Abstract

While our knowledge about the cognitive and social components of disability continues to grow, little is known about how the self specifically develops in adolescents with physical disabilities and whether a specific source is an indicator of self-determination with this population.   Adolescents who have a physical disability may have difficulty progressing through the stages to become self-determined because they are often viewed as needing protection, which often takes the form of others making decisions for them.  Decision makers may assert that the adolescent with a physical disability is not capable of making good decisions and the consequences of such decisions are likely to be harmful.  Therefore, the present article explores the difference between adolescents with and without physical disabilities with respect to self-concept, self-esteem, locus of control, self-efficacy, and self-determination and investigates the self-reported relationship levels of these indicators to determine if there is one single best predictor of self-determination for adolescents with and without physical disabilities.

Abstract

This paper on Early Childhood Education (ECE)- a goal of Education For All (EFA), assesses the progress of Pakistan’s efforts and strategies mainly during post Dakar period 2001-02 to 2005-06 and the major challenges being encountered. The information includes analysis of national educational data on ECE in the light of policies and plans, EFA projections along with the contribution of civil society, private sector and non-profit organizations. National data reflect that Pakistan has made progress in education sector over all and in ECE keeping in view EFA and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in response to the Jomtein (1990) and Dakar (2000) resolutions. ECE is encountering multiple challenges which need to be addressed to achieve outcomes during the next phases of the National Plan of Action (NPA) for EFA.

Abstract

In Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000), the (U.S.) National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommended that students communicate their mathematical thinking in a logical manner, and use the language of mathematics to express their thinking accurately and logically. Students should not only learn mathematics content, but should learn how to generate ideas, express them in multiple ways, and justify their thinking (Carpenter, Franke, & Levi, 2003). Journals are an effective way for students to communicate their understanding of mathematics content while using the process standards of problem solving, reasoning and proof, connections, and representation.

This article describes the use of mathematics journals by undergraduate early childhood education majors in a mathematics methods course. In this course, preservice teachers are asked to use journals to examine their own problem solving skills, through written and oral reflection. Samples of student reflections of their problem solving processes are included.

Abstract

Children with learning disabilities are found in most schools. Learning disability is a widespread issue in today’s society. A learning-disabled child is one whose achievement is less than his expected level of achievement despite having average or above average intelligence. Learning disability is nothing but a condition that affects the ability to perform basic academic skills such as reading, writing or arithmetic. Since the lives of learning-disabled students tend to revolve around their disabilities rather than their abilities, their self-esteem is unrealistically low. Consequently, their self expectations, levels of aspiration and general motivational levels get unnecessarily diminished.

Self-esteem is the personal evaluation of oneself and the resulting feelings associated with the self concept. It is a personal trait that can be improved by any person willing to commit himself or herself to the task of positive self development. High self-esteem helps to build strong convictions and optimistic attitudes. It makes a person self-motivated and ambitious and open to new opportunities and challenges. Self-esteem can be considered as a coping mechanism for learning-disabled students to accept their disability and to strive for positive self development. Hence it is necessary for such pupils to be motivated and encouraged to deny the fact of their disability and to rise high in life.

Abstract

The cognitive apprenticeship approach has been applied in a good deal of conceptual, quantitative and qualitative studies in various settings including technology integration. It has proved successful in promoting student’s higher order thinking skills as well as in shaping the social interactions between teachers and students to goal-oriented problem solving. This model can also be used to teach disabled children through distance learning. It is felt that cognitive apprenticeship approach based on technologically rich learning environment provides a prescriptive method for analyzing and sequencing content and developing suitable strategies for learning, a tool for incorporating communities of practice in multimedia solutions, and a framework for building and reinforcing cognitive understanding among children with learning disabilities. Thus, in this paper an attempt has been made to explain in a deliberately speculative way, why activity and situations are integral to cognition and learning. Perhaps, by ignoring the situated nature of cognition, education defeats its own goal of providing usable, robust knowledge. Hence, it is argued that approaches such as cognitive apprenticeship that embed learning in activity and make deliberate use of the social and physical context will enable students with learning difficulties to acquire, develop, and use cognitive tools in a more authentic practices. Thus, it is important not only to solve problems in a learning environment that uses real-world contexts, but also to allow learners to witness the practitioners of that culture in solving problems and carrying out tasks.

Abstract

Two areas that are lacking for the purpose of training high-quality preschool teachers; and constructing developmentally appropriate learning standards and curriculum for preschool children are; 1) awareness of early epistemic development (beliefs about knowledge and knowing) and 2) understanding preschoolers’ cognitive processes during epistemic development. Personal epistemology is an individual’s beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997).  During the past three decades there has been substantial gains in the area of personal epistemology, particularly in college students (Perry, 1970; Baxter Magolda, 1987; Schommer, 1990), adults (King & Kitchener, 1994; Belensky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986), and more recently adolescents (Kuhn, 2000; Mansfield & Clinchy, 2002).  Specifically, the use of, inquiry, focus groups, and technology during instruction can identify more observable developmental schemes, such as, cognitive processes (theory of mind), social, and emotional views of the child.  Knowing how these developmental domains operate harmoniously can provide more meaningful insights about “what” and “how” children begin to conceptualize knowledge and the process of knowing. This ecological and epistemic framework can have implications for early childhood education. This article describes new research and thinking about the epistemology of preschool children and how it might influence teacher training and instructional approaches.

Abstract

Attitude toward reading has long proven to be of importance in learning. This study designed a survey instrument for college teachers to gage future teachers, college students’ attitudes toward the reading of textbooks. College students (n=64) responded to two instruments, the newly created survey called the College Textbook Reading Attitude Survey (CTRAS) and the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. Both qualitative findings and quantitative results indicated that many college students, future teachers, in the sample have fair to poor attitudes toward reading textbooks and are more apt to exhibit reading comprehension as well as vocabulary deficits. The purpose of the CTRAS instrument was to facilitate a communicative, social learning exchange between college teachers and their students regarding textbook reading and learning. Several recommendations and future research proposals are offered for review.

Abstract

Proper classroom management and discipline ensure the success of learning process. Classroom management is the linchpin that makes teaching and learning achievable in the teaching learning process. It is the teacher who plays the main role in planning, organizing procedures and resources, arranging the environment to maximize efficiency, monitoring students’ progress, anticipating potential problems. In order to maintain the effective management in the classroom, teacher has to be precise and clear in directions to the students, as well he communicates well. The purpose of this study was to investigate the competencies of secondary school teachers in classroom management and find strength and weaknesses in the competencies of secondary school teachers in classroom management. Thirteen aspects of classroom management were taken and one statement was asked on each aspect and it was found that secondary school teachers are mostly good in ten aspects and not good in three aspects only.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there was any significant correlation between symptoms of dyslexia in Malaysian students and discipline problems. A total of 197 Standard 3 and 4 students from a national primary school were involved in the study. Findings show that there was a significant negative correlation between academic achievement and symptoms of dyslexia for both the Standard 3 (r = -.60, p<.01) and the Standard 4 (r = -.67, p<.01) students. The correlation also showed that the relationship between discipline problems and symptoms of dyslexia was higher for the older students. The Standard 3 students had r = .39, which is a definite but small relationship, while the Standard 4 students had r = .49, which is a substantial relationship. This might indicate a trend where the contribution of symptoms of dyslexia to discipline problems increases as the student progresses through the school system. In the analysis of variance, it was found that there was no significant difference in discipline problems and the occurrence of students with symptoms of dyslexia among the Malays, Chinese and Indians. However there was a difference in terms of the socio-economic status. A comparison was also made between the boys and girls and the findings showed that there was no significant difference in the total dyslexic score between the two sexes.

Abstract

The investigation was aimed to study the learning difficulties in mathematics among the secondary school students. The study proposed to measure the Learning Difficulties in Mathematics with respect to the students’ personal and background variables such as sex, type of school, locality and medium of instruction; and also to explore the relationships of learning difficulties with students’ scholastic achievement in mathematics and opinion on the different topics in mathematics. Survey method was adopted and developed three instruments for the study; they are Learning Difficulties in Mathematics (LDM), Mathematics Scholastic Achievement Test (MSAT) and Difficult Topics in Mathematics (DTM). A simple random sampling technique was employed in the selection of 480 students from government and private schools of Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh, India. The study revealed that boys had more Learning Difficulties in Mathematics than girls. It was also found that the students of Government schools, urban and Telugu medium have more learning difficulties in mathematics than their counterparts of private, rural and English medium respectively. Further, it was found that the students who have less learning difficulties in mathematics scored better in mathematics scholastic achievement test and found that the students those who have opined that the topics are easy in mathematics secured highest marks than their counterparts those who heave expressed the topics are average and difficult for them. Accordingly, the remedial measures and intervention programmes are suggested to enhance students’ performance and to minimise their learning difficulties.