bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
STRUCTURED ROLE ORIENTATION AND ACADEMIC SELF‐CONCEPT IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
Authors: MOIR JAMES , TODMAN JOHN
Published: May 2011

Summary. Gordon's (1978) School Environment Preference Survey (SEPS) and Cohen's (1976) six‐item adaptation of the Brookover (1967) Self‐Concept of Academic Ability Scale were administered to 25 pupils in each of the first four years in a Scottish secondary school. The correlations obtained provide support for Gordon's (1971) hypothesis that pupils with a high degree of structured role orientation, as measured by the SEPS, lack confidence in their academic ability. In addition, there was a decrease in SEPS scores and an increase in academic self‐concept over successive year levels.
HYPERACTIVITY IN A GROUP OF CHILDREN REFERRED TO A SCOTTISH CHILD GUIDANCE SERVICE: A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM
Authors: GLEESON DENISE , PARKER DENIS
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study tested the hypothesis that if the same measure of hyperactivity was used a similar proportion of children in Britain referred for child guidance advice would be found to be hyperactive as in North America. Conners' Teacher Rating Scale for hyperactivity was completed for 89 of the first 100 primary school children referred in one school year to a schools' psychological service. The rating scale was also completed for a matched control group. A significant difference was found between the hyperactivity ratings of the two groups. Of the referred children 42.7 per cent were rated as hyperactive, similar to the reported incidence in North America.
WHEN LESS INFORMATION IS MORE INFORMATIVE: DIAGNOSING TEACHER EXPECTATIONS FROM BRIEF SAMPLES OF BEHAVIOUR
Authors: BABAD ELISHA , BERNIERI FRANK , ROSENTHAL ROBERT
Published: May 2011

Summary. Teacher behaviour reflecting their differential expectations was investigated in a context‐minimal method, where judges rate extremely brief (10‐second) clips of videotaped teacher behaviour, separated into isolated non‐verbal and verbal channels (face, body, speech content, tone of voice, etc.). Teachers were recorded when talking about and talking to high‐ and low‐expectancy students. Contrary to recent claims that teacher expectancy effects are negligible and that teachers' differential behaviour is generally appropriate and reality‐based, expectancy effects of substantial magnitude were found in this study, especially in affective and non‐verbal behaviours.

Teachers were rated as showing more negative affect in the non‐verbal channels, and as more dogmatic in the non‐verbal and transcript channels, when talking about low expectancy compared to high expectancy students. When talking to students and teaching them briefly, facially communicated expectancy differences were found in ratings of negative affect and active teaching behaviour.

The findings supported a view of teachers as attempting to compensate low‐expectancy students in controllable, direct teaching behaviours, at the same time transmitting (or “leaking”) negative affect in less controllable, mostly non‐verbal channels. It was also found that teachers who were more susceptible to biasing information were more negative and showed more intense expectancy effects than unbiased teachers in certain verbal and non‐verbal channels.
DETECTION OF MISSING AND IRRELEVANT INFORMATION WITHIN ALGEBRAIC STORY PROBLEMS
Authors: LOW RENAE , OVER RAY
Published: May 2011

Summary. Schematic knowledge was assessed through text editing of algebraic story problems. Seventy‐two students in tenth grade were required to denote what information essential to solution was missing from problems, and to detect irrelevant information within problems. The capacity of students to identify the necessary and sufficient information needed for solution of problems accounted for 90 per cent of variance in the solution rates for these same problems. Further, text editing correlated highly with the ability of students to determine whether algebraic story problems were similar to or different from each other. The results offer support to claims that knowledge of problem structure is necessary for solution of algebraic story problems.
PUPILS‘ PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL AND TEACHERS I ‐ IDENTIFYING THE UNDERLYING DIMENSIONS
Authors: ENTWISTLE NOEL , KOZEKI BELA , TAIT HILARY
Published: May 2011

Summary. Previous comparative studies have shown interesting differences in motivation and approaches to learning between Britain and Hungary, which were considered to reflect different methods of teaching. The present study reports the development of scales designed to measure pupils' perceptions of school and teachers with the intention of relating those perceptions to school motivation and approaches to learning. The scales covered a wide range of aspects relating both to pupils' perceptions of school ethos and aspects of the learning environment. An inventory made up of 18 five‐item Likert scales describing perceptions of school and teacher was given to samples of 516 12–15 year‐old pupils in five British schools and a comparable sample of 602 pupils in Hungary. The factor structure of the school and teacher perceptions scales was almost identical in the two countries, suggesting that pupils perceive their schools in very similar ways in spite of the contrasting educational and social systems. There were differences between schools which, although small at the scale level, were sometimes large at the level of individual items. It is suggested that a revised set of scales which have been derived from these analyses might be used by schools to judge the way they are perceived by their pupils, and so also by the parents who will be having more influence in future on school policy and management.
ONE IN ELEVEN: PUPILS REQUIRING SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE AUSTRALIAN STATE OF VICTORIA
Authors: SZADAY CHRISTOPHER , PICKERING DES , DUERDOTH PAUL
Published: May 2011

Summary. The perceptions of 4,353 teachers in 463 primary and secondary Catholic schools in the Australian state of Victoria about the special educational needs and additional educational requirements of 120,344 pupils are reported in this paper. One in eleven pupils in regular schools was perceived by teachers to be experiencing educational difficulties associated with traditional disability categories sufficient to require forms of additional educational assistance in order to more fully participate and succeed in the regular school programme.
A NUTRITION THEORY OF THE SECULAR INCREASES IN INTELLIGENCE; POSITIVE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN HEIGHT, HEAD SIZE AND IQ
Authors: LYNN RICHARD
Published: May 2011

Summary. The thesis is advanced that the secular increases in intelligence over the last half century are largely due to improvements in nutrition. These have brought about increases in height, head size and brain size of approximately one standard deviation, about the same magnitude of increase as has taken place in intelligence. The thesis requires the existence of a positive correlation between head size and intelligence. Data for 310 9–10 year‐olds obtained a correlation of +0·21.
INDIVIDUALISED INSTRUCTION, CONGRUENT AUTHORITY STRUCTURE AND STUDENT OUTCOMES
Authors: ESHEL YOHANAN , KURMAN JENNY
Published: May 2011

Summary. Measures of formal and informal authority structure were employed in order to assess academic and non‐academic outcomes of individualised instruction. A sample of 386 fourth and fifth‐grade elementary school children studying in nine individualised and 10 traditional classes was employed. This academic outcomes of either method of instruction were found to be contingent on the congruence between formal and informal authority structure: higher achievement scores were obtained when individualistion as school policy was accompanied by teacher sharing of authority with pupils at the informal classroom level. Achievement in less individualised classes was higher when teacher did not extend decision‐making opportunities to pupils. Non‐academic pupil outcomes were generally unrelated to either formal or informal authority structure. Similarities and differences between these results and former findings are discussed in light of cross‐cultural differences in classroom individualisation.
OCCUPATIONAL OUTCOMES OF TRUANCY
Authors: HIBBETT ANGELIKA , FOGELMAN KEN , MANOR ORLY
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper presents some findings of a study into early adult outcomes of truancy, which was based on the National Child Development Study, a longitudinal survey of all people in Great Britain born in the week 3rd‐9th March 1958. It was found that truancy is associated with lower status occupations, less stable career patterns and more unemployment. Among those who were working, former truants' incomes were not lower, but they were considerably less well off once their family situation was taken into account. Differences remained after controlling for the effects of social background, educational ability, poor attendance due to other reasons, and end‐of‐school qualifications. The authors conclude that truancy is a predictor of employment problems, and of a more severe kind than will be experienced by others who share the disadvantaged background and low attainment which typify the truant.
TEACHER APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL IN HONGKONG SECONDARY SCHOOL CLASSROOMS
Authors: WINTER SAM
Published: May 2011

Summary. OPTIC (Observation of Pupils and Teachers in Classrooms) was used to study Hongkong secondary school teachers' use of approval and disapproval and pupils' on‐task behaviour. Despite great individual differences, the sample of teachers was found overall to focus upon pupils' academic behaviour and to emphasise the use of approval. However, disapproval was emphasised as a means of responding to pupils' social behaviour. Positive correlations were found between approval (particularly to academic behaviour) and on‐task behaviour. Negative correlations were found between disapproval (particularly to social behaviour) and on‐task behaviour. In all these respects the findings were similar to those of a recent UK study.
THE EFFECT OF ANIMATED DIAGRAMS ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF A MATHEMATICAL DEMONSTRATION IN 11‐ TO 14‐YEAR‐OLD PUPILS
Authors: THOMPSON S. V. , RIDING R. J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. One hundred and eight children from 11 to 14 years were given instruction on shears and rotations, and how these transformations could be used to show the truth of Pythagoras's Theorem. The experimental group, which saw a computer‐presented animated display of the transformations, scored more highly on a subsequent test than either of two control groups, the first of which saw no computer at all, but only a diagram sheet which was in the possession of all the children. The second control group saw a computer‐presented display which showed only the same ten discrete stages of the transformations as the diagram sheet. It was concluded that animation per se can facilitate the understanding of a mathematical task.
THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF FOUR METHODS OF TEACHING PRACTICAL SCIENTIFIC SKILLS TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
Authors: SEDDON G. M. , BARRY J. F.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The investigation compares the effectiveness of four methods of teaching students how to perform two practical scientific skills. The methods comprise commonly used combinations of four different modes of communication. Method W uses written instructions only. Method WG has these written instructions supplemented with graphics. Method WGS adds spoken instructions to the combination used in Method WG, and Method WGSD also includes a video‐recorded demonstration of the practical task. After teaching random groups (N = 20) of students aged 14–15 years with one of the methods, their effectiveness was assessed in terms of the students' performance on test exercises which required the students to carry out these tasks. The results showed that the methods involving the use of spoken instructions (i.e. WGS and WGSD) were significantly worse than those that did not use spoken instructions. The use of graphics also had no significant beneficial effect, and the demonstration had a significant positive effect only in one task.
SOME ANTECEDENTS OF ACADEMIC SELF‐CONCEPT: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Authors: Chapman James W. , Lambourne Robert , Silva Phil A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The influence of cognitive, achievement, and family background variables on academic self‐concept was examined for 435 students participating in a major longitudinal study in New Zealand. Family background variables included mother's marital status at the birth of the child, family socio‐economic status at the time the child was born, and family environment when the child was 7 years and 9 years of age. These factors were not significantly related to academic self‐concept at ages 9 and 11. In addition, the general emotional status of mothers when their child was 3 years and 5 years old was not significantly related to academic self‐concept at ages 9 and 11. Mother's intelligence when the child was 3 years, and mother's expectations for school performance when the child started school at age 5 were not significantly related to academic self‐concept. Similarly, cognitive and intellectual functioning at ages 3, 5, 7, and 9 years were not significantly related to academic self‐concept at ages 7 and 9 years. Rather, academic self‐concept at age 11 appeared to be influenced primarily by reading achievement and academic self‐concept at age 9, and academic self‐concept at age 9 was influenced primarily by reading achievement at age 7. It was concluded that academic self‐concept is mainly a product of school achievement, and that any influence home background factors may have are likely to occur by means of their effect on school achievement.
FUTURE LIVES OF TRUANTS: FAMILY FORMATION AND HEALTH‐RELATED BEHAVIOUR
Authors: Hibbett Angelika , Fogelman Ken
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper examines early adult outcomes of truancy regarding family formation and health‐related behaviour, and is based on data collected in the National Child Development Study, which surveyed all people in Great Britain born in the week 3–9 March 1958, at birth, and at ages 7, 11, 16 and 23. Truants compared to non‐truants were found to be relatively more likely to have experienced marital breakdown by the age of 23. They had more children, and their age at the birth of their first child was younger. Truants differed little from non‐truants regarding their drinking habits, but were more prone to being heavy smokers. They also showed an increased likelihood of depression. Differences remained after controlling for social background, prior educational attainment, school attendance and qualifications obtained. The authors conclude that truancy appears to be associated with subsequent marital and psychological problems in early adulthood.
THE EXAMINATION ATTAINMENTS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS WHO ABUSE SOLVENTS
Authors: Chadwick Oliver , Yule William , Anderson Ross
Published: May 2011

Summary. A sample of 105 adolescents who had abused solvents and an equal number of controls matched for school, school year and sex were identified by means of a two‐stage screening procedure involving (a) administration of a self‐completed questionnaire to approximately 5,000 third, fourth and fifth year pupils in 16 secondary schools, and (b) individually conducted interviews. These two groups were followed up at the end of their final year of compulsory education when details of their fifth year public examination entries and results were obtained from their schools. The examination attainments of the solvent abusers were generally lower than those of the controls. They were more likely to leave school at Easter of their fifth year and a much higher proportion of them were not entered for any examinations. Those who were entered for exams were less likely to pass at O level and, regardless of the type of exam, much less likely to obtain higher examination grades. Poor examination attainments among the solvent abusers were associated with adverse domestic circumstances, frequent self‐reported behaviour problems and low scores on educational tests administered at the time of transfer from primary to secondary school. After controlling for these factors, the difference between groups in examination attainments was no longer statistically significant.
THE WRITTEN RECALL OF PRINTED STORIES BY SEVERELY DEAF CHILDREN
Authors: Banks James , Gray Colin , Fyfe Ronald
Published: May 2011

Summary. The written recall of printed stories by a sample (N = 16) of severely deaf children (mean age 13:3) was compared with that of a slow‐reading hearing sample. The deaf children recalled as much, or more, of the story content. In general, however, their recall contained more distortions of the kind that indicates a break‐down of the temporal structure of the story. The writing of one story in Sign word order proved to have a facilitatory effect on cloze recall by the deaf children, but not upon their free recall (as measured by either the amount recalled or the number of distortions), thus clarifying a well‐confirmed finding in the literature. The deaf had even more difficulty than the slow‐hearing in employing a “top‐down”, schema‐driven strategy at the whole passage level.
TEACHERS' PERCEPTION OF PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN'S UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOURS: THE EFFECTS OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE, PUPIL'S AGE, SEX AND ABILITY STREAM
Authors: Borg Mark G. , Falzon Joseph M.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Using a self‐administered questionnaire, the attitudes of 844 Maltese primary school teachers towards 16 selected undesirable behaviours were surveyed. Results indicated that pupils' age is a significant moderator of half of the behaviours: these are perceived to be significantly more serious by teachers in the second three years of the primary school than by their colleagues in the first three years. Significant boy‐girl differences in the seriousness of behaviour were revealed in most of the behaviours as rated by teachers in both the first and in the second years. In addition, length of teaching experience was found to be a significant moderator of the perceived seriousness of some of the behaviours: the less experienced, when compared with the more experienced, judged these behaviours as being more serious. Ability stream did not have any significant effects on the teachers' attitudes towards the undesirable behaviours.
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF PERMISSIVENESS AND TEACHER‐INSTIGATED DISCIPLINARY STRATEGIES
Authors: KING NEVILLE J. , GULLONE ELEONORA , DADDS MARK R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Using a self‐report questionnaire, we examined the perceptions of 616 primary and secondary school students of permissiveness and disciplinary strategies. Acceptability ratings formed the dependent variable. The most acceptable strategy was individual student‐teacher discussion, followed by exclusionary time out, then physical punishment, and least acceptable was permissiveness. Also examined was the influence of the misbehaviour situation and evaluator characteristics (age and gender). Several methodological limitations are discussed including the range of disciplinary strategies that were assessed, and focus on an individual rather than group of students.
A NEW CRITERIUM IN THE ASSESSMENT OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE DRAWING CHILD
Authors: WALLON PHILIPPE , BAUDOIN CLAUDE
Published: May 2011

Summary. A descriptive tool is proposed for the evaluation of the process of the child's spontaneous drawing (i.e., without a model to copy). The process of drawing displays characteristics not visible when the drawing is finished, and so it has a major capacity for discrimination. This method relies on a system for coding the set of lines in the drawing, using an ordinal scale that allows the study of the effects of age throughout the primary school period. This classification may be applied to the drawing of either the human figure or the dog, and allows a comparison between different themes. This method was explored on a sample of 48 primary school children.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE TEACHING OF READING: A COMPARISON OF HEARING READING, PAIRED READING, PAUSE, PROMPT, PRAISE, AND DIRECT INSTRUCTION METHODS
Authors: LEACH DAVID J. , SIDDALL SUSAN W.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The parents of 40 children in two grade 1 classrooms were randomly assigned to receive brief training in one of four instructional methods for helping their child to read or to hear their children read at home. The tutoring methods were Hearing Reading, Paired Reading, Pause, Prompt, Praise, and Direct Instruction. The results showed that the use of the additional instructional strategies included in the Direct Instruction and Paired Reading tutoring methods led to faster progress by the children receiving them than by children whose parents simply heard them read. Some theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.
CULTURAL SPECIFICITY OF APPROACHES TO STUDY
Authors: KEMBER DAVID , GOW LYN
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper discusses the cultural specificity of constructs reported in research into approaches to study of western students. Data are reported from a survey of approaches to study of students at a Hong Kong tertiary institution. The Biggs' Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) was administered to a sample of 1043 students. The SPQ and the Approaches to Studying Inventory were both administered to a smaller sample to aid in interpretation of the data. The resulting factor structures for deep and achieving approach scales were reasonably consistent with those obtained in western countries. However, the results cast doubt on the direct transferability of the surface approach construct to Hong Kong students for whom a narrow approach appeared to predominate, characterised by a systematic, step‐by‐step, processing of information. Students tried to understand each segment of information before committing it to memory. It is suggested that the different approaches might arise because of either limited English language ability or the nature of schooling and upbringing of children in Hong Kong.
A BEHAVIOURAL METHOD OF INCREASING SELF‐CONFIDENCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: TREATMENT AND MODELLING RESULTS
Authors: FLOWERS JOHN V.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The present experiment examined a method of improving the self‐confidence of low self‐confident children in elementary school classrooms. Results indicated that low self‐confident students in four treatment classrooms increased significantly on three behavioural measures of self‐confidence and on classroom grades when compared to the control students. A separate part of the study demonstrated modelling of self‐confident behaviour occurred only when low self‐confident students watched other previously low self‐confident students improve in confidence and did not occur when low self‐confident students merely observed high self‐confident students behaving confidently. These modelling results indicate that in the naturalistic environment, modelling is mediated by initial model‐modeller perceived similarity.
PROBLEM‐SOLVING SUBGROUPS AS A MEASURE OF INTELLECTUAL GIFTEDNESS
Authors: SWANSON H. LEE , O'CONNOR JAMES E. , CARTER KYLE R.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Within a framework that views intelligence in terms of expert/novice representations, empirically derived subgroups of children were compared on problem‐solving tasks. Subgroups were determined through a hierarchical cluster analysis of “think aloud” protocols. Protocols were analysed at two levels: (a) grouping of subroutines that function as heuristic processes, and (b) grouping of subroutines that function as strategies. One subgroup was designated a prototype of gifted intelligence based on the sophistication of heuristic and strategy use. Subgroups were compared on external measures related to problem‐solving, IQ, creativity, attribution and academic achievement. No quantitative differences in external measures were found between subgroups, except that the gifted prototype differed on measures of attribution and mathematical achievement. In general, support was found for the hypothesis that problem‐solving reflects multiple cognitive routines, not all of which are measured on psychometric tasks.
CHILDREN'S WRITING AT 7 YEARS: ASSOCIATIONS WITH HANDWRITING ON SCHOOL ENTRY AND PRE‐SCHOOL FACTORS
Authors: BLATCHFORD PETER
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper reports associations between children's (N=331) handwriting skills on entry to school, at 5 years, and writing at the end of infant school, at 7 years. The 7‐year test had four components —‐ transcription/punctuation, quality of writing, range of vocabulary and sentences to describe pictures. Pre‐school handwriting was significantly correlated with both 7‐year transcription/punctuation and total writing scores. It is argued that these results suggest the value of early assessment as an aid in helping children's progress as writers.

Antecedents of writing at 7 years were studied further by exploring associations with four preschool factors: parental teaching of writing, children's WPPSI Vocabulary scores, knowledge of literacy, and experience of books. Multiple regression analyses showed that only pre‐school parental teaching and WPPSI scores were independently related to writing progress. It is argued that, despite reservations of teachers, parents' help with writing should be recognised and encouraged.
ASSESSING SCHOOL‐RELATED STRESSORS AND COPING MECHANISMS IN ADOLESCENTS
Authors: FANSHAWE JOHN P. , BURNETT PAUL C.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Despite a plethora of instruments used to measure stressors and coping mechanisms in adolescents little attention has been paid to issues of reliability and validity. In an endeavour to overcome this problem, a statistical methodology was implemented to develop scales from existing item sets. Items from Kohn and Frazer's (1986) Academic Stress Scale were combined with Strutynski's (1985)list of problems and, together with items from Patterson and McCubbin's (1987) Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences, were administered to 1699 secondary school students in Australia. Two scale, the School Stressors Inventory for Adolescents (SSIA) and the Coping Inventory for Adolescents (CIA), were produced with five and four subscales respectively. Both have strong face and factorial construct validity, and high to modest reliability.
THE ‘STABILITY’ OF IDENTIFICATION OF UNDERACHIEVING READERS OVER DIFFERENT MEASURES OF INTELLIGENCE AND READING
Authors: DOBBINS D. ALAN , TAFA EUFIMIA
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study assessed the stability of identification of severe underachieving readers as a function of the tests used in the process of identification. The recognition of “stability of identification” over a number of tests would provide evidence to support the notion of severe underachieving readers being a “naturally occurring” group rather than being an artefact of the tests chosen to so identify. Three hundred boys and 278 girls, between the ages of 9 and 11 years, were given tests of non‐verbal intelligence and reading. The regression approach, with chronological age and non‐verbal intelligence as the predictor variables, was used to calculate 16 residual distributions. Multiple comparisons of the lowest 50 places over each paired combination of the 16 residual distributions offered qualified support for the notion that severe underachieving readers are indeed a “naturally occurring” group, rather than being test specific.
ACADEMIC SELF‐CONCEPT, ACCURACY OF PERCEIVED ABILITY AND ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT
Authors: ESHEL YOHANAN , KURMAN JENNY
Published: May 2011

Summary. Self‐concept theories have emphasised the crucial importance of developing a realistic self‐image. Positive self‐regard with a realistic basis should differ in its relations to both antecedents and outcomes from similar self‐assessment which has no such basis. However, the feasibility of studying accuracy of self‐concept empirically was seriously questioned due to the absence of a criterion determining what the individual actually is. The present study examines one fact of this issue, namely accuracy of academic self‐concept. The academic self‐concept of 287 elementary school pupils was compared with teacher ratings of their academic ability and school performance. Regression and path analyses indicated that accuracy of perceived ability has an independent unique effect on academic attainment beyond the effects of academic self‐concept and background variables. Different patterns of relations between these variables were found for pupils who tended to overestimate their academic ability and those who were inclined to underestimate it. Accuracy and biases in academic self‐concept were discussed in terms of their contribution to academic attainment for different groups of pupils.
TEACHERS' VIEWS ABOUT CREATIVITY
Authors: FRYER MARILYN , COLLINGS JOHN A.
Published: May 2011

Summary. There has been little documented information concerning teachers' views about creativity. In this study, 1028 teachers and further education lecturers from England and Wales completed a survey questionnaire on views of creativity and its development, together with teaching style preferences. Socio‐biographical information and teachers' perceptions of their situations were collected, to locate views in context. The study employed original measures as well as the Torrance “Ideal Pupil” and “Personality” checklists. A subsample of 31 took part in follow‐up interviews. Results indicate that creativity is perceived mainly in terms of “imagination”, “originality” and “self‐expression”. Only half the sample regard “divergence” as synonymous with creativity. Most think creativity can be developed, but almost three‐quarters think it is a rare gift. The distinguishing feature of teachers highly oriented to creativity is a preference for pupil‐centred learning. Results also highlight widespread teacher concern about their situation and the future of education. Marked differences in response patterns are evident between males and females and among subject groups, both with regard to views of creativity and teaching style preferences. Possible explanations of these differences are discussed.
THE DEPENDABILITY OF INDIRECT RATINGS OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR
Authors: BAIN ALAN , HOUGHTON STEPHEN
Published: May 2011

Summary. A number of studies have shown indirect ratings of classroom behaviour to have poor criterion related validity when compared to direct observation. One possible explanation for this pertains to the dependability of recollections which serve as the basis for these ratings. This study investigated the extent to which observers could accurately recall previously observed behaviour for the purpose of making ratings of classroom behaviour. A sample of 81 university students attending a one year full‐time post‐graduate certificate in education programme were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. They were then shown a video sequence of a teacher interacting with secondary school students in the classroom. Each of the three experimental groups was subsequently presented with a different form of associative cue specifically to assist them in answering a set question concerning how a target student most commonly responded to the teacher's questions. Overall 26 (32 per cent) of the subjects responded correctly. An analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental groups.
A NOTE OF CAUTION CONCERNING THE NEALE ANALYSIS OF READING ABILITY (REVISED)
Authors: STOTHARD SUE , HULME CHARLES
Published: May 2011

Summary. The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability, which is a popular measure of reading accuracy and comprehension skills, has recently been revised (1989). This paper outlines some shortcomings of the revised test. Form 2 of the test is systematically biased against boys, and suffers from an inappropriate gradation in question difficulty.
WHAT CHILDREN'S TEMPERATURE PREDICTIONS REVEAL OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF TEMPERATURE
Authors: COWAN RICHARD , SUTCLIFFE NOEL B.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Why primary school children have considerable difficulty in measuring and estimating temperature is not known. It may be because they do not understand temperature or more simply that they do not understand the temperature scale. The latter is suggested by the improvement in their temperature predictions when the temperatures are described verbally rather than numerically. However, success on verbal versions may be an artefact of the procedures used. Two experiments comparing numerical and verbal temperature predictions are reported: one involving children between 9 and 12 years old, the other with children between 7 and 12. In both studies verbal temperature predictions were markedly superior but few children were consistent in predicting the effects of combining and dividing quantities of water. The second study showed that confusion over temperature was just as common among younger children and therefore unlikely to be simply a product of integrating faulty quantitative temperature beliefs with sound intuitions.
STATISTICS AND MATHEMATICS ANXIETY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENTS: SOME INTERESTING PARALLELS
Authors: ZEIDNER MOSHE
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study illuminates some interesting parallels between statistics anxiety and mathematics anxiety in social science students. Parallel to what is confirmed for mathematics anxiety, two factors were observed to underly statistics anxiety scores, namely, statistics test anxiety and content anxiety. The study revealed modest though significant correlations between student attributes and the two confirmed dimensions of statistics anxiety. Furthermore, parallel to the inverse correlation reported for mathematics anxiety and maths course performance, statistics anxiety correlated negatively with high school matriculation scores in maths as well as self perceptions of maths abilities. These data lend support to the hypothesis that aversive prior experiences with mathematics, prior poor achievement in maths, and a low sense of maths self‐efficacy are meaningful antecedent correlates of statistics anxiety and thus lend some credence to the “deficit” interpretation of statistics anxiety.
CHILDREN WITH MILD LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN AN INTEGRATED AND IN A SPECIAL SCHOOL: COMPARISONS OF BEHAVIOUR, TEASING AND TEACHERS' ATTITUDES
Authors: MARTLEW MARGARET , HODSON JEAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. Comparisons were made between children and teachers in two schools, one a mainstream school with an integrated resource unit for children with mild learning difficulties, the other a special school. Seventeen children with mild learning difficulties from the special school and ten children with mild learning difficulties from the mainstream school, matched with ten mainstream children for age and sex, took part in the study. Observations were made on children in the playground and their social proximity and positive and negative behaviours were categorised. Self‐reports on teasing, bullying and friendships were also collected from children in the mainstream school. Teachers from both schools completed a questionnaire on their attitudes to integration. There was no difference in amount of social contact children with mild learning difficulties had in the mainstream and special school nor were there significant differences in total positive and negative behaviours. Mainstream children, however, played significantly less frequently with children with mild learning difficulties and this was more marked in the older than the younger children. Self‐reports from children in the integrated school indicated that the children with mild learning difficulties were teased/bullied more and made fewer friends than the mainstream children. Teachers in the mainstream were more positive and teachers in the special school were more negative towards integration. The special school teachers' expectations fitted more with the findings of the study than did those of the mainstream teachers.
INVESTIGATION OF QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' LEARNING GOALS, BASED ON AN UNFOLDING MODEL OF STAGE DEVELOPMENT
Authors: VOLET SIMONE E. , CHALMERS DENISE
Published: May 2011

Summary. The significance of students' goals on their management of study has been emphasised in theories of self‐regulation of learning and empirical research on student learning, but little empirical attention has been given to the issue of adaptation and change in students' goals. The lack of attention given to the malleable and adaptive nature of goals may be related to researchers' reliance on discrete categories for describing student learning. In this paper, it is proposed that, since qualitatively distinct goals involve different levels of content processing to achieve them, they can be conceptualised as a hierarchy reflecting a developmental continuum, with surface and deep processing orientations as the two opposing poles of that continuum. It is also argued that students' endorsements of goals reflect an unfolding principle of stage development. Empirical evidence is provided to support the conceptual usefulness of the unfolding model for describing qualitative differences in students' goals and investigating their significance in management of study. Significant relationships were found between students' learning goals, as measured on the unfolding scale, their perceptions of the learning situation and their course performance.
BULLY/VICTIM PROBLEMS AMONG MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: BOULTON MICHAEL J. , UNDERWOOD KERRY
Published: May 2011

Summary. Bully/victim problems among six classes of 8–9 year‐old and six classes of 11–12 year‐old children, attending three middle schools, were investigated by means of Olweus's self‐report Bullying Inventory. About 21 per cent of the children reported being bullied, and about 17 per cent reported bullying others, “sometimes” or more often. Reports of both bullying and being bullied were more prevalent among boys than among girls, and among the younger group than among the older group. The two most common forms of bullying were reported to be teasing and hitting/kicking. Fewer of the younger group than the older group reported being bullied by same‐age pupils, and more of the former reported being bullied by older pupils. Most boys were bullied by other boys only, whereas girls were more likely to be bullied by children of either sex. Besides being bullied in school, children also reported that this happened on the journey to/from school and in other places such as in the street near where they live. Many children expressed negative attitudes towards bullying, although nearly a third said that they could understand why it happens. The majority of the children who reported being bullied/bullying others had not been spoken to about this by teachers or by someone at home. Victims of bullying, but not bullies, were found to be most likely to report feeling unhappy and lonely at school, and to report having fewer good friends. In Study 2, children identified as bullies, victims and not involved in this type of problem were interviewed to find out why certain children and/or themselves bully/get bullied by others, and the feelings of the children involved. The pattern of responses by the three groups differed in some important ways.
THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE SELF DESCRIPTION QUESTIONNAIRE: A NIGERIAN INVESTIGATION
Authors: WATKINS DAVID , AKANDE ADEBOWALE
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper examines the appropriateness for Nigerian students of the Self Description Questionnaire — 1 (SDQ‐1; Marsh, 1988) and the Shavelson model of self‐concept on which it is based. The results of an administration of the SDQ‐1 to 462 Nigerian 12–13 year‐olds are reported. The item scale correlations and reliability coefficients obtained were encouraging. Factor analysis generally supported both the specific facets of the SDQ‐1 and the existence of an underlying general self‐concept factor. These results are then considered in relation to other evidence of the cross‐cultural validity of both the SDQ‐1 and the Shavelson model of the self. Tentative comparisons of the Nigerian means with those of previously reported Australian, Filipino, and Nepalese children of the same age indicated that there was a tendency for the Australians and the Nigerians to have relatively higher Non‐Academic self‐esteem than the other nationalities. The Nigerians seemed to have significantly higher opinions of their physical appearance than did the other nationalities.
THE EDUCATIONAL ANTECEDENTS OF TEEN FATHERHOOD
Authors: DEARDEN KIRK , HALE CHRISTIANE , ALVAREZ JOSE
Published: May 2011

Summary. In attempting to identify the determinants of teen pregnancy, researchers have focused on risk factors for young women, largely ignoring teen fathers. This study examines the educational antecedents of teen fatherhood using the 1958 National Child Development Study. Results suggest that those less than 20 years old at onset of fatherhood are much more likely than those who had not fathered a child by age 23 to have experienced academic difficulties and that such difficulties antedate teen fatherhood by as much as a decade. Variables measuring parents' lack of interest in their sons' education were strongly associated with the risk of teen fatherhood as were teachers' negative assessment of boys' academic ability, and the boys' own desire to terminate education as early as possible. Social class was modestly important in explaining differences in educational experiences for teen fathers and non‐fathers.
PREDICTORS AND CONSEQUENCES OF TERTIARY EDUCATION: A NINE‐YEAR FOLLOW‐UP OF ACADEMICALLY CAPABLE SCHOOL LEAVERS
Authors: WINEFIELD H. R. , TIGGEMANN M. , GOLDNEY R. D. , WINEFIELD A. H.
Published: May 2011

Summary. South Australian adults of average age 24.6 years, who had been recruited into a longitudinal study of the school to work transition in 1980 while they were in the final years of secondary school, were followed up in 1989. In 1980 all had been rated by their school teachers as definitely capable of tertiary study; in 1989 they were current tertiary students (N=24), or past tertiary students (N=95), or had never been tertiary students (N=50). Those who had not undertaken tertiary education had initially had more external locus of control and fathers with lower social status than those from the other two groups. Regardless of initial social status, past students had higher present social status than did the never students. Current students were distinguished from the other two groups by greater psychological distress even after controlling for their greater financial hardship.
RELATIONS WITH PARENTS AND SCHOOL AND CHINESE ADOLESCENTS' SELF‐CONCEPT, DELINQUENCY, AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Authors: LAU S. , LEUNG KWOK
Published: May 2011

Summary. Current research and theory have suggested that the relational domains of family and school experiences are important to children's development. The present study thus examined how relations with parents and school were related to Chinese students' psychosocial and cognitive development in self‐concept, delinquency, and academic performance. A total of 1668 secondary school students were studied, and results showed that better relation with parents was associated with higher general, academic, appearance, social, and physical ability self‐concepts. Better relation with school was associated with higher academic performance, as shown in higher class rank, higher grand total exam scores, and higher scores in Chinese, English, mathematics, physical education, and music. Both poorer relations with parents and school were found to associate with more self‐reported delinquency as well as more school records of misconduct.
TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR: A CROSS‐CULTURAL STUDY BETWEEN GERMANY AND SOUTH KOREA
Authors: LANGFELDT HANS‐PETER
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study provides a comparison of teachers' perceptions of problem behaviour in a European and an Asian culture. A total of 246 female and male junior high school teachers in Munich (Germany) and in Seoul (South Korea) rated 106 items concerning possible problem behaviour of boys or girls. Principal‐component‐analysis identified three patterns of perceived problem behaviour: (1) dissocial‐aggressive behaviour, (2) withdrawal behaviour, and (3) nonconformist behaviour. Dissocial‐aggressive behaviour is rated as serious in both cultures, but in Germany more so than in South Korea. Withdrawal behaviour is perceived as less serious in both cultures. A remarkable difference is noted in the ratings of non‐conformist behaviour. German teachers find no problem here, while Korean teachers rate these behaviours as problematic. Gender influences, of either the sex of teacher or of student, could not be identified.
SHYNESS AND EDUCATION: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHYNESS, SOCIAL CLASS AND PERSONALITY VARIABLES IN ADOLESCENTS
Authors: LAWRENCE B. , BENNETT S.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The study considers the relationship between shyness, some related personality variables and socioeconomic status. Adolescent shyness levels are examined using two self‐report questionnaires which cover the spectrum of inherent, emotional and situational shyness. These findings were correlated with individual levels of anxiety, neuroticism and also with socio‐economic status. The educational implications of these results are discussed and the problem of the definition of shyness is addressed. The sample comprised 650 adolescents in the age range 11–18 years, drawn at random from two secondary schools, the number of boys being 300 and the number of girls 350. The results indicate that high levels of both situational and inherent shyness are related significantly to high levels of anxiety and neuroticism. Inherent shyness and situational shyness correlate only moderately with one another. Low levels of situational and inherent shyness are related positively and significantly to high levels of self‐esteem and extraversion. Similar patterns of relationships occur for the other variables considered. The stability coefficients of correlations for each type of shyness were high after an interval of six months. Furthermore, shyness is related significantly to the socio‐economic class of adolescents: a relatively higher percentage of shyness occurs among adolescents of lower socio‐economic class.
A STUDY OF TWO “QUICK‐AND‐EASY” METHODS OF ASSESSING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT LEARNING
Authors: NEWSTEAD STEPHEN E.
Published: May 2011

A study is reported which examined the reliability and validity of two measures of individual differences in learning, a short form of the Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983) and the Learning Style Inventory (Kolb, 1976). Both of these are short and easy to administer, making them attractive for use in the classroom. The Approaches to Studying Inventory was found to be a potentially useful measure: the predicted factors emerged, the scales were moderately reliable and those students adopting a deep approach to learning were more likely to be successful in their exams. The Learning Style Inventory, on the other hand, was relatively unreliable and the underlying factor structure did not correspond to what was predicted; there was, however, a correlation between scores on the active/passive dimension and academic success. It is concluded that the short form of the Approaches to Studying Inventory has some potential in assessing the learning styles of students, but that further refinement is required before it is adopted for general use.