, all groups showed statistically significant improvements in writing. However, the pre-post gains of the children who wrote interactively were significantly greater than those of the lone writers. There was some evidence that the paired writers also had more positive self-esteem as writers. Conclusion. The operation and durability of the Paired Writing system are discussed.
212 citations
TL;DR: The findings suggest that to increase situational interest, educators should offer students ample exploratory opportunities during student-task interaction that can lead to instant enjoyment for learning.
Abstract: Background. Situational interest is articulated theoretically as a construct associated with five dimensional sources: novelty, challenge, attention demand, exploration intention, and instant enjoyment. Aims. This study aimed to examine the influence of the dimensional sources on situational interest. It was hypothesised that the dimensional sources function differently to contribute to situational interest and that the influence of a source might be mediated by others. Sample. Two samples of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students were used in the study. There were 281 students (57% male, 43% female) in the first sample and 191 (47% male, 53% female) in the second. Method. Students in Sample A evaluated situational interest and the dimensional sources in tasks of analysing jogging and gymnastic stunts on video. Those in Sample B evaluated them in tasks of learning basketball. Correlation and regression analyses and path analyses were used to test the theoretical model. Results. Instant Enjoyment determined situational interest. Exploration and Novelty had positive influences on situational interest via enhancing Instant Enjoyment. Challenge showed little influence. The path analyses for both samples confirmed the inter-dimensional mediation effects of the sources. Conclusion. The analysed data support the hypotheses. The dimensional sources had unequal influences on situational interest and the mediation effects among themselves at times strengthened or weakened each other's influences. The findings suggest that to increase situational interest, educators should offer students ample exploratory opportunities during student-task interaction that can lead to instant enjoyment for learning.
168 citations
TL;DR: This design experiment shows that it is possible to foster pupils' use and transfer of strategic reading comprehension skills in regular classrooms by immersing them in a powerful learning environment, but this intervention does not automatically result in improvement of performance on a standardised reading comprehension test.
Abstract: Background. With respect to the acquisition of competence in reading, new standards for primary education stress more than before the importance of learning and teaching cognitive and metacognitive strategies that facilitate text comprehension. Therefore, there is a need to design a research-based instructional approach to strategic reading comprehension. Aims. The design experiment aimed at developing, implementing and evaluating a research-based, but also practically applicable learning environment for enhancing skilled strategy use in upper primary school children when reading a text. Four text comprehension strategies (activating prior knowledge, clarifying difficult words, making a schematic representation of the text, and formulating the main idea) and a metacognitive strategy (regulating one's own reading process) were trained through a variety of highly interactive instructional techniques, namely modelling, whole class discussion, and small group work in the format of reciprocal teaching. Sample. Participants in the study were four experimental 5th grade classes (79 children) and eight comparable control classes (149 pupils). Method. The effects of the learning environment were measured using a pretest-post-test-retention design. Multilevel hierarchical linear regression models were used to analyse the quantitative data of a Reading Strategy Test, a standardised Reading Comprehension Test, a Reading Attitude Scale, a Transfer Test and an interview about strategy use during reading. Results. The data of the Reading Strategy Test, the Transfer Test and the interviews about strategy use showed that the experimental group out-performed the control group in terms of the strategy adoption and application during text reading. Whilst the experimental group also scored higher on the Reading Comprehension Test than the control group, the difference was not significant. Conclusions. This design experiment shows that it is possible to foster pupils’ use and transfer of strategic reading comprehension skills in regular classrooms by immersing them in a powerful learning environment. But this intervention does not automatically result in improvement of performance on a standardised reading comprehension test.
143 citations
TL;DR: The research method of collecting free essays and utilising correspondence analysis to represent conceptual items and groups of participants seems promising as long as a theoretical framework is available to interpret the resulting representation of similarities between items andgroups of participants.
Abstract: Background. Good teachers have been studied ever since Plato described how Socrates taught by asking questions of his audience. Recent findings shed light on two characteristics of good teachers: their personality and their ability. However, more attention has been paid to teachers' practices and opinions than to students' views. Aims. The study reported here attempted to deepen our understanding of what students think about good teachers. Sample. Students of four age groups (7, 10, 13, and 16 years of age) and teachers from primary and secondary schools were asked to write an essay on the good teacher. Methods. The correspondence between conceptual items in the essays was investigated by determining the extent to which they were used in the same essays to describe good teachers. Results. Correspondence analysis revealed two dimensions. The first dimension reflected the preference of students and teachers for describing the good teacher in terms of either personality or ability characteristics. The second dimension was interpreted as an orientation in the essays towards either attachment to, detachment from or commitment to school and teachers. Students and teachers were compared to establish the amount of (dis)agreement about what makes a good teacher. Primary school students described good teachers primarily as competent instructors, focusing on transfer of knowledge and skills, whereas secondary school students emphasised relational aspects of good teachers. Teachers, however, considered good teachers in the first place a matter of establishing personal relationships with their students. Consequently, primary school students and teachers disagreed about the characteristics of good teachers. In secondary education, disagreements between teachers and students were relatively small. Conclusions. The research method of collecting free essays and utilising correspondence analysis to represent conceptual items and groups of participants seems promising as long as a theoretical framework is available to interpret the resulting representation of similarities between items and groups of participants.
142 citations
TL;DR: Emotions seem to be directly linked to goals and teachers who foster feelings of self-assuredness will be helping students develop learning goals.
Abstract: Background. Motivational researchers have suggested that work avoidance may be an academic goal in which students seek to minimise the amount of work they do in school. Additionally, research has also suggested that emotions may be catalysts for goals. Aim. This study examined the relationship between emotions and learning or work avoidance goals. Do emotions explain goals? Sample. The participants were 512 senior high school students in Eastern Canada. Method. Students completed a survey assessing motivation related constructs. A structural equation model was postulated in which students’ affect predicted learning goals and work avoidant goals. A cluster analysis of affect scores was performed followed by between-group and within-group contrasts of goal scores. Results. The structural equation model suggested that a sense of competence and control were predictive of a learning goal while lack of meaning was related to work avoidance. The cluster analysis showed that confidence and control were associated with a learning goal but that a sense of inadequacy, lack of control or lack of meaning could give rise to work avoidance. Conclusions. Emotions seem to be directly linked to goals. Teachers who foster feelings of self-assuredness will be helping students develop learning goals. Students who feel less competent, bored or have little control will adopt work avoidant goals.
140 citations
TL;DR: The longitudinal analysis supports this hypothesis and suggests that these learning approaches are partly stable during medical school undergraduate training and partly modifiable under the influence of the educational environment.
Abstract: Background. The Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) is a widely used measure of learning approach and was proposed to have three orientations: surface, deep, and achieving, each with an underlying motive and strategy. Aims. This study aimed to examine the factor structure and longitudinal stability over five to seven years of a modified shortened 18-item version of the SPQ. Samples. A total of 1349 medical students completed the shortened SPQ at application and in their final year of medical school. Three additional cohorts of students completed the shortened SPQ during their third and fourth year of medical school (sample size: 194, 203, 174). Method. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the dimensionality and longitudinal stability of the shortened SPQ. Results. Like the full 42-item version, the shortened SPQ has six subscales and the data are best fit by three second order shared indicator factors (surface, deep and achieving) and a single higher order composite deep-achieving factor. The longitudinal analysis found 26.8%, 26.3%, and 18.7% of the non-attenuated variance of the surface, deep and achieving factor scores in the final year is predicted from the shortened SPQ completed at application to medical school. Conclusions. The shortened 18-item SPQ has the same six subscales as the full SPQ as well as three second order shared indicator factors (surface, deep, achieving) and one higher order deep-achieving factor similar to that suggested by Biggs (1987). The longitudinal analysis supports this hypothesis and suggests that these learning approaches are partly stable during medical school undergraduate training and partly modifiable under the influence of the educational environment.
TL;DR: When multiple-goal adoption was considered, students who developed the most positive self-regulation were characterised by their focus on learning, but also by their desire to avoid being judged negatively by others.
Abstract: Background. The topic of academic goals has provided very important information about students’ motivation. Traditional research has described several mutually exclusive goals that elicit different motivational patterns. Nevertheless, goal-orientation research has reported the possibility that more than one goal may operate simultaneously. Aim. The purpose of this study was to characterise multiple-goal groups of students, who use various types of cognitive, self-regulatory, and motivational strategies. Sample. Participants were 595 Spanish-speaking university students at the University of A CorunA a. Method. In order to examine the relationships between goal orientations and strategies, a Pearson correlational analysis was performed. Then, a cluster analysis was performed to identify potential subgroups of students with more than one simultaneously operative goal. Finally, a one-way test was conducted to determine whether the multiple-goal clusters differed in any of the nine strategies. Results. Only those students who reported high task orientation tended to exhibit more frequent use of cognitive and self-regulatory strategies. Nevertheless, this does not mean that learning processes are only optimised by task orientation. When multiple-goal adoption was considered, students who developed the most positive self-regulation were characterised by their focus on learning, but also by their desire to avoid being judged negatively by others. Conclusions. Students should not adopt only task goals, which are sometimes overvalued, but also other kinds of goals that allow them to manage their learning and make it more flexible in each situation. This aspect characterises self-regulated learning, which is defined not only by cognitive and behavioural regulation but also by motivational regulation.
TL;DR: The findings highlight the need to distinguish between children's road safety knowledge and their behaviour, particularly for teachers and parents, who may mistakenly believe that children who know more will be safer on the road.
Abstract: Background. Programmes designed to teach children about road safety have often failed to assess their effectiveness in terms of either an increase in chilren's knowledge or an improvement in children's behaviour. Aim. The two studies reported here sought to address both issues, by focusing on the abilities of Primary 1 children (5 years old). Sample. A total of 120 Primary 1 children within the age range 4-5 years old participated in this study, drawn from three different primary schools within an educational district of Scotland. Methods. In the first study the effects of three different road safety interventions were tested, all of which employed commercially marketed products: 1) a three-dimensional model of the traffic environment; 2) a road safety board game; and 3) illustrated posters and flip-chart materials. In the second study the transfer of knowledge to children's behaviour in a real-life traffic environment was tested, using a subsample of 47 children who had taken part in the first study. Results. Results from the first study showed, surprisingly, that all three interventions were effective in increasing children's knowledge about safe and dangerous locations at which to cross the street, and that this knowledge was retained for a period of six months. Study 2, however, showed that increased knowledge did not result in improved traffic behaviour. Children who had received training performed no better than children in a control group. Conclusion. These findings highlight the need to distinguish between children's road safety knowledge and their behaviour, particulary for teachers and parents, who may mistakenly believe that children who know more will be safer on the road.
TL;DR: Findings indicate that the degree of stratification in schools can have an impact on adolescents' self-esteem and views of themselves in school.
Abstract: Background. Current pressure on secondary schools to increase ability grouping has raised concerns about the impact of setting on pupils’ self-concepts. Evidence from previous research is conflicting. A multidimensional measure and multilevel modelling promise to clarify the effects. Aims. This paper aims to examine the effects of structured ability grouping on year 9 pupils’ self-concepts. Samples. The sample comprises over 3000 year 9 pupils (aged 13-14 years) in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools in England. The schools represent three levels of ability grouping in the lower school (years 7 to 9). Methods. Pupils responded to a multidimensional self-concept scale measuring academic and general facets of the self-concept. Measures of attainment were collected in English, mathematics and science. Multilevel modelling was used to examine the effect of the type of school on the general facets of the pupils’ self-concept and the effects of setting in each curriculum subject on the academic facets of the self-concept. Results. Pupils’ general self-concept was higher in the group of schools with moderate levels of setting. The degree of setting in mathematics and science had no effect on the corresponding academic self-concepts but setting in English tended to lower the self-concepts of the higher attaining pupils and raise the self-concepts of lower attaining pupils. Gender differences were consistent with previous research, with boys having significantly higher self-concept scores than girls, except in English. These findings indicate that the degree of stratification in schools can have an impact on adolescents’ self-esteem and views of themselves in school.
TL;DR: Student teachers' beliefs about mentoring were similar to those of mentors, and a third of the student teachers expected themselves as thinking critically about their lessons, but nobody expected their mentors to explicate their practical knowledge underlying their teaching.
Abstract: Background. Various interpretations of mentor roles, by teacher educators and mentors, have been described in the literature on mentoring, while those of student teachers have received less attention. Therefore, this study focuses on student teachers’ expectations of mentors and their own contributions to their learning process while they are supervised by a mentor. Aims. The main aims of this study were: (1) bridging the research on mentoring and the research on higher education students’ learning conceptions by investigating student teachers’ beliefs about mentoring and learning to teach, and (2) comparing these beliefs to mentors’ ones and recent views on mentoring and learning in order to make suggestions for improving learning to teach. Sample. Thirty student teachers, graduates in various academic disciplines, participated. They were attending a one-year teacher education programme at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Methods. Structured interviews with the student teachers were audio-taped. Firstly, categories of mentor roles and learning activities were derived from the data. These were linked, secondly, by their focus of attention and, thirdly, empirically by a homogeneity analysis (HOMALS). Results. Six mentor roles, ten learning activities, and one regulation activity were combined in six foci: (1) affective aspects of learning to teach, (2) mentors’ teaching styles, (3) assessment of student teachers’ performance, (4) reflecting on students’ lessons, (5) school context, and (6) self-regulation of learning. The HOMALS analysis yielded a process-product dimension. Conclusion. In this study, the student teachers’ beliefs about mentoring were similar to those of mentors. Furthermore, a third of the student teachers expected themselves as thinking critically about their lessons, but nobody expected their mentors to explicate their practical knowledge underlying their teaching. Therefore, the articulation of this knowledge is indicated as an additional mentor role and will be elaborated.
TL;DR: Results corroborate those of developed world studies, in showing that early academic achievement is a strong predictor of retention, and highlight the importance of early curriculum mastery--rather than broader cognitive skills--for smooth progression through school.
Abstract: Background. One hundred and fifty rural South African children, newly enrolled in Grade 2 in 1994, were retraced in 1998 when they were scheduled to have entered Grade 7. Only 39% of the cohort had progressed smoothly to Grade 7; more than a third (36%) had left their original primary school, and 25% had been retained at least once. Aims. The present study investigated factors that were measurable at the start of Grade 2 which proved useful in predicting subsequent retention. Method. Details of children's academic progress from Grade I in 1993 through all subsequent years including 1998 were collected. Predictor variables included age at school entry, sex of child, nutritional status, academic achievement in Grade 1, cognitive test status at Grade 2, teacher assessments of children's behaviour, and biographical variables such as caregiver education and household size. Results. Rural children's experience of primary school was relatively disrupted. For those who remained in the same school, a relatively good predictive model for retention was built, with Grade I academic achievement as well as caregiver education, and cognitive test scores being important predictors. Conclusions. Results corroborate those of developed world studies, in showing that early academic achievement is a strong predictor of retention. In addition, they highlight the importance of early curriculum mastery - rather than broader cognitive skills - for smooth progression through school.
TL;DR: This study shows the effect of children's grade on revision, and that postponing the revising process seems to help children to increase the frequency and the depth of their revisions.
Abstract: Background. Writing is considered as a complex activity, involving at least three processes: planning, translating and revising. The experiment proposed here focused on this last process, from a developmental perspective. Aims. The objective of this study was to examine if a delay between writing and revising could improve the frequency and the nature of revisions. In two out of three writing sessions the revising period was delayed to lighten the cognitive load associated with the revising process. The main hypothesis was that the revisions would be more frequent in older children's texts and during the sessions in which the revising process was delayed. Sample. Sixty children (20 per grade) from 3rd to 5th grades participated in the study. Method. These children were asked to write a text, and to revise it, when the revising phase occurred, whether during the writing phase or afterwards. Results. The text length, the frequency of errors and the frequency and the nature of revisions were analysed. The main results showed that, surprisingly, 3rd graders produced shorter texts, containing more errors, but revised more than 4th and 5th graders. The two postponed revising conditions led to more revisions than the revision occurring during writing. Surface revisions were more frequent than meaning revisions, but this result was only significant for younger children, or when revision occurred during writing. For all grades and revising conditions, surface revisions were mainly script and spelling corrections; meaning revisions were mainly additions and deletions of words or parts of texts. Conclusion. This study shows the effect of children's grade on revision, and that postponing the revising process seems to help children to increase the frequency and the depth of their revisions.
TL;DR: Qualitative analyses showed that teachers felt that groups of 7-10 pupils had negative educational effects, for example, in terms of the quality and quantity of teaching and children's concentration and contribution in groups.
Abstract: Background. There has been a vigorous debate for many years about the educational effects of class size differences, but even if differences have an impact on pupils’ academic progress this still leaves unanswered important questions about what mediates the effect. Aims. This paper is informed by a classroom contextual perspective, and examines associations between class size and within class groupings (in terms of size and number of groups, adult presence in groups, and type of interaction between grouping members). Age differences in these relationships are also explored. Samples. The quantitative study is based on analysis of 3157 groupings, from 672 Reception, Year 2 and Year 5 classes in 331 schools. The qualitative study was based on 12 classes in 8 case study schools, and questionnaire responses completed by over 100 class teachers. Methods. Links between size of class and within class groupings were examined on the basis of a ‘ grouping mapping survey’, in which teachers at a given time in the school day provided information on group size and number, adult presence, and type of interaction between pupils, and complementary qualitative analyses of data from teacher-completed questionnaires, and interviews. Results. The number of groups in a class increased with the size of the class. Over all three year groups, small classes had on average just over three groups, while large classes approached six groups. The size of groups in the class decreased with size of class. In class sizes over 25, pupils were more likely to be in a large group of 7-10, while in classes under 25 they were more likely to be in whole class groupings. Qualitative analyses showed that teachers felt that groups of 7-10 pupils had negative educational effects, for example, in terms of the quality and quantity of teaching and children's concentration and contribution in groups. Conclusions. Results suggest that the effects of class size can be best seen as through the size and number of groups, which will then have implications for learning experiences. So while debate about size of class has often been in terms of reduced size of class resulting in pupil academic gains, it is also important educationally to consider within class grouping size and number, and their effects.
TL;DR: The model developed differed in some respects from those found in the Western tertiary literature due probably to cultural factors which emphasise more an affective, moral view of teaching and to a school contextual emphasis on exams.
Abstract: Background. Recent research indicates that how lecturers think about the nature of teaching influences both the way they teach and the way their students learn and ultimately the learning outcomes they achieve. Such research has primarily been conducted at the tertiary level in Western countries and its relevance for school teaching and in non-Western contexts has yet to be demonstrated. Aims. Study 1 aimed to develop a model of the conceptions of teaching of Chinese secondary school teachers of physics and an instrument to assess these conceptions. Study 2 then tested the reliability and within-construct validity of responses to the latter and the relationships between teaching experience and gender and teaching conceptions were investigated. Sample. The interview sample in Study 1 comprised 18 teachers of physics in Guangdong, China. The instrument was administrated to 450 physics teachers from the province in Study 2. Method. An in-depth emic approach involving both interviews and classroom observations was utilised to develop the model. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the fit of responses to the instrument to the proposed model. Results. Five lower order conceptions (Knowledge Delivery, Exam Preparation, Ability Development, Attitude Promotion, and Conduct Guidance) and two higher order orientations (Moulding and Cultivating) were identified. Responses to the instrument were found to be of satisfactory internal consistency reliability and to fit the expected underlying factor model. Neither teaching experience nor gender was found to be related to conceptions of teaching. Conclusions. The model developed differed in some respects from those found in the Western tertiary literature due probably to cultural factors which emphasise more an affective, moral view of teaching and to a school contextual emphasis on exams. The instrument developed had very adequate psychometric properties and seems promising as a tool for assessing teaching conceptions in future research within China and across cultures.
TL;DR: The study highlights the self-protective benefit of self-handicapping in sparing the individual from conclusions of low ability, and the failure of high self- handicappers to fully internalise their success.
Abstract: Background. Self-handicapping involves the strategic establishment of an impediment or obstacle to success prior to a performance situation which thereby provides a convenient excuse for poor performance. Aims. The study sought to establish that relative to low trait self-handicappers, high trait self-handicappers exposed to failure in an intellectually evaluative situation will (a) pre-emptively claim more handicaps, and (b) behaviourally self-handicap through reduced practice effort, and (c) report greater anxiety and negative affect relative to low trait self-handicappers. Sample. Participants were 72 undergraduate students, divided equally between high and low self-handicapping groups. Method. This study utilised a 2 (self-handicapping status: high, low) × 3 (performance feedback: fail, low task importance; fail, high task importance; success) between-subjects factorial design to investigate claimed and behavioural self-handicapping through reduced practice effort. This was done by manipulating performance outcome and perceived task importance. Results. Relative to low trait self-handicappers, high trait high self-handicappers claimed more handicaps and engaged in greater behavioural self-handicapping following failure when working on tasks that were described as potentially diagnostic of low ability. While low self-handicappers internalised their success more than their failure in the high task importance condition, high self-handicappers were undifferentiated in their attributions across performance conditions. Greater anxiety and greater negative affect were also characteristic of high self-handicappers. Conclusions. The study highlights the self-protective benefit of self-handicapping in sparing the individual from conclusions of low ability, and the failure of high self-handicappers to fully internalise their success. These elements and the role of uncertain estimates of ability are discussed in considering implications for intervention.
TL;DR: It is concluded that young people are vulnerable to adjustment problems when levels of dispositional optimism are not sufficiently strong to counteract high expectations about the possibility of specific negative events occurring.
Abstract: In this project 102 students at the outset of their first year at high school responded to questionnaires assessing their levels of (a) optimism and pessimism, (b) personal expectancies for the occurrence of specific negative events, and (c) depression and anxiety. Additional data concerning hostility to school, perceived classroom involvement, and student self-reported and teacher-reported adjustment to school measures were collected at the end of the year. In general, the girls reported greater levels of positive adjustment than boys. It was found that optimism together with expectation for negative events predicted 21% of the variance in school hostility. In addition, optimism predicted perceived classroom involvement, and also predicted students’
self-reported adjustment. Teachers’ ratings of student adjustment were predicted only by gender.
TL;DR: Based on the significant differences in learning approaches noted among the different Chinese subgroups, caution must therefore be taken against forming fixed conceptualisations of cultural characteristics and considerable care be given in sample definition and selection in cross-cultural research.
Abstract: Background. Although numerous studies have examined the learning approaches of Chinese students, very few comparative studies have been carried out with Chinese students from different nations. Aims. The present research was designed to identify differences in study approach between Chinese university students drawn from Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Samples. The sample consisted of 192 Chinese students with 89 students from Malaysia (43 males and 46 females), 65 students from Hong Kong (41 males and 24 females), and 38 students from Singapore (12 males and 26 females). Method. All students completed Entwistle and Ramsden's (1983) Approaches to Studying Inventory by rating on a 4-point Likert scale how well each of the 64 items described their own learning behaviour. Results. The hypotheses that, in comparison with their respective counterparts, Malaysian Chinese students would identify themselves as being more dependent in their learning, Singaporean students as being more adept in presenting ideas/concepts in a clear and systematic fashion, and Hong Kong students as being more anxious in their learning approach, were all supported. However, the hypothesis that Hong Kong students would be more strategic in their learning approach than their national counterparts was not supported. Conclusions. Based on the significant differences in learning approaches noted among the different Chinese subgroups, caution must therefore be taken against forming fixed conceptualisations of cultural characteristics and considerable care be given in sample definition and selection in cross-cultural research.
TL;DR: The outcomes of this study suggest that low SES boys commenced school significantly disadvantaged by a pattern of perceived distractible behaviour in particular, and that this perception continued to operate over the next two years of their schooling.
Abstract: Background Consistent evidence indicates that low socio-economic status (SES) acts as an important stressor and vulnerability factor for children's school learning. However, specific mechanism(s) of this process are still not well understood. Aim This study was a follow-up of the classroom learning behaviour and perceived achievement of low and middle income children after two years at school, who had previously been rated soon after starting school. It examined whether teachers' ratings displayed predictive stability over that period, and whether significant differences evident at age 5 in SES and gender were still operative at age 7. Sample Two samples, of low income (N = 85) and middle income (N = 63) children, were rated following school entry (mean age 5 years 3 months) and rated again after two years at school. Method The children were rated at both points by their regular classroom teachers using the Learning Behaviours Scale (Stott et al., 1998) with subscales of Distractible, Apprehensive and Uncooperative, together with ratings of academic achievement and their personal perception of each child. Results SES was found to be a very limited predictor for the learning behaviour subscale ratings and for teachers' personal perceptions at both ages 5 and 7. SES did significantly predict expected Academic Achievement at age 5, but this effect disappeared completely by age 7. Conversely, within the two defined groups, Low Income boys were found to display significantly poorer learning behaviours at age 5, especially in terms of distractible behaviour, compared with Middle Income boys and with girls generally. This pattern was maintained over the next two years of their schooling. The effect of SES was thus demonstrated more powerfully in between-group differences than by means of regression. The findings emphasised the persistence of teachers' initial negative impressions about distractible 'hard to manage' boys from low SES families. Conclusion The outcomes of this study suggest that low SES boys commenced school significantly disadvantaged by a pattern of perceived distractible behaviour in particular, and that this perception continued to operate over the next two years of their schooling. Such a pattern implied that these boys were perceived by their teachers, from early in their school careers, as being demanding and difficult to teach. Once teachers gave certain boys a label it appeared to 'stick'. SES per se was thus not the main risk factor. It was primarily the effect of boys' greater activity level, distractibility, and initial inability to 'settle' to classroom routines, which seemed to be particularly associated with certain lower SES child-rearing practices. These behaviours had a serious negative impact on the children's teachers and the way they responded to them.
TL;DR: The extent to which learning potential (dynamic) assessment can predict which children with severe learning difficulties will gain most from a structured programme of cognitive intervention was examined.
Abstract: Background. The paper considers the construct of learning potential (or dynamic assessment) and its use in the psychoeducational assessment of children with learning difficulties. Aims. The principal research aim was to examine the extent to which learning potential (dynamic) assessment can predict which children with severe learning difficulties will gain most from a structured programme of cognitive intervention. Sample. The sample consisted of 30 children (mean age 9 years) based in a school for children with moderate/severe learning difficulties. Methods. Half of the children were assessed both before and after the delivery of a 15-month cognitive intervention programme undertaken by the first author. The other half took part in the assessments but continued with their usual classroom programme. Assessments included the use of both dynamic and static measures. On the basis of the assessments, students were divided into high and low potential groups and comparison of gains after the intervention was undertaken. Results. The measurement of learning potential appeared to predict subsequent performance in some, but not all, areas. Those who were most likely to make gains were those children deemed as ‘ high potential’ who also received the cognitive intervention. Conclusions. The value of learning potential assessment was not clearly demonstrated. The implications of the results are explored and, in particular, the authors warn of the dangers of drawing upon the results of learning potential measures in an inappropriate fashion. (school) psychologists, the complexity of the measures, ongoing debates validity and applicability and the pressures from resource managers for clearcut psychometric results have tended to deter all but the practitioner.
TL;DR: The results of this study are useful in explaining why high-ability students benefit more from co-operative learning than low-abilityStudents and why solicited explanations are more effective than unsolicited explanations.
Abstract: Background. This article describes the outcomes of a longitudinal, multilevel observational study in which the relationship between the processes of cooperation and giving explanations was compared between classes trained in communication skills and classes that were untrained.
TL;DR: The relationship between word reading errors at age 6 and accurate word reading at age 8 is investigated, and scaffolding errors represent a significant qualitative indicator of later word reading success.
Abstract: Background. Identification of patterns of early reading behaviour that predict later reading success is clearly important. Reading errors of 6-year-olds represent a source of such early assessment information, but their significance as predictors of later reading is unknown. Aims. The relationship between word reading errors at age 6 and accurate word reading at age 8 is investigated here. Samples, Methods, Results. In study 1, 44 children completed word reading tests at 6 and 8 years. ‘Scaffolding errors’ preserving both initial and final phonemes (e.g., ‘ bark’ misread as ‘ bank’); errors preserving either initial or final phonemes (e.g., ‘ bark’ misread as ‘ bed’ or ‘ like’); distant or unrelated errors (e.g., ‘ bark’ misread as ‘ can’ or ‘ men’) and non-responses were measured at age 6. Scaffolding errors were the best predictors of word reading at age 8. Study 2 investigated the correlations between word and nonsense word reading, and scaffolding errors in 30 children aged 6 years. Scaffolding errors predicted unique variance in word reading after nonword reading was entered. Conclusions. Scaffolding errors represent a significant qualitative indicator of later word reading success. Implications of findings for early identification of reading difficulties, and facilitating reading interventions are discussed.
TL;DR: The study provides additional evidence to involve 'instructional knowledge' and students' task perception as part of it, as mediating variables in future research.
Abstract: Background. From the perspective of the cognitive mediational paradigm, we focus in this study on students’ conceptions of the relationship between instructional interventions and learning: ‘ instructional knowledge’. Aims. Task perception has been investigated as a procedural manifestation of instructional knowledge. Four research questions directed the study: (1) how do students perceive a task; (2) by which structure can the relations between categories of task perception be represented; (3) do students differ in their task perception; and (4) is there a significant relationship between students’ task perception and the learning activities they plan and/or execute. Sample. The sample consisted of 149 university freshmen in educational sciences. Methods. Students were confronted with a concrete task in a natural setting. Correlations were searched for by phi coefficient. Hierarchical classes analysis was used to search for hierarchical relations and inter-individual differences. Goodman-Kruskal λ was calculated to estimate the association between students’ task perception and the learning activities they planned and executed. The questionnaire and the design of the coding systems were first tried out in a pilot study. Results. Students’ task perception can be described in 11 categories. Correlations between those categories were low, but a simple hierarchical structure was discovered. Students can be distinguished according to their task perception into eight groups. Finally, the results indicate a statistically significant association between students’ task perception and the learning activities they plan and execute. Conclusions. The study provides additional evidence to involve ‘ instructional knowledge’ and students’ task perception as part of it, as mediating variables in future research.
TL;DR: Investigating conceptions of learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students during the first two years of their undergraduate degree courses in three Australian universities found changed conceptions and awareness resulted from learning at university where there is some need to understand and explain phenomena in relation to theory.
Abstract: Background. Conceptions of learning have been investigated for students in higher. education in different countries. Some studies found that students' conceptions change and develop over time while others have found no changes. Investigating conceptions of learning for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students is a relatively new area of research. Aims. This study set out to investigate conceptions of learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students during the first two years of their undergraduate degree courses in three Australian universities. Conceptions for each year were compared. Knowing, more about learning as conceived by this cultural group may facilitate more productive higher educational experiences. Sample. The sample comprised 17 students studying various degrees; Il were male and 6 were female. Ages ranged from 18 to 48 years; mean age was 26 years. Method. This was a phenomenographic, longitudinal study. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted each year to ascertain students' conceptions of learning. Conceptions for second year were derived independently of those From first year. A comparative analysis then took place to determine ally changes. Results. These students held conceptions of learning that were similar to those of other university students; however there were some intrinsic differences. On a group level, conceptions changed somewhat over the two years as did core conceptions reported by some individual students. Some students also exhibited a greater awareness of learning during their second year that resulted in three dimensions of changed awareness. Conclusions. We believe the changed conceptions and awareness resulted from learning at university where there is some need to understand and explain phenomena in relation to theory. This brought about new understandings which allowed students to see their own learning in a relational sense.
TL;DR: The results indicate that the observed differences between a conventional, static testing procedure and an experimental, dynamic testing procedure for mathematics cannot be explained sufficiently by a differential bias towards test anxiety.
Abstract: Background Dynamic measurement procedures are supposed to uncover the zone of proximal development and to increase predictive validity in comparison to conventional, static measurement procedures. Aims Two alternative explanations for the discrepancies between static and dynamic measurements were investigated. The first focuses on Vygotsky's learning potential theory, the second considers the role of anxiety tendency during test taking. If test anxious tendencies are mitigated by dynamic testing procedures, in particular the availability of assistance, the concept of the zone of proximal development may be superfluous in explaining the differences between the outcomes of static and dynamic measurement. Sample Participants were students from secondary education in the Netherlands. They were tested repeatedly in grade three as well as in grade four. Participants were between 14 and 17 years old; their average age was 15.4 years with a standard deviation of .52. Method Two types of mathematics tests were used in a longitudinal experiment. The first type of test consisted of open-ended items, which participants had to solve completely on their own. With the second type of test, assistance was available to participants during the test. The latter so-called learning test was conceived of as a dynamic testing procedure. Furthermore, a test anxiety questionnaire was administered repeatedly. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Results Apart from emotionality and worry, lack of self-confidence appears to be an important constituent of test anxiety. The learning test appears to contribute to the predictive validity of conventional tests and thus a part of Vygotsky's claims were substantiated. Moreover, the mere inclusion of a test anxiety factor into an explanatory model for the gathered data is not sufficient. Apart from test anxiety and mathematical ability it is necessary to assume a factor which may be construed as mathematics learning potential. Conclusion The results indicate that the observed differences between a conventional, static testing procedure and an experimental, dynamic testing procedure for mathematics cannot be explained sufficiently by a differential bias towards test anxiety. The dynamic testing approach renders scores which add to the predictive validity of conventional testing procedures. Since this gain in predictive validity is not a result of the removal of bias towards test anxiety, this result should be understood as supportive for the validity of the concept of the zone of proximal development.
TL;DR: If satisfactory levels of reliability/generalisability are to be achieved with the Koppitz scoring system children have to be tested on several occasions.
Abstract: Background. Scoring systems to evaluate children's human drawings for intellectual maturity have been found to have good intra- and inter-scorer reliability. However, there is some evidence (McCarthy, 1944) that such scores may not be stable over time. Aim. The aim of the study was to investigate raters and occasions as potential sources of error in children's Draw-a-Person scores using generalisability and classical test theory. Sample. The sample consisted of 85 school children (45 girls and 40 boys) aged between 8 years I month to 9 years and 7 months. Method. The Koppitz Draw-A-Person (1968) test was administered as a class test on two occasions with exactly a two-week interval between the occasions. All the children's drawings were scored by the same four raters. Results. Generalisability analyses of the Koppitz scores indicated that the variance components for raters and its interaction with both persons and occasions were very small, suggesting that very little measurement error was associated with the raters. However, the estimated variance component for the interaction of persons by occasions was substantial. With four raters and two occasions the generalisability coefficient was .47. These results were consistent with the classical test theory analysis which indicated generally high inter-rater reliabilities but a low test-retest reliability, based on a composite of the four raters. Conclusion. If satisfactory levels of reliability/generalisability are to be achieved with the Koppitz scoring system children have to be tested on several occasions.