Computer science has one of the largest gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. An important reason for this disparity is that girls are less likely than boys to ...enroll in necessary "pipeline courses," such as introductory computer science. Two experiments investigated whether high-school girls' lower interest than boys in enrolling in computer science courses is influenced by stereotypes of the field. We further tested whether these stereotypes can be communicated by the physical classroom environment, and whether changing this environment alters girls' interest. In 2 experiments (N = 269), a computer science classroom that did not project current computer science stereotypes caused girls, but not boys, to express more interest in taking computer science than a classroom that made these stereotypes salient. The gender difference was mediated by girls' lower sense of belonging in the course, even beyond the effects of negative stereotype concerns, expectations of success, and utility value. Girls' lower sense of belonging could be traced to lower feelings of fit with computer science stereotypes. Individual differences in fit with stereotypes predicted girls' belonging and interest in a stereotypical, but not a nonstereotypical, classroom. Adolescence is a critical time for career aspirations. Girls may avoid computer science courses because current prevailing stereotypes of the field signal to them that they do not belong. However, providing them with an educational environment that does not fit current computer science stereotypes increases their interest in computer science courses and could provide grounds for interventions to help reduce gender disparities in computer science enrollment.
When people attribute human characteristics to nonhuman objects they are amenable to anthropomorphism. For example, human faces or the insertion of personalized labels are found to trigger ...anthropomorphism. Two studies examine the effects of these features when included in decorative pictures in multimedia learning materials. In a first experiment, 81 university students were randomly assigned to 1 cell of a 2 (human faces vs. no faces in pictures) × 2 (personalized vs. nonpersonalized labels of pictures) between-subjects, factorial design. In addition to learning performance, cognitive, motivational, and emotional impacts of anthropomorphism are examined. Results show that both human faces and anthropomorphic labels were able to increase the learning performance on cognitive assessments. However, only human faces were able to influence motivational and emotional ratings significantly. In a second experiment, 108 secondary school students were randomly assigned to 3 groups (anthropomorphized pictures, nonanthropomorphized pictures, and no pictures) in order to evaluate possible advantages of anthropomorphism in decorative pictures in learning materials. Results show again that anthropomorphized pictures are better for learning than nonanthropomorphized pictures and also better than a control group. Results are discussed in the light of a debate on the inclusion or exclusion of decorative pictures.
Educational Impact and Implications Statement
This research reveals that incorporating decorative pictures within multimedia materials is beneficial for learning when tendencies of attributing human characteristics are triggered through specific picture features. Both integrated human faces and personalized labels are found to enhance learning performance and improve learners' affect and motivation in contrast to pictures without these features or materials without decorative pictures in 2 experiments. In conclusion, decorative pictures may be used in order to make learning materials more appealing if boundary conditions like the degree of anthropomorphism were taken into account.
Feedback is a prevalent teaching practice in mathematics classrooms, but few studies have documented how mathematics teachers enact feedback in classrooms. We investigated how 47 teachers provided ...feedback in 172 mathematics lessons in Norwegian lower secondary schools. We analyzed the quality of feedback, the quantity of feedback, and whether the feedback addressed students’ procedural skills, conceptual understanding, or engagement in mathematical practices. Teachers spent large amounts of time providing concrete and specific feedback, most of it addressing procedural skills while conceptual feedback was less common. The study highlights details of feedback relevant for both pre- and inservice mathematics teacher training.
•We analyzed 47 mathematics teachers' feedback in 172 lessons in Norwegian lower secondary school.•Both the feedback quality and its focus (procedures, concepts, or mathematical practices) was charted.•Teachers provided clear and specific feedback that largely focused on procedures.•Conceptual feedback was also common, but feedback on mathematical practices was rare.
In recent years, the use of mobile technologies has increased in a number of fields such as banking, economy, tourism, entertainment, library research, etc. These developments have also led to the ...use of mobile technologies for educational purposes. The successful integration of mobile learning (m‐learning) technologies in education primarily demands that teachers' and students' adequacy and perceptions of such technology should be determined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare teachers' and students' abilities and perceptions concerning m‐learning. Research data for the analysis were obtained from a sample of 467 teachers and 1556 students from 32 schools that were surveyed in Northern Cyprus. Based on our results, we conclude that teachers and students want to use m‐learning in education. Their perceptions are positive but their m‐learning adequacy levels are not sufficient.
This study comprehensively investigated how different types of teacher feedback may influence students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) in mathematics. A total of 584 Chinese secondary students ...participated in this study. Findings showed that teachers provided verification feedback and scaffolding feedback with a high frequency, and provided directive feedback, praise, and criticism with a moderate frequency. Students reported a generally moderate level of SRL in mathematics learning. Male students reported generally higher levels of motivation and more use of cognitive strategies than female students. Results of structural equation modelling indicated that scaffolding feedback and praise predicted students’ improved SRL behaviours. By contrast, verification feedback and directive feedback predicted a reduction in students’ use of organizational strategies but a slight increase in their metacognitive awareness. Criticism predicted students’ increased test anxiety but, unexpectedly, had no predicative power of other presumably possible negative effects on students’ SRL behaviours. Implications for mathematics teachers to develop students’ SRL via feedback are provided and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Traditional school bullying and cyberbullying are growing concerns worldwide. Research has been devoted to understanding the etiology of bullying behaviors. Using a large sample of secondary school ...adolescents in Hong Kong (N = 1,893), this study explores gender differences in mean levels of traditional school bullying (i.e., physical and verbal forms of bullying, and extortion and exclusion) and cyberbullying (i.e., overt and relational aggression) behaviors, and psychosocial characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy, empathy, prosocial behavior, family bonding, perception of a harmonious school, sense of belonging in school, and positive school experiences and involvement). The differential role of psychosocial characteristics in types of bullying perpetration is also examined. Findings indicate that the perpetration of traditional school bullying and cyberbullying behaviors are positively correlated, and male adolescents reported higher levels of bullying perpetration than female adolescents. Multivariate findings reveal that, to some extent, male and female adolescents shared a similar set of psychosocial risk factors of bullying perpetration, especially in the perpetration of traditional school bullying. The findings of this study may have important implications for practice in regard to minimizing, if not entirely preventing, through the joint efforts of the family, school, and social service systems, the propensity of adolescents to engage in the perpetration of bullying behaviors.
Belonging is an essential aspect of psychological functioning. Schools offer unique opportunities to improve belonging for school-aged children. Research on school belonging, however, has been ...fragmented and diluted by inconsistency in the use of terminology. To resolve some of these inconsistencies, the current study uses meta-analysis of individual and social level factors that influence school belonging. These findings aim to provide guidance on the factors schools should emphasise to best support students. First, a systematic review identified 10 themes that influence school belonging at the student level during adolescence in educational settings (academic motivation, emotional stability, personal characteristics, parent support, peer support, teacher support, gender, race and ethnicity, extracurricular activities and environmental/school safety). Second, the average association between each of these themes and school belonging was meta-analytically examined across 51 studies (N = 67,378). Teacher support and positive personal characteristics were the strongest predictors of school belonging. Results varied by geographic location, with effects generally stronger in rural than in urban locations. The findings may be useful in improving perceptions of school belonging for secondary students through the design of policy, pedagogy and teacher training, by encouraging school leaders and educators to build qualities within the students and change school systems and processes.
While prior research has identified multiple associations between engagement in sexting and risky behaviors, most existing studies do not take into account the contexts in which sexting occurs. The ...present study extends prior research by examining whether the associations between adolescents’ sexting behavior and engagement in substance use, sexual behaviors, and deviant behaviors differ depending on the relational context (within or outside of a romantic relationship) in which young people engage in sexting. Results from a survey of 1187 secondary school students (61.3% girls,
n
= 728) between 16 and 22 years old (
M
= 17.82 years;
SD
= 0.88) revealed that sexting with a romantic partner is not a significant marker of engagement in risk behaviors. However, single youth who engage in sexting outside of a romantic relationship are more likely to report substance use, relative to their non-sexting counterparts. These findings underscore the need to use more nuanced measures to investigate sexting and for sexual education initiatives to integrate messages about substance use.
Literature suggests that students need to be exposed to cognitively demanding tasks (CDT). In this qualitative study, we examined in-service secondary school teachers' challenges in understanding ...(e.g. recognizing, solving, and designing) and implementing cognitively demanding tasks in mathematics classrooms. Purposive sampling consisted of eleven teachers who completed the cognitive demand survey. Qualitative data sources included semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Data analysis consisted of open and focused coding based on which the following main challenges were reported: challenges related to students' knowledge, challenges related to English language learners (ELL), challenges related to teachers' knowledge, and challenges related to curriculum. The study results suggest that teachers may need a support system built to address the challenges and to assist in implementing CDT in their classrooms.
The article presents the results of research into the motives and attitudes of secondary school teachers of in Russia and Tajikistan, as well as educational motivation and motives for teaching ...students in the Russian and Tadjik secondary schools.
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