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Abstract: This study aims at highlighting the collaborative activity of two high school students (age 14) in the cases of modeling the complex biological process of plant growth with two different tools: the ‘paper & pencil’ concept mapping technique and the computer-supported educational environment ‘ModelsCreator’. Students’ shared activity in both cases is carried out in the presence of a facilitator providing technical as well as cognitive support when necessary. The objective of the study is to highlight the ways in which the collaborating students are engaged in the plant growth modeling activity in the two cases and also identify the activity’s similar and different aspects in each one. Our analysis is carried out on two complementary axes, the first of which concerns the process of collaboratively creating a plant growth model with each different tool, while the second has to do with the students’ conceptualizations of the biological aspect of the modeling task in each case. A two-level analytic tool for the modeling process has been derived within the theoretical framework of ‘activity theory’ on the basis of the OCAF scheme for basic modeling operations and the scheme of Stratford et al. [Stratford, S. J., Krajcik, J., & Soloway, E. (1998). Secondary students’ dynamic modeling processes: analyzing, reasoning about, synthesizing, and testing models of stream ecosystems. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 7(3), 215–234.] for higher-order modeling actions. According to our results, four major modeling actions (analysis, synthesis, testing-interpreting, technical and cognitive support) performed through a plethora of modeling operations define the steps of the modeling process in both cases, while specific qualitative differences can be actually identified. Finally, the students’ conceptualizations of the biological aspect of the modeling task in the two-case activity is analyzed in regard with their capability of shifting reasoning between macro- and micro-levels, while educational implications are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper investigates the impact of Ghana's Universal fee-free secondary education policy (FreeSHS) on educational attainment (completion rates). The policy was introduced in the school year 2017/2018, allowing every child to pursue secondary education irrespective of their background. We emphasize the educational outcomes of schoolgirls as they are shown to be at a greater disadvantage when accessing higher education in Ghana. Given the universality of the policy, we estimate a Difference-in-Differences model using variations in the treatment intensity across districts. The treatment and comparison groups are thus defined based on the differences in the uptake rate (changes in the uptake of education due to a price change). The paper draws from a comprehensive panel dataset capturing the demand and supply factors to education across 261 districts in Ghana. The empirical findings suggest that schoolgirls' completion rate increased by 14 percentage points in high uptake districts, whereas the reform impact is estimated at 14.9 percentage points overall (for boys and girls). In effect, the absorption of education costs by the state serves as a critical incentive for cost-constrained households and an efficient measure for correcting market failures related to access and completion of secondary education for girls. • The study shows that Ghana's Free Public Senior High School (FreeSHS) policy has a positive impact on girls' educational attainment. • The absorption of education is a critical incentive for secondary education completion of girls and for reducing gender disparities in enrolment. • The quality of education remains critical and must be enhanced to improve long-term gains beyond secondary education completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents empirical evidence that export growth in China after its WTO accession in 2001 has altered education attainment for Chinese youths. On one hand, China's export expansion after the WTO entry has increased the opportunity cost of schooling and thus has induced many youths to drop out of school at younger ages; but on the other hand, the subsequent trade upgrading has also led to increased demand for additional education at the college level. This paper exploits variation in trade exposure in the timing of youth education decision and trade exposure variation among regions to identify the existence and the relative importance of these two effects of China's WTO accession. We document statistically significant and robust evidence that while export expansion has caused 2 months' reduction in youth schooling on average, it has led to 2 months increase for individuals with at least a high school education. Moreover, we find that the reduction in education is mainly caused by processing exports and predominantly experienced by youths in rural areas and from families with siblings, while the improvement in education can be largely attributed to exports to high income nations and is largely observed for youths from urban areas. Consistent with individuals making rational choices when faced with additional employment opportunities arising from globalization, these findings have important consequences for income distribution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that private tuition to some extent crowds out private schooling. Ceteris paribus it compensates for the teaching quality deficiency in government schools. As long as the cost of private tuition is below a threshold, a household may prefer to send its child to a government school. Using the National Sample Survey 75th Round, 2017–18 data on education in India, we estimate a negative significant impact of the share of private tuition expenditure in monthly per capita expenditure of a household on government school enrolment of its child, who is in the 13–18 age group. With a lower cost of private tuition, the child is sent to a government school and private tuition, rather than to a private school. The result remains robust after controlling for district-level school-related variables. The paper also uses a theoretical model for explaining its empirical finding. The theory argues the empirical results derived in the paper provide hard-to-find evidence in support of the widely held view that on average the unaided private schools in India impart better teaching quality compared to the government schools. The results also help us to understand the likely impact of policies like the crackdown on private tuition as has happened in China recently on school choice and quality of education in a country. • The paper finds evidence that private tuition crowds out private schooling. • It uses data from the National Sample Survey 75th Round, 2017–18 data from India. • The data is for the children in the age group 13–18, secondary and higher secondary schools. • The paper uses a theoretical model for explaining its empirical finding. • It provides evidence that private schools have better teaching quality than government schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper depicts the evolution of gaps in academic performance between native and immigrant background students as they progress from primary to secondary education. We study three cohorts of students in European and traditional English-speaking immigration countries using combinations of international assessment studies (PIRLS, TIMSS and PISA). To address the issue of comparability of test scores across surveys and over time, we exploit rank-based measures of relative performance, which only require ordinal comparability of the data. We do not find significant differences between the academic achievements of immigrant children and their native-born peers in English-speaking receiving countries. By contrast, immigrant-background children – both of first- and of second-generation – exhibit a large achievement gap in primary school in Europe, even when accounting for observable differences in socioeconomic characteristics. The gap tends to narrow down in secondary education in both reading and mathematics but is not fully absorbed in most countries. This finding is noteworthy among second-generation students in systems with early tracking. The performance of students with mixed parents is not markedly different from native students. Diverging educational progress between immigrant children in traditional immigration countries and our sample of European countries seems to reinforce the importance of the initial socioeconomic endowment in shaping the academic trajectories of immigrant children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study looks at the growth of eExams in five countries. An eExam is defined as 'a timed, supervised, summative assessment conducted using each candidate's own computer running a standardised operating system' (eExam, 2017), but local interpretations varied significantly. The literature revealed five main areas for the study: the scale of eExam adoption; assessment integrity (student cheating/security/reliability); eExam accessibility for students with disabilities; eExam architecture and affordances for assessing higher order thinking; and inter-sectoral relationships between universities and schools concerning eExam assessment environments. The methodology was qualitative and interpretist, using the constant comparison method from grounded theory for analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 1990, p. 9). Data were collected through interviews with 17 key individuals and from observations at sites which were purposively identified from the literature as diverse in eExam experience. The results provided a thick and robust description of practical eExam implementation. Adoption scales varied from less than 1% to 40% of examinations. Assessment integrity shared common concerns with pen-on-paper exams, and had some additional features, but were overall no more or less secure. eExams offered access to students with disabilities. The relationship between eExam architectures, affordances and assessment of higher order thinking was complex and contested, closely linked with perceived barriers and enablers. The quality of inter-sectoral relationships with respect to eExams was found to be generally poor. Academic workload reduction was a major enabler of eExams, and the policy drivers for curriculum transformation through improved affordances poorly articulated. Hurdles included lack of prior student experience of eExams. A clear enabler was the national adoption of a pathway to replacing pen-on-paper exams with eExams. Highlights • Provides a rich description of eExams in schools and universities in five countries at a very early stage of adoption. • Identifies enablers and hurdles for the expansion of eExams. • Describes eExam adoption scales, assessment integrity, accessibility, affordances and inter-sectoral relationships. • Reveals tension between the administrative conveniences and pedagogical affordances of eExams. • Shows there are insufficient data on whether curricula being transformed by the adoption of eExams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Many secondary schools address diversity as an aspect of citizenship education. This paper examines how secondary teachers' understandings and practices concerning teaching about diversity are related to school contextual factors, such as student composition and educational track. Semi-structured interviews with 17 teachers at three schools revealed that teachers' understandings and practices regarding diversity are related to their perceptions of the needs and capabilities of their student population. However, teachers rarely addressed diversity in terms of deep-rooted issues, such as inequality and power relations. The paper concludes with implications for teachers and schools and provides suggestions for future research. Highlights • Teachers' diversity-related practices are largely influenced by the school context. • Teachers' diversity-related understandings are less strongly dependent on the school context. • Teachers' understandings and practices are related to their perceptions of the students. • Teachers rarely addressed deep-rooted issues such as inequality and power relations. • Implications for teachers and schools are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper aims to review high-qualified empirical studies on teaching and learning robotics content knowledge in K-12 and explore future research perspectives of robotics education (RE) based on the reviewed papers. After a systematic search in online database via keyword search and snowballing approach, 22 SSCI journal papers are included in this review. Nine major factors are examined for each paper: sample groups, duration, robot types, robotics content knowledge, study type, intervention approaches, measurement instruments, major findings and instructional suggestions. The results indicate that: (1) most empirical studies were endured less than two months with a small sample size, the largest sample group was elementary school students, and most studies used LEGO robots; (2) more than half of the studies conducted a non-experimental research design, and observation, questionnaire, interview and evaluation of artifacts are commonly-used measurement instruments; and (3) instructional suggestions proposed in the 22 papers can be clustered into four themes: open environment, targeted design, appropriate pedagogy and timely support. Overall, the 22 papers suggest that RE shows great educational potential in K-12, however, there are indeed situations in which RE did not bring significant improvement in student learning. In view of this, we prospect the future research directions of RE and propose that more intervention studies with rigorous research design could be conducted in K-12. Highlights • The growing trend of research on robotics education (RE) in K-12 is significant. • RE has the great educational potential in K-12. • RE calls for process evaluation methods and featured pedagogical interventions. • More empirical studies with rigorous design should be done for the future of RE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported in this paper adopted both direct (a large-scale questionnaire survey) and indirect (a verbal-guise test) measures to investigate gender differences in second language (L2) learners’ attitudes towards different English varieties in secondary schools in Hong Kong. The investigation considered various factors affecting students’ attitudes to language including their affective feelings, cultural identity, awareness of language variations, experience of language use, perceived intelligibility of English accents and, more importantly, situational language choices. Consistent with previous studies, the findings suggest that the female learners were more positively oriented towards native speaker (NS) pronunciation and tended to adopt it as their teaching model and learning target; they also had greater confidence than males in their ability to understand British English pronunciation. However, their greater sensitivity to NS standards was found to be limited to high-stakes English-speaking contexts. In contrast, male learners had greater tolerance or acceptance of local pronunciation. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of L2 learners’ gender differences in attitudes for English language education and the design of English language teaching materials and assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines secondary education students' multilingual writing based on two input modalities to understand the influence of input on argumentation and sourcing strategies. Participants produced texts in Basque, Spanish and English based on a video or a text, and texts were analysed to explore their production of argumentation elements and sourcing strategies. Differences were found between input modalities in the use of data and rebuttals, and in copying. Across-language differences were also found in the use of data and counterarguments, and in the use of original ideas and paraphrasing. Additionally, complex argumentation elements elicited more original ideas than simple ones. Findings suggest that different writing sub-processes might be activated when composing from different sources and that argumentation and sourcing might be transferable across languages. These results may have important implications for educators in multilingual programs who aim to support their students in acquiring academic writing skills in multiple languages. • Input modalities influenced students' argumentation and source use strategies. • Across-language differences and similarities were found in source use strategies. • There is a relation between argumentation and source use. • Argumentation and sourcing skills might be transferred across languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many small island developing states, Cape Verde faces a challenge with secondary school completion. The lack of global development goals for secondary education results in the lack of government policies to promote secondary education, which may in effect be partially responsible for the drop in primary school completion The purpose of this paper is to identify the student populations who leave secondary school prior to completion based on Cape Verde’s Ministry of Education data, which is disaggregated by municipality and school. In addition we link these student populations to socioeconomic factors in order to examine possible causes for their abandonment of schooling. This paper intends to draw attention to the issues facing secondary education in a small, developing island nation and highlight policies that have proven effective in similar contexts. The case study of Cabo Verde can be used to generate secondary education policy discussions in other small island developing states (SIDS), as well as other sub-Saharan African nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using multiple datasets on learning outcomes of over 2 million children in the age group 8–16 years from rural India, the paper examines the prevalence and persistence of gender gap in performance in mathematics. We observe significant and persistent gender gap in mathematics, which is not found in reading outcomes. The northern states lag behind and the southern ones show a 'reverse gender gap'. Pre-existing household practices and societal gender norms are found to explain this difference significantly. The findings call for the need to understand these gaps granularly and inform gender-specific educational interventions for mathematics. • The paper examines gender gap in mathematics learning outcomes among rural Indian children. • We find significant gender gap, which is also persistent across time. • Substantial variation across states is observed with 'reverse gender gap' in some. • Patriarchal household practices and gender norms explain this gap significantly. • Gender linked education interventions are needed in states showing persistent gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whenever masculinity and school violence are considered in South African research, the focus is often on the high school. In this paper, we consider a different direction by drawing on Connell’s (1995) concept of hegemonic masculinity to understand the workings of power and violence amongst a group of South African primary school boys. Little is known about how forces of hegemonic masculinity operate to shape every day gender relations amongst younger boys. Against this background, this paper focuses on a particular group of boys, between 10 and 13 years old, who attend a ‘black’, working-class primary school in South Africa. In addition, they identify themselves as ‘real boys’, where being a ‘real boy’ is inextricably linked to violent ‘performances’ of hegemonic masculinity on the school playground during break time. The paper explores how these boys use forms of violence to claim control of the playground space and to exclude, marginalise and denigrate the other group of boys whom they construct as ‘unmasculine’ and ‘gay’. The findings raise implications for ways of curbing the violence, such as working with the boys to promote non-violent interpretations of performing, being and becoming a ‘real boy’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing achievement levels are chronically low for K-12 students. As assessments follow the transition to computer-based writing, differences in technology access may exacerbate students’ difficulties. Indeed, the writing process is shaped by the tools we use and computer-based writing is different from writing with pen and paper. We examine the relationship between reported prior use of computers and students’ achievement on the first national computer-based writing assessment in the United States, the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment. Using data from over 24,100 eighth grade students, we found that prior use of computers for school-related writing had a direct effect on writing achievement scores on the computer-based NAEP assessment. One standard deviation increase in prior use led to a 0.14 and 0.16 standard deviation increase in mean and scaled writing achievement scores respectively, with demographic controls and jackknife weighting in our SEM analysis. We also looked at earlier NAEP assessments and found that prior computer use did not positively affect the earlier pen and paper-based writing assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational decisions are affected by geographical accessibility, which may have far-reaching consequences for young people's future educational pathways. In this paper, we examine the extent to which geographical distance to educational institutions may moderate young people's applications to upper secondary education in terms of both the track and the gender-(a)typicality of vocational fields of study they apply to. Our study relies on rich register-based data of complete cohorts of 16-year-olds applying to Finnish upper secondary institutions, linked with geographical information on their closest educational alternatives. We find that travel time to the academic track is more decisive than the distance to vocational schools, with geographical accessibility being more significant for boys' rather than for girls' application patterns. Moreover, distance sensitivity varied by social origin, with daughters of low-educated parents and sons of medium-educated parents particularly likely to adjust their upper secondary application to the geographical accessibility of educational alternatives. However, we find some indications that particularly girls from lower-educated social backgrounds are more prepared to consider fields of study not typical for their gender if they are more geographically accessible than key alternatives. No such gender-atypical substitutions were evident among boys. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of explanatory approaches based on risk aversion and (gender) socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although multimodal composing (MC) has received growing attention in the field of language education as a textual and literacy practice with significant potential to make learning engaging and motivating, the sources of its motivational capacity as an activity for English learning remain largely unexplored in empirical studies. This paper reports on a study that investigated the experiences and perceptions of 21 students and 5 teachers who participated in a year-long research that engaged students with multimodal composing of video essays in an undergraduate English curriculum in China. Data for this paper were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews and written reflections to examine learners' and teachers' perspectives on what makes English learning with MC engaging and motivating. The findings reveal that the motivational capacity of MC derives from seven factors that students experienced during the MC process: challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation, and recognition. These findings are helpful in informing our understanding of the motivating features of using multimodal text construction as a learning activity in the language classrooms. They also offer implications on how MC can be used to construct a motivating learning environment for contemporary English learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the role of the teacher in relation to moral education in Catholic schools in Australia and Ireland. Literature pertaining to faith-based schooling, the moral role of the teacher and moral education across the curriculum in both countries is outlined. The paper draws on a small-scale study involving a survey with 154 respondents and individual interviews with nine teachers. Some interesting country differences emerged that are indicative of cultural settings. These include pedagogical practices, the nature of teacher–student relationships and levels of awareness of schools' founding charisms. Some implications for moral education in faith-based schools are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on my personal inquiry in which I adopted Exploratory Practice (EP) to enhance the team-teaching opportunity in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. Two pairs of team teachers and their students from two Japanese high schools participated in this EP inquiry, which consisted of multiple activities, including class observations, pair discussions, group discussions, EP story writing and reflective classes. This paper focuses on the experience of the team teachers. Relevant data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings suggest that the teachers came to understand and followed, or ‘actualized’ seven EP principles involving ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘how’ issues. Factors affecting EP actualization and implications related to EP studies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their advanced status, nations such as the United States of America continue to face a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) crisis in their education system. Lack of effective teaching modalities that can leverage real-world examples to stimulate student interest in STEM concepts are identified as one of the reasons for this crisis. To address these challenges, our research is investigating the use of innovative and attractive modeling and simulation frameworks for concurrent, interactive and collaborative STEM education where vehicular traffic serves as the real-world example to reify STEM concepts. Existing traffic-related tools, such as traffic simulators, however, do not provide: (1) intuitive abstractions to construct, refine, and simulate various traffic models that are commensurate to the level of high school students, (2) concurrent and scalable model execution, and (3) collaborative learning environments. On the other hand, although intuitive abstractions such as Google Maps exist, these abstractions do not support semantics for dynamic behavior, which is representative of real-world traffic scenarios. To overcome both these challenges and address the STEM problem, this paper presents a Cloud-based, Collaborative, and Scaled-up Modeling and Simulation Framework for STEM Education called C 2 SuMo. The key contribution of this paper lies in the design and implementation of a cloud-based, elastic modeling and simulation framework that provides an intuitive, model-driven, collaborative, and concurrent visual simulation environment for STEM education. The paper also reports on insights we gained conducting a user study involving over sixty high school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has the world's biggest and arguably most aggressive employment-based affirmative action policy for minorities. This paper exploits the institutional features of a federally mandated employment quota policy to examine its causal impact on the economic lives of the two distinct minority groups (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). My main finding is that a 1-percentage point increase in the employment quota for Scheduled Castes increases the likelihood of obtaining a salaried job by 0.6-percentage points for male Scheduled Caste members residing in the rural sector. The employment quota policy has no impact for Scheduled Tribes. Contrary to popular notion, I do not find evidence of "elite-capture" among the Scheduled Castes – the impact is concentrated among members who have completed less than secondary education. Consistent with the employment results, I find that the policy improved the well-being of Scheduled Castes members in rural areas who have completed less than secondary education. Finally, the impact of the employment quota policy varies by state characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to examine the boundary zone of teacher professional development within a multi-agency collaborative project. It highlights different goals, histories, and commitments that collided and intermingled to create tensions, contradictions, and opportunities for expansive learning. Although a policy mandate, use of the English Language Arts-Common Core State Standards created a common goal, however, interagency participants acted under strikingly different conceptions of effective teacher professional development. In an era of increased collaboration among agencies, this paper reconceptualizes interagency teacher professional development, serving as both a cautionary tale and a vision for the future. • Multi-agency collaboration brings with it institutional and organizational histories. • Competing philosophies can be masked by a common goal. • Unearthing contradictions can lead to transformative change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the field of Game-based Learning (GBL) location-based games are based on pervasive and mobile learning to allow the creation of in situ learning activities considering gamification mechanisms. In these learning activities collaboration often plays an important role. Usually, groups of students have to perform different tasks with single mobile device. This paper studies the effects of sharing a mobile device within groups and the size of groups in students’ engagement and their activity performance in an indoor location-based learning activity. In particular, the paper focuses on a game designed by a secondary education teacher to support a learning activity in a contemporary art museum. The teacher’s design has been implemented using “QuesTInSitu: The Game” technology. A total of 76 students played the game during a 3-h activity in the museum. The analysis of the data shows that while there are not important differences in the satisfaction with the activity of the students carrying and not carrying the mobile device within their groups, carrying the device does have a significant (positive) impact in their performance. Group size (4 vs. 5 members) does not seem to be a variable affecting individuals’ performance but students in 4-member groups express higher levels of engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the provision of life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment is central to the medical and policy response to the HIV pandemic, relatively little research in the SADC region and in Namibia particularly, attends to HIV-positive people's experiences and the social effects of taking ARV treatment, with children being least focused on. The study from which the paper is drawn contributes to this dearth by examining the experiences of HIV-positive high school learners on ARV treatment in Khomas Region, Namibia. The study adopted a qualitative case study design based mainly on individual interviews with a purposive, select sample of eight learners at the site school where one of the authors is a teacher-counsellor. Pervasive stigma and discrimination in school notwithstanding, learner journeys reflect shifts from deep despair towards the emergence of voice, positive self-concept, as well as resilient dispositions and behaviour. Using a theory of health-related stigma and discrimination, this paper does two things. First, it contributes to understanding the complex reciprocal relationship between cause and effect of stigma and the attendant discriminatory practices emerging from ‘othering’ and marking the ‘other’ as aberrant. Second, it raises pressing questions on the place and position of schools and teachers in high HIV prevalence contexts, characterized by pervasive stigma and discrimination and where stable family structures, parental oversight and ‘normal’ progression through school cannot be assumed. It raises questions on the nature and form of school support necessary to positively contribute to learner well-being and school completion for those HIV positive and on ARV treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the nationwide school-feeding programme—the Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)—in India as its anchor, this paper critically evaluates the use of schools as sites for discharging social policies. Data from semi structured interviews ( N = 26) and focus groups ( N = 8) conducted in a north Indian village provide evidence that the community distrusts the central and the regional governments and regards state run schools as deficient institutions. In such a social climate, the community perceived the MDMS as an evil governmental design to distract poor people from education. Such representations, the paper argues, further erode the faith of the community in state run schools. Crucially, data from the study indicate that the MDMS has contributed to a shift in community representations of schools from being a site for imparting education to that of an institution providing free meals. It is argued that such a shift in community representations of schools may hinder the agenda of promoting education in disadvantaged settings. The paper concludes by identifying two critical considerations in using schools as the site of social policy: (a) the symbolic environments of meaning making which inform local interpretations of policies; and (b) the local meaning making and representations that communities develop of new or existing social policies. The theory of social representation informs the arguments made in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on the analysis of a questionnaire survey with teachers and 10th-grade students who took the Cambridge Ordinary Level (O-level) and national secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations in mathematics, English, and Divehi language in the Republic of Maldives. A total of 517 students and 60 subject teachers from eight schools took part in this survey, and the responses from students were matched up with their examination scores in three subjects. The primary objective of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the students’ performance in three subjects. Based on that, it considers the implications of employing an international examination system to certify students of the national education system in Maldives. Because of the limited capacity in running a mass education system, this small island state uses an externally-developed examination system for many years. However, the study reveals that the students’ performance in O-level exams largely depends on the households’ socio-economic conditions and learning environment at home. Factors related to teachers and teaching–learning processes in school do not have much impact. While the government is reforming the curriculum to be more learner-centered and relevant to the national context, the externally-developed exams conflict with such drive for nationalization and widen the gap of educational outcomes among students with and without extra support from the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching basic computational concepts and skills to school children is currently a curricular focus in many countries. Running parallel to this trend are advances in programming environments and teaching methods which aim to make computer science more accessible, and more motivating. In this paper, we describe the design and evaluation of Flip, a programming language that aims to help 11–15 year olds develop computational skills through creating their own 3D role-playing games. Flip has two main components: 1) a visual language (based on an interlocking blocks design common to many current visual languages), and 2) a dynamically updating natural language version of the script under creation. This programming-language/natural-language pairing is a unique feature of Flip, designed to allow learners to draw upon their familiarity with natural language to “decode the code”. Flip aims to support young people in developing an understanding of computational concepts as well as the skills to use and communicate these concepts effectively. This paper investigates the extent to which Flip can be used by young people to create working scripts, and examines improvements in their expression of computational rules and concepts after using the tool. We provide an overview of the design and implementation of Flip before describing an evaluation study carried out with 12–13 year olds in a naturalistic setting. Over the course of 8 weeks, the majority of students were able to use Flip to write small programs to bring about interactive behaviours in the games they created. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in their computational communication after using Flip (as measured by a pre/post-test). An additional finding was that girls wrote more, and more complex, scripts than did boys, and there was a trend for girls to show greater learning gains relative to the boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flourishing relationships are at the core of teachers' work and effective pedagogy. This paper presents an exploratory case study of 59 secondary schoolteachers to investigate the role that gratitude may have in enhancing teacher–student relationships. Although the potential of gratitude has been gaining international attention in the areas of positive and social psychology, there have only been a few studies on the effect of teachers' gratitude. The paper presents a conceptual framework that postulates the meaning and significance of gratitude in this context and then describes a qualitative case study. Results indicate that gratitude impacted positively on the teachers, classroom and school environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Informatics or computer science (the terms informatics and computer science are used as synonyms in this paper) in Austrian secondary schools is often considered “difficult” and “not interesting” because of mainly mathematical and economical contents. But informatics is much more; it is used in almost every part of the working life and can also cooperate with every subject at school. It offers a wide range of possibilities for COOL (COoperative Open Learning), an Austrian teaching model based on the Dalton Plan that provides also cooperation between different subject matters. Besides the COOL concept this paper describes some ideas for cooperation between informatics and foreign languages at secondary schools and at University level besides just ICT (Information and Communication Technology) or computer-assisted language learning. The presented tasks are part of the project “COOL Informatics” (according to COoperative Open Learning) that aims at developing COOL teaching material based on neurodidactical (Neurodidactics is a relatively young research field that combines the findings of brain research, pedagogy, cognitive psychology and other related fields.) principles for informatics and cross-curricular cooperation from primary school up to University. On the basis of the developed material the following main research questions of the project shall be examined in the course of the next school year: (1) Can COoperative Open Learning methods help to enhance learning? (2) Can learning be enhanced by considering neurodidactical principles in the design of teaching material and in the classroom? As the first test phase of the developed material is still in progress the evaluation is not available at the moment. But the first informal feedback of a vocational school and a programming course at the University shows that it is worth fostering COoperative Open Learning and cross-curricular cooperation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper arises from a concern that in English-as-foreign-language (EFL) curricula there are apparently unsystematic and linguistically under-theorized approaches to language development. The paper explores EFL unit plans across upper primary and lower secondary schooling, in a context where secondary school graduates need English mainly for academic purposes. Such plans are important because worthwhile learning generally relates to planning quality. Planning includes the selection of relevant and appropriate texts. The focus of this paper, therefore, is on the evaluation of the extent to which the texts in the unit plans might enable English academic language development. The paper employs systemic functional linguistics (SFL) to analyze four texts directly linked to academic writing tasks, within a sub-set of unit plans from a larger study''s database of taught unit plans. The analysis reveals evidence of limitations in academic language development planning. Such limitations are highly problematic in contexts where EFL is needed for academic purposes. I argue for more theoretically grounded, cumulative, explicit developmental progression in EFL planning documents; more visibility of language itself in planning EFL development; and a more relevant discourse-level model of language which can be judiciously applied to planning processes across educational levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The democratization of education in Malaysia has come a long way since the early 1960s. In the early 1990s, the government decided to democratize secondary education in order to widen formal access to secondary education, especially at the upper secondary level. It is the contention of this paper that the widening of formal access to education may not lead to real access to education if effective measures are not put in place. It is also the contention of this paper that the democratization of education that leads to the massification of education or mass education should not be at the expense of educational quality and excellence if it wants to have a more significant impact on the actual outcomes of schooling. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part provides the background information on educational expansion that stems from the democratization of secondary education such as enrolment rates, number of schools and teachers as well as organizational adjustments. The second part examines the problems and challenges of the democratization of secondary education in relation to issues such as diverse needs of students, disciplinary problems, school dropouts, urban and rural disparity, preferential policy and educational quality and excellence. All these issues have an impact on the desirable outcomes of the democratization of secondary education as far as real access to education as well as equality and quality of education are concerned. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a kind of computer software that allows people to work with digital maps in a fast and flexible way. In the past decade, more and more geography teachers have become interested in the possibilities of using GIS in secondary education. However, teaching with GIS is complex, and little is known about how to do so in an optimal way. Therefore, an Educational Design Research study (EDR) was conducted with the aim to explore the characteristics of an optimal design for GIS-supported geographic inquiry projects. In this EDR study, a project was developed via progressive cycles of designing, testing, and evaluating, together with teachers from different schools. This paper summarizes the outcomes of the EDR study, and presents some design principles for GIS-supported inquiry-based geography education. Teachers could use these design principles to design and conduct GIS-supported geographic inquiry projects, and in such a way raise their geography lessons to a higher level. This paper also shows that although GIS provides many opportunities for enhancing inquiry-based geography projects, it also holds many conditions for its use to be optimal. GIS-supported inquiry-based geography education requires more than providing appropriate software, tasks, and coaching to ensure that students do not get stuck. In order to effectively raise students’ geographic thinking to a higher level, the project should offer a considerable amount of guidance: it should include several preparatory and evaluative tasks based on a good domain-specific theory for use in educational settings. In addition, teachers should coach students in structuring, correcting, and expanding their geographic thinking via dialogical teaching. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• We examine the relationships between secondary education completion and adulthood outcomes in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. • Completing secondary education is associated with higher media access and somewhat better health related knowledge. • Secondary completion is not uniformly associated with a greater sense of agency, disapproval of domestic violence and preference for female children. • Those with completed secondary education are not necessarily more likely to be employed than those without. • Analysis raises questions about the "promise" and the "relevance" of secondary education as currently delivered in many low-income countries. In this paper we examine descriptively the relationships between completed secondary education and social, informational, and economic adulthood outcomes of 15–24 year old males and females in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. We find that completing secondary education is associated with higher media access and somewhat better health related knowledge. However we also find that completing secondary education is not necessarily associated with a greater sense of agency within the family, disapproval of domestic violence against women and preference for female children. Importantly we find that those with completed secondary education are not necessarily more likely to be employed than those without. Against the backdrop where secondary education completion is increasingly recognized and promoted as an important educational benchmark for youth, our analysis raises questions both about the "promise" and the "relevance" of secondary education as it is currently delivered in many low-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older women with nonmetastatic breast cancer can often choose from several surgery and radiation treatment options. Little is known regarding how these choices contribute to decisional regret, which is a negative emotion reflecting the idea that another surgery or radiation decision might have been preferable. We sought to characterize the burden of and examine potential risk factors for local therapy decisional regret among a population-based cohort of older breast cancer survivors. National Medicare claims for age ≥67 female breast cancer incident in 2009 identified patients treated with lumpectomy plus whole-breast irradiation, brachytherapy, or endocrine therapy or mastectomy with or without radiation. We sampled 330 patients per treatment group (N = 1650), of whom 1253 agreed to receive a paper survey including the Decisional Regret Scale and EQ-5D-3L Health-Utility Scale. Local therapy regret was defined as neutral or worse response to questions regarding surgery- or radiation-related decisional regret. Local therapy regret risk factors were evaluated using a multivariable generalized linear model. Association of local therapy regret with health utility was modeled using multivariable linear regression. The response rate was 30.2% (n = 498 of 1650); 421 surveys were included in this analysis. Median diagnosis age was 72 years, and surveys were completed 6 years after diagnosis. Overall, 23.8% of respondents (n = 100) reported experiencing local therapy decisional regret. Type of local therapy was not associated with local therapy regret. Predictors of increased regret included black race (risk ratio [RR], 2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-3.29), high school education or less (RR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.27-2.75), and axillary nodal dissection (RR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.33-3.41). Local therapy regret was not associated with health utility (P =.37). Local therapy regret afflicts nearly one quarter of our cohort of older breast cancer survivors, and it is associated with black race, less education, and more extensive nodal dissection, but not breast surgery. Regret is distinct from health utility, suggesting that it is a unique psychosocial construct that merits further study and mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dialogical use of technology can support creation of dialogic space for co-creating. • Characterization of co-creative processes in an interactive technology framework. • The design of technology-enhanced dialogic pedagogy for collaborative creativity. • Analytical framework to capture interactions between digital technology and dialogue for co-creativity. • Technology features: visibility, responsiveness, multimodality, provisionality, re-usability and tangibility. This research expands our understanding on the role of interactive technologies to draw learners into a dialogic space capable to promote ways of thinking creatively together. Grounded on dialogic theory, the research examines and characterizes the emergence of co-creative processes in an interactive technology framework. To this end, this paper reports on an empirical study with secondary-school students who followed a technology-enhanced dialogic pedagogy that promotes co-creativity in real secondary-education classrooms. Qualitative methodology was used to document real-life multimodal interaction. The video data was processed in different phases to develop an analytical framework capable of identifying strings of episodes indicating typical facets of technology-enhanced co-creative processes. Results provided seven typical co-creative facets: 1) collective framing of the task; 2) overcoming technological challenges; 3) engagement in generating a shared pool of ideas; 4) developing intersubjectivity; 5) fusing ideas for a new perspective; 6) evaluation of ideas and 7) making ideas a reality. Furthermore, the findings show that each co-creative facet covers specific objectives in the co-creativity cycle and presents distinct features along three key dimensions: a) co-creative processes involved, b) typical discourse features and, c) dialogic use of specific technology affordances (e.g. visibility, interactivity, responsiveness, multimodal representation, provisional, stability, re-usability) for co-creating. Future educational implications to design a more effective technology-enhanced dialogic pedagogy that can connect learners to their creative potential are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we model the non-linear effect of FDI on disaggregated levels of human capital development in selected African countries. Our sample is based on a panel data consisting of nine African countries from 2000 to 2017. To ensure robustness in our analysis, we employed a GMM instrumental variable estimation technique with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors to control for endogeneity, sectional and temporal dependency. The result indicates that different level of human capital reported mixed findings. The effect of FDI on primary education is characterised by an inverted U-shaped relationship, whereas tertiary education exhibits a U-shaped pattern. Conversely, the relationship between FDI and secondary education is insignificant. The non-linear term of FDI indicates that there is a turning point before/after which the human capital-augmenting hypothesis is supported. Policy implications drawn from this study suggest FDI can be used as a catalyst to augment primary and tertiary education enrolment rates, skills enhancement and human capital development. However, not all levels of FDI will result in positive gains. The optimal effect of FDI depends on the quantity of FDI before/after the turning point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract How does availability of education affect who becomes a political representative? Theorists have pointed out that access to education is a key to a well-functioning democracy, but few empirical studies have examined how changes in the access to education influence the chances of becoming a politician. In this paper, we analyze the effects of a large series of school openings in Sweden during the early 20th century, which provided adolescents with better access to secondary education. We use administrative data pertaining to the entire Swedish population born between 1916 and 1945. According to our empirical results, the opening of a new lower secondary school in a municipality increased the baseline probability of running for political office by 10–20%, and the probability of holding office by 20–30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We analyze the inequality of opportunities at two successive levels of education. • Inequality of opportunity in Colombia persists from secondary to undergrad studies. • Students' predetermined circumstances increasingly affect their performance. • Finishing undergrad faster mitigates part of the initial inequalities. Abstract Education is an instrument for citizens to improve their welfare and income, but opportunities to access and attain education are unequally distributed. This paper analyzes how predetermined characteristics affect students' achievement in two standardized tests, one taken at the end of their secondary education (between 2000 and 2007) and the other when finishing their undergrad studies (2011). The results, using data from Colombia, indicate that the inequality of educational opportunities at both levels of education has increased over time, but that students who finish their undergrad studies in less time manage to mitigate part of the inequality of opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Human capital development, including the expansion and improvement of schooling, has played a crucial role in Vietnam's strong and relatively inclusive economic growth in recent years. Universal access to primary and lower secondary education have been achieved, but progression to upper secondary remains, for the most part, rationed by entrance examinations and the payment of fees. Both supply and access have improved strongly at upper secondary level since the 1990s, in line with rising demand for higher skilled school-leavers. However, it is less clear whether access to upper secondary schooling, and its wider social and economic benefits, is provided equitably. In this paper we employ a unique longitudinal dataset to examine the patterns of both access and attainment in upper secondary education in Vietnam. We consider their implications for equitable educational progression and the extent to which, in light of these patterns, the system can be described as meritocratic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Our study finds that 6.9 percent of grade 7 students did not finish school, along with 12.3 percent of grade 8 students. • The social aspect of student dropout in rural China merits attention. • Push-out and pull-out peer factors are significantly associated with dropout. • Unstable peer relations can increase student dropout by 7 percentage points. • Association with dropout peers also significantly increases risk of dropout. Abstract A startling number of students drop out from junior high school in rural China every year. Little is known about the social aspect of the dropout process in rural China. The goal of this paper is to examine the relationship between student peer relations and dropout behavior in rural China's junior high schools. Covering 4596 students in 38 schools, our study finds that 6.9 percent of grade 7 students did not finish school, along with 12.3 percent of grade 8 students. Using a "push out and pull out" framework to understand peer relations, results suggest that both push out and pull out factors are strongly associated with student dropout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract There has been an increased emphasis on designing integrated STEM learning environments for K-12 students that facilitate seamless learning of disciplinary concepts infused with science inquiry, engineering design, mathematical reasoning, and technological skills. However, there is limited prior research investigating how to facilitate such integrated STEM learning in formal classrooms that go beyond a simple combination of the different subject areas and instead enable teaching and learning of disciplinary concepts infused with scientific inquiry, engineering design, mathematical reasoning, and 21st century technological skills. In this paper, we investigate the affordances of using an educational Computer Aided Design tool, Energy 3D, and corresponding curricular materials to support such integrated STEM learning anchored in the engineering design process. We present an exploratory case study that was conducted in a middle school in the US, where a project-based learning approach was followed and students were asked to design a low-cost energy-efficient home within a given budget using the Energy3D CAD tool. Findings indicate that students learned to engage in the design process and demonstrated practices of idea fluency and systematic experimentation; practices usually representative of informed designers. During the design process while analyzing the problem space, generating ideas, and evaluating solutions, they developed better understanding of the relationships between variables and underlying science concepts, used various mathematical analysis tools and graphical representations embedded in the available technology to inform their engineering design decisions. The learning environment using Energy3D afforded formative feedback to help students understand relationship between variables, provided converging evidences using multiple analytical tools, and enabled visual problem decomposition using suboptimal model to engage students in integrated STEM learning. This study provides a platform for future research investigating the effectiveness of educational CAD tools and curricular scaffolds designed specifically for K-12 students for supporting integrated STEM learning anchored in the design process. Highlights • Affordances of CAD enabled integrated STEM learning environment was investigated. • Students demonstrated improved understanding of cause and effect relationships. • Technology based mathematical analysis tools used to inform design decisions. • Demonstrated idea fluency and performed systematic controlled experiments. • Formative feedback, converging evidence, visual problem decomposition was afforded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Based on Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), this study explored senior secondary students' multiple L2 selves when they enrolled in English private tutoring (EPT) courses. Through narrative inquiry, this paper analysed 18 Hong Kong Secondary Six (Grade 12) students' English learning experiences and their motivation for learning English and subscribing to EPT. Each participant completed a questionnaire, wrote three pieces of reflective writing and responded to six individual interviews throughout the year of study. The findings indicated that language learning converged from diverse activities to examination drilling at senior secondary school years. The learners possessed insecure actual L2 selves, revealing a discrepancy with their future L2 selves consisting of dominant ought-to L2 selves and suppressed ideal L2 selves. This study contributes to research in language learning by unveiling EPT learners' formation of L2 selves in a context of high-stakes testing. The findings contribute to the development of the L2MSS by operationalising the actual L2 self, its discrepancy with possible L2 selves, and the interrelationship between ideal and ought-to L2 selves. The study calls for further research to bridge the fields of shadow education and language learning given the significant role EPT plays in shaping learners' out-of-school L2 learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We are currently off-track to achieve many human-development related SDGs indicator target values by 2030 or 2050. • Pursuing alternative development pathways can improve SDG indicator achievement. • While reducing consumption improves environmental related goals, it does little to improve human development. • SDGs should be analyzed at the country level—regional analysis can wash-out developmental differences. • Some alternative development paths lead to synergies that enhance other target achievement while others lead to trade-offs. Abstract How achievable are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across different policy pathways? In this paper we model three alternative policy pathways for achieving SDG targets: technology, lifestyle change, and decentralized governance. We use countries that historically have developed rapidly to scale alternative pathways in an integrated assessment platform and explore the achievability of nine human development related SDGs to 2050. We find that combining all interventions leads to 63 percent of SDG target values achieved by 2030 and 89 percent by 2050, falling short of full achievement. The global technology pathway is the most successful at improving human development while the reduced consumption pathway is least successful. Achievement in lower secondary education, sanitation, and electricity lag behind other indicators across each of these scenarios. We also show that the geographic level of analysis matters significantly in assessing SDG achievement: assessed via global population, many SDGs appear achievable, but assessed at the country level, many small poor countries do not achieve targets in any scenario. This suggests that these most vulnerable countries (MVCs) should be the focus of a global effort to sustainably improve human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Drawing from a corpus of video-recorded classes in 6 and 7 grade groups in an Italian secondary school and in two 3 grade groups in a primary school, the article investigates one specific format used by teachers to reproach students for their untoward conduct. The analysis focuses on cases where, in contrast to other less explicit formats, teachers refer to students’ ongoing behaviour as ‘wrong’ with direct descriptions of the misconduct. Reproaches of this type employ a conditional structure in which the event and its negative consequences are described in detail. The paper argues for this specific type of reproach as displaying similarities with repair sequences in that it operates retroactively () to locate in prior courses of actions the source for the reproach (or the ‘reproachable’). Building on a detailed analysis of turn construction, word selection, and sequential deployment, the paper shows that a preference organization is in order in the accomplishment of reproaches. In comparison to prior literature on this topic, and in contrast to other documented way of treating recipients’ untoward conduct as caused by their inability, the paper documents the way in which other peoples’ conduct can be explicitly constructed as wrong and, as such, reproachable; thus holding the recipient as culpable for not having avoided a course of action that is not amendable. The paper argues for further research in the domain of classroom reproaches, as having implications for the understanding both of action formation mechanisms in ordinary and institutional interaction and of the different activities that contribute to the sense of formality of classroom interaction beyond instruction activities and academic talk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An applied Information Technology (IT) course that is assessed using pen and paper may sound incongruous but it is symptomatic of the state of high-stakes assessment in jurisdictions such as Western Australia. Whereas technology has permeated most aspects of modern life, including schooling, and more has been demanded of education systems in terms of outcomes and participation, methods of summative assessment have changed little and are seriously out of alignment with curriculum, pedagogy and the needs of individuals and society. This paper reports on an analysis of some of the data from a component of a study into the feasibility of using digital technologies to achieve greater authenticity in summative performance assessment in the Applied Information Technology (AIT) course in Western Australian secondary schools. In the first phase of the study a sample of 115 students completed a digital portfolio and a computer-based exam that were both externally assessed using online tools and by two methods of marking, with the results analysed using Rasch modelling software. A traditional analytical method and a comparative pairs method of marking were investigated. The study found that both the digital portfolio and computer-based exam were implemented without significant technical difficulty and were well accepted by the students and teachers. The work output in digital form was readily accessed from an online repository by external markers using a standard web browser. The two methods of marking provided highly reliable scores, with those from the comparative pairs method being the more reliable. A number of questions of validity and manageability were raised and the strengths and weaknesses of the two forms of assessment revealed. It was concluded that it was feasible to implement either form of assessment for high-stakes purposes, with a resulting improvement in alignment and authenticity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on gender awareness issues as a dimension of addressing the wider issue of the quality of education in Pakistan from the perspective of social justice. In Pakistan classrooms, boys and girls learn separately and therefore teachers and others tend to think that there are no gender issues once access is achieved and the learners are in the classroom. However, beyond access there are several factors that compromise quality of education and raise issues for gender equity as an element of social justice. These issues are examined in the context of a professional development intervention on promoting gender awareness among secondary mathematics teachers in disadvantaged schools in rural Pakistan. Drawing upon the seminal work of the paper posits that teacher professional development for gender awareness and more broadly should raise teachers’ consciousness and enable them to develop their capabilities to function in ways that are valued by them and are not necessarily adaptive to dominant social forces. The paper raises significant issues for policy and practice in school education and teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the flexibility of Personal Response Systems (PRSs), (also known as ‘clickers’ or electronic voting systems (EVS)), as part of strategies to support students’ learning in science. Whilst variants of this technology began to appear 12 years ago, there is now a steadily increasing adoption of these systems within higher education, including science programmes, and this use has grown significantly in the last six years. They have previously been shown to offer a measurable learning benefit. Typically, someone at an institution buys these systems for learning support and they never make it out of their cases. Far less work has been done with these systems at school level. In this practitioner based paper, the broad range of practical uses for these systems is described in a variety of formal and informal learning situations – from testing the understanding of science concepts (from primary aged school children up to physics undergraduates), to undertaking evaluation of events as well as public participation in data collection for research on attitudes to careers. In addition, the data collected on such handsets can be mapped to demographic factors such as gender and age yielding further layers of analysis. Overall this is a highly flexible and transferable approach to the use of interactive technology for engaging learners of all ages as well as carrying out research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • A classification related to teachers' responses to students' texts is elaborated. • Profiles of assessment practices in Elementary and Secondary Education are proposed. • Assessment related to spelling and grammar is the best predictor of global grades. • There are relevant differences in assessment profiles in both educational levels. Abstract One of the most widespread practices in compulsory education is the annotation of feedback messages by teachers on texts written by students. The aim of this paper is to describe the nature of these types of teachers' responses, in order establish possible profiles of assessment practices in Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as to identify which aspects of writing a story are considered more important in writing assessment. An analysis was made of 10,585 assessment messages which 41 schoolteachers in Elementary and Compulsory Secondary Education wrote on short stories composed by 393 students from various schools. The assessment notes were categorized according to code, place, extension, assessment content, and implicit metalinguistic content. Findings reveal the predominance of direct correction of specific spelling and grammar mistakes. The frequency of these corrections is, additionally, the best predictor of the global grade given by the teacher for the composition. Therefore, we conclude that teachers of compulsory education approach assessment of narrative texts from a conception which places excessive emphasis on more local and superficial aspects of the composition in detriment of other semantic, rhetorical or pragmatic aspects. Some teachers, however, mostly in Secondary Education, also recorded non-corrective assessment content, such as markings, questions, suggestions for expansion, or justifications. Certain assessment patterns are evident, which combine other types of evaluation (semantic-organizational, or superficial). Finally, the limitations and implications of those results toward teacher training are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia the under-representation of women in computer science reflects the under-representation of women at the highest levels of government and business. In this paper we argue, therefore, that change is going to require a cohesive multi-level analysis and intervention approach. To illustrate how such an approach might look, we draw on social psychologist Uri Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological systems theory to analyse a national survey with secondary school computer science teachers we conducted in 2017. By employing this analysis we can see that student interest and engagement in computer science is impacted by their teachers, peers and parents (microsystem) who sit within a wider community, educational and industry network (mesosystem) which in turn is influenced by their access to relevant human and physical infrastructure (and the policies that shape it) in their school and social environments (exosystem) and by the broader values and rhetoric around gender and Digital Technologies in the wider Australian community (macrosystem). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines secondary school students' perception of the climate in their classrooms with reference to inclusive education. A key objective of the study was also to examine psychometric properties of a newly developed Inclusion Climate Scale (ICS). Data were obtained using a paper-pencil survey in which 699 students (age = 10–17 years) from North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) participated. The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors (Factor I: Teacher Support and Care; Factor II: Emotional Experience). The Inclusion Climate Scale along with the two factors it contains showed satisfactory reliability and validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper introduces a methodology for analyzing the knowledge construction and misconstruction processes occurring in online asynchronous discussion for Secondary 2 (Grade 8) students. The use of purposive sampling targeting specific students in a single course forum could potentially advance understanding of these processes using Knowledge Construction – Message Map (KCMM) and Knowledge Construction – Message Graph (KCMG). This paper traced the communication patterns and knowledge construction as well as misconstruction processes of students working in groups to formulate scientific ideas. This methodology reveals the dynamics of asynchronous discussion through mapping and quantifying the electronic learning process. This will equip educational practitioners and researchers with a useful tool for describing online interaction through adoption of a measurement methodology more systematic and effective than anecdotally. The research findings suggest that self-directed learning through asynchronous discussion has to be monitored by facilitators as learners possessed misconceptions that could potentially mislead other participants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]