Lee Owens

The Transition From Single-Sex to Coeducational High Schools: Effects on Multiple Dimensions of Self-Concept and on Academic Achievement

Two single-sex (SS) high schools serving the same neighborhood were reorganized to form two coeducational (coed) high schools. Self-concept was measured for all students in grades 7–11 in each of 4 years that spanned the pretransition (Year 1), the transition (Year 2), and the posttransition (Years 3 and 4). For both boys and girls there was a clear increase in multidimensional self-concepts from the pretransition to the posttransition, despite a small decrease in self-concepts for students attending coed classes during the transition year. Sex differences in specific areas of self-concept—those favoring boys and those favoring girls—were unaffected by the transition. Achievement grades from the statewide School Certificate reference examination, awarded to all students at the end of grade 10, were monitored for the same 4 years. Across the 4 years of the study there were no significant differences in either mathematics or English achievement. Girls performed substantially better than boys in English and relatively poorer in mathematics, but the sizes of these differences were unaffected by the transition. The results of the present investigation suggest the benefits of transition to coeducation for both boys and girls in multiple dimensions of self-concept that are not at the expense of academic achievement.

The Relationships Between Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualized Learning Preferences and Students’ Perceptions of Classroom Learning Atmosphere

Learning preferences and perceptions of classroom learning atmosphere were compared for a sample of 279 Sydney secondary school students in Grades 7 and 11. Students completed both the Learning Preference Scale—Students and the Classroom Learning Atmosphere Scale—Secondary twice, once for their English classes and once for their mathematics classes. Grade 11 students prefer both more cooperative and more competitive contact than do Grade 7 students. English generally is seen as more appropriate for cooperative contact than is mathematics, though girls prefer competing in English more than boys do, and boys prefer competing in mathematics more than girls do. Personal cooperative learning preferences are clearly related to perceptions of actual classroom emphasis on interpersonal relationships and personal development in three of the four Year × Subject groups. Grade 11 mathematics differs in that both students with high cooperative learning preference and students with low cooperative learning preference perceive classroom atmosphere similarly. Discussion concentrates on the study of mathematics by girls and the efficacy of cooperative learning.

The learning preferences of students and teachers: An Australian-American comparison

Abstract The Learning Preference Scale—Students and the Learning Preference Scale—Teachers were administered to large samples from Sydney schools ( n = 1,814 and 619, respectively). With corresponding American versions, a large sample of students and teachers was tested in Minneapolis schools ( n = 1,059 and 342, respectively). Data were analyzed first in separate batches by country, and then combined using country as a variable. School year and sex findings are discussed for students. Teaching subject, sex, and years of teaching experience findings are discussed for teachers. The Sydney and Mineapolis data are similar when each data set is analyzed separately. In both cities the girl-boy differences are identical: the girls show stronger cooperative preferences and the boys stronger competitive and individualized preferences. The overall trends with regard to school year, too, are the same, with cooperative and competitive preferences increasing with year level and individualized preference decreasing. In addition, teachers in both cities show striking similarities. Males have more orientation to competitive learning than females. Primary/elementary teachers express more cooperative preferences than secondary teachers, whereas high school teachers, especially those of science and mathematics, are more strongly competitive in their preferences. Dissimilarities become evident, however, when direct comparisons are made between the sets of data for the two locations. Both students and teachers in Sydney are more competitively inclined, more individualistically inclined, and less cooperatively inclined than the sample of their American counterparts. Although the emphasis on competition and individualization in American schools has been seen as excessive and has drawn loud criticism from social commentators, this emphasis in Australia, which is even greater, has attracted very little attention. Because of geographic and social isolation, certain aspects of Australian society have been relatively free from criticism. Comparative data such as those from the present study offer the chance to bring the competitive/indivudalistic ethos predominant in Australia under critical examination.

Towards a Framework for Professional Preparation: lessons from teacher and nurse education

ABSTRACT This paper is based upon a presentation made at the fifth National Practicum Conference held at Macquarie University, Sydney in February 1993. It outlines a proposed framework for initial professional preparation based upon developmental approaches to nurse and teacher education. Key aspects of that framework are compared with the actual outcomes of a recent collaborative research study into students in nursing and their perceptions of learning in the clinical setting. Similarities and differences are identified and discussed, particularly those relating to concerns neophytes have during pre‐service courses. Several issues of importance in practicums undertaken as part of professional programmes, including the complementary roles played by experienced practitioners and university staff, are emphasised, along with the value of fostering reflection upon practice.

With Others, Against Others and On Your Own: The Learning Preferences of Teachers.

This paper is produced as part of the Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualized Learning in Education Project (CCILE). The CCILE Project has been funded by the Education Research and Development Committee, Canberra, and has received the full cooperation of the New South Wales Department of Education. The author gratefully acknowledges the energetic research assistance of Jennifer Barnes in the various strands of the CCILE Project and the collaboration of Ralph Straton in the early stages, as well as the data collection and analysis by Graeme Henderson and Barbara Lord in connection with this paper. Some of these data were included in a paper presented to the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Adelaide, November, 1981. The Learning Preference Scale ‐ Teachers (LPST) has been developed to obtain the responses of teachers to the desirability of cooperative, competitive and individualized learning. A total of 619 teachers from Sydney primary and secondary schools (go...

Making it Happen: a personal account of a teacher education aid project in the Solomon Islands

Abstract Secondary teacher education in the Solomon Islands has been non‐existent since an early attempt was abandoned a decade ago. An international aid project now has attempted to implement a carefully wrought plan. This article outlines the plan, describes what actually happened when the plan was implemented, and proposes some principles which might be useful in guiding the efforts of future project managers charged with the responsibility of making things happen in a culture other than their own.