61 research outputs found
Associations between the home environment, parenting and self-regulation in early childhood
No full textCollaborating to learning in diverse contexts:Peer-mediated learning and the value of difference
No full textDiversos estudios han mostrado que el trabajo colaborativo bien logrado fomenta el aprendizaje y el desarrollo cognitive, especialmente si se trata de un dialogo entre pares que se caracterice par ser focalizado, razonado y sostenido (Mercer, 2008). Mas a(m, existe evidencia que sugiere que, en ciertos contextos, cuando los nifios trabajan juntos sin la mediaci6n del adulto logran ser mas independientes en la regulaci6n de la actividad compartida (Whitebread, Bingham, Grau, Pino-Pasternak & Sangster, 2007) y son mas productivos (Howe, Me William & Gross, 2005). Tambien se sugiere que el tipo de habla que favorece mas el aprendizaje es aquella en que los integrantes discuten critica y constructivamente sobre las opiniones de los demas (Mercer, 2008) , y que la expresi6n de ideas disimiles o contrarias entre los miembros de un grupo es beneficiosa en terminos de aprendizaje (Howe et al., 2007). La mayoria de estos estudios se han llevado a cabo en grupos de niveles de rendimiento heterogeneo. De esta manera, la diversidad y el conflicto pasan a ser caracterfsticas especialmente enriquecedoras y fructiferas en este tipo de actividades
Stories for primary-aged Indonesian students and their potential to introduce children to the importance of effort toward challenges
Get PDFThis research examined the potential of written stories as educational materials that can serve to introduce children to the importance of effort in the first years of formal education. It is grounded on well-established associations between children’s effort and academic success as well as literature indicating that stories can potentially modify children’s behaviour.
The empirical research, conducted in Indonesia, comprised three independent but related studies. Study 1 analysed a corpus of stories recommended for Year 1 and Year 2 Indonesian children, in order to identify the nature of effort toward challenge depicted in these texts. Using a combination of content and structural text-based analysis, it was found that self-initiated individual effort in the face of challenge was emphasised to a lesser extent than culturally valued behaviours such as accepting difficult situations without trying to change them, as a representation of accepting God’s will (Indonesian: nrimo), and aiding others who are affected by challenges.
Study 2 explored qualitatively how four Indonesian teachers acknowledged effort-related themes depicted in two stories they presented in class. Important differences were found among teachers, with one teacher simply reading the text without any discussion and three overtly addressing themes emerging from the stories. Effort-related themes and persevering in the face of challenges were not among the most important themes but rather, themes consistent with cultural expectations such as friendship and caring for others.
Finally, study 3 investigated children’s understanding of the stories their teachers (Study 2) told in class. The analysis of children’s responses to a story recall task showed that the hardest theme for children to recall was the main character’s effort while the easiest one was the story’s outcome. Children’s recall also differed across teacher groups, suggesting that the activation of cultural schema through teachers’ talk may be a variable associated with children’s understanding of the themes depicted in the stories.
Using not only literature in educational and developmental psychology but also embedding contextually sensitive information to interpret the findings, this research has provided evidence of the potential of stories available at school to introduce not only effort-related themes but also other themes that are consistent with curricular and broader societal expectations for young Indonesian children
An Exploration of Teachers’ Beliefs on the Integration of Culture in Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Junior High Schools in Minahasa/Indonesia
Get PDFThe place of culture has been recognised as crucial in the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, researchers have found that EFL teachers are often confused, face difficulties and lack knowledge of the concept of culture and its pedagogical instruction (what and how to teach). Relatively little has been researched about the beliefs and practices of EFL teachers regarding this topic at beginner levels and in geographical contexts where English is “very foreign” (third or fourth language). This study explored Minahasan EFL junior high school teachers’ beliefs on the integration of culture in their teaching.
Five EFL teachers were involved and the study specifically employed three qualitative techniques for data collection: semi-structured interviews, class observations and stimulated-recalls interviews (based on past video recordings of practice). Consistent with extant research these EFL teachers held positive beliefs about the importance of culture in EFL teaching (Byram, 2013; Byram & Kramsch, 2008; Kramsch, 1993, 2006, 2013; Liddicoat, 2002, 2008, 2014). They understood culture as ‘a way of life’ (Brown, 2007) and believed that the teaching of culture was critical in developing successful communication skills and in building intercultural communication. Speech acts and small “c” cultures (Lee, 2009) mostly from American culture (US) were the focus of their teaching, accompanied with the use of a comparative method (Byram, Gribkova & Starkey, 2002). To some extent, constraints (limited exposure and knowledge of intercultural competence, materials, IT) and curriculum affected their beliefs and practices regarding teaching culture and language.
The perspectives of these EFL teachers from Minahasa/Indonesia provide useful insights for developing a base model for cultural instruction in junior high schools in Minahasa and similar education contexts. Further studies in intercultural competence and pragmatic instruction (speech acts) from a larger number of teachers, educators and learners’ perceptions will help to enhance the understanding and knowledge about teaching language and culture
Executive Functioning at school entry: Outcome, mediator and predictor
Get PDFExecutive Functioning (EF) in early childhood is relevant to important developmental outcomes, including self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic achievement. However, questions remain about EF’s status as an outcome of parental behaviours (Study 1), mediator of the relation between family environment and SRL (Study 2) and predictor of academic achievement (Study 3) and SRL (Study 4). Therefore, four studies were conducted to explore the role of EF during the first two years of schooling.
For Study 1, a meta-analysis was conducted to determine the strength and direction of the relation between three categories of parental behaviour and EF in children aged 0 to 8 years. Forty-two studies, published between 2000 and 2016, were identified. Results revealed modest, but significant associations between EF and all three categories of parental behaviour: positive (r = .25), negative (r = -.22) and cognitive (r = .20).
To investigate EF as a possible domain-general mediator between family environment and SRL, Study 2 investigated whether aspects of the home environment and parental behaviours predicted children’s SRL via vocabulary or EF, and whether such associations flowed through to children’s academic outcomes. Home and parenting variables, child EF, vocabulary, SRL and academic achievement were assessed at Time 1 (T1). Academic achievement was re-assessed one year later (T2). Structural equation modelling was conducted on a complete matched data set of 98 child-parent dyads. EF was found to mediate the relation between family income and SRL. In addition, SRL was predicted directly by frequency of shared activities, female gender, and age. Vocabulary did not predict SRL, but was predicted by parental negative affect and control. SRL, EF, and vocabulary all predicted academic achievement (R2 = .43), fully mediating the home and parenting variables’ effects. Consistent with prior research, Study 2 demonstrated that EF predicts academic achievement. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the potential causal pathways through which this might occur. Therefore, Study 3 compared two models representing how this might occur, namely, the immediate effects model (EF predicts future academic achievement via concurrent academic achievement), and the growth potential model (EF predicts future academic achievement directly). Structural equation modelling analyses were conducted on a longitudinal dataset of 176 children at Time 1 (T1) and one year later (T2). For mathematics, results supported the immediate effects model, with T1 EF predicting T2 mathematics only via T1 mathematics, whereas for reading and writing, paths consistent with both models were found: T1 EF directly predicted T2 academic achievement, and also indirectly predicted T2 academic achievement via T1 academic achievement.
Like EF, SRL is considered important for academic achievement. Recently, researchers have proposed theoretical links between EF and SRL. However, very few studies have investigated empirically the relation between EF and SRL, particularly in early childhood. Study 4 investigated the longitudinal association between EF and SRL in 176 children, during the transition from kindergarten (T1) to Year 1 (T2), through cross-lagged structural equation models. EF predicted SRL longitudinally (r = .43, controlling for kindergarten SRL), but SRL did not predict EF. In addition, evidence for a common factor model was also found. In conclusion, EF in early childhood may be somewhat predicted by family environment (EF as an outcome), partially explain family environment’s association with children’s SRL and academic achievement (EF as a mediator) and support future SRL and academic achievement (EF as a predictor). Together, these findings highlight EF’s importance in relation to developmental outcomes, and point to ways of cultivating early learning
Through the lens of teachers: Understanding the implementation of sustainability as a cross-curriculum priority in Western Australian schools
Get PDFEducation for Sustainability (EfS) can be understood as an effort to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to make environmental, social and economic decisions that consider the needs of present and future generations. In Western Australia (WA), EfS has been incorporated into the official state curriculum by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) as a cross-curriculum priority (CCP) (referred to as the Sustainability cross-curriculum priority [SCCP]). To date, very little research has been conducted on the various factors contributing to the implementation of the SCCP and whether these factors are connected to teachers’ perceptions of sustainability, the curriculum and/or teaching practices. This research sought to explore the integration of the SCCP into the curriculum through the lens of practising primary school teachers. In this study, nine primary school teachers in the Perth metropolitan region (five generalist; four specialists) were interviewed about the extent to which the Western Australian Curriculum has guided and supported their teaching practices in relation to sustainability and the SCCP, their perceptions of sustainability and their methods for teaching the SCCP. The findings showed that: 1) both generalist and specialist teachers are integrating the SCCP into their teaching practices across various learning areas to various extents; 2) in addition to the curriculum, teachers recognise the need for additional support and resources, school leadership being a relevant one; and 3) teachers’ understandings of sustainability captures its multiple dimensions as described in the literature (i.e., the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability) and has resulted in the adoption of a multidimensional approach to teaching. Through detailed and rich examples of classroom practice the participants illustrated the web of inter-related factors that characterise the implementation of the SCCP. Overall, the most salient take-home message of this work is that teachers are the main actors driving the implementation of the SCCP, making informed decisions about how the curriculum is to be incorporated in their teaching while responding to students’ interests and needs
Science inquiry pedagogy in upper primary and lower secondary lessons
Get PDFFor over 50 years science inquiry has been positively associated with student achievement. Recently, the role of science inquiry as a means of effective science teaching has come under increased scrutiny after analyses of international large-scale assessments found an overall negative association between science inquiry and student achievement. Unclear in the research literature is the methods teachers use when implementing science inquiry in the standard classroom, as previous research was based on classroom interventions and student reports. To better understand the association between science inquiry and student achievement it is necessary to first explore teachers’ day-to-day science inquiry instruction using classroom observations.
The current research describes upper primary and lower secondary teachers’ science inquiry implementation in 56 science lessons and the reasons teachers chose to implement certain pedagogies. The qualitative design combined teacher surveys, structured classroom observations, and interviews to describe teachers’ science inquiry pedagogies using the guidance and cognitive dimensions of science inquiry.
Primary teachers implemented predominantly guided inquiry for approximately 50% of the total observed lesson time, while secondary teachers used mainly structured inquiry for roughly 18% of lesson time. Although primary and secondary teachers implemented all the essential features of science inquiry, the features were spread across multiple lessons. Therefore students were not experiencing science inquiry in its entirety and were not provided the opportunity to understand how the essential features work together during an investigation. Further, the epistemic domain of science inquiry was practically absent from teachers’ instruction, limiting students exposure to the nature of scientific knowledge.
The current research provides a contemporary and multifaceted account of science teaching practice in standard science lessons that, when synthesised with pedagogical theory, facilitated a conceptual model of science teaching practice. The findings and the model can be used by educational researchers and policy-makers to make informed decisions when seeking to improve science education, especially with respect to scientifically reflexive praxis and curriculum that supports empirical knowledge generation through science inquiry instruction
Evolution of pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards learning science during an introductory science unit
No full textPrimary teachers, despite their critical role in fostering student interest in science, lack confidence and have negative attitudes towards teaching science, with this trend starting during initial teacher education. Though research on attitudes towards teaching science is well established, less is known about attitudes towards learning science. In order to advance our understanding in this area, this study mapped the entry and evolution of attitudinal profiles towards learning science of 108 primary education pre-service teachers undertaking a first-year science unit. Participants completed an online survey tapping on self-determination, grade motivation, self-efficacy, difficulty, interest, anxiety and enjoyment in science before the commencement of the unit (T1) and at the end of it (T2). Clustering methods were used to group participants into homogenous attitudinal profiles at both points in time. Subsequently, daughter profile analysis was used to examine qualitative changes in final profiles respective to entry. Four distinct attitudinal profiles were identified with 47% of the participants exhibiting the least favourable profiles at the start of the science unit. Migration (T1 to T2) was more prevalent from the least to the most favourable profiles, however, it did occur in the opposite direction. Findings revealed that, though pre-service teachers increased their confidence in their ability to learn science, their self-determination decreased in all but one of the eight resulting daughter profiles
- …
