This research is concerned with investigating the attitudes of 3rd year secondary pupils towards CDT; with establishing any differences, in both attitudes and personality in the way the two sexes ...regard CDT and why more girls do not continue with the subject after the 3rd year. The field study for this was completed in 1982. There was a follow up of the sample at the post 16+ stage in order to investigate the actual take-up of further study of CDT subjects to examination level at 16+ and to compare those who passed well ('high flyers') with those who only gained a low pass grade Clow achievers') and compare attitudes and examination performance in the sample schools. The research began with three questionnaires designed and administered in 1982 in several coeducational schools in Hertfordshire - two attitude questionnaires to 405 pupils (301 boys & 104 girls) in 7 schools and the 'engineer' questionnaire to 150 pupils (87 boys & 63 girls) in 3 schools. A total of four questionnaires were used - an attitude questionnaire with a five point Likert scale; an open-response attitude questionnaire and a questionnaire designed to find out how the pupils perceive the engineer. Cattell's HSPQ was also used. Across the whole of the five attitude scales, the two sexes presented completely different profiles. Both sexes expressed a desire for more practical work. Pro-CDT pupils were influenced by a family member with technical skills and tended to be tough-minded rather than tender-minded. Boys who are in favour of CDT are likely to be far more controlled and conscientious; introverts rather than extraverts; neurotic rather than stable and slightly more inclined to like working with things rather than people. In contrast, pro-CDT girls are likely to be stable extraverts, with a slight tendency to prefer working with people and to be lax and expedient. These terms are explained within the thesis. Girls were on the whole more concerned about the form of the lessons, claimed to be more relaxed in workshop sessions in CDT and enjoyed the lessons more than boys. The boys in their personality responses revealed some degree of concern and anxiety. However, there was an almost total rejection by the girls for continuing CDT - especially amongst the intelligent ones - although they found the subject enjoyable and within their capabilities. The girls' attitudinal responses showed that in CDT they lacked confidence with tools and machines even after three years in secondary education. This may be related to their previous lack of 'tinkering' experience. Boys seemed to have a far greater enjoyment and appreciation of the value and skills of practical technical work although they tended to be weak mathematically and less inclined than girls to continue with graphical work. They expressed a greater intention of continuing with CDT and taking up a technical career. Twice as many boys (80%) took up technical studies (CDT) as opposed to technical drawing (41%). Only one girl took any CDT subjects. In practically-based CDT examinations, the 'high flyers' demonstrated a greater pro-CDT stance and found the work more relaxing than the 'low achievers'. In graphical examinations, the 'high flyers' were more critical of the way the subject was taught; were more concerned about the effects of technology on society and were far more relaxed compared with the 'low achievers'. These findings are compared with other research that was going on at the same time. It is hypothesized from the findings that more girls may take up CDT if there was an increase in investigative work and a greater time allocation. Possible sources of further research are discussed in the concluding chapter.
This study investigates the relationship, if any, between teacher participation in a targeted professional development program and changes in participants' instructional practice and their pupils' ...attitudes to learning primary science. The program took place over a 2-year period in 15 small rural schools in the West of Ireland. Data sources include teacher and pupil questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and informal classroom observations. The findings reveal that as a result of their involvement in the program, (a) teachers' instructional practice in science lessons became more inquiry-based and they were engaging their pupils in substantially more hands-on activities in science lessons and (b) pupils developed more positive attitudes towards learning science. The findings from this study add to what is known about delivering effective professional development. Author abstract
Private tutoring (PT) is a widespread educational phenomenon that blurs the conceptual boundaries of public and private education and can affect the formal school system and teachers’ work. This ...study examined whether participation in PT and the estimation of private tutors’ contributions are related to pupils’ attitudes towards teachers’ effectiveness. Based on a questionnaire administered to all pupils (n = 855) from Grades 7 to 10 from one secondary school located in an affluent area at the centre of Israel (respondence rate, 83.2%), it was found that overall, there were few differences in students’ attitudes between participants in PT compared to those who did not participate in PT. However, among those who participate in PT, their attitudes towards school teachers are related to the distinction between the academic and social‐affective contribution of private tutors. When PT is related to academic spheres, it enhances positive attitudes towards school teachers and when PT is related to socio‐affective aspects, it increases criticism. The findings highlight the complex interactions of PT with mainstream education and emphasise the challenges school teachers face in view of the trend for more personalised learning approaches.
Today’s dynamic change of the pupils’ technological environment certainly affects their preferences towards technology, which may be important for planning, structuring and organising general ...technology education. This highlights the problem of general student preferences, which are not the product of current trends but the universal rules for structuring teaching. To contribute toward the solution of this problem, research into pupils’ preferences towards the teaching of Technical Culture was carried out with the aim of determining general age and gender differences in pupils’ preferences. Accordingly, the study was conducted on a stratified sample, comprising primary school pupils, aged 11 to 15 (N = 699). By applying the customised PATT questionnaire, pupils’ interests in technology, their attitudes towards the teaching contents of the Technical Culture, as well as the attitudes to the importance and consequences of technology were examined. The analysis of the obtained data was carried out using a two-factor ANOVA and
t
test, as the basis for determining the differences and characteristics of preference with regard to the age and gender of the pupils. The results of the research show that younger pupils are mostly satisfied with the lessons, while older ones expect more modular teaching. More concretely, boys are more inclined to traditional teaching contents, while girls show much less inclination towards such contents. The presented findings indicate the necessity of a modular approach to the teaching of general technology education, especially between the age of 13 and 15, which should allow equally affirmation of boys and girls in this field of education. The development of such teaching requires a series of additional research to facilitate the development of the future curriculum of general technology education.
The findings of the research literature about the necessity and contribution of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) are not unequivocal and are sometimes contradictory. The study aimed to examine the ...interactive attributes in lessons with an IWB and the students' attitudes. Methodical structured observations of 26 science lessons were conducted in elementary schools in Israel. The results showed that the teachers frequently used the diverse IWB tools, but most of the learning took place in frontal, whole class learning. Most of the interaction was under the teacher's control and the dialogic interaction was limited. The attitudes of 62 pupils showed that despite already studying with an IWB for five years, their enthusiasm did not wane. They even claimed, in contrast to the observation findings, that the IWB contributed to active learning and interaction in the class. The research findings raise fundamental questions regarding the place of the IWB in promoting interaction in the class and on the necessity to promote the teacher's pedagogic concept in order to increase class interaction.
This paper regards a study aiming to investigate secondary school pupils’ attitudes regarding mobile phone possible dependence. A 26-item questionnaire was administered to 504 pupils aged 12–18 years ...old, in Greece. Around half of the sample reported perceptions linked to the social motivational aspect of the mobile phones (peer dependence), phone use in order to feel better, as well as some negative consequences (loss of control). Three factors were extracted, “negative consequences”, “withdrawal” and “affect”. Little self-perceived mobile phone dependence seems to exist among adolescents (slight levels of craving, withdrawal and loss of control were revealed). Girls reported higher dependence in comparison to boys, while grade (or age) had no effect on any factor. This questionnaire provides a reliable tool that can be used to study various dimensions of addiction to mobile phones. It is suggested to be used with other adolescent populations of different countries, in order to reveal possible similarities and differences. Implications for educational policy makers, teachers and pupils are discussed.
Comparing English and Norwegian pupils’ attitude towards mathematics, in this article I develop a deeper understanding of the factors that may shape and influence ‘pupil attitude towards ...mathematics’, and argue for it as a socio-cultural construct embedded in and shaped by students’ environment and context in which they learn mathematics. The theoretical framework leans on work by Zan and Di Martino (The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 3, pp. 157–168,
2007
) to elicit Norwegian and English pupils’ attitude of mathematics as they experience it in their respective environments. Whilst there were differences which could be seen to be accounted for by differently ‘figured’ environments, there are also many similarities. It was interesting to see that, albeit based on a small statistical sample, in both countries students had a positive attitude towards mathematics in year 7/8, which dropped in year 9, and increased again in years 10/11. This result could be explained and compared with other larger scale studies (e.g. Hodgen et al. in Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics. 29(3),
2009
). The analysis of pupils’ qualitative comments (and classroom observations) suggested seven factors that appeared to influence pupil attitude most, and these had ‘superficial’ commonalities, but the perceptions that appeared to underpin these mentions were different, and could be linked to the environments of learning mathematics in their respective classrooms. In summary, it is claimed that it is not enough to identify the factors that may shape and influence pupil attitude, but more importantly, to study how these are ‘lived’ by pupils, what meanings are made in classrooms and in different contexts, and how the factors interrelate and can be understood.
Failures of meaning in religious education Conroy, James C.; Lundie, David; Baumfield, Vivienne
Journal of beliefs and values,
12/2012, Volume:
33, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The educational aims of religious education (RE) in the UK as evinced, for example, by Ofsted have been couched in the language of meaning making. Based on an ESRC funded three-year ethnographic ...study of 24 schools across the UK, this essay represents one attempt to interrogate how such meanings are shaped, or indeed fail to be shaped, in the day-to-day transactions of the school. We do this by locating RE in current discussions of efficacy, as manifest in inspectoral reports and allied scholarship, illustrate how complex the entailments and purposes of RE are, explore some of the ethnographic and related data to understand how meaning is shaped inside and outside the classroom, and, finally, attempt to locate that material in more general observations about the nature of meaning in RE - observations that are informed by contemporary readings of meaning making in the work of, among others, Baudrillard. We observe that RE, so dependent upon meaning for educational justification, is too frequently a site which witnesses failures of meaning.
The research deals with teaching strategies in geometry. A strategic mediating tool to resolve geometric problems was developed.
Underpinning theories are: Piaget's theory (1960), Van Hiele (1959), ...Vygotsky's socio-cultural communication approach and Feuerstein's theory of mediated learning (1998).
The research is based a combination of teaching strategies focused on significant mediation between the material and heterogeneous groups of learners. The innovation is in providing a holistic response to the needs of pupils and geometry teachers.
Mixed methods research will examine the influence of this tool on high school pupils and their attitudes to mathematics in general and geometry in particular
Ready for Inclusive Education? Ethnographic and Survey Perspectives. Endeavours to integrate children of different abilities in mainstream education have been present for more than two decades, but ...the principles of inclusive education have gained legislative support only recently. This paper is an attempt to contribute to an understanding of day-to-day interaction among pupils and their classmates with special educational needs and to examine conditions that might have an impact on an inclusive atmosphere in the class. The paper is based on findings from a representative survey of inclusive attitudes of fifth graders and ethnographic observation in the subsample of classes covered by the survey. The paper begins by outlining its theoretical framework, which suggests the relevance of classic sociological ideas about the role of schools in promoting societal peace and solidarity and presents a theoretical reflection on inclusive education policies. The paper then introduces its methodology and the results of two interconnected research projects – the representative survey of pupils’ inclusive attitudes and the ethnography of daily life in regular school classes with integrated children who have special educational needs. The results of both projects are mutually supporting and show rather lukewarm attitudes towards classmates with SEN, who are often isolated and sometimes openly brushed aside. Finally, the authors try to elucidate why cultivating friendly and inclusive interactions among children has held a marginal place in teachers’ work.Sociológia 2017, Vol. 49 (No. 3: 309-337)
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