Using Swedish in the EFL-classroom : An Interview Study on Swedish Upper Secondary Students’ Attitudes towards Teachers’ L1 use in the EFL-classroom

There is very little focus in previous research on first language (L1) use by teachers in the upper secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom from the students’ perspective. In this context and from a Swedish perspective, this thesis examines what attitudes students in the Swedish upper secondary school have towards their teachers’ use of L1 (Swedish) in the EFL-classroom. The method used was qualitative semi-structured interviews, where nine students in total were interviewed. The collected data was then coded, thematized and categorized. The results show that the students mainly believed Swedish should be used when teaching vocabulary, when teaching grammar and for classroom management. They did not believe the L1 should be used by them in questions and answers and in general talk in the classroom. They also endorsed an overall judicious use of Swedish by their teachers and that their use of this language should be adjusted to the specific teaching group. Finally, it can be concluded that further research is needed on how the L1 can be used judiciously in particular situations and on what attitudes students of varying proficiency and age, as well as students who do not have Swedish as their L1 have towards teachers’ L1 use in the EFL-classroom.

Secondary students` perceptions of a constructivist-informed teaching and learning environment for geometric optics

This article describes an exploration of a class of secondary school students perceptions of a constructivist informed teaching and learning environment for geometric optics. The students perceived the environment as one where they could freely express their ideas and be involved in activities. What was also apparent in this exploration was the students' preference for a classroom that involved small group discussions to whole class discussions that reflected a need for time to think about issues. They also have a preference for relevant, practical work that tests their ideas and a preference to have fewer notes that they construct themselves rather than notes dictated by the teacher.

NT: Refereed article. Includes bibliographical references.

Knowledge, attitudes and self-care practices related to sun protection among secondary students in Australia

The aim of this research was to ascertain changes in sun-related knowledge, attitudes and self-care practices among Australian secondary school students between 1993 and 1996. Two cross-sectional surveys of sun-related attitudes, beliefs and behavior of young people aged 12–17 years of age, were conducted in 1993 and 1996. Over 80% of adolescents at both time periods knew about the issues related to skin cancer prevention, frequency of burning and burning on cloudy days. Adolescent attitudes had shifted positively in the areas of staying inside in 1996 [relative risk (RR): 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–1.17] and staying under shade in 1996 (RR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.13–1.18). Desire for a moderate or dark tan was lower in 1996 (45%) than in 1993 (50%). Respondents reported that they were less likely to wear brief clothing to get a suntan in 1996 (RR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.78–0.84) and were significantly more likely to stay in the shade in 1996 (RR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.16–1.23). We conclude that there has been a shift in attitudes towards use of shade and avoidance of unnecessary exposure, and away from use of sunscreens and sunglasses. The results suggest that adolescents may be more ready to accept structural changes that move desired activities out of the sun.

Secondary students

Results indicated: Literacy programs provided optimal learning environments for access, participation and outcomes, reconnecting marginalised students to education; students were able to determine their preferred reading methods and educational pathways; students could negotiate work requirements, learned to be optimistic through creative pedagogies and built solid relationships through improved social skills.

An investigation of middle secondary students' mathematical conceptions of rate

This study identified four educationally critical aspects of ‘rate’ through analysis of phenomenographic, video-recorded interviews with Year 10 students. Further analysis indicated understandings in one representation or context were not necessarily transferable.

Accessibility and autonomy preconditions to ‘our’ inclusion: a grounded theory study of the experiences of secondary students with vision impairment

In this paper, I report core findings of a small-scale qualitative study that I conducted with a group of young people with vision impairment who attended an inclusive secondary school in the Australian state of Queensland. My objective was to capture their voiced experiences of their schooling through face-to-face interviews and to develop a substantive theory that was grounded in the collected data. Relevant to the study was my status as an insider researcher, which impacted both data collection and analysis. Here, I develop the methodological process that I followed and present core findings of the study. These findings shed light on the practices within schools that are designed to promote inclusion yet perpetuate exclusion for students with impaired vision.

Using Accuracy of Self-Estimated Interest-Type as a Sign of Career Choice Readiness in Career Assessment of Secondary Students

A frequent applied method in career assessment to elicit clients’ self-concepts is asking them to predict their interest assessment results. Accuracy in estimating one’s interesttype is commonly taken as a sign of more self-awareness and career choice readiness. The study evaluated the empirical relation of accuracy of self-estimation to career choice readiness within a sample of 350 Swiss secondary students in seventh grade. Overall, accuracy showed only weak relations to career choice readiness. However, accurately estimating one’s first interest-type in a three-letter RIASEC interests-code emerged as a sign of more vocational identity and total career choice readiness. Accuracy also correlated positively with interest profile consistency, differentiation, and congruence to career aspirations. Implications of the results for career counseling and assessment practice are presented.

Holland's secondary constructs of vocational interests and career choice readiness of secondary students

The study examined the relationship between the secondary constructs of Holland’s (1997) theory of vocational interests and career choice readiness [career maturity] attitudes with 358 Swiss secondary students. The hypothesis was tested that the secondary constructs consistency, coherence, differentiation, and congruence are measures for the degree of vocational interest development. Thus, they should belong to the content domain in career choice readiness and should show meaningful relations to career choice readiness attitudes. The hypothesis was confirmed for congruence, coherence, and differentiation. Interest profile consistency showed no relation to career choice readiness attitudes. Vocational identity emerged as a direct measure for career choice readiness attitudes. Realism of career aspirations was related to career choice readiness attitudes and coherence of career aspirations. Profile elevation was positively connected to more career planning and career exploration. Differences between gender, ethnicity, and school-types are presented. Implications for career counselling and assessment practice are discussed.

Different moments in the participatory stage of the secondary students’ abstraction of mathematical conceptions

This study provides support to the characteristics of participatory and anticipatory stages in secondary school pupils’ abstraction of mathematical conceptions. We carried out clinical task-based interviews with 71 secondary-school pupils to obtain evidence of the different constructed mathematical conceptions (Participatory Stage) and how they were used (Anticipatory Stage). We distinguish two moments in the Participatory Stage based on the coordination of information from particular cases by activity-effect reflection which, in some cases, lead to a change of focus enabling secondary-school pupils to achieve a reorganization of their knowledge. We argue that (a) the capacity of perceiving regularities in sets of particular cases is a characteristic of activity-effect reflection in the abstraction of mathematical conceptions in secondary school, and (b) the coordination of information by pupils provides opportunities for changing the attention-focus from the particular results to the structure of properties.

Changes in how prospective teachers anticipate secondary students’ answers

This study focuses on how prospective teachers learn about students’ mathematical thinking when (i) anticipating secondary students’ answers reflecting different characteristics of understanding and (ii) propose new activities in relation to the classification of quadrilaterals. The data were collected from forty-eight prospective secondary school teachers enrolled in an initial training programme. The results indicate three changes in how the prospective teachers anticipate secondary students’ answers in relation to the role given to a perceptual or relational perspective of the classification of quadrilaterals. These changes are described considering how prospective teachers grasp the students’ understanding of the inclusive relation among quadrilaterals as a conceptual advance. We argue that prospective teachers’ learning was promoted after participating in a structured environment where they had the opportunity to discuss how to recognize the features of student’s understanding.