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Der Übergang in die Sekundarstufe stellt für Kinder ein normativ kritisches Lebensereignis dar, das unterschiedlich bewertet und bewältigt wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit der Frage, welche Schutzfaktoren dazu beitragen, dass Kinder dem Übergang mit Gefühlen der Vorfreude begegnen und sie dieses Ereignis problemorientiert bewältigen. Untersucht werden 596 ViertklässlerInnen aus Bayern und Hessen vor dem Übergang in die Sekundarstufe. In Anlehnung an die kognitiv-transaktionale Theorie von Lazarus und Folkman (1984) werden die Zusammenhänge von primärer Bewertung als Herausforderung und problemorientierter Stressbewältigung unter Berücksichtigung von personalen (akademisches Selbstkonzept, Selbstwirksamkeit) und sozialen Schutzfaktoren (Familienzusammenhalt, allgemeines förderndes Elternverhalten) analysiert. Mithilfe von Strukturgleichungsmodellen lassen sich Mediationseffekte der Schutzfaktoren nachweisen. Insbesondere das akademische Selbstkonzept und ein förderliches Familienumfeld erweisen sich als bedeutsame protektive Faktoren in der Phase vor dem Übergang., Transition to secondary school constitutes a normative critical life event for children, which is evaluated and managed individually. The present study focuses on the role of protective factors helping children to approach this transition with emotions of pleasant anticipation and problem-focused coping. 596 fourth graders from Bavaria and Hesse were examined prior to their transition to secondary school. Referring to the cognitive-transactional theory from Lazarus and Folkman (1984), correlations between primary appraisal as a challenge and problem-focused coping in consideration of personal (academic self-concept, self-efficacy) and social protective factors (family cohesion, general supportive parent behavior) have been analyzed. Using structural equation models, the mediation effects of protective factors can be confirmed. Academic self-concept and a supportive family environment particularly proved to be protective factors prior to the transition.

Zusammenfassung In diesem Beitrag werden die individuell verschiedenen Verlaufe der Interessensentwicklung innerhalb der Schulfacher Deutsch, Mathematik und Englisch anhand eines personenzentrierten Ansatzes untersucht. Unter Ruckgriff auf die BiKS-8-14 Studie werden Daten von N=1301 Schulerinnen und Schulern von der 4. bis zur 7. Jahrgangsstufe analysiert. Die Ergebnisse der latenten Klassenanalyse verweisen auf Subgruppen von Schulerinnen und Schulern mit spezifischen Interessensverlaufen. Es ergeben sich funf latente Klassen, die sowohl stabil undifferenzierte, zunehmend undifferenzierte als auch differenzierte Interessensprofile aufzeigen. Fur die Annahme einer zunehmenden Differenzierung der Fachinteressen im Schulverlauf findet sich jedoch nur geringe Evidenz. Schlagworter: Interessensentwicklung, Fachinteresse, Latente Klassenanalyse ----- Development of Students‘ Interests in Language Arts, Mathematics and English during Adolescence: A Person-Centered Approach Abstract In this paper, a person-centered approach is used to investigate the various ways in which students’ interests in Language Arts, mathematics and English (as a first foreign language in school) develop over time. Based on the BiKS-8-14 study data of N = 1301, students are analyzed from grade 4 to grade 7. The findings of the latent class analysis point to sub-groups of students with different structures of interest development. These include five different latent classes. The respective profiles of interest development include stable, undifferentiated, increasingly undifferentiated and differentiated patterns of interest development. However, little evidence was found for a pattern of increasingly differentiated interests during the school course. Keywords: Interest development, Subject interests, Latent-Class-Analysis ----- Bibliographie: Schurtz, Irene/Artelt, Cordula: Die Entwicklung des Fachinteresses Deutsch, Mathematik und Englisch in der Adoleszenz: Ein personenzentrierter Ansatz, Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung, 3-2014, S. 285-301. https://doi.org/10.3224/diskurs.v9i3.16623

Zusammenfassung In der vorliegenden Studie galt es, soziale Kompetenz als Moderator in der Beziehung von soziomotivationalen Schuler-Beziehungen und Motivation in einer grosen Stichprobe von Schuler/-innen der 7. und 8. Klassen (N= 1088; MAge= 13.7) an Brandenburger Gymnasien und Oberschulen zu testen. Mittels latenter moderierter Strukturgleichungsanalyse (LMS) wurden mogliche Interaktionseffekte von sozialer Kompetenz und sozio-motivationalen Schuler-Beziehungen in Bezug auf die Motivation der Schuler/-innen getestet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass soziale Kompetenz die Beziehung zwischen der wahrgenommenen Schuler-Schuler-Beziehung und extrinsischer Motivation sowie Ausdauer und Fleis moderiert. Zusatzlich fungiert soziale Kompetenz als Moderator zwischen Peers als positiven Motivatoren und intrinsischer Motivation sowie Ausdauer und Fleis. Zusammenfassend lasst sich festhalten, dass positiv wahrgenommene Peer-Beziehungen basierend auf sozialer Kompetenz einen effektiven Ansatzpunkt zur Pravention und Intervention hinsichtlich der sinkenden schulischen Motivation in der Adoleszenz darstellen. Schlagworter: Soziale Kompetenz, Schuler-Schuler-Verhaltnis, Peers, Motivation, Adoleszenz ----- Does students’ social competence moderate the association between their scholastic peer relationships and motivation? Abstract This study examines whether social competence moderates the association between students’ sociomotivational peer relationships and their academic motivation. The research is based on a large sample, consisting of 7th and 8th grade students (N= 1088; MAge= 13.7) attending secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. Latent moderated structural equations (LMS) were used to estimate possible interaction effects of social competence and socio-motivational peer relationships on students’ academic motivation. The results demonstrated that social competence moderates the association between students’ perception of the student-student relationship and extrinsic motivation, as well as perseverance and effort. In addition, social competence functions as a moderator in the association between students’ perception of peers as positive motivators and intrinsic motivation, as well as perseverance and effort. To summarize, positive peer relationships within the school environment that are based on social competence are able to prevent and intervene in adolescents’ general tendency towards a decline in motivation. Keywords: Social competence, Student-student relationship, Peers, Motivation, Adolescence ----- Bibliographie: Bunger, Sabine/Raufelder, Diana: Moderiert die soziale Kompetenz adoleszenter Schuler den Zusammenhang zwischen ihren schulischen Peer-Beziehungen und ihrer Motivation?, Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung, 3-2014, S. 339-353. https://doi.org/10.3224/diskurs.v9i3.16626

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar e comparar as representações de professores e de seus respectivos alunos (com e sem dificuldade de aprendizagem) sobre o processo de ensino e aprendizagem. Buscamos verificar em quais aspectos as representações de alunos e professores se correspondem e se elas se diferenciam entre alunos com e sem dificuldades de aprendizagem. A coleta de dados foi organizada por meio de uma entrevista semiestruturada, contendo 15 questões abertas para professores e alunos. Participaram deste estudo 20 professores e 40 alunos (sendo 20 com dificuldade e 20 sem dificuldade de aprendizagem) do 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental da rede municipal de uma cidade da região Metropolitana de Campinas. As respostas das entrevistas foram categorizadas e analisadas através do teste exato de Fisher, Qui-Quadrado e de Proporções. O nível de confiança foi de 95%. Os resultados demonstraram que professores e alunos apresentam uma visão parcial dos fatores envolvidos no processo de ensino e aprendizagem. O aprender, tanto para professores quanto para alunos, é sinônimo de ausência de erros, sendo um processo individual e não social. Professores e alunos sem dificuldades representam positivamente o ambiente da sala de aula, diferentemente dos alunos com dificuldades. This research aimed to identify and compare the representations of teachers and their students (with and without learning disabilities) on the process of teaching and learning. We seek to determine which aspects of the representations of students and teachers to meet and if they differ between students with and without learning difficulties. Data collection was organized through a semi-structured interviews with 15 open questions for teachers and students. The study included 20 teachers and 40 students (20 with and 20 without difficulty learning disability) in the 5th year of elementary school in the municipal city of a metropolitan region of Campinas. The responses from the interviews were categorized and analyzed using the Fisher exact test, Chi-square and Proportions. The confidence level was 95%. The results showed that teachers and students present a partial view of the factores involved in teaching and learning. The learning, for both teachers and students, is synonymous with the absence of errors, being an individual process and not social. Teachers and students without difficulties represent a positive environment of the classroom, unlike the students with difficulties.

Particle models of matter are widely recognised as being of fundamental importance in many branches of modern science, and particle ideas are commonly introduced and developed in the secondary school curriculum. However, research undertaken in a range of national contexts has identified significant learning difficulties in this topic, and suggests that notions of particles that match scientific models are generally only attained over periods of some years. The implementation of a National Curriculum in Science in England was followed by increasingly prescriptive guidance to teachers. This culminated in a framework for teaching lower secondary science, which identified ‘particles’ as one of five key ideas for organising teaching and learning of science to all 11-14 year olds. In this curriculum context, a basic particle model is introduced at the start of secondary education, and consolidated by being revisited in various contexts over three years. However National Tests suggest that only a minority of pupils attain levels of understanding matching target knowledge. The present paper reports an interview study that explored how a sample of English secondary students explained phenomena commonly met in school science. It was found that students generally used the notion of particles, although most of their particle-based explanations reflected alternative conceptions that have been reported in previous research. It is concluded that a curriculum strategy of early introduction and regular application during the early secondary years is not of itself sufficient to support the desired progression in thinking with particle models, and more sophisticated research-informed pedagogy is needed.

Twelfth grade physics classes with 344 students participated in a quasi-experimental study comparing two small-group learning settings. In the jigsaw classroom, in contrast to the cyclical rotation method, teaching expectancy as well as resource interdependence is established. The study is based on the Self-Determination Theory of motivation which states that the satisfaction of the ‘basic needs’ for experiencing autonomy, competence, and social relatedness is essential to promote intrinsic motivation. Regarding the experience of competence, a small effect in favour of the jigsaw classroom was found, whereas students in the cyclical rotation setting showed medium-sized benefits in experiencing autonomy. A path analysis revealed that these opposing effects balanced each other, that is, no effect from small-group method to intrinsic motivation was found. In contrary to the motivational variables, achievement effects depended on the underlying study topic: based on scanning electron microscopy, the cyclical rotation setting outperformed jigsaw classroom, whereas an opposed trend is observed with regard to the microwave oven learning unit. The higher interestingness of the latter learning unit was revealed as a week mediator from study topic to academic achievement.

This study tested for deep understanding and critical thinking about basic quantum chemical concepts taught at 12th grade (age 17-18). Our aim was to achieve conceptual change in students. A quantitative study was conducted first (n = 125), and following this 23 selected students took part in semi-structured interviews either individually or in small groups that were allowed to interact under the coordination of the investigators. The planetary Bohr model was strongly favoured, while the probabilistic nature of the orbital concept was absent from many students' minds. Other students held a hybrid model. In some cases, students did not accept that the electron cloud provides a picture of the atom. Many students had not understood the fundamental nature of the uncertainty principle. Finally, the mathematical description of the formation of molecular orbitals caused problems in the case of destructive (antibonding) overlap of atomic orbitals. Our approach to conceptual change employed active and cooperative forms of learning, which are consistent with social-cultural constructivism and with Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. It proved effective in a number of cases, and ineffective in others. The variation in students' approaches was explained on the basis of Ausubel's theory about meaningful and rote learning and of the ability to employ higher-order cognitive skills. Nevertheless, the methodology used can be useful for all students, irrespective of their behaviour in traditional written examinations. International Journal of Science Education

The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio-scientific issue, often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development, and the foundation for citizens’ understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education.This research focuses on decision-making discussions about biological conservation issues among 131 15-16 year old students, to address two main research questions: 1. Can peer-group decision-making discussions, in a normal science lesson setting, help develop students’ personal reasoning in relation to conservation issues? 2. Are there features common to high-quality discussions about conservation which might be readily identified by classroom teachers?Findings indicate the positive value of students taking part in these short decision-making discussions, guided by a structured framework, as part of their normal science classroom activities. Students increase their quality of personal reasoning, and modify their solutions to the issues. The study begins to uncover features about students, as individuals and as members of discussion groups, which can be associated with high quality decision-making about conservation issues, and which teachers might realistically identify. The work calls for the need to cultivate these features, and integrate them appropriately with learning about the scientific concepts that underpin the theory and practice of conservation management. Such integration will facilitate the development of teaching strategies for dealing effectively with the complex topic of biological conservation; not just in terms of science content, but also in terms of how students are expected to engage with the issues.

International audience; Abstract In this paper we propose that the unpopularity of science in many industrialized countries is largely due to the gap between the subculture of science, on the one hand, and students' self-image, on the other hand. We conducted a study based on the self-to-prototype matching theory (Burke & Reitzes, 1981), testing whether the perceived mismatch between the typical representative of the science culture (the science prototype) and students' self-image is linked to not choosing science as a major. Fifty-four Dutch 9th-grade students currently choosing their subject majors (so-called profiles) completed a Dutch version of a questionnaire previously designed by Hannover and Kessels (2004), which measures students' perceptions of typical peers favouring different school subjects (prototypes for physics, biology, economics, languages) and students' self-image. Students chose a profile to the extent that they conceived of themselves as similar to the typical peer who likes the key subject of that profile. Fifty percent of variance was explained when using an aggregated science vs. humanities distance score and predicting whether a student had chosen a science- or a humanities-related profile. A comparison of Dutch students' description of the physics prototype with the German data from Hannover and Kessels (2004) revealed similar prototypes in both countries. The traits ascribed to the physics prototype were in line with science-related values and the culture of science as described by Merton (1973) and Traweek (1992), for example. The relevance of the perceived fit of the culture of science to students' selves for academic choices is discussed.

WOS: 000254947600004 The purpose of this study is to identify how upper secondary school French students (Grade 10-12) interpret chemical transformation with regards to the changes within molecules and atoms, and in terms of intramolecular and/or intermolecular bond breaking. In order to identify and describe the students' assimilated knowledge, four questions were asked to 930 students using a written questionnaire submitted a long time after the related teaching took place. There is much research into student learning in the concept areas discussed here (atoms and molecules, chemical change, chemical bonding), as reviewed in the paper. The present study presents data from an educational system where limited work has been reported in the international literature. The French system has its own unique curriculum, and is taught in the national language (where much of the existing research has concerned learning in Anglophile systems). The research reported here found that French secondary students experienced many similar difficulties in understanding these key scientific concepts to those that have been reported elsewhere, showing the cross-cultural nature of the key educational issues. For example, many have difficulties in understanding the changes undergone by atoms and molecules in the course of a chemical reaction; many are not able to justify explicitly the breaking of inter-molecular bonds and to interpret the breaking of intramolecular bonds in terms of reorganization of atoms, the target level of understanding in the curriculum from the end of Grade 9. However, it is also suggested that some of the specific characteristics identified here are linked to the ordering and language used in the French curriculum, and such cultural idiosyncrasies may offer useful insights into both problematic and valuable aspects of science pedagogy.