Examining the validity of the GRE General Test scores and undergraduate GPA for predicting success in graduate school at a large racially and ethnically diverse public university in Southeast Florida

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among GRE scores, undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and success in graduate school, as measured by first year graduate GPA (FGPA), cumulative graduate GPA, and degree attainment status. A second aim of the study was to determine whether the relationships between the composite predictor (GRE scores and UGPA) and the three success measures differed by race/ethnicity and sex. A total of 7,367 graduate student records (masters, 5,990; doctoral: 1,377) from 2000 to 2010 were used to evaluate the relationships among GRE scores, UGPA and the three success measures. Pearson's correlation, multiple linear and logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results of the correlational analyses differed by degree level. For master's students, the ETS proposed prediction that GRE scores are valid predictors of first year graduate GPA was supported by the findings from the present study; however, for doctoral students, the proposed prediction was only partially supported. Regression and correlational analyses indicated that UGPA was the variable that consistently predicted all three success measures for both degree levels. The hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that at master's degree level, White students with higher GRE Quantitative Reasoning Test scores were more likely to attain a degree than Asian Americans, while International students with higher UGPA were more likely to attain a degree than White students. The relationships between the three predictors and the three success measures were not significantly different between men and women for either degree level. Findings have implications both for practice and research. They will provide graduate school administrators with institution-specific validity data for UGPA and the GRE scores, which can be referenced in making admission decisions, while they will provide empirical and professionally defensible evidence to support the current practice of using UGPA and GRE scores for admission considerations. In addition, new evidence relating to differential predictions will be useful as a resource reference for future GRE validation researchers.

The Kyoto School and Confucianism: a Confucian reading of the philosophy of history and political thought of Masaaki Kosaka

This dissertation examines the philosophy of Masaaki Kōsaka (1900-1969) from the East Asian perspective of Confucianism, which I believe is the most appropriate moral paradigm for comprehending his political speculations. Although largely neglected in post-war scholarship, Kōsaka was a prominent member of the Kyoto School during the 1930s and 40s. This was a group of Japanese thinkers strongly associated with the philosophies of Kitarō Nishida and Hajime Tanabe. Kōsaka is now best known for his participation in the three Chūō Kōron symposia held in 1941 and 1942. These meetings have been routinely denounced by liberal historians due to the participants’ support for the Pacific War and the Co-Prosperity Sphere. However, many of these liberal portrayals have failed to take into account the full extent of the group’s resistance to the military junta of Hideki Tōjō. Adopting the methods and techniques of the empirical disciplines of academic history and Orientalism, I develop an interpretative framework that is more receptive to the political values that mattered to Kōsaka as a Confucian inspired intellectual. This has necessitated the rejection of moral history, which typically prioritises modern liberal values brought a priori to the historical record of wartime Japan, as well as recognition of the different ontological foundations that inform the unique political theories of the East Asian intellectual tradition. Reinforced by the prior research of Michel Dalissier and Graham Parkes, as well as my own reading of the Confucian canon, I adopt David Williams’s thesis of ‘Confucian Revolution’ as my principle schema of interpretation. This, I believe, is better able to reconcile Kōsaka’s support for the war with his strong condemnation of the imperialist practices of the Japanese military. Moreover, acknowledging the importance of Confucianism allows us to fully appreciate Kōsaka’s strong affinity for Kant’s practical metaphysics, Hegel’s political philosophy and Ranke’s historiography.

Doctoral Supervisor: Coach, Mentor or Master? Developing an Alternative Paradigm for Doctoral Supervision

This working paper is the second in a series of working papers presenting the on-going findings from a longitudinal research project grounded in exploring the experience of doctoral supervision and developing practice. In the first paper and phase one of this research study, Cook, Nichol and Loon (2014) explored the existing context for doctoral supervision and, drawing from literature on the problematic nature of doctoral supervision and coaching and mentoring, considered the value of drawing on coaching and mentoring models in formulating alternative paradigms for doctoral supervision. This paper reports the findings of phase one, a mixed methods study of experiences of doctoral supervision with supervisors and students in one UK university business school, from which the Collaborative Action Doctoral Supervision conceptual model emerged. The paper also introduces phase two, a collaborative action research study with doctoral supervisors and students who are applying, reflecting on and developing further this doctoral supervision model. We are aiming to answer the question of whether the use of coaching and mentoring in doctoral supervision enables the transfer and sustainability of learning from the doctoral supervision session to outside the experience and improves the quality. Is the doctoral supervisor coach, mentor or master? Key words Doctoral supervision, coaching, mentoring, collaborative action research.

Moving together – conditions for intercultural development at a highly diverse Swedish school

This thesis is a case study of a primary school in a highly diverse urban neighbourhood in Sweden. Basic pre-conditions for intercultural school development are studied by examining the overall organisation of teaching, learning and opportunities for collaboration in the investigated case. The study focuses on the targeted support measures to enhance learning for students with an immigrant background: Mother tongue instruction, Swedish as a Second Language, and tutoring in the mother tongue, as well as looking at pedagogical support provided by the school library. The latter has a mission to promote learning and inclusion, where non-native speakers of Swedish are a prioritised group. Communities of practice linked to the work organisation at a meso-level are investigated, and the collaborative relationships between professional groups at the school involved in the various support measures. Teacher relationships and categorisations implied by support measures impact the learning spaces that are shaped for students and the teaching spaces within which teachers work. Collaborative opportunities and convergence of concerns in the teaching spaces combine to shape the overall space for intercultural development. The raw data for the case study consists of interviews, national policy documents and additional information on local work organisation gained through documents and observations. Four articles resulted from the case study, each focusing a specific support measure. An overarching analysis is then made of findings from these articles and the other dimensions of the investigation. The analysis describes the organisation in terms of monocultural or intercultural school cultures, pointing to significant characteristics of the landscapes of practice, with respect to their overall implications for the spaces of school development. In the discussion, findings are considered in relation to research on professional development in education, collaboration, democracy and inclusive schooling. The relative positioning of languages and cultures is given particular attention, to ascertain if the school culture is monocultural or intercultural in the sense given by Lahdenperä (2008), and to what extent it could enable intercultural development. Such positioning plays a role interms of affordances for identity, participation and engagement discussed by Wenger (1998). This case study should be understood against the wider background of recent social developments in Europe linked to globalisation and technological changes. It is argued that looking at the concrete specifics which facilitate or obstruct school development, and simultaneously reflecting on how the different forms of teaching interrelate in the overall organisation and in policy may provide a useful vantage point from which structural changes can be contemplated.The discussion underlines the importance of the physical localisation of activities, continuity in personal contacts and time available for joint pedagogical reflection, as basic conditions for effective intercultural dialogue in the organisation. Finally, the impact of policy is considered, looking at connections between levels of policy, expressed in official steering documents, and conditions for teaching and learning at the level of an individual school.

Avaliação de literacia financeira da nova geração portuguesa

A educação financeira deve ser entendida como um conjunto amplo de orientações e esclarecimentos sobre comportamentos e atitudes adequados na gestão e no uso dos recursos financeiros pessoais. É a capacidade de saber utilizar o dinheiro como ferramenta para tornar a vida melhor, mais produtiva e mais equilibrada. Saber lidar com o dinheiro é indispensável para o bem estar de cada pessoa. Ter acesso à educação financeira possibilita-nos consumir com inteligência e sem exageros, ensina-nos a prever despesas e a investir adequadamente. Dada a importância deste tema, é essencial que as crianças tenham, desde cedo, contacto com o assunto, introduzindo a Educação Financeira nos currículos das Escolas. O presente trabalho pretende contribuir para averiguar qual o nível de literacia financeira de um grupo da nova geração portuguesa, traçando um perfil no que se refere ao conhecimento de conceitos financeiros e aos fatores que o influenciam. Utilizando os resultados desta avaliação, foi possível elaborar um programa de Educação Financeira, indo ao encontro das necessidades específicas dos alunos em questão. Numa análise global, os resultados obtidos mostram um cenário um pouco preocupante no que respeita aos níveis de literacia financeira do grupo em análise, relativamente a alguns aspetos, como o crédito. Os resultados sugerem a existência de alguns fatores que poderão influenciar o nível de literacia, tais como a discussão de assuntos no domínio das finanças pessoais, tanto em casa, como na escola e a participação em atividades lúdicas ligadas à matemática, entre outros. A análise de clusters realizada possibilitou a identificação de quatro grupos de inquiridos, com diferentes conhecimentos sobre literacia financeira e diferentes estratégias de gestão das suas finanças pessoais.

(re)Pensar as aprendizagens à luz de uma nova filosofia educacional

Relatório de estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frasinetti para a obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e em Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Auditoria Energética à Escola Secundária Padre Benjamim Salgado - Vila Nova de Famalicão

A dependência energética das grandes economias mundiais alertou o mundo para a necessidade de mudar o comportamento relativo ao consumo de energia. O aumento dos custos energéticos tem induzido ao uso racional da energia por parte das organizações, implicando uma monitorização permanente nas instalações. A eficiência energética é um tema que tem vindo a assumir grande importância nos dias de hoje na nossa sociedade, não só pelos compromissos internacionais assumidos, como também pelo combate ao desperdício energético. Esta dissertação relata o estágio curricular na Agência de Energia do Ave, que inclui uma auditoria energética à escola Padre Benjamim Salgado. O estágio visou essencialmente a contribuição para um modelo de desenvolvimento sustentável, na procura de alternativas com menor impacto ambiental, introduzindo conceitos de eficiência energética e ambiental nos processos de planeamento. Acções de sensibilização e auditorias energéticas foram os projetos que, durante o período curricular, tiveram maior intervenção por parte do autor desta dissertação, tendo em vista a mudança de hábitos de consumo energético na sociedade. A auditoria energética à escola Padre Benjamim Salgado, Joane Vila Nova de Famalicão, apresenta uma abordagem para a determinação da redução dos custos de energia, mantendo o conforto para os seus ocupantes. A escola em análise configura um Grande Edifício de Serviços (GES) à luz de uma análise térmica feita ao edifício escolar, com os valores de eferência atualizados, com entrada em vigor a 31 de dezembro de 2015, ao abrigo da nova regulamentação (decreto-lei n.º118/2013, 20 de Agosto) verificando-se o cumprimento dos requisitos mínimos definidos na Portaria n.º 349/2013 do atual decreto. Foi ainda efetuada, após um levantamento exaustivo, uma análise detalhada das faturas de energia, gás e água, e de todos os equipamentos consumidores de energia que se encontram instalados na instituição.

Examining the Validity of the GRE General Test Scores and Undergraduate GPA for Predicting Success in Graduate School at a Large Racially and Ethnically Diverse Public University in Southeast Florida

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among GRE scores, undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and success in graduate school, as measured by first year graduate GPA (FGPA), cumulative graduate GPA, and degree attainment status. A second aim of the study was to determine whether the relationships between the composite predictor (GRE scores and UGPA) and the three success measures differed by race/ethnicity and sex. A total of 7,367 graduate student records (masters, 5,990; doctoral: 1,377) from 2000 to 2010 were used to evaluate the relationships among GRE scores, UGPA and the three success measures. Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear and logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results of the correlational analyses differed by degree level. For master’s students, the ETS proposed prediction that GRE scores are valid predictors of first year graduate GPA was supported by the findings from the present study; however, for doctoral students, the proposed prediction was only partially supported. Regression and correlational analyses indicated that UGPA was the variable that consistently predicted all three success measures for both degree levels. The hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that at master’s degree level, White students with higher GRE Quantitative Reasoning Test scores were more likely to attain a degree than Asian Americans, while International students with higher UGPA were more likely to attain a degree than White students. The relationships between the three predictors and the three success measures were not significantly different between men and women for either degree level. Findings have implications both for practice and research. They will provide graduate school administrators with institution-specific validity data for UGPA and the GRE scores, which can be referenced in making admission decisions, while they will provide empirical and professionally defensible evidence to support the current practice of using UGPA and GRE scores for admission considerations. In addition, new evidence relating to differential predictions will be useful as a resource reference for future GRE validation researchers.

Knowledge and writing in school mathematics : a communicational approach

This thesis is about young students’ writing in school mathematics and the ways in which this writing is designed, interpreted and understood. Students’ communication can act as a source from which teachers can make inferences regarding students’ mathematical knowledge and understanding. In mathematics education previous research indicates that teachers assume that the process of interpreting and judging students’ writing is unproblematic. The relationship between what students’ write, and what they know or understand, is theoretical as well as empirical. In an era of increased focus on assessment and measurement in education it is necessary for teachers to know more about the relationship between communication and achievement. To add to this knowledge, the thesis has adopted a broad approach, and the thesis consists of four studies. The aim of these studies is to reach a deep understanding of writing in school mathematics. Such an understanding is dependent on examining different aspects of writing. The four studies together examine how the concept of communication is described in authoritative texts, how students’ writing is viewed by teachers and how students make use of different communicational resources in their writing. The results of the four studies indicate that students’ writing is more complex than is acknowledged by teachers and authoritative texts in mathematics education. Results point to a sophistication in students’ approach to the merging of the two functions of writing, writing for oneself and writing for others. Results also suggest that students attend, to various extents, to questions regarding how, what and for whom they are writing in school mathematics. The relationship between writing and achievement is dependent on students’ ability to have their writing reflect their knowledge and on teachers’ thorough knowledge of the different features of writing and their awareness of its complexity. From a communicational perspective the ability to communicate [in writing] in mathematics can and should be distinguished from other mathematical abilities. By acknowledging that mathematical communication integrates mathematical language and natural language, teachers have an opportunity to turn writing in mathematics into an object of learning. This offers teachers the potential to add to their assessment literacy and offers students the potential to develop their communicational ability in order to write in a way that better reflects their mathematical knowledge.

The Dyad School Success/Failure in the Academic Development of the Working Class Women from Mendoza

The notion of academic performance renders account of the results achieved by the students during their school education.  Internally, there are two opposed phenomena:  school success and school failure.  Sociology of education has contributed to the discussion of both notions revealing their social nature closely related to the institutional and socio-cultural contexts in which education is developed.  This paper is the result of a research project conducted for our doctoral thesis.  Its purpose is to contribute to enlighten the scopes of this discussion, by analyzing the school development of a group of working class women from Mendoza. We were interested, in the first place, in knowing the reasons why they quit school when they were young girls or adolescents.  Subsequently, we have approached the opportunities they had to access the system again during their adulthood, the obstacles they had to face and the resources to be able to complete the medium level.

Children’s socialization, involved parenting, and the construction of the family-school partnership in everyday family interactions: a study on parent-assisted homework as a morally dense educational arena

This study investigates an activity that takes place at the intersection between family and school and plays a key role in the building of the family-school partnership largely promoted by education policies: parent-assisted homework. Even though this topic is not new in pedagogical research, what is innovative about this study is the focus on naturally occurring parent-child conversations during homework. Adopting a phenomenological approach to the study of educational events and relying on conversation analysis, the present study analyzes 62 video-recorded sessions of parent-assisted homework collected in 19 Italian families with children aged 6-10 years old (i.e., attending primary school). The analysis of parent-child interactions reveals that parent-assisted homework is not only a site for formal learning but also and primarily a morally dense educational arena. Through the ‘small talks’ that accompany the completion of homework exercises, parents and children evoke and co-construct moral ideologies concerning topics as diverse as learning, school rules and standards, ‘good, involved parenting’, the family-school partnership, children’s autonomy, virtue, time management, and the organization of knowledge and authority in interaction. By taking part in everyday homework interactions, children are educated to culture-specific ethical systems and socialized into morally competent members of their communities, while parents implement the family-school partnership and comply with the model of “involved parent” proposed by pedagogical research and policies. Providing empirical evidence for the moral and educational relevance of ordinary family talk, this study contributes to pedagogical research on family life and promotes parents’ reflexivity about their mundane interactive activities.

Acculturation processes and intergroup relations of adolescents in multicultural societies: the role of family, peer, and school contexts

Acculturation processes and intergroup relations lie at the heart of developing more inclusive social attitudes. Notably, these endeavors are embedded in primary socialization contexts of adolescents, as indicated by developmental and socio-psychological theoretical models reviewed in Chapter 1. Hence, this dissertation investigated how adolescents' acculturation processes and intergroup contact are embedded in family, peer, and school contexts. Accordingly, Chapter 2 indicated the combined effects of the perceived parents' acculturation orientations and classmates' acculturation preferences on adolescents' own acculturation orientations in Italy and Turkey. Chapter 3 showed that adolescents could be classified into one of four latent growth trajectory classes (i.e., ethnic-oriented, national-oriented, dual, and marginalized identities), which could be predicted by social identification with family and classmates. Chapter 4 highlighted that adolescents' cross-ethnic friendships mediated the positive associations of parents' cross-ethnic friendships with adolescents' psychological and social adjustment beyond the positive relationships between parents' and adolescents' friendships. Multiple studies conducted in Chapter 5 confirmed that a newly developed questionnaire (i.e., ICIS-Short Version) is a reliable tool to measure positive and negative contact among ethnic minority and majority adolescents. Chapter 6 revealed that teachers' equal treatment increased positive and decreased negative contact among ethnic minority and majority adolescents. Moreover, Chapter 7 indicated that adolescents’ positive and negative contact in the school context were related over time to higher corresponding positive and negative contact in out-of-school contexts and vice versa, while their positive contact in the school context was linked over time to lower levels of negative contact in the out-of-school contexts. Eventually, Chapter 8 strived to summarize and discuss these findings in light of social inclusivity. Overall, this dissertation tapped into the paramount importance of family, peer, and school contexts to provide a unique resource for adolescents to cope with acculturative challenges that go beyond the normative developmental tasks of adolescence.

Investigating the learning potential of the Second Quantum Revolution: development of an approach for secondary school students

In recent years we have witnessed important changes: the Second Quantum Revolution is in the spotlight of many countries, and it is creating a new generation of technologies. To unlock the potential of the Second Quantum Revolution, several countries have launched strategic plans and research programs that finance and set the pace of research and development of these new technologies (like the Quantum Flagship, the National Quantum Initiative Act and so on). The increasing pace of technological changes is also challenging science education and institutional systems, requiring them to help to prepare new generations of experts. This work is placed within physics education research and contributes to the challenge by developing an approach and a course about the Second Quantum Revolution. The aims are to promote quantum literacy and, in particular, to value from a cultural and educational perspective the Second Revolution. The dissertation is articulated in two parts. In the first, we unpack the Second Quantum Revolution from a cultural perspective and shed light on the main revolutionary aspects that are elevated to the rank of principles implemented in the design of a course for secondary school students, prospective and in-service teachers. The design process and the educational reconstruction of the activities are presented as well as the results of a pilot study conducted to investigate the impact of the approach on students' understanding and to gather feedback to refine and improve the instructional materials. The second part consists of the exploration of the Second Quantum Revolution as a context to introduce some basic concepts of quantum physics. We present the results of an implementation with secondary school students to investigate if and to what extent external representations could play any role to promote students’ understanding and acceptance of quantum physics as a personal reliable description of the world.

The role of technology at school: new perspectives on distance education and cyberbullying

The integration of digital technology in school is a complex phenomenon that affects both teaching and peer relationships. Accordingly, the main aim of this dissertation was to investigate the implementation of distance education among Italian teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyze peer relationships concerning cyberbullying and bullying. While the theoretical section provided an overview of the phenomena, four empirical studies were presented. The first one tested a moderated moderation model among 178 secondary teachers on the interactions among perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use of technology and online teaching self-efficacy. Findings showed that each variable significantly predicted the intention to use technology. In addition, a moderation effect of online teaching self-efficacy on perceived usefulness was found. The second study analyzed the differences in factors promoting the integration of digital technology among 357 teachers of different levels and subjects and their positive and negative experiences with distance education. Results revealed several differences in the function of the grade and subjects taught. Moreover, four main themes emerged from the content analysis. The third study investigated the dyadic perception of bullying and cyberbullying among 50 students using the eye-tracker. Findings showed that, despite differences among different kinds of bullying and cyberbullying, the victim and bully were the most observed roles. Finally, the last study tested two multiple mediation models among 563 students on the association between bullying, cyberbullying, and well-being, considering three different variables related to the school context (peer network, teacher support and school connectedness). The results highlighted the importance of peer networks and school connectedness in mediating the association between victimization, cybervictimzation and well-being. Taken together, the findings provided a rich overview of digital technology integration in schools, highlighting positive and negative aspects and its implications for future research and school policies.