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Descriptors:
Statistical Analysis; Foreign Countries; Usability; Social Influences; Geographic Information Systems; Geography Instruction; Knowledge Level; Secondary School Teachers; Teacher Motivation; Questionnaires; Teacher Attitudes; Models; High Schools

Abstract:
This article explores the adoption of geographic information system (GIS) knowledge and skills through in-service training for high school geography teachers in Taiwan. Through statistical analysis of primary data collected from a census of Taiwan's high school geography teachers, it explores what motivates these teachers to undertake GIS training. The design of the questionnaire was largely inspired by the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the social influence model (SIM). The former model postulates the influence of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of GIS on teachers' actual adoption of the technology. The latter, in contrast, postulates that teachers' usage of GIS is affected by their peers and their schools. Statistical findings indicate that PU and school support are important factors influencing teachers' adoption of GIS in Taiwan. (Contains 8 tables and 4 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Acceleration (Education); Rating Scales; Urban Schools; Academically Gifted; Rural Schools; Suburban Schools; Rural Urban Differences; Teacher Attitudes; Social Influences; Emotional Experience; Student Needs; Teachers; Longitudinal Studies; Extracurricular Activities; Teacher Surveys; School Policy; Parent Attitudes; Measures (Individuals); Focus Groups

Abstract:
Despite extensive research supporting its use, including the 2004 publication of "A Nation Deceived," acceleration is an underutilized strategy for meeting the academic needs of gifted and talented students. Parents' and educators' attitudes and beliefs about acceleration influence the extent to which it is implemented in schools. This study investigated gifted and talented educators' attitudes toward acceleration using a 7-point rating scale measuring concerns about acceleration, beliefs about acceleration, and support for specific acceleration strategies. Data indicated there were no differences in attitudes among teachers from rural, suburban, or urban school districts. Overall, the least popular acceleration strategies were also the easiest to implement, but caused the greatest change in students' environments (i.e., grade-skipping and early entrance to kindergarten). As expected, the educators were most troubled by social issues and least concerned about academic issues related to acceleration. (Contains 6 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Mexicans; Migration Patterns; Semi Structured Interviews; Decision Making; Academic Aspiration; Economic Factors; Social Influences; Acculturation; Youth; Immigration; Mexican Americans; Family Influence; Family Characteristics

Abstract:
We explored migration decisions using in-depth, semistructured interviews with male and female youth ages 14 to 24 (n = 47) from two Mexican communities, one with high and one with low U.S. migration density. Half were return migrants and half were nonmigrants with relatives in the United States. Migrant and nonmigrant youth expressed different preferences, especially in terms of education and their ability to wait for financial gain. Reasons for migration were mostly similar across the two communities; however, the perceived risk of the migration journey was higher in the low-density migration community whereas perceived opportunities in Mexico were higher in the high-density migration community. Reasons for return were related to youths' initial social and economic motivations for migration. A greater understanding of factors influencing migration decisions may provide insight into the vulnerability of immigrant youth along the journey, their adaptation process in the United States, and their reintegration in Mexico. (Contains 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Activism; Teacher Education Programs; Urban Schools; Race; Professional Identity; Ethnicity; Politics of Education; Minority Group Teachers; Student Teachers; Student Teaching; Arabs; North Americans; Power Structure; Social Influences

Abstract:
Understanding teaching as a political act is often assumed to be a strength for teachers; however, this assumption conceals important aspects of their processes of becoming politicized. I argue that seeing teaching as a political act can be a liability for prospective teachers of color who engaged with college student activism if these assumed qualities are not productively addressed in teacher education programs. I examine trajectories of change in a prospective teacher's sense-making about activism over the course of her first year in a master's and credential program and explore the implications of these findings for programs of teacher education. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Child Abuse; Risk; Foster Care; African American Children; Race; Referral; Racial Differences; Mothers; Ethnicity; Victims; Child Welfare; Law Enforcement; Whites; Socioeconomic Status; Health; Hispanic Americans; Social Influences; Political Influences; Environmental Influences; Family (Sociological Unit)

Abstract:
Objective: Data from the United States indicate pronounced and persistent racial/ethnic differences in the rates at which children are referred and substantiated as victims of child abuse and neglect. In this study, we examined the extent to which aggregate racial differences are attributable to variations in the distribution of individual and family-level risk factors. Methods: This study was based on the full population of children born in California in 2002. Birth records were linked to child protective service (CPS) records to identify all children referred for maltreatment by age 5. Generalized linear models were used to compute crude and adjusted racial/ethnic differences in children's risk of referral, substantiation, and entry to foster care. Results: As expected, stark differences between Black and White children emerged in the rates of contact with CPS. Black children were more than twice as likely as White children to be referred for maltreatment, substantiated as victims, and enter foster care before age 5. Yet, there were also significant differences across racial/ethnic groups in the distribution of socioeconomic and health factors strongly correlated with child maltreatment and CPS involvement. After adjusting for these differences, low socioeconomic Black children had a lower risk of referral, substantiation, and entry to foster care than their socioeconomically similar White counterparts. Among Latinos, before adjusting for other factors, children of U.S.-born mothers were significantly more likely than White children to experience system contact, while children of foreign-born mothers were less likely to be involved with CPS. After adjusting for socioeconomic and health indicators, the relative risk of referral, substantiation, and foster care entry was significantly lower for Latino children (regardless of maternal nativity) compared to White children. Conclusions: Race and ethnicity is a marker for a complex interaction of economic, social, political, and environmental factors that influence the health of individuals and communities. This analysis indicates that adjusting for child and family-level risk factors is necessary to distinguish race-specific effects (which may reflect system, worker, or resource biases) from socioeconomic and health indicators associated with maltreatment risk. Identifying the independent effects of these factors is critical to developing effective strategies for reducing racial disparities. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Policy; Case Studies; Comparative Education; Educational Research; Cultural Influences; Social Influences; History; Policy Formation; Correlation; Global Approach; International Education; Educational Trends; Trend Analysis; Inclusion

Abstract:
International comparison is complicated by the use of different terms, classification methods, policy frameworks and system structures, not to mention different languages and terminology. Multi-case studies can assist in the understanding of the influence wielded by cultural, social, economic, historical and political forces upon educational decisions, policy construction and changes over time. But case studies alone are not enough. In this paper, we argue for an ecological or scaled approach that travels through macro, meso and micro levels to build "nested" case-studies to allow for more comprehensive analysis of the external and internal factors that shape policy-making and education systems. Such an approach allows for deeper understanding of the relationship between globalizing trends and policy developments. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adolescents; Ideology; Qualitative Research; Masculinity; Gender Issues; Adolescent Attitudes; Adolescent Development; Psychological Characteristics; Social Structure; Social Theories; Educational Environment; Institutional Characteristics; Youth Opportunities; Youth Problems; Change Strategies; Social Psychology; Social Influences

Abstract:
This study stems from a yearlong qualitative inquiry examining the influence that gender ideologies exercised in the lives of four young men in the high school setting. Utilizing a feminist, post-structuralist perspective (Davies, 1997, 1989; Connell, 1996, 1997, 1989; Martino, 1995), it analyzes how masculinity constructs itself through discursive practices. The study involves four adolescent boys, Michael, Peter, Aiden and Jack, all friends and classmates in a small, Midwestern high school comprised mainly of working class and farming families. This study examines each boy's idiosyncratic positioning within dominant discourses of masculinity, specifically questioning its ability to shape, influence and possibly constrain posture and performance in the classroom setting. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Conservation (Environment); Semi Structured Interviews; Social Influences; Surveys; Agricultural Occupations; Qualitative Research; Rural Areas; Decision Making; Agricultural Production; Rural Extension; Psychology

Abstract:
Purpose: The aim of this article is to present and apply a method to investigate farmers' socio-psychological determinants of conservation practice adoption, as an aid in extension, policy and conservation practice design. Design/methodology/approach: We use a sequential mixed method, starting with qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 24), that serve as the basis for a quantitative survey (n = 138). The survey uses the expectancy value method to unravel the foundations of farmers' socio-psychological determinants. Findings: Some of the main findings are that non-adopters exhibit rational behaviour, given their own point of view of potential consequences of conservation practice adoption. Further, the majority of farmers are mainly under social influence by parties that are generally not involved in conservation practice promotion. Practical implications: Extension approaches should be targeted towards a broader range of issues and should involve local governments and rural dwellers. The results also suggest the value of co-learning and co-development in a combined farmer-researcher approach to design conservation practices such that the potential negative impact is reduced. Originality/value: The study has empirically proven that non-adopters in fact behave rationally, given their expectation about the broad range of issues they consider when thinking about conservation practice adoption. Its value is the introduction to agriculture of an approach that has proven its usefulness in general environmental psychology. (Contains 4 figures and 6 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Instructional Materials; Teaching Methods; Cultural Background; Foreign Countries; Asian Culture; Grounded Theory; Cultural Influences; Sociocultural Patterns; Mathematics Instruction; Social Influences; Junior High School Students; Cognitive Processes; Thinking Skills; Cognitive Style; Theories

Abstract:
From the sociocultural perspective, this research utilized activity theory as the theoretical framework to analyze the influences of cultural factors for Taiwanese Atayal junior high school students' study in mathematics. The research methodology adopted grounded theory, theoretical and methodological approaches which are illustrated through episodes from a study of the mathematics teaching and learning in a year-13 class, where Atayal students were considered as "lower achievers" in their year group. We show a way to address complexity in the activity of learning and its development based on recognition of central cultural factors in mathematics teaching-learning by the use of the activity system. Analysis through this systematic network can reveal the factors influencing Atayal students' learning of mathematics under their cultural background. The tension between Atayal culture's speech representation system and Chinese culture's literal representation system causes Atayal students difficulties in carrying out the transformation of representations. Tension formed between Atayal students' holistic thinking style and the analytic thinking style presented in teaching material and teaching activities is unfavorable to their understanding of mathematical concepts. From a teaching practice perspective, Atayal students can be more actively involved in mathematics learning activities when the tension between the teaching/learning systems is considered. As for the theoretical structure, the analysis structure of classroom activity and the design of teaching activities developed from a sociocultural orientation and activity theory can indeed improve Atayal students' mathematical learning within the cultural stream. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Substance Abuse; At Risk Persons; Foreign Countries; Drug Abuse; Young Adults; Personal Narratives; Personal Autonomy; Alcohol Abuse; Early Adolescents; Interviews; Attitude Measures; Social Influences; Psychological Patterns

Abstract:
The provision of alcohol and other drug (AOD) programmes in Australia targeting a broad age range of young people may inadvertently obscure the particular service needs of early teenagers. In this study, we describe four main accounts of substance use identified through interviews with 20 AOD service-engaged participants in Victoria, aged from 13 to 15 years. These were: that their substance use is purposeful; that it is generally controlled; that their futures would involve competent substance use and that they did not require treatment. Each of these narratives rebuts a wider social construction of drug use as inevitably problematic and necessitating an institutional response. While participants' narratives of substance use resemble accounts made by older AOD users, they have particular implications for service delivery. We suggest that workers might both employ and seek to modify early teenagers' concerns about autonomy. First, services should work to be viewed by young people as resources for living well rather than as institutions designed to cure the sick and weak of will, and programmes should offer participants opportunities to enact desired selves without reliance on AOD. Second, we argue that valorising autonomy can be detrimental for already-marginalised early teenagers. Hence workers might over time encourage and resource young people to rethink this narrative of selfhood. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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