Ambivalent journey: Teacher career paths in Oman     

David W. Chapman  Thuwayba Al-Barwani  Fathiya Al Mawali  Elizabeth Green 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2012,24(4):387-403

This study investigated the career paths of 625 university graduates who prepared to be secondary school teachers in Oman, their assessment of their current work situation, and the extent to which their initial commitment to teaching was related to their subsequent career satisfaction and intention to remain in teaching. While nearly all graduates entered teaching, their decision was marked by ambivalence. Nearly half of the graduates reported being only somewhat or not at all committed to teaching as a career when they graduated. It also appears that initial commitment to teaching operates as an important lens through which teachers view their subsequent careers. Those initially more committed to teaching were more likely to be satisfied with the progress they made in their career, more likely to think that their current teaching position offered them opportunities for advancement, and more likely to want to remain in teaching than were graduates who had a lower initial commitment to teaching. The authors discuss both the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.  相似文献   

The componential model of reading: predicting first grade reading performance of culturally diverse students from ecological, psychological, and cognitive factors assessed at kindergarten entry     

Ortiz M  Folsom JS  Al Otaiba S  Greulich L  Thomas-Tate S  Connor CM 《Journal of learning disabilities》2012,45(5):406-417

This study, framed by the component model of reading (CMR), examined the relative importance of kindergarten-entry predictors of first grade reading performance. Specifically, elements within the ecological domain included dialect, maternal education, amount of preschool, and home literacy; elements within the psychological domain included teacher-reported academic competence, social skills, and behavior; and elements within the cognitive domain included initial vocabulary, phonological, and morpho-syntactic skills, and alphabetic and word recognition skills. Data were obtained for 224 culturally diverse kindergarteners (58% Black, 34% White, and 8% Hispanic or other; 58% received free or reduced-price lunch) from a larger study conducted in seven predominantly high poverty schools (n = 20 classrooms) in a midsized city school district in northern Florida. Results from a hierarchical multiple regression (with variables in the ecological domain entered first, followed by the psychological and cognitive domains) revealed a model that explained roughly 56% of the variance in first grade reading achievement, using fall-of-kindergarten predictors. Letter-word reading and morpho-syntactic skill were the strongest significant predictors. The findings largely support the CMR model as a means to understand individual differences in reading acquisition and, in turn, to support data-based instructional decisions for a wider range of children.  相似文献   

Stress intensity factors under combined bending and torsion moments     

Al?Emran?IsmailEmail author  Ahmad?Kamal?Ariffin  Shahrum?Abdullah  Mariyam?Jameelah?Ghazali  Mohammed?Abdulrazzaq  Ruslizam?Daud 《浙江大学学报(A卷英文版)》2012,13(1):1-8

This paper discusses stress intensity factor (SIF) calculations for surface cracks in round bars subjected to combined torsion and bending loadings. Different crack aspect ratios, a/b, ranging from 0.0 to 1.2 and relative crack depths, a/D, ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 were considered. Since the loading was non-symmetrical for torsion loadings, a whole finite element model was constructed. Then, the individual and combined bending and torsion loadings were remotely applied to the model. The equivalent SIF method, F*_EQ, was then used explicitly to combine the individual SIFs from the bending and torsion loadings. A comparison was then carried out with the combined SIF, F*_FE, obtained using the finite element analysis (FEA) under similar loadings. It was found that the equivalent SIF method successfully predicted the combined SIF for Mode I. However, discrepancies between the results determined from the different approaches occurred when F _III was involved. It was also noted that the predicted F*_FE using FEA was higher than the F*_EQ predicted through the equivalent SIF method due to the difference in crack face interactions.  相似文献   

The contributions of vocabulary and letter writing automaticity to word reading and spelling for kindergartners     

Young-Suk Kim  Stephanie Al Otaiba  Cynthia Puranik  Jessica Sidler Folsom  Luana Gruelich 《Reading and writing》2014,27(2):237-253

In the present study we examined the relation between alphabet knowledge fluency (letter names and sounds) and letter writing automaticity, and unique relations of letter writing automaticity and semantic knowledge (i.e., vocabulary) to word reading and spelling over and above code-related skills such as phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge. These questions were addressed using data from 242 English-speaking kindergartners and employing structural equation modeling. Results showed letter writing automaticity was moderately related to and a separate construct from alphabet knowledge fluency, and marginally (p = .06) related to spelling after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and vocabulary. Furthermore, vocabulary was positively and uniquely related to word reading and spelling after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and letter writing automaticity.  相似文献   

“Sharing My Bias”: We're From the Government,and We're Here to Help     

Al Carlson 《Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve》2013,23(1):61-64

This article describes reference skills as a sharable resource, particularly in light of the development of e-government and the demands it places on public services staff in libraries.  相似文献   

General Motion Pictures     

Anthony Slide  Richard L. Stromgren  Jonathan Rosenbaum  Martin F. Norden  James L. Limbacher  Al Clark 《Communication Booknotes Quarterly》2013,44(7):69-70

Anthony Slide A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO MOVIE MEMORABILIA—WITH PRICES (Wallace Homestead Book Company, 1912 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50305—$12.95).

Richard L. Stromgren and Martin F. Norden. MOVIES: A LANGUAGE IN LIGHT (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1984—$15.95).

Jonathan Rosenbaum, FILM: THE FRONT LINE 1983 (Arden Press, 1127 Pennsylvania Street, Denver. Colorado 80203—$10.95).

James L. Limbacher's SEXUALITY IN WORLD CINEMA (Metuchen. New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1983—$72.50 for two volumes).

Al Clark: THE FILM YEARBOOK-1984(New York: Grove Press, 1984—$12.95, paperback).

ANNUAL INDEX TO MOTION PICTURE CREDITS: 1982 (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1983—$150.00).

Nancy Allen and Robert L. Carringer AN ANNOTATED CATALOG OF UNPUBLISHED FILM AND TELEVISION SCRIPTS (Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Publications Office, 249 Armory Building, 505 E. Armbry Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820—$15.00, paper).  相似文献   

Language,literacy, attentional behaviors,and instructional quality predictors of written composition for first graders     

Young-Suk Kim  Stephanie Al Otaiba  Jessica Folsom Sidler  Luana Gruelich 《Early childhood research quarterly》2013

We had two primary purposes in the present study: (1) to examine unique child-level predictors of written composition which included language skills, literacy skills (e.g., reading and spelling), and attentiveness and (2) to examine whether instructional quality (quality in responsiveness and individualization, and quality in spelling and writing instruction) is uniquely related to written composition for first-grade children (N = 527). Children's written composition was evaluated on substantive quality (ideas, organization, word choice, and sentence flow) and writing conventions (spelling, mechanics, and handwriting). Results revealed that for the substantive quality of writing, children's grammatical knowledge, reading comprehension, letter writing automaticity, and attentiveness were uniquely related. Teachers’ responsiveness was also uniquely related to the substantive quality of written composition after accounting for child predictors and other instructional quality variables. For the writing conventions outcome, children's spelling and attentiveness were uniquely related, but instructional quality was not. These results suggest the importance of paying attention to multiple component skills such as language, literacy, and behavioral factors as well as teachers’ responsiveness for writing development.  相似文献   

The assessment of the readiness of five countries to implement child maltreatment prevention programs on a large scale     

Christopher Mikton  Mick Power  Marija Raleva  Mokhantso Makoae  Majid Al Eissa  Irene Cheah  Nancy Cardia  Claire Choo  Maha Almuneef 《Child abuse & neglect》2013

This study aimed to systematically assess the readiness of five countries – Brazil, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa – to implement evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs on a large scale. To this end, it applied a recently developed method called Readiness Assessment for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment based on two parallel 100-item instruments. The first measures the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs concerning child maltreatment prevention of key informants; the second, completed by child maltreatment prevention experts using all available data in the country, produces a more objective assessment readiness. The instruments cover all of the main aspects of readiness including, for instance, availability of scientific data on the problem, legislation and policies, will to address the problem, and material resources. Key informant scores ranged from 31.2 (Brazil) to 45.8/100 (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and expert scores, from 35.2 (Brazil) to 56/100 (Malaysia). Major gaps identified in almost all countries included a lack of professionals with the skills, knowledge, and expertise to implement evidence-based child maltreatment programs and of institutions to train them; inadequate funding, infrastructure, and equipment; extreme rarity of outcome evaluations of prevention programs; and lack of national prevalence surveys of child maltreatment. In sum, the five countries are in a low to moderate state of readiness to implement evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs on a large scale. Such an assessment of readiness – the first of its kind – allows gaps to be identified and then addressed to increase the likelihood of program success.  相似文献   

Universities,research impact and public engagement     

Al Lauzon 《International Journal of Lifelong Education》2013,32(3):287-289

Universities and graduate education are increasingly viewed as part of the emerging lifelong learning and education system and we see the evidence of this as the average age of graduate students increases. We are also seeing an increasing emphasis on education for employment in the lifelong learning and education literature, and this discourse is now infiltrating universities and graduate education; graduate education is increasingly referred to as graduate training and is being recast as vocational training. In this meditation I examine these changes in graduate education in light of the developmental needs of graduate students in the second half of life viewed through the lens of Jungian psychology, and discuss implications of the developmental needs of graduate students in the second half of life for graduate education. This is followed by examining the implications that changes in graduate programs have for graduate students in the second half of life.  相似文献   

Prediction/discussion-based learning cycle versus conceptual change text: comparative effects on students’ understanding of genetics     

Salem A. Al khawaldeh 《Research in Science & Technological Education》2013,31(2):168-183

Background and purpose:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle (HPD-LC), conceptual change text (CCT) and traditional instruction on 10th grade students’ understanding of genetics concepts.

Sample:

Participants were 112 10th basic grade male students in three classes of the same school located in an urban area. The three classes taught by the same biology teacher were randomly assigned as a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle class (n?=?39), conceptual change text class (n?=?37) and traditional class (n?=?36).

Design and method:

A quasi-experimental research design of pre-test–post-test non-equivalent control group was adopted. Participants completed the Genetics Concept Test as pre-test–post-test, to examine the effects of instructional strategies on their genetics understanding. Pre-test scores and Test of Logical Thinking scores were used as covariates.

Results:

The analysis of covariance showed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the favor of experimental groups after treatment. However, no statistically significant difference between the experimental groups (HPD-LC versus CCT instruction) was found.

Conclusions:

Overall, the findings of this study support the use of the prediction/discussion-based learning cycle and conceptual change text in both research and teaching. The findings may be useful for improving classroom practices in teaching science concepts and for the development of suitable materials promoting students’ understanding of science.  相似文献