bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing orientations to learning to teach
Authors: Oosterheert Ida E. , Vermunt Jan D. , Denessen E.
Published: February 2003

Background. An important purpose of teacher education is that student teachers develop and change their existing knowledge on learning and teaching. Research on how student teachers variously engage in this process is scarce. In a previous study of 30 student teachers, we identified five different orientations to learning to teach.

Aims. Our aim was to extend the results of the previous study by developing an instrument to assess orientations to learning to teach at a larger scale. The development and psychometric properties of the instrument are discussed. The results with respect to how student teachers learn are compared to the results of the qualitative study.

Sample. Participants in this study were 169 secondary student teachers from three institutes which had all adopted an initial in‐service model of learning to teach.

Methods. On the basis of extensive qualitative study, a questionnaire was developed to assess individual differences in learning to teach. Factor‐, reliability‐, and nonparametric scalability analyses were performed to identify reliable scales. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of students with similar orientations to learning to teach.

Results. Eight scales covering cognitive, regulative and affective aspects of student teachers' learning were identified. Cluster analysis indicates that the instrument discriminates well between student teachers. Four of the five previously found patterns were found again.

Conclusions. The four orientations found in relatively uniform learning environments indicate that student teachers need differential support in their learning. Although the instrument measures individual differences in a reliable way, it is somewhat one‐sided in the sense that items representing constructive ways of learning dominate. New items forming a broader range of scales should be created.
Creating a scale to measure motivation to achieve academically: Linking attitudes and behaviours using Rasch measurement
Authors: Waugh Russell F.
Published: February 2003

Background. Motivation to Achieve Academically has been used in many educational and other studies in many countries and the large majority has not used an interval level scale based on a good theoretical model in which the items are linked to behaviour.

Aims. One, to create an interval level, unidimensional scale of Motivation, with attitude items linked to behaviour items, based on a conceptual model of Motivation, involving Striving for Excellence (Standards, Goals, Tasks, Effort, Values and Ability), Desire to Learn (Interest, Learning from Others and Responsibility for Learning), and Rewards (Extrinsic, Intrinsic and Social). Two, to analyse its psychometric properties using the Extended Logistic Model of Rasch (Andrich, 1988a, 1988b; Rasch, 1980/1960). Three, to investigate the structure and meaning of the scale.

Sample. The convenience person sample was 239 first‐year students selected for three special entry programmes at an Australian university. The stem‐item sample was initially 45, reduced to 24, that fitted the measurement model to form a valid and reliable scale.

Method. Based on recent literature, a conceptual model of Motivation was devised and items written in line with the model. Data were collected by self‐report questionnaire and analysed with the computer program Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Models (RUMM) (Andrich, Lyne, Sheridan, & Luo, 1998). A scale was created in which the Motivation measures were calibrated on the same scale as the item ‘difficulties’.

Results. Twenty‐four Motivation items fitted the model and were ‘easier’ than their corresponding behaviour items, as conceptualised. They formed an excellent scale in which the proportion of observed variance considered true was 0.93. Items from all aspects of the Motivation model named in the aims above, except Ability and Extrinsic Rewards, fitted the measurement model.

Conclusion. The Rasch model and the RUMM computing program were very useful in creating a unidimensional, interval level scale of Motivation to achieve academically, with good psychometric properties.
Relationship among achievement goal orientations and multidimensional situational motivation in physical education
Authors: Standage Martyn , Treasure Darren C.
Published: February 2003

Background. Contemporary research suggests that task and ego achievement goal orientations affect students' intrinsic motivation in physical education. This research has assessed intrinsic motivation as a unidimensional contruct, however, which is inconsistent with the more contemporary postulates of self‐determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991) which states that intrinsic motivation is only one type of motivation. To date, research has not addressed whether different types of motivation at the situational level are influenced by the proneness to adopt task or ego involvement.

Aims. To examine the relationship between achievement goal orientations and multidimensional situational motivation in PE.

Sample. Middle school children (182 male, 136 female; M age = 13.2 years).

Method. Responded to questionnaires assessing their dispositional goal orientation (POSQ; Roberts, Treasure, & Balague, 1998) and situational motivation (SIMS; Guay, Vallerand, & Blanchard, 2000) in PE.

Results. Task orientation was found to be positively associated with more self‐determined types of situational motivation. Ego orientation was weakly related to less self‐determined motivation. An extreme group split was conducted to create four goal groups and goal profile analyses conducted. A significant MANOVA was followed by univariate analyses, post hoc comparisons, and calculated effect sizes, which revealed that groups high in task orientation reported more motivationally adaptive responses than groups low in task orientation.

Conclusions. The results suggest that a high level of task orientation singularly or in combination with ego orientation fosters self‐determined situational motivation in the context of PE.
Knowledge and attitudes about school bullying in trainee teachers
Authors: Nicolaides Sonia , Toda Yuichi , Smith Peter K.
Published: February 2003

Background. Recent research has highlighted the issue of bullying in schools. However, little attention has been paid to the knowledge and beliefs of trainee teachers, who will hold a key position in reducing the problem of bullying in schools.

Aims. To determine (i) trainee teachers' beliefs about some aspects of school bullying; (ii) their recommended strategies for pupils to cope; (iii) their confidence in dealing with bullying issues as future teachers; (iv) the value of specific aspects of training; (v) the importance for these of sex, and primary/secondary training.

Sample. This comprised 270 students enrolled on either a one‐year postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course (N =197) or a four‐year degree in education (BEd) course (N =73). Age ranged from 18‐51 years (mean=28 years).

Methods. Questionnaire completed and returned within a 2‐week period.

Results. Bullying was seen as an important issue. Some aspects of trainee teachers' knowledge of bullying were accurate, others less so. Telling teachers, and parents, were the strategies most highly recommended to pupils. The great majority were in favour of teacher training courses incorporating information regarding ways of combating bullying. However, they had less confidence about their ability to deal with bullying. Respondents expressed more confidence when dealing with victims rather than bullies and working with the parents of victims rather than the parents of bullies.

Conclusion. It is important that teacher‐training programmes incorporate information about school bullying, and are designed to take account of existing knowledge, and areas in which trainee teachers may feel less confident.
Cognitive assessment of dyslexic students in higher education
Authors: Hatcher Janet , Snowling Margaret J. , Griffiths Yvonne M.
Published: February 2003

Background. Previous studies have shown that the phonological deficits that characterise dyslexia persist into adulthood. There is a growing number of dyslexic students in higher education for whom sensitive diagnostic tests of their reading and reading related difficulties are required.

Aims. The main aim of this study was to compare the cognitive skills of dyslexic students with those of their non‐dyslexic peers, and to ascertain the impact of cognitive difficulties on their study skills. A second aim was to produce guidelines for the assessment of dyslexia in higher education.

Sample. The performance of 23 dyslexic students was compared with that of a comparison group of 50 students from the same university who did not report a history of reading difficulty.

Method. Participants completed standardised tests of IQ, reading, spelling and arithmetic and tests tapping phonological processing, verbal fluency and speed of processing. Their performance on a set of study‐related tasks including proof reading and précis writing was also assessed and they completed the Brown ADD scales.

Results. Although dyslexic students did not differ in general cognitive ability from controls, they had deficits in reading and reading related phonological processes. Discriminant function analyses indicated that dyslexia in adulthood can be confirmed with 95% accuracy using only four tests: spelling, nonword reading, digit span and writing speed.

Conclusions. The study highlighted the difficulties of dyslexic adults. The persisting difficulties of dyslexic students that affect their study skills need to be recognised by HE institutions so that appropriate support programmes can be put in place.
Contemporary measures of approach and avoidance goal orientations: Similarities and differences
Authors: Smith Michaela , Duda Joan , Allen Justine , Hall Howard
Published: February 2003

Background: In response to a resurgence of interest in and demonstrated utility of the approach‐avoidance goal distinction, a number of researchers (Elliot & Church, 1997; Midgley et al., 1998; Skaalvik, 1997) have developed instruments to assess individual differences in the tendency to adopt approach‐avoidance goals. However, to date there has been no attempt to examine the psychometric properties or conceptual and measurement overlap of these instruments.

Aims: (i) To determine whether three questionnaires designed to measure approach‐avoidance goal orientations are assessing the same or different constructs, and (ii) to examine the psychometric properties of each of the approach‐avoidance measures (i.e., internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, factorial, and construct validity).

Sample: Participants in this study were 475 undergraduate students (N = 228 males; N = 244 females; three missing information) enrolled at two large universities in the United Kingdom.

Method: Participants completed a questionnaire which included measures of approach‐avoidance goal orientations, effort regulation, test anxiety, perceived ability, and intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation.

Results: Results revealed a degree of convergence between the three instruments. Each of the instruments demonstrated good psychometric properties although construct validity results were inconsistent across the measures.

Conclusion: There is a need for future research to clarify the operational definition and subsequent measurement of the performance avoidance construct, and in particular, to examine the role that effort, impression management, and anxiety/fear of failure play in its conceptualisation.
Classroom goal structure and student disruptive behaviour
Authors: Kaplan Avi , Gheen Margaret , Midgley Carol
Published: February 2003

Background: Achievement goal theory suggests that the emphasis on mastery and performance goals in the classroom (the classroom goal structure) is related to students' patterns of learning and behaviour. This theory can offer a preventative holistic approach for dealing with students' disruptive behaviour.

Aims: The present study investigates whether the goal structure in the classroom is related to the incidence of disruptive behaviour.

Sample and Methods: A total of 388 ninth‐grade students from 60 classrooms in five ethnically diverse high schools responded to surveys asking about the perceived goal structures, their personal achievement goals, and their involvement in disruptive behaviour in their maths classroom. Their maths teachers responded to surveys asking about their goal‐related approaches to instruction.

Results: Using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM), at the student level, being male and having lower achievement was related to reports of disruptive behaviour. In addition, personal mastery goals were related to lower reports of disruptive behaviour and personal performance‐approach and performance‐avoidance goals were related to higher reports of disruptive behaviour. Disruptive behaviour also varied significantly between classrooms. Aggregated student perceptions of a mastery goal structure were related to a lower incidence, and aggregated student perceptions of a performance‐approach goal structure were related to a higher incidence of disruptive behaviour.

Conclusion: The implications of the findings to approaches for dealing with disruptive behaviour are discussed.
Reading at a distance: Implications for the design of text in children's big books
Authors: Hughes Laura E. , Wilkins Arnold J.
Published: February 2003

Background: Visual acuity, typically measured by the ability to name letters at a distance, is poorer when letters are small and closely spaced. It has been suggested that reading can be affected by letter size and spacing.

Aim: To determine the effect of text size and spacing on the ability to read at a distance, with a view to helping with the design of text in children's ‘Big Books’.

Sample: The visual acuity of 200 children aged between 6 and 12 was measured. A subset of 66 children was given further reading tests.

Method: From a viewing distance of 3m children were required (1) to identify words and (2) to read passages of text rapidly. A repeated measures design was used to compare the effects of different size and spacing of text on performance of the two tasks.

Results: Performance improved when the spacing of words and size of letters was greater than is typical in ‘Big Books’. For a given letter density, increasing the spacing improved performance more than increasing the letter size.

Conclusion: The text in children's books could be made easier to read by expanding the spacing between words and also by increasing the size of the print. The maximum viewing distance should be reduced from 15ft (4.6m) to 10ft (3.0m).
Burnout and self‐efficacy: A study on teachers' beliefs when implementing an innovative educational system in the Netherlands
Authors: Evers Will J. G. , Brouwers André , Tomic Welko
Published: February 2003

Background: In the Netherlands, secondary education has seen radical changes that originated with the national authorities, including the Study‐home system, a pupil‐centred approach in which teachers help develop pupils' independent working and creative thinking in order to get them to take responsibility for their own academic achievements. As educational innovations are more often than not accompanied by stress, the present study focuses on the onset of burnout among teachers who recently implemented this innovative system in the Netherlands.

Aims: To test hypotheses that the extent to which teachers have a negative attitude towards the new instructional practices relates positively to their level of burnout, and that their self‐efficacy beliefs regarding implementation of the practices and coping with stress involved in this relate negatively to their burnout levels. Sample: A random sample of 490 teachers employed in the Study‐home system participated in this study.

Methods: Three questionnaires were used. The Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for teachers (Schaufeli & Van Horn, 1995) was used to assess the teachers' burnout level. Second, a specially developed self‐efficacy questionnaire relating to the domains of: (1) guiding groups of students using the principle of differentiation, (2) involving pupils with tasks and (3) use of innovative educational practices. Last, a questionnaire on the teachers' attitudes concerning the usefulness and effectiveness of the Study‐home as an educational innovation.

Results: Regression analyses showed that the self‐efficacy beliefs for each of the three domains were significantly and negatively related to the depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion dimensions of burnout, and significantly positively related to the personal accomplishment dimension. Furthermore, the more negative the teachers' attitudes towards the Study‐home appeared to be, the more they appeared to suffer from depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion, and the lower they scored on the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout.

Conclusions: The study's results indicate that teachers' self‐efficacy beliefs are related to their burnout level. Teachers with strong self‐efficacy beliefs seem to be more prepared to experiment with, and later also to implement new educational practices.
Girls' spatial abilities: Charting the contributions of experiences and attitudes in different academic groups
Authors: Quaiser‐Pohl Claudia , Lehmann Wolfgang
Published: February 2003

Background: Gender‐related differences in spatial abilities favouring males are well established but have also generated a great deal of controversy. Cross‐cultural research, meta‐analyses and training studies could show the influence of socio‐cultural and experiential factors on spatial‐test performance. However, little is known about how experiences and gender‐role stereotypes mediate performance differences in this area.

Aim: The relationship between specific experiences (spatial activities, computer experience), achievement‐related attitudes, and spatial abilities, i.e., mental‐rotation ability was investigated with males and females in different academic subgroups.

Sample: The sample comprised 112 female and 71 male undergraduates, majoring in arts, humanities and social sciences, sports, psychology and computational visualistics.

Methods: A redrawn version of the Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Test (MRT) was administered and the participants completed a questionnaire about their spatial activities, computer experience, self‐ratings regarding everyday spatial abilities, and attitudes towards mathematics and physics.

Results: Mental Rotations Test performance was mainly affected by academic programme and gender, but the effect size of gender differences varied. It was largest with students majoring in arts, humanities and social sciences and smallest with those majoring in computational visualistics. Data analyses revealed statistically significant correlations with spatial activities and computer experience only for females. The relationship between test performance and scales of achievement‐related self‐concept also depended on gender.

Conclusions: Compared to males, females' spatial abilities are extremely vulnerable to and thus modifiable through attitudinal and experiential factors. This has considerable consequences for intervention programmes that could help to overcome the gender gap in spatial abilities.
Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: Autonomy‐enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours predicting students' engagement in schoolwork
Authors: Assor Avi , Kaplan Haya , Roth Guy
Published: February 2003

Background and aims: This article examines two questions concerning teacher‐behaviours that are characterised in Self‐Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) as autonomy‐supportive or suppressive: (1) Can children differentiate among various types of autonomy‐enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours? (2) Which of those types of behaviour are particularly important in predicting feelings toward and engagement in schoolwork? It was hypothesised that teacher behaviours that help students to understand the relevance of schoolwork for their personal interests and goals are particularly important predictors of engagement in schoolwork.

Samples and methods: Israeli students in grades 3‐5 (N = 498) and in grades 6‐8 (N = 364) completed questionnaires assessing the variables of interest.

Results: Smallest Space Analyses indicated that both children and early adolescents can differentiate among three types of autonomy enhancing teacher behaviours — fostering relevance, allowing criticism, and providing choice — and three types of autonomy suppressing teacher behaviours — suppressing criticism, intruding, and forcing unmeaningful acts. Regression analyses supported the hypothesis concerning the importance of teacher behaviours that clarify the personal relevance of schoolwork. Among the autonomy‐suppressing behaviours, ‘Criticism‐suppression’ was the best predictor of feelings and engagement.

Conclusions: The findings underscore the active and empathic nature of teachers' role in supporting students' autonomy, and suggest that autonomy‐support is important not only for early adolescents but also for children. Discussion of potential determinants of the relative importance of various autonomy‐affecting teacher actions suggests that provision of choice should not always be viewed as a major indicator of autonomy support.
Understanding abstract expository texts
Authors: Beishuizen Jos , Stoutjesdijk Evelien , Spuijbroek Sandra , Bouwmeester Samantha , Van der Geest Hanneke
Published: February 2003

Background: This study dealt with the question whether abstract concepts and rules can be directly taught or can only be explained by using examples. The issue, known as Meno's Paradox, was addressed in the context of understanding expository texts.

Aims: We set out to show the indispensability of examples in the process of acquiring knowledge of concepts and rules. By blocking any possibility of linking concepts to examples we hoped to show the understanding of abstract concepts is impossible without a concrete context of interpretation.

Samples: In two experiments, secondary school students (17 years of age) and undergraduate university students were asked to study expository texts with no examples or with many examples.

Methods: In Experiment 1, two existing texts were manipulated by either adding examples or replacing specific concepts by more ambiguous concepts. In Experiment 2, two expository texts (one with rules, one with examples) on the law of large numbers were developed. Apart from that, a questionnaire to assess students' habit of concrete elaboration whilst studying expository texts was administered.

Results: Experiment 1 revealed that an expository text with ambiguous terms is difficult to understand. This evidence supported our claim that a concrete context of interpretation is indispensable. However, there was no difference in understanding of texts with many or few examples. An explanation might be that students were able to think of relevant examples themselves. Evidence for this active way of text comprehension was found in Experiment 2. An interaction between content (abstract, concrete) and learning style (high or low on concrete elaboration) showed up. Students high on concrete elaboration understood the abstract text better than students low on concrete elaboration. The reverse held for the concrete text.

Conclusion: So, support was found for the indispensability of concrete examples, which should be available in the reader's memory or provided in the text.
Goal orientations, perceived self‐efficacy and study results amongst beginners and advanced students
Authors: Vrugt Anneke , Oort Frans J. , Zeeberg Caroline
Published: February 2003

Background: On the basis of previous research, it was expected that perceived self‐efficacy and social comparison would contribute to pursued goals and that these goals would influence course grades. It was further expected that a task orientation would contribute to perceived self‐efficacy, and that an ego orientation would contribute to social comparison.

Aims: The central question in the present study is whether the relationships between the above‐mentioned motivational variables are as strongly developed in a particular area amongst beginners as they are amongst more advanced students. In view of the fact that beginners' knowledge concerning task requirements is restricted, we predicted that whilst relationships between these variables would be weak or absent in the case of beginners, they would be relatively strong amongst more advanced students.

Samples: The sample consisted of 150 students from a secondary school.

Methods: The participants answered questions about goal orientations, appraisals of self‐efficacy, social comparison and about their personal goals. Course grades were used as a measure of study results.

Results and conclusion: It was found that amongst the beginners and the advanced students perceived self‐efficacy contributed to pursued goals and these goals in turn contributed to course grades. The relations between these variables were clearly less strong for the beginners than for the advanced students. Furthermore, it was ascertained that a task orientation contributed only to perceived self‐efficacy amongst the advanced students, suggesting that for these students motivational variables were operative whereas they were still undeveloped amongst the beginners.
Goal orientation, perceived task outcome and task demands in mathematics tasks: Effects on students' attitude in actual task settings
Authors: Seegers Gerard , Van Putten Cornelis M. , de Brabander Cornelis J.
Published: February 2003

Background: In earlier studies, it has been found that students' domain‐specific cognitions and personal learning goals (goal orientation) influence task‐specific appraisals of actual learning tasks. The relations between domain‐specific and task‐specific variables have been specified in the model of adaptive learning. In this study, additional influences, i.e., perceived task outcome on a former occasion and variations in task demands, were investigated.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify personality and situational variables that mediate students' attitude when confronted with a mathematics task. Students worked on a mathematics task in two subsequent sessions. Effects of perceived task outcome at the first session on students' attitude at the second session were investigated. In addition, we investigated how differences in task demands influenced students' attitude. Variations in task demands were provoked by different conditions in task‐instruction. In one condition, students were told that the result on the test would add to their mark on mathematics. This outcome orienting condition was contrasted with a task‐orienting condition where students were told that the results on the test would not be used to give individual grades.

Sample: Participants were sixth grade students (N = 345; aged 11‐12 years) from 14 primary schools.

Method: Multivariate and univariate analyses of (co)variance were applied to the data. Independent variables were goal orientation, task demands, and perceived task outcome, with task‐specific variables (estimated competence for the task, task attraction, task relevance, and willingness to invest effort) as the dependent variables.

Results: The results showed that previous perceived task outcome had a substantial impact on students' attitude. Additional but smaller effects were found for variation in task demands. Furthermore, effects of previous perceived task outcome and task demands were related to goal orientation.

Conclusion: The resulting pattern confirmed that, in general, performance‐oriented learning goals emphasised the negative impact of failure experiences, whereas task‐oriented learning goals had a strengthening effect on how success experiences influenced students' attitude.
Achievement goal profiles in school physical education: Differences in self‐determination, sport ability beliefs, and physical activity
Authors: Wang C.K. John , Chatzisarantis Nikos L.D. , Spray Christopher M. , Biddle Stuart J.H.
Published: February 2003

Background: Physical activity is a major public health issue as trends show inadequate levels of physical activity for health and rising levels of obesity. Understanding motivation for physical activity in youth by assessing their motivational profiles associated with school physical education could inform future interventions.

Aims: To investigate goal orientation and perceived competence profiles in young adolescents and to test the nature of differences between clusters on motivational and physical activity measures.

Sample: Boys (N = 427) and girls (N = 391), aged 11‐14 years, from two comprehensive schools in England.

Method: Cross‐sectional survey using cluster analysis.

Results: Clusters reflecting ‘highly’, ‘moderately’, and ‘lowly’ motivated youth were found. Physical activity, incremental sport ability beliefs, and self‐determined motivation were highest in the highly motivated cluster. Girls were under‐represented in this cluster.

Conclusions: High motivation towards physical activity is characterised by high task and high ego orientation, and high perceived competence. With only 38% of this group being girls, interventions are required to boost motivation for girls based on goal and self‐determination approaches.
Three methods for studying developmental change: A case of reading skills and self‐concept
Authors: Aunola Kaisa , Leskinen Esko , Onatsu‐Arvilommi Tiina , Nurmi Jari‐Erik
Published: February 2003

Aims: First, to introduce and compare three statistical methods for investigating development as a cumulative process: a simplex model, latent growth curve analysis, and clustering by cases. Second, to investigate the developmental dynamics of reading skills, and self‐concept of reading ability, across the first year of primary school.

Sample: One hundred and five (61 boys, 44 girls) 6‐to 7‐year‐old children from four first‐grade classes in two primary schools participated in the study.

Method: Children were studied three times during their first school year using an identical set of measurements: a Reading Skills Test and the Self‐Concept of Ability scale.

Results: A uni‐construct ‘Matthew’ effect was found for the development of self‐concept, but not for the reading skills. However, the results showed that there was a multi‐construct cumulative cycle between children's reading skills and their self‐concept.

Conclusions: Simultaneous use of variable‐ and person‐oriented methods in developmental research seems to be a valuable approach, which not only provides a proper way to investigate the cumulative developmental cycles but also an option to examine how large a proportion of the sample follows the positive and negative pattern found in variable‐oriented analyses.
Concomitants of failure to cope: What we should teach adolescents about coping
Authors: Lewis Ramon , Frydenberg Erica
Published: February 2003

Background: How young people cope with stress is an important component of health and well‐being since failure to deal with stress is very costly in social and emotional terms.

Aim: In this study we examine the relationship between young people's declared failure to cope and the many coping styles that are reported concomitantly. The research questions addressed the extent to which positive and negative coping strategies co‐exist in adolescent populations and whether the co‐existence of these strategies confounds interpretation of the impact of coping on outcomes.

Sample: A sample of 1219 adolescent school students was drawn from a wide range of 11 government and private coeducational schools situated in the three regions of metropolitan Melbourne, Australia.

Methods: All participants completed the General form of the Adolescent Coping Scale in class groupings. Administration was conducted by a teacher who was also a registered psychologist.

Results: It was found that young people who were coping less successfully were those utilising more emotion‐focused strategies. Further, students' use of emotion and problem‐focused strategies was intercorrelated.

Conclusion: This suggests that failure to cope triggers off increased coping activities of all kinds and that over‐use of non‐productive strategies interferes with the capacity to use productivecoping.
Personal understanding and target understanding: Mapping influences on the outcomes of learning
Authors: Entwistle Noel , Smith Colin
Published: February 2003

Background: Among the many theories of learning, few have been developed specifically for education. Most have explained learning in terms of either the individual activities of the learner or the design of the learning context; yet both are important in education. Each theory applies strictly only to the context for which it was developed, and yet quite general implications for education are often suggested.

Aims: 1. To review qualitative research on learning carried out within the classroom and to identify some of the major influences on the quality of learning outcomes. 2. To develop a conceptual framework based on this research which seeks to explain differences in levels and forms of understanding.

Method: Model building based on reviews of research on learning in schools and universities.

Analysis: A conceptual framework was developed from the review of the literature which emphasises the activities of both teachers and students and the influences on learning outcomes of both the individual and the social context. The framework introduces a distinction between ‘target’ and ‘personal’ understanding to draw attention to the differing ways in which curriculum designers, teachers and students define knowledge and conceptualise the teaching‐learning process. It also suggests how these conceptualisations influence the level of understanding reached by students. The framework is intended to encourage teachers and curriculum designers to think about the likely effects of the tasks and conditions they are providing for students, and to consider ways of strengthening the emphasis on conceptual understanding. By drawing on research findings from both schools and universities, a way of thinking about teaching and learning is indicated which can, to some extent, be generalised across educational contexts.
The writing approaches of secondary students
Authors: Lavelle Ellen , Smith Jennifer , O'Ryan Leslie
Published: February 2003

Background: Research with college students has supported a model of writing approaches that defines the relationship between a writer and writing task along a deep and surface process continuum (Biggs, 1988). Based on that model, Lavelle (1993) developed the Inventory of Processes in College Composition which reflects students' motives and strategies as related to writing outcomes. It is also important to define the approaches of secondary students to better understand writing processes at that level, and development in written composition.

Aims: This study was designed to define the writing approaches of secondary students by factor analysing students' responses to items regarding writing beliefs and writing strategies, and to compare the secondary approaches to those of college students. A related goal was to explore the relationships of the secondary writing approaches to perceived self‐regulatory efficacy for writing (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994), writing preferences, and writing outcomes.

Samples: The initial, factor analytic phase involved 398 junior level high school students (11th grade) enrolled in a mandatory language arts class at each of three large Midwestern high schools (USA). Then, 49 junior level students enrolled in two language arts classes participated as subjects in the second phase.

Method: Classroom teachers administered the Inventory of Processes in College Composition (Lavelle, 1993), which contained 72 true‐or‐false items regarding writing beliefs and strategies, during regular class periods. Data were factor analysed and the structure compared to that of college students. In the second phase, the new inventory, Inventory of Processes in Secondary Composition, was administered in conjunction with the Perceived Self‐Regulatory Efficacy for Writing Inventory (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994), and a writing preferences survey. A writing sample and grade in Language Arts classes were obtained and served as outcome variables.

Results: The factor structure of secondary writing reflected three process dimensions. The first factor, Elaborative‐Expressive, describes a writing strategy based on personal investment and audience concern. The second factor, Planful‐Procedural, denotes sticking to a plan, following the rules, and ‘preparing’ for writing. Achieving‐Competitive, the third factor, reflects a ‘teacher pleasing’ strategy or doing only what needs to be done to get a good grade. Two factors from the college model, Elaborative and Procedural, were replicated, and two were not, Reflective‐Revision and Low Self‐Efficacy. Regression analyses supported that the processes in writing under a timed condition are different from those used when writing over time, and that students' perceptions of writing self‐regulatory efficacy were predictive of writing success under both conditions.
The dimensionality of speaking and writing: A multilevel factor analysis of situational, task and school effects
Authors: Kuhlemeier Hans , Van den Bergh Huub , Rijlaarsdam Gert
Published: February 2003

Background: This article addresses the question whether communication apprehension (CA) should be regarded as a unidimensional or alternatively as a multidimensional construct. The answer is not only interesting from a theoretical point of view. There might also be practical implications for the treatment of CA. If CA were to appear to be unidimensional and a student's level of CA were to be the same across situations and tasks, there would be no need to tailor the treatment to particular speaking situations or specific writing problems. If, however, CA appeared to be multi‐dimensional and a student might have a variety of different levels and types of CA, one type of treatment might be more effective for one student than for another one.

Aim: To examine the effects of situational, task and school effects on speaking and writing apprehension.

Sample: Use was made of the dataset of the 1987‐1988 National Assessment of Language Performance in the Netherlands. The nationally representative sample consisted of 1448 students from 184 secondary schools; 52% of the students were boys and 48% were girls; the mean age of the students was 15 years 6 months.

Method: Speaking and writing apprehension were measured by means of self‐report measures in grade 9. Multilevel factor analysis (MLFA) was used to determine the dimensionality of the measurement of speaking and writing apprehension.

Results and conclusions: First, all seven speaking situations and three out of four writing problems could be distinguished empirically. Speaking and writing apprehension are clearly multidimensional constructs that depend on the speaking situation and the writing task. Second, correlations between speaking and writing apprehension were rather low. Speaking and writing apprehension seem to represent skill‐specific constructs, which cannot be considered as equivalent forms of communication apprehension. Third, differences between schools in the level of speaking and writing apprehension were very small compared to measurements of speaking and writing performance.
Developing deep learning approaches and personal teaching efficacy within a preservice teacher education context
Authors: Gordon Christopher , Debus Ray
Published: February 2003

Background: University students' approaches to learning have been demonstrated to affect learning outcomes across a wide range of courses, favouring the use of a deep approach. Interventions to promote the use of deep approaches have had mixed success, with the most successful interventions involving large‐scale course redesign.

Aims: This paper describes a study in which contextual modifications were implemented in an existing preservice teacher education programme to increase students' use of deep approaches to learning and reduce their reliance on the use of surface approaches, without the need for major redesign. Students' perceptions of their competence in performing the tasks of teaching (personal teaching efficacy) were also expected to improve in response to improvements in quality learning.

Sample: Three cohorts of students (N = 134), enrolled in a preservice teacher education degree programme at a rural university in New South Wales, Australia participated in the study.

Method: A longitudinal quasi‐experimental design was used, with Cohort 1 acting as a control while Cohorts 2 and 3 represented treatment groups. Repeated measures were taken on Biggs' (1987b) Study Process Questionnaire, a modified version of Gibson and Dembo's (1984) Teacher Efficacy Scale and the Academic subscale within Lefcourt's (1981) Multidimensional‐Multiattributional Causality Scale. An action research paradigm was embedded to enable the development and refinement of the altered teaching approaches.

Results: Results indicated that the modifications to teaching methods, task requirements and assessment processes applied to the treatment group encouraged changes in students' approaches to learning by firstly reducing their use of surface approaches and later increasing the use of deep approaches. While both treatment and contrast groups exhibited equivalent growth in teaching efficacy, differences between cohorts were noted in the sources that informed personal teaching efficacy at the conclusion of the course.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that the study succeeded in its major goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning in this teacher education programme. The results conform to the findings of previous research and are consistent with learning approach theory. While the specific contextual modifications used in the current study may not necessarily be transferable to other settings, the processes employed in the generation of those modifications could find wider applicability.
Reading, language and memory skills: A comparative longitudinal study of children with Down syndrome and their mainstream peers
Authors: Byrne Angela , MacDonald John , Buckley Sue
Published: February 2003

Background: Many of today's young adults with Down syndrome never had the opportunity to learn to read. However, an increasing number of children with Down syndrome are currently attending mainstream schools and being taught to read. As a consequence, it is now possible to systematically study reading development in children with Down syndrome.

Aims: The aim of this study was to chart the development of reading, language, and memory skills in children with Down syndrome and to investigate the relationships between these abilities.

Sample: Twenty‐four children with Down syndrome aged between 4 and 12 were followed over two years and compared to 31 children matched for reading age, and 42 children of average reading ability, selected from the same mainstream classes as the children with Down syndrome.

Method: Standardised assessments were administered annually to obtain measures of reading, spelling, language, memory, and general intelligence.

Results: The children with Down syndrome had relatively advanced single word reading ability compared to their other cognitive skills. The reading progress of the children with Down syndrome did not differ significantly from that of the reading matched group even after two years. Different cognitive abilities were highly correlated with one another in all groups. However, after controlling for age, many of the partial correlations between reading and the other measures were reduced to non‐significant levels.

Conclusions: Most children with Down syndrome are capable of learning to read single words. However, there was no evidence over this two‐year period to support the hypothesis that learning to read will help to enhance language and memory development in children with Down syndrome.
Teaching children to recognise rhyme does not directly promote phonemic awareness
Authors: Martin Michelle E. , Byrne Brian
Published: February 2003

Background: Rhyming ability and phoneme awareness both predict aspects of reading development, with rhyming emerging earlier than phoneme awareness in most children. This study employed an experimental technique to elucidate the causal connections between these two aspects of phonological sensitivity.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine whether teaching preschool children to detect rhyme promotes their ability to detect phoneme relations.

Samples, Methods, Results: An experimental group of 23 children was successfully taught to rhyme, and compared to an untaught control group of 23 children in the ability to detect phonemes. Neither group showed any increase in phonemic awareness on an immediate or a delayed post‐test.

Conclusions: The results do not support the hypothesis that rhyme sensitivity is a causal precursor of phoneme sensitivity. We conclude that teaching children to rhyme remains an important preliteracy activity, but not because it directly promotes phonemic awareness.
Relaxed conditions can provide memory cues in both undergraduates and primary school children
Authors: Cassaday Helen J. , Bloomfield Rachel E. , Hayward Natalie
Published: February 2003

Background: Memory can be impaired by changes between the contexts of learning and retrieval (context‐dependent memory, CDM). However, the reminder properties of context have usually been investigated by experimental manipulation of cues in isolation, underestimating CDM that results from interactions between cues.

Aims: To test whether CDM can be demonstrated using multiple contextual cues combined to create relaxing versus neutral contexts at separate learning and memory testing stages of the experiments.

Sample: Forty university undergraduates (in Experiment 1), and forty 9‐10 year‐olds (in Experiment 2).

Methods: All participants were given age‐appropriate tasks under either relaxing or neutral conditions. The next day they were tested for retrieval or practice effects, under the same or different (relaxing versus neutral) conditions.

Results: For both age groups, there was a (mostly asymmetric) CDM effect with performance generally best in the relaxing—relaxing condition. There was also some overall benefit of having learned under relaxed conditions.

Conclusion: A relaxed learning environment can provide effective retrieval cues, as well as improve learning.

Comment: For both primary school children and university students, the educational implication of these findings is that learning can be improved in a relaxed state. For this benefit to be fully manifest, the assessment of learning should also take place under relaxed conditions.