bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EFFECTS ON ACADEMIC LEARNING OF MANIPULATING EMOTIONAL STATES AND MOTIVATIONAL DYNAMICS
Authors: BOYLE G. J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of emotionally disturbing stimuli on the learning process. A five‐minute film segment depicting horrific scenes of automobile accident victims, and part of a pathologist's post‐mortem of a victim, was shown to an experimental group of 69 student teachers, while a non‐treatment group of 66 student teachers served as controls. The two groups were well matched on several independent variables covering the four domains of ability, personality, motivation, and mood states. The emotionally disturbing treatment produced a decrement in learning performance, but resulted in a massive 36 per cent increase in predictive variance attributable to enhanced correlations between the non‐ability intrapersonal variables and learning performance, for a prose learning task.
THE IDENTIFICATION AND PREVALENCE OF SPECIFIC READING RETARDATION
Authors: RODGERS B.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The existence of a hump at the tail of the distribution of under‐/over‐achievement in reading is generally accepted, yet the evidence in support of this is far from conclusive. In a national sample of 8,836 10‐year‐olds, part of the Child Health and Education Study, the over‐representation of children with severe under‐achievement, i.e. specific reading retardation, could not be confirmed. The implications are that specific reading retardation is the extreme of a continuum of under‐achievement and that any cut‐off point on this continuum used for its definition is arbitrary. Estimates of the prevalence of specific reading retardation must therefore be accompanied by the precise criteria used for its identification.
INFERENTIAL AND MEMORY SKILLS IN CHILDREN'S COMPREHENSION OF STORIES
Authors: OAKHILL JANE
Published: May 2011

Summary. An experiment was carried out to investigate 7–8 year‐olds' use of implicit inferences in understanding stories. Two groups of children, differentiated by their ability at text comprehension, read four short stories and were asked a series of questions after each one. The results showed that skilled readers were better than less skilled readers at answering questions from memory shortly after reading a story, both when the questions could be answered directly from the text, and when they required an inference. However, when the text was made available, the less skilled group remained poorer at answering questions that required an inference, although their performance on literal questions improved to the same level as that of the skilled group. Thus, the experiment supports the idea that a major distinguishing characteristic of skilled readers is that they are good at making inferences, which enable them to relate the ideas in a text one to another and to general knowledge. Additionally, the results provide no support for the claim that differences in ability to make inferences can be attributed to differences in memory for prose: the less skilled group were poorer at making inferences even when the text was available to them.
CAUSES OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE AND THEIR DIMENSIONS AS A FUNCTION OF SES AND GENDER: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: BAR‐TAL D. , GOLDBERG MARTA , KNAANI ATALIA
Published: May 2011

Summary. The present study utilises a phenomenological approach to investigating individuals' attribution of success or failure. On the basis of the assumption that individuals use various causes to explain their successes or failures and attach to them different meaning, the present study collected a list of causes used by males and females of low and middle‐upper socio‐economic class. Subjects from these four demographic groups were later asked to rate the identified causes on the dimensions of locus of casuality, stability and controllability. In addition, the subjects were asked to use the same causes while making attributions to their grade achieved at the end of a trimester. The comparisons among the four groups showed that the two SES groups were similar with regard to their rating of the causes on the three dimensions. The meaning of the results for further research of casual perception of success and failure is discussed.
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CORRELATES OF TEACHERS' SATISFACTION AND WILLINGNESS TO REPORT STRESS
Authors: SMILANSKY J.
Published: May 2011

Summary. In order to examine the nature of feelings of work satisfaction and reports of job‐related stress, teachers were asked to rate themselves regarding various aspects of their work functioning. Data regarding these teachers were also collected from principals, other teachers, parents and pupils. Teachers' general satisfaction and stress at work were found to relate mostly to their reported feelings about what happened within the class rather than to administrative or policy questions. Satisfaction as a teacher was related to internal factors (satisfaction in life in general and feelings of self efficacy) while reported stress was related to external factors (principal and pupil ratings.) The “better” teachers, according to external ratings, were willing to report more stress in their work situation.
INTERESTS, EFFORT, ACHIEVEMENT AND VOCATIONAL PREFERENCE
Authors: SJÖBERG L.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The components of interest in natural sciences and technology were studied in 100 students in the science and technology divisions of a Swedish secondary school. Also reported were perceived ability, success and invested effort in eight selected school subjects as well as vocational preferences and the reasons for these. Interests were found to be well accounted for by two factors—logical orientation and practical value. Interests and grades were strongly correlated but the correlation between interests and effort was more moderate. Structural analysis of the relationships between interest and achievement‐related variables suggested that effort was mainly directed towards school subjects which students rated as important and in which they perceived a high degree of ability. Furthermore, effort led to success and success to interest. There was, however, little tendency for interest to lead to increased effort. Dispersion of interests correlated with a preference for natural science and technology as compared to the social sciences and the humanities. Interest in school subjects correlated at a moderate level with some of the vocational preferences; these were, however, little related to judged future job market prospects in vocations.
EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENT MOTIVATION AND THEIR EFFECTS ON EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE
Authors: MARSH H. W.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Students (N = 416) viewed a videotaped lecture and then completed an objective examination based upon the lecture. The lecture was experimentally manipulated to vary in content coverage (the number of test questions covered) and the expressiveness with which it was delivered. Different groups of students received no external incentive to do well, were told before the lecture that they would receive money for each correctly answered question (incentive‐to‐learn‐and‐perform), or were told of the added incentive after the lecture but before the examination (incentive‐to‐perform). Better student performance was associated with added student incentive, better content coverage, and more lecturer expressiveness. However, the level of incentive interacted with both content coverage and expressiveness. Lecturer expressiveness had a large effect (eta2 = 9.4 per cent) when there was no added incentive, but no significant effect when an external incentive was added. Content coverage had a small effect (eta2 = 5.2 per cent) with no added incentive, a larger effect (eta2 = 13.0 per cent) for the incentive‐to‐perform condition, and the largest effect (eta2 = 26.5 per cent) for the incentive‐to‐learn‐and‐perform conditions. These findings suggest that lecturer expressiveness has a substantial impact when extrinsic motivation is low, and that added incentives have separate effects on motivation to learn and motivation to perform.
KINDERGARTEN TASK MANAGEMENT AND GRADE 2 PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER‐LEARNER ROLES
Authors: NASH B. CHRIS
Published: May 2011

Summary. A double‐blind follow‐up study of Grade 2 children showed that those who had experienced a kindergarten programme stressing personal task‐management skills were more likely to perceive themselves as responsible for their own learning than those from teacher‐directed kindergartens.
THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION AND DAILY CONTACT ON CHILDREN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS APHASIC CHILDREN
Authors: ZAKAY DAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. The influences upon attitudes towards aphasic children were studied when ordinary children (ages 9–14) were given explanations of, and contact with, children with motoric aphasia. Subjects were 191 elementary school pupils. In one group no explanation about aphasia was given, and no contact with aphasic children was maintained. In a second group, an explanation was given but no contact was maintained. In the third group, a special class of aphasic children was incorporated within the ordinary school. As a result, daily contact between the ordinary and the aphasic children was maintained. A questionnaire for measuring attitudes towards aphasic children was built and its test‐retest reliability was found to be 0.91 (df=37, P<001). The attitude scores were analysed by analysis of variance. A significant main effect of treatment method was found (F (2, 173) = 5.38, P<005). As hypothesised, the attitudes of children exposed to daily contact were less negative than those of children exposed to explanation only. The attitudes of children who were exposed neither to explanation nor to contact were the most negative. A significant main effect of age was found (F (2, 173)= 10.84, P<001). It was revealed, as hypothesised, that attitudes towards aphasic children were more negative in younger children than older ones, and only the attitudes of the 13‐ to 14‐year‐old children were in the positive region. A significant interaction between age and treatment method was also found (F (4, 173) = 3.81, P<005). The contact was found to be most effective with the youngest children. The implications of the findings for the general question of attitude formation in children and for the specific question of aphasic children's rehabilitation were discussed.
THE CHILD'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE CAUSES OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND FAILURE: A CASE STUDY OF BRITISH SCHOOLCHILDREN
Authors: LITTLE A. W.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Current models of the attribution process in children derive from adult models. This study examines the adequacy of current models for British children in the 5–14 age range (N = 149). Three questions are asked: (1) What types of explanation are used freely by children to explain academic success and failure? (2) How frequently are they used? (3) Do the types of explanation used by children to explain academic success and failure vary developmentally? Eighteen categories are used to classify the free responses of children to six achievement stories. The categories used by current models are useful but limited. Additional categories include different types of ability attribution and teacher‐sanctioned behaviour. Reservations are expressed about the meaning and relative importance of luck and the organising dimensions (locus, stability, control) of current taxonomical models. Using a multivariate profile analysis it was shown that the pattern of use of attribution categories varied by age. While recognising the importance of situational explanations for this trend, it was concluded that the trend was not reducible to them and that the attribution process involves a complex interaction of subjective and objective reality.
THE VALIDITY OF A SHORT FORM OF THE COOPERSMITH SELF ESTEEM INVENTORY
Authors: GIBBS J. , NORWICH B.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The short form of the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory designed by Lee (Argyle and Lee, 1972) was subjected to several tests of validity and internal consistency. The short form was administered to 41 children in off‐site units for persistent school non‐attenders and 41 matched controls (average age 14 years 9 months). Factor analysis revealed no general factor of self esteem. Scores were found not to correlate significantly with general verbal abilities nor word reading. However, there was a moderate correlation between the Coopersmith scores and repetory grid measures of self esteem. Children who were rated by their teachers to have “neurotic” compared with conduct or no difficulties showed significantly lower scores on the Coopersmith inventory, suggesting that the short‐form inventory was assessing some aspects of self perceptions and self evaluations about emotional reactions. The results are interpreted as illustrating the need for improved test construction and validation in this area.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPECTANCY AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT — HOW CAN IT BE EXPLAINED?
Authors: VOLLMER FRED
Published: May 2011

Summary. The aim of the present study was to explain the relationship between expectancy and subsequent academic achievement. A modified version of effort calculation theory was used to generate hypotheses regarding determinants and effects of expectancy in the academic achievement situation. The hypothesis that past achievement, work spent in examination preparations, and perceived ability determine both expectancy and later examination performance, and thereby account for the relationship between the latter two variables, did not find support. With preparation work, past grades, and perceived ability controlled, expectancy still related to subsequent grades. The hypothesis that expectancy determines effort expenditure in the examination situation, and thereby grades, was also not supported. It was suggested that expectancy as an expression of self‐confidence might be more strongly related to style of working in an exam situation than to an energy dimension like effort expenditure.
THE COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF STRATEGY AND EFFORT ATTRIBUTIONS
Authors: CLIFFORD MARGARET M.
Published: May 2011

Summary. The effects of attributing academic failure to effort or strategy were examined with the use of college students and teachers as subjects. Both the attitude and future performance of a college freshman described as receiving a GPA of 1.8 (C ‐) on her first semester's work were judged to be significantly more positive when poor performance was attributed to strategy in contrast to effort. A measure of perceived affect produced an interaction which indicated that college teachers, but not students, perceived affect to be more positive under effort attributions.

A secondary purpose of this research was to examine the effects of having subjects judge perceived affect either before or after making judgments on attitude and future performance. Data suggest that the initial processing of affect may lead to more positive judgments of attitude and future performance on the part of teachers but less positive judgments on the part of students. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
EXPECTANCY AND MOTIVATION IN REAL LIFE ACHIEVEMENT SITUATIONS
Authors: VOLLMER FRED
Published: May 2011

Summary. The aim of the present study was to find out to what extent expectancy might determine the amount of independent thinking manifested in an academic examination situation, and whether the latter variable was an independent determinant of grades. Path analysis showed that expectancy did have an indirect effect on grades through independent thinking, but this effect was not very strong. The hypothesis that expectancy measured shortly before an examination is a realistic estimate of pre‐examination knowledge level, and that the expectancy/grade connection may be accounted for by assuming a relation between pre‐examination and examination knowledge levels, found strong support.
THE COGNITIVE PROCESSING OF GIFTED, HIGH AVERAGE, AND LOW AVERAGE ABILITY STUDENTS
Authors: SCHOFIELD NEVILLE J. , ASHMAN ADRIAN F.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Despite considerable interest over recent years in the subject of gifted children, there has been little research into the cognitive processing of such children as compared with normal or above average children. This study examined the processing of 323 Grades 5 and 6 children from the Newcastle (NSW) area, using Luria's simultaneous/successive model of cognitive processing as a basis for the investigation. Among the subjects were 75 who were identified as being “gifted”. Results showed that in the areas of successive processing and low level planning the gifted subjects were not significantly better than their above average counterparts, but in the areas of high level planning and simultaneous processing significant differences were recorded. From these results a number of developmental ceilings were suggested.
PICTURE PROCESSING BY THE BLIND
Authors: PRING L.
Published: May 2011

Summary. It was first established that congenitally blind children could match raised‐outline pictures and their corresponding verbal labels in Braille. A subsequent recognition task showed that previously presented pictures from the matching task could be reasonably well recognised, although having been paired with the corresponding word improved performance. Even if an item had been previously shown only in word mode this had a significant benefit on picture mode identification relative to some item which had not occurred previously in either form. Similarly, having previously encountered an item as a picture helped subsequent word mode recognition. This was taken as evidence of picture processing by the blind and that transfer of information from words to pictures or pictures to words was possible.
THE STABILITY OF CHILDREN'S LATERALITY PREVALENCES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE
Authors: WHITTINGTON JOYCE E. , RICHARDS P. N.
Published: May 2011

Summary. A national sample of over 11,000 children, from the National Child Development Study, was the basis for a study of laterality prevalences, consistencies and changes from 7 to 11 years of age. Consistency and changes in handedness were related to levels of ability and attainment at age 11. Approximately 86 per cent of children were consistent in their hand preference from 7 to 11; and most children who changed were mixed‐handed at 7. There were clear differences between boys and girls in the incidence of non‐right‐handedness. At age 11 the group of consistent left‐handers had lower ability and attainment scores than average, although the very small group of left‐handers who changed from being right‐handed at 7 were well above average.
A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE TEACHING OF READING ON CHILDREN'S READING TEST PERFORMANCE
Authors: HANNON PETER
Published: May 2011

Summary. The reading attainment of working‐class children, as indicated by reading test performance, is lower than that of other children but there is some evidence that it might be improved if their parents are involved more in the teaching of reading by hearing their children read at home. A study was carried out of a reading at home parental involvement project in a primary school serving a working‐class area. The project was satisfactorily implemented and 76 children completed three years in it. Their reading test scores were compared to those of similar children who had passed through the school before the project. No significant improvement was found in test performance. The findings are discussed in relation to those of the Haringey Project (Tizard et al., 1982). It is hypothesised that the effects of this form of parental involvement may depend on the nature of home visiting which supports it, on the previous extent of parental involvement, or on whether the families concerned are from ethnic minorities. It is argued that there should be continued development and evaluation of parental involvement in the teaching of reading.
ENHANCING AND UNDERMINING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: THE EFFECTS OF TASK‐INVOLVING AND EGO‐INVOLVING EVALUATION ON INTEREST AND PERFORMANCE
Authors: BUTLER RUTH
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that intrinsic motivation will be differentially affected by task‐involving and ego‐involving evaluation, and that provision of both kinds of evaluation will promote ego‐involvement rather than task‐involvement. Twelve classes of fifth and sixth grade pupils were randomly assigned to one of three feedback conditions. Pupils received either ego‐involving numerical grades or task‐involving individual comments or both after performing interesting tasks, one convergent and one divergent, on each of two sessions. Interest and performance for 132 randomly selected pupils of high or low school achievement were measured at pre‐test, during the manipulation and at a third session, when no further evaluation was anticipated. As hypothesised, interest and performance on both tasks at both levels of school achievement were highest after comments, both when further comments were anticipated and when they were not. Grades and grades plus comments had similar and generally undermining effects on both interest and performance, although high achievers who received grades maintained high interest and convergent thinking when further grades were anticipated. These results are discussed in terms of the contribution of this distinction between task and ego‐involvement to further understanding of intrinsically motivated activity.
CHILDREN'S LEARNING SKILLS AT THE INFANT AND JUNIOR STAGES: A FOLLOW‐ON STUDY
Authors: GREEN LEN , FRANCIS JEAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. This follow‐on study investigates the learning skills and scholastic attainments of about half of an original cohort of over 2,000 children. The earlier study, when the children were 5 and 6 years old, found observed learning skills to be as predictive of attainment one year later as were IQ scores (Stott et al., 1983a). The follow‐up when the children were 9 and 10 years old adopts the earlier experimental design, comparing learning skills with attainments. It also relates early learning skills with attainments four years later. The results and teachers' comments indicate that learning skills strongly influence a child's attainments and that the GCLS (Guide to the Child's Learning Skills) has a contribution to make in the on‐going monitoring of children's learning behaviours.
PRESCHOOLERS' COGNITIONS OF FRACTIONAL UNITS
Authors: HUNTING ROBERT P. , SHARPLEY CHRISTOPHER F.
Published: May 2011

Summary. Problems requiring the sharing of discrete and continuous quantities, and problems involving the fractions 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 were individually presented to 206 preschool children. The children conceived of sharing in flexible and idiosyncratic fashion, showing common non‐exhaustion of the material which was required to be shared and little evidence of anticipatory strategies prior to making subdivisions or checking and adjustment of resultant shares. While most children did not understand the fraction language used, there was evidence of a qualitative concept of one‐half. A systematic procedure for sharing discrete objects was demonstrated by 60 per cent of the children. This procedure resulted in equal fractional units and could be a basis for meaningful fraction knowledge.
DEVELOPING CHILDREN'S THINKING ABOUT THEIR OWN LEARNING
Authors: PRAMLING INGRID
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study focuses on developing children's awareness of their own learning. What children begin to think of as learning, and how they think learning comes about have previously been described in terms of qualitatively different conceptions of learning (Pramling, 1983). In this study, to develop children's awareness means to bring about a qualitative change in how learning is conceptualised. In an experimental‐descriptive study three groups of preschool children (in total 56 children) were interviewed, and subsequently observed for two to three weeks while working with the same curriculum topic. After a week they were interviewed a second time, and they were interviewed a third and final time after six months. One of the groups was involved in metacognitive dialogues (Pramling, 1986b) about learning as a natural part of their everyday activities. In this group and one of the others the topic was structured in a similar way. The third teacher did not use either this structure or the metacognitive dialogues. Children's awareness of their own learning increased significantly in the group that worked with dialogues about learning that were related to the content.
RELATIONS BETWEEN READING AND MUSICAL ABILITIES
Authors: BARWICK JULIA , VALENTINE ELIZABETH , WEST ROBERT , WILDING JOHN
Published: May 2011

Summary. In two studies, groups of children with a wide range of reading ability and including a high proportion of poor readers were given Bentley's musical ability battery. Scores on tonal memory and chord analysis were related significantly to reading age with chronological age and IQ partialled out. The implications of these findings for views about component skills involved in reading and listening to music are discussed.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTS ABOUT WRITTEN LANGUAGE IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF SCHOOL
Authors: MASON JOAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. The purpose of this study was to test a model of children's acquisition of concepts about written language in the early school grades. The relationships of a wide range of written language concepts that previous studies suggested are related to children's reading acquisition were examined and developmental trends were assessed in a cross‐sectional study of 189 children from kindergarten, grade one and grade two. Factorial analyses were applied to test a three‐component model of 14 distinguishable, logical constructs underlying young children's concepts about written language. The three components were concepts about the functions and purposes of written language, concepts about the technical features and conventions of written language, and concepts about the processes and strategies of reading. Results suggest that the three subtests used are valid and reliable measures of the constructs underlying the children's developing understanding about written language as they learn to read.
THE EFFECTS OF ATTRIBUTION‐BASED INTERVENTION AND STUDY STRATEGY TRAINING ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN COLLEGE FRESHMEN
Authors: VAN OVERWALLE FRANK , DE METSENAERE MACHTELD
Published: May 2011

Summary. The effectiveness of two brief remedial programmes on freshmen's academic performance was investigated. In the first study, a programme was developed to increase students' motivation for their study by using attribution change techniques. Participants (N=43) watched video‐taped interviews with senior students relating the causes of their failures at the beginning of the first year, and how they had managed to improve their exam scores at the end of the year. The results showed that this attribution video manipulation significantly increased the number of students (18 per cent) who passed the final examinations at the end of the first year relative to control students who did not participate. In a second study, this attributional intervention was contrasted with another programme designed to enhance students' ability to remedy their learning difficulties by teaching appropriate study strategies. Participants (N=57) in this programme learned conventional rules of study strategy use, and applied these during short practice trials on existing course material. The attribution change programme again produced a significant increase (20 per cent) in the number of students who passed the final exams. In contrast, the learning strategy course had no effect on academic performance.
TIME ON EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AT HOME AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS IN INFANT SCHOOL
Authors: PLEWIS IAN , MOONEY ANN , CREESER ROSEMARY
Published: May 2011

Summary. This paper reports on the amount of time 6‐year‐olds in inner London engage in educational activities at home, and links these results with earlier research on the association between parental help with reading and children's reading progress. The activities data were collected using a time budget approach. The median child in this sample read aloud at home about 20 minutes per week, and received about 40 minutes per week total “teaching” in reading, writing and maths outside school. Black (Afro‐Caribbean) children read aloud more than white children, girls read on their own more than boys, and the more educational qualifications the mother had, the more time the children spent on all the measured educational activities. Associations between reading activities at home and reading attainment at the end of year 1 ranged from 0.13 to 0.27 but associations with progress were small. However, children who spent more time with books at home did make greater reading progress during year 1. Implications for understanding social class differences in educational attainment and for designing intervention studies are discussed.
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, CYCLES OF DISADVANTAGE AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE: SOME LONGITUDINAL DATA
Authors: CASSIDY TONY , LYNN RICHARD
Published: May 2011

Summary. The social and familial background, intelligence and personality of children and adolescents have been shown to contribute to their status in society, their educational attainment and to social competence in general as adults (Rutter and Madge, 1976; Garmezy, 1987). This study considers how these factors are translated into behaviour through the mediation of achievement motivation. Using a multidimensional approach to achievement motivation (Cassidy and Lynn, 1989), the achievement factors that predicted educational attainment and socioeconomic status in a sample of 451 young adults were identified. Data for the sample of 199 males and 252 females were collected at two points over a seven‐year period. Initial assessment occurred at age 16 and final assessment at age 23 approximately. It is suggested that a focus on the development of cognitive‐behavioural styles of achievement motivation, problem‐solving and attribution may provide a useful future direction for research on social competence. The implications of such a focus are discussed.
REASONING WITH RAVEN — IN AND OUT OF CONTEXT
Authors: RICHARDSON KEN
Published: May 2011

Summary. A traditional view of reasoning is of a set of mental processing powers that can be tapped and exemplified independently of content and context. “Abstract” reasoning items such as those in Raven's Progressive Matrices are thus considered to be ideal measures of such processes, and therefore of “intelligence”. A more recent view is that reasoning is recruited through the agency of representations (schemas) constructed in the course of experience, and which are brought to bear on current situations. The latter must be contextually meaningful, or make “human sense”, before the former can be fully tapped. The present study compared reasoning on Raven's items with that on the same items translated into socially meaningful situations (socio‐cognitive items). Performance of 9–10 year‐olds (N=20) on the socio‐cognitive items was much higher than on the standard Raven's items, and there was little correlation between children's performance on the different kinds of items.
AWARENESS OF PHONEMES AND ALPHABETIC LITERACY ACQUISITION
Authors: CARDOSO‐MARTINS CLAUDIA
Published: May 2011

Summary. The present study investigates the relationship between phonemic awareness and Portuguese orthography acquisition. Two groups of low socio‐economic Brazilian children participated. The first group consisted of 32 children learning to read through a phonic method. The second consisted of 26 children learning to read through a syllabic method. Phonemic awareness was measured at the beginning of the school year, coinciding with the beginning of instruction in reading. Progress in literacy acquisition was measured either at the end, or at the middle and the end of the school year. The results of the present study confirm the results of previous investigations. In general, awareness of phonemes was related to progress in learning to read and write. However, the results of the present study suggest that variations in phonemic awareness, observed at the beginning of literacy acquisition, may be less important for Portuguese orthography acquisition when children learn to read through a syllabic method than when they learn to read through a phonic method.
UNDERSTANDING OF UNDERSTANDING: IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING
Authors: BURNS JANET , CLIFT JOHN , DUNCAN JAMES
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study investigates sixth form students' understanding of “understanding” in the context of learning in chemistry. Thirty‐nine randomly selected students of low, average and high school achievement and their six chemistry teachers were interviewed and their classes were observed. Two orientations toward understanding, the recognition of order within the subject matter (a coherence orientation) and the ability to recall relevant information (a knowledge orientation) formed the extremes of a continuum. A coherence orientation was linked with intrinsic assessment of understanding, which occurred when students recognised understanding for themselves. A knowledge orientation was linked with extrinsic assessment, in which students used feedback from tests or the teacher. It is argued that a coherence‐intrinsic approach leads to understanding and could be taught. But an appropriate learning environment incorporating less teacher‐direction, more opportunity for student research and student‐student and student‐teacher discussion and a less competitive atmosphere would be necessary.
THE INTERPLAY OF KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES IN THE PROCESSING OF TEXT
Authors: DAVOU BETTINA , TAYLOR FITZ , WORRALL NORMAN
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study begins from a comparison of the information processing and the schema theories of learning, in an attempt to construct a more global explanation of cognitive processing. A comparison of a “schema” group of learners, that is, individuals with a well‐developed knowledge base about a particular topic, with a non‐schema group suggested that performance depends first on installing and drawing on the best available schema, and to the extent this is deficient only then defaulting to traditional “abilities”. This was seen as evidence for operation of a “cognitive compensation mechanism”. This mechanism permits the learner to minimise schema deficit by maximising the use of ability and to minimise ability deficit by maximising the use of schema. The findings are analysed with view to the educational benefits which could be derived by a model which provides a unifying explanation of cognitive processing and performance.
IS MORE ALWAYS BETTER? THE SEPARATE AND COMBINED EFFECTS OF A COMPUTER AND VIDEO PROGRAMME ON MATHEMATICS LEARNING
Authors: MEVARECH ZEMIRA , SHIR NURIT , MOVSHOVITZ‐HADAR NITSA
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study was designed to assess the combined and separate effects of instruction via a computer and video programme on students' learning processes, intrinsic motivation, and achievement in geometry. A 2times2 (Computer by Video) factorial design was employed. Participants were 268 fifth grade students who studied the same content for the same duration of time with different instructional technologies. Results showed that more media do not necessarily imply better mathematics learning. Although each programme in itself yielded significant effects on students' achievement, the “two‐media” and the “no‐media” yielded similar low learning outcomes. A similar pattern of differences was found on the level of mindfulness activated under the various conditions. In contrast, however, the study showed that students exposed to the combined programmes gained in intrinsic motivation more than students who learned with no‐medium.
THE SPLIT‐ATTENTION EFFECT AS A FACTOR IN THE DESIGN OF INSTRUCTION
Authors: CHANDLER PAUL , SWELLER JOHN
Published: May 2011

Summary. Cognitive load theory suggests that many conventional instructional formats are ineffective as they involve extraneous cognitive activities, which interfere with learning. The split‐attention effect provides one example of the consequences of inappropriate cognitive activities caused by poor instructional design. Learners are often forced to split their attention between and mentally integrate disparate sources of information (e.g., text and diagrams) before the instructional material can be rendered intelligible. This preliminary process of mental integration, while an essential precursor to learning, is likely to impose a heavy extraneous cognitive load. Physical integration (e.g., combining text and diagrams) may reduce cognitive load and so facilitate learning. This study reports findings from two experiments investigating the split‐attention effect. Using an engineering programming language (Numerical Control programming), the first experiment investigated the possible advantage of physically integrating text and diagrams. In a normal training environment, the integrated instructions group outperformed the conventional group. Experiment 2 was designed to see if the split‐attention effect would generalise to an area where mutually referring segments of text are conventionally separated, namely, empirical reports in psychology and education. In a laboratory study, Experiment 2 showed that students in an integrated group spent less time processing instructions yet still outperformed students in a conventional group on test questions. The consequences of these results for cognitive load theory and for instruction design are discussed.
CHILDREN'S ACHIEVEMENT GOALS AND BELIEFS ABOUT SUCCESS IN SPORT
Authors: DUDA JOAN L. , FOX KENNETH R. , BIDDLE STUART J. H. , ARMSTRONG NEIL
Published: May 2011

Summary. The purpose of this study was to investigate children's motivational orientations to sport. Recent social cognitive theories of achievement motivation were applied in order: (1) to determine the interrelationships between children's goal orientations and beliefs about success in sport, and (2) to examine the correspondence between goal‐belief dimensions and children's interest in and enjoyment of sport activities. One hundred and forty two 10‐year‐old British boys and girls completed an inventory assessing their goal orientations (dispositional emphasis on task‐oriented, ego‐oriented, cooperation, and work avoidant goals), beliefs about the causes of success, and degree of satisfaction/interest specific to the context of sport and games. Sex differences in ego orientation and the perceived causes for sport success emerged. Correlational and factor analyses revealed that task orientation was linked to a focus on cooperation and the belief that success stems from effort. Ego orientation was coupled with an emphasis on work avoidance and the view that the possession of ability and/or deceptive tactics and external factors lead to success. The task goal‐belief factor positively correlated with the children's reported enjoyment of sport and was negatively related to the amount of boredom experienced. Children who were high in the ego goal‐belief dimension tended to find sport more boring. The implications of these findings in terms of maximising children's investment in achievement activities are discussed.
RE‐EXAMINING REPEATED TESTING AND TEACHER EFFECTS IN A REMEDIAL MATHEMATICS COURSE
Authors: MARTINEZ JOSEPH G. R. , MARTINEZ NANCY C.
Published: May 2011

Summary. This study examined the impact of repeated testing and teachers' effects on student achievement in a remedial mathematics course. A 2 times 2 completely randomised factorial design was used, with final examination performance the dependent variable and testing attempts and the teacher factor the independent variables. The study found no main effects for teacher but a main effect for testing attempts and a teacher‐factor/testing‐attempt interaction. Post hoc findings qualified a direct interpretation of the main effect. The implications for further research and application are discussed, giving special attention to teacher effects, the needs of remedial mathematics instruction, and the claims of mastery‐learning pedagogies.
What do inventories of students' learning processes really measure? A theoretical review and clarification
Authors: Biggs John
Published: May 2011

Research into student learning has been based on two main theoretical sources: information processing (IP), and contextually based work on students' approaches to learning (SAL). The cross‐fertilisation has been valuable, but it has led to ambiguities and misunderstandings, evident in the recent literature, about constructs, methodology, and of particular concern here, the development and interpretation of inventories of learning/study processes. The basic issue revolves around a conception of student learning as taking place within‐the‐student, as IP models appear to assume, or within‐the‐teaching/learning‐context, as the SAL tradition emphasises. It is suggested that student learning is best construed within a teaching/learning context that functions as an ‘open system’, a model that brings some clarity to the use and interpretation of study process inventories, and that locates their value in yielding functionally useful data to researchers, teachers, and staff developers.
A critique of research on cognition and cognitive processes
Authors: Wenestam Claes‐Göran
Published: May 2011

In this article it is pointed out that there exists a methodological contradiction in most research on cognition and cognitive processes, which makes such research invalid in the strongest meaning of the term. When the aim is to study cognitive processes very often the researcher uses attributes of the learning material to be the standard or the template against which any outcome of the subjects can be analysed and made the ground for inferences about cognition and cognitive processes. This way of doing research is considered to be based on false theoretical assumptions and also proven invalid by a number of empirical studies. It is suggested in the article that the researcher must distinguish between an educational and a cognitive perspective and avoid mixing them in order to carry out successfully research on cognitive processes.
Relations between children's playground and classroom behaviour
Authors: Pellegrini A. D. , Davis Patricia D.
Published: May 2011

In this within‐subjects design field experiment children's behaviour in the playground was charted as a function of gender and time in the classroom immediately preceding playtime. Playground behaviour was also related to post‐recess classroom behaviour. Twenty‐three 9‐year‐old children were observed for 14 weeks. Classroom behaviour (i.e., task relevant behaviour on standardised seat work immediately before and after playtime) and playground behaviour (i.e., social and non‐social exercise and sedentary behaviour) were observed. Time in classroom before playtime was manipulated so that there was a shorter and a longer confinement period. Results indicated that children were less attentive to seat work as a function of time and that longer confinement resulted in more exercise for boys and more social sedentary behaviour for girls. Social behaviour at playtime and post‐playtime attention to seat work were significantly related. Results are discussed in terms of Novelty Theory.
Occupational stress in head teachers: a national UK study
Authors: Cooper Cary L. , Kelly Mike
Published: May 2011

This study assessed occupational stress amongst 2,638 head teachers of primary and secondary schools, together with principals/directors of further and higher education establishments, throughout the United Kingdom. Data were collected on personal/job demographics, sources of job stress, mental health, job satisfaction and coping strategies. These data were analysed by SPSS‐X, producing univariate, bivariate and multivariate techniques.

It was found that as we moved from the further/higher education level to secondary to primary sectors, the levels of job dissatisfaction and mental ill health rose. In addition, it was found that, with the exception of primary schools, female head teachers in secondary and FHE seem to be suffering significantly greater job dissatisfaction than their male counterparts, although this does not translate itself into mental ill health. Male head teachers, on the other hand, seem to suffer more mental ill health than their female counterparts. And finally, the two main sources of occupational stress that appear in many of the multivariate analyses as predictors of job dissatisfaction and mental ill health are ‘work overload’ and ‘handling relationships with staff’. The implications of all these findings are discussed in detail.
Stress levels, gender and personality factors in teachers
Authors: Fontana David , Abouserie Reda
Published: May 2011

The study reports an investigation of stress levels, gender and personality dimensions in a sample of school teachers. The Professional Life Stress Scale (PLSS) was used to assess teachers' stress levels and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was used to define their personality dimensions (Extroversion‐Introversion, Neuroticism‐High Psychoticism‐Low Psychoticism). The study sample consisted of 95 teachers, 51 females and 44 males. Results revealed that the majority of teachers sampled, 72.6 per cent, were experiencing moderate levels of stress, and 23.2 per cent serious levels. T‐test results showed no significant difference between male and female teachers in stress levels. Correlation analysis between stress level and personality dimensions revealed significant positive correlation between stress and psychoticism. A significant negative correlation emerged between stress and extroversion, and a significant positive correlation between stress and neuroticism. A multiple regression analysis revealed that extroversion and neuroticism were the best predictors of stress levels. Overall, the results therefore indicated that personality dimensions appear to contribute more to stress levels than do the variables of either age or gender.
Elementary school pupils' beliefs about practices for motivating pupils in mathematics
Authors: Nolen Susan Bobbitt , Nicholls John G.
Published: May 2011

Pupils in the second (N = 304) and fifth grades (N = 272) and their teachers (N = 35) rated the effectiveness of a variety of teacher strategies for motivating pupils to learn maths. Factor analysis indicated that older pupils made finer distinctions among types of strategy than did younger pupils. Second‐graders endorsed most strategies, while fifth‐graders were more selective, rejecting evaluative praise (e.g., ‘Good boy’), teacher attributions of failure to low effort and of success to high ability. Teachers' ratings differed from pupils' for many strategies; mere were no differences between teachers of second‐ and fifth‐grade pupils. We discuss the implications of these results for the view of pupils as educational theorists, and for teachers wishing to engage pupils in democratic negotiation of classroom practices.
The relationship between approach to learning and learning strategies in learning music
Authors: Cantwell Robert H. , Millard Yvette
Published: May 2011

The study investigated the relationship between approaches to learning and strategies used in learning unfamiliar music. Verbal protocols from six 8th grade music students indicated that deep and surface approaches have distinct influences on the selection of strategies for learning music. Independently of difficulty level, deep learners displayed greater depth of content concern and greater flexibility in strategy behaviours, while surface learners were consistently data‐bound and strategically biased towards both rote learning techniques and recourse to external sources to resolve difficulties. The findings are consistent with previous research in student learning. The implications of the results for the teaching of music are discussed.