Showing papers in "Canadian Journal of Education in 1987"

Sex and Rural-Urban Differences in Standardized Achievement Scores and Mathematical Subskills.

Abstract: A mental ability test and an achievement battery were administered to a large sample (N = 4918) of Grades 4, 7, and lo students from a mid-Western province in Canada. Rural-urban, as well as male-female differences in achievement, particularly in mathematics, were examined. When ability differences were controlled statistically, it was found that, in general, there was a rural superiority in achievement in a majority of subtests with no sex and jurisdiction interactions. Also, the results supported the general notion that females score better than males in verbal tests, while males score better than females in quantitative tests. The mathematics item clusters were investigated in greater detail by an examination of the mathematical subskills involved. The results are discussed in terms of previous findings and related to various theoretical postulations about gender differences in mathematical achievement.

Student's Perceptions of Causes and Consequences of Embarrassment in the School.

Abstract: This paper is developed from qualitative data collected as part of a larger study of the schooling experiences of high school students in Atlantic Canada. Within a sociological orientation, students' perceptions of the causes and consequences of embarrassment in the school are identified. These causes are seen in students' perceptions of the extent to which teachers are understanding, patient, and caring. The fact that teachers often appear to favour certain students and treat some as "kids," and the views that teachers are sometimes nosey and egoistic also underlie causes of student embarrassment. In addition to the negative effects on student learning and their attitudes toward schooling, the consequences of student embarrassment include developing a dislike for teachers, becoming "mad" at their teachers, fearing teachers' actions, and developing negative self-concepts. Issues related to teacher awareness of student embarrassment and the pedagogical overtones of these issues are addressed as well.

Job Skills and Schooling: A Class Analysis of Entry Requirements and Underemployment.

Abstract: This paper explores how schooling reproduces the general class structure of the Ontario workforce, particularly the division between mental and manual labour. The general literature on job skill levels is reviewed, and educational entry requirements are distinguished from other aspects of job skills. A supposed skill division of mental and manual labour between corporate executives and intermediate employees, on the one hand, and proletarian workers, on the other, is posited as being fundamental for the reproduction of the class structure of advanced capitalist economies. Data from a 1984 Ontario survey of self-reported job entry requirements and educational attainments and of the congruence between requirements and attainments are analyzed for the entire employed workforce and for different class positions. The findings suggest little aggregate-level upgrading of job entry requirements in Ontario in recent decades with the gap between the corporate executives and intermediate employees and the proletarian workers in post-secondary requirements remaining large. Although educational attainments are somewhat more likely to exceed requirements among younger employees, the incidence of such underemployment appears to be quite similar across most class positions. Hence, at least with regard tojob entry requirements, the division between mental and manual labour appears to have been reproduced effectively to date in the employed workforce.

Science Education and Textbook Science.

Abstract: The Science and Education Study conducted by the Science Council of Canada, 1980-84, included a descriptive analysis of 32 science textbooks from among those most widely used in Grades K-12 in Canadian schools From this descriptive analysis some characteristics of a representation of science emerged that will be referred to as textbook science This paper attempts to clarify the concept of textbook science, discusses the methodology used to identify it, and illustrates some of its various aspects It is then suggested that further research be undertaken on the validity of the science represented in textbooks with regard to recent advances in disciplines such as the history and the epistemology of science

The Continuing Appeal of Disadvantage as Deficit: A Canadian Study in a Rural Context

Abstract: Teachers in a rural Canadian setting were surveyed about their perceptions of the characteristics of disadvantage. While they correctly attributed disadvantage to features of varying home backgrounds, they also indicated an allegiance to an environmental-deficit philosophy which has been increasingly rejected in the literature. Teachers continued to see disadvantaged children as environmentally deficient children. Particular attention was paid here to language matters, since language has traditionally been a focal point for disadvantage. The implications of the teachers' views are discussed and some recommendations made for teacher training.

The Impact of Elementary School Related Factors on the Achievement of Montreal Francophone Children: Results from a Global Model.

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to evaluate empirically the impact of elementary school related factors on the academic achievement of Montreal francophone children. Using a threeequation model we seek to explain simultaneously the level of achievement in mathematics and French and the self-concept of the students in our sample. The individual student is the basic unit of the model. The model includes numerous explanatory variables concerning personal characteristics of students, socioeconomic background of the student, and schoolrelated factor variables. More specifically, school effects are defined in terms of not only structural components of the school setting but also teachers' and administrators' objective characteristics, specific educational interventions in a low-income area, and attitudinal variables. The data used in this paper originate from a two-year longitudinal sample concerning about 3,000 students. A logistic functional form is specified, and two-stage least square techniques are used for estimation.

Psychological Abuse in the Home and in the School

Abstract: The most devastating of sins is the mutilation of a child's spirit (Erikson, 1968): to assault the ego is to "attack a fundamental component of competent development" (Garbarino & Gilliam, 1981, p. 75). Although results of psychological abuse are not readily visible, indelible scars are left. It is every bit as devastating as physical abuse: often physical abuse is the expression of a broader and more generalized disregard for the child's emotional development. Yet, no clear consensus exists concerning the defining attributes of emotional abuse, no controlling legislation is established, and there are few reported cases.

Education Professors' Perceptions of and Attitudes toward Student Writing.

Abstract: University professors from various disciplines within Education often comment on the inabilities of student writers and the errors displayed in their writing. Working from the premise that faculty attitudes towards and perceptions of student writing likely reveal their own knowledge of the writing process and their own expectations of students as writers, Education professors were asked in a survey to list and rank perceived student writing errors and problems, to describe the types of written course requirements demanded of students, and to note the types of written examinations set for students. The results of the survey are reported in conjunction with professors' comments and examples of student writings, and explanations are provided for some perceived student difficulties. Discussion of positive aspects of student writing lead one to conclude that student writing is generally perceived as being acceptable. However, there are recurrent writing problems that do not seem to be developmental and that need regular attention of faculty and students. When all findings were analyzed, it appeared that, rather than identifying student errors in syntax and mechanics, professors were identifying the inability of students to deal successfully with the argumentative mode. Though the majority of professors demanded that students write in the argumentative mode, they were unaware of the rhetorical demands of this mode of discourse, and the major difficulty with student writing appeared to be the students' inability to deal with the rhetorical aspects of this mode.

Secondary Pupils and Teacher Qualities: Contrasts in Appraisals.

Abstract: Twelve teacher qualities were ranked for relative importance by 266 Canadian and American senior-secondary pupils in anonymous responses to a questionnaire for which they volunteered. Subdivisions of the sample were formed for purposes of comparison on the basis of respondents' sex, nationality, program of studies, and social class (defined by reference to parental occupations). The ratings distributions for these groups were compared (males with females; Canadians with Americans; academic with non-academic pupils; entrepreneurs with professionals, unskilled labourers, and skilled labourers) to explore the extent to which an assumption of homogeneity of orientation and appraisals is warranted. Eleven of 48 (23%) comparisons revealed significant differences. Of these differences, 4 were found in program group comparisons; 3 arose from nationality comparisons; 3 emerged from gender comparisons; and the remaining difference was revealed through social class comparison. At least one significant difference was found in the comparisons for the majority (7 of 12) of the teacher attributes. Finer-grained analyses (i.e., within sex and within nationality) revealed 9 other significant within-group differences in ratings of teacher qualities. The results are discussed relative to issues which arise from simplification by deletion, categorical treatment of diversity or complexity, decomposition strategies in research, and teacher preparation and selection practices.

The Profession of Teaching: A Reply to Professor Foster

Abstract: or Litigate" [11(2)], Foster builds a powerful case for the liability of teachers in instances of malpractice causing nonphysical harm In a carefully crafted text that draws on an extensive academic and legal bibliography, he discusses two separate but linked notions, claiming that teachers are professionals and that they should be held accountable for malpractice Because, in Foster's view, it is not necessary for a teacher to be a professional in order to be held accountable, the article addresses separately two issues: whether teachers are professionals; and whether they can be held liable for malpractice even if they are not It is my contention that both concerns should be addressed by making reference to autonomy Because professionals have a specialized understanding of a field vital to an ongoing society, they are granted professional status, and this necessarily includes an ability to judge policy and practice in their field This autonomy comes mainly from their claim to an expertise which excludes others from making valid judgments in the professional field because only the professionals have that expertise Professionals are granted greater autonomy than other occupational groups because only they can judge when the appropriate practice has been performed Malpractice cases usually arise when a violation of the standard procedure becomes so obvious that even a lay person can detect the flaw It is my claim that autonomy is essential to being a professional and that teachers without autonomy cannot be considered professionals Foster refers to the autonomy of professionals by citing two of Elson's comments on the subject First, when speaking about the beneficial effects of imposing liability for educational malpractice, "It would provide educational institutions with an incentive to develop effective in-house internal procedures to resolve conflicts over negligently inflicted educational injuries" (p 127) Again, in the list of hallmarks for identifying a profession, "Those pursuing the occupation or calling in question must: (3) have rules and principles of practice which give

Breaking a Conceptual Bottleneck in Computer Application to Language Arts through a Focus on Transactional Learning

Abstract: Although microcomputers and language arts educational software titles are increasingly available in schools, little evidence exists that computer applications in language instruction are seen as offering a broad or even appropriate approach to learning. We feel that this is the result of a conceptual bottleneck caused in part by the acceptance of an inappropriate behavioural model of language learning. We endorse instead a transactional model of language learning and define an overall paradigm of computer use with three categories of computer applications based on this model. We argue that, unlike the contemporary product orientation of the behavioural model, the process orientation to computer use which arises out of the transactional model will employ the technology more fully and appropriately and lead to greater language learning.