Context Questionnaire Research Articles

Validation of the Korean Version of Parents as Social Context Questionnaire(PSCQ)

Validation of the Korean Version of Parents as Social Context Questionnaire(PSCQ)

On the nature of teaching nature of science: Preservice early childhood teachers' instruction in preschool and elementary settings

AbstractThis study explored whether early childhood preservice teachers' concerns about teaching nature of science (NOS) and their intellectual levels influenced whether and how they taught NOS at the preschool and primary (K‐3) levels. We used videotaped classroom observations and lesson plans to determine the science instructional practices at the preschool and primary levels, and to track whether and how preservice teachers emphasized NOS. We used the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SOCQ) pre‐ and postinternship to determine concerns about NOS instruction, and the Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) to determine intellectual levels. We found that neither concerns about teaching NOS nor intellectual level were related to whether and how the preservice teachers emphasized NOS; however, we found that all preservice early childhood teachers began their internships with NOS concern profiles of “worried.” Two preservice teachers' NOS concerns profiles changed as a result of their internships; one to “cooperator” and one to “cooperator/improver.” These two preservice teachers had cooperating teachers who were aware of NOS and implemented it in their own science instruction. The main factors that hindered or facilitated teaching NOS for these preservice teachers were the influence of the cooperating teacher and the use of the science curriculum. The preservice teacher with the cooperating teacher who understood and emphasized NOS herself and showed her how to modify the curriculum to include NOS, was able to explicitly teach NOS to her students. Those in classrooms whose cooperating teachers did not provide support for NOS instruction were unable to emphasize NOS. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:213–233, 2010

Measuring outcomes in a child psychiatry inpatient unit

The aim of this article is to examine clinical outcomes in a child psychiatry inpatient unit using dedicated measures. Clinicians completed contextual (Paddington Complexity Scale - PCS) and clinical change (Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents - HoNOSCA) questionnaires on admission and discharge for consecutive admissions to the unit between 1999 and 2007 (n=167). Mean changes in HoNOSCA scores were analysed, and the predictors of HoNOSCA mean change were assessed using regression analysis. The results showed that the mean length of stay at the unit was 5.6 months (SD 3.1). PCS ratings identified high total, clinical, and environmental complexity scores. HoNOSCA ratings indicated high levels of psychological problems on admission and significant improvement at discharge (mean change 7.7 (SD 6.7)). Greater positive change was associated with higher initial HoNOSCA scores, diagnoses other than conduct disorder and schizophrenia, and a facilitative parental attitude. The authors conclude that the systematic use of standardised outcome measures in child psychiatric inpatient units is useful to document clinical features, complexity and clinical change.

Early childhood teachers' views of nature of science: The influence of intellectual levels, cultural values, and explicit reflective teaching

AbstractThis study tracked the influence of explicit reflective instructional methods on cultural values, ethical and intellectual development, and the relationship of these with preservice teachers' views of nature of science (NOS). The researchers used the Views of Nature of Science Form B (VNOS B) to describe NOS views, the Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) to classify preservice teachers' ethical and intellectual positions using Perry's scheme, and the Schwartz Values Inventory (SVI) to measure preservice teachers' cultural values. The interventions took place in two concurrent courses: a science methods course, and a foundations of early childhood course. The science methods course explicitly emphasized NOS throughout the semester, and the foundations of early childhood course reinforced these ideas through cultural activities that stressed empirical evidence. Analysis of data showed relationships between preservice teachers' Perry positions and responses on the VNOS B with those at higher positions exhibiting more informed NOS views. Relationships between preservice teachers' NOS views and their cultural values were identified, such as those at the dualism position holding achievement more highly for scientists than those at other Perry positions. The values preservice teachers held personally were different from those they held as important for scientists. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 748–770, 2008

Relationships of preservice early childhood teachers’ cultural values, ethical and cognitive developmental levels, and Views of Nature of Science

This study explored relationships between preservice early childhood teachers’ views of nature of science (NOS), cognitive developmental levels, and their cultural values. Using the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-B) and interviews, we assessed views of NOS. The Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) was used to determine the cognitive levels. Using the Schwartz Values Inventory, we determined cultural values. We analyzed the preservice teachers’ views of NOS by searching for patterns in responses to the VNOS-B by Perry position on the LCQ. We used SPSS to find significant correlations between cultural values and associated subscales’ cognitive levels. We found that though preservice teachers at all Perry positions held misconceptions about NOS, there were patterns of views by position; those at the position of dualism described their views in terms of one right truth, while those at the multiplicity position described their views in terms of analyzing evidence from many different interpretations.

Path analytical study of teachers' characteristics, students' attitude and instructional facilities on students' performance in mathematics

The study determined the effect of teachers' characteristics like qualification, knowledge of subject matter, experience, workload, effectiveness, students' attitude and instructional facilities caused variation in students' performance in Mathematics. Study adopted an expost-facto design covering the colleges of education in Nigeria. Samples to the study consisted of 165 NCE III students of Mathematics and 30 Mathematics lecturers from the 6 colleges of education in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Six instruments were developed, validated and used to collect data: context questionnaire, input questionnaire, process questionnaire, product questionnaire, inventory of Mathematics resources in the colleges and inventory of resources in the Mathematics laboratory studio. Data were analyzed through the mean, standard deviation and path analysis. The findings showed that there was dismal performance of students in Mathematics with mean scores of 44.4% and standard deviation of 2.9. Twenty one significant pathways (seven direct and fourteen indirect = 82.2%) through which the identified variables caused variation in students' performance in Mathematics. The implication of the finding was that persistent students' dismal performance in Mathematics was due to accumulated problems in their preparation which failed to adhere strict to the conditions of programme accreditation. African Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sport Facilitation Vol. 6 2004: 45-52

An extention of the school moral atmosphere construct, and its association with aggressive behaviours in secondary school

The first aim of this research is to introduce and to validate the new concept of School Normative Context, that revisits the concept of School Moral Atmosphere studied by Brugman and his colleagues through the SMAQ (1999) and validated also in the Italian context (Mancini & Fruggeri, 2005). The School Normative Context entails two new aspects: The first one concerns the interactive dimension of each specific school context and the second one concerns the perception of responsibility (internal vs, external) in the implementation of the norm. The second aim is to study the relation among adolescents perception of School Normative Context, adolescents’ orientation towards social rules and their aggressive behaviours against classmates at school. 268 students (mean age 17,01) attending three Italian high schools of three different educational levels (Lyceum, technical and professional) participated in this research. They filled a questionnaire composed of three parts: School Normative Context Questionnaire (SNC), Normative Orientation Scale (NOS) and Aggression Scale (Orpinas, Frankowski, 2001). School Normative Context has shown an acceptable degree of conceptual and predictive validity. The research has shown that the School Normative Context has an influence on the aggressive behaviours against classmates. Furthermore, it is a mediating factor between the adolescents’ orientation towards social norms and their aggressive behaviours at school.

Quality and Equity in Basic Education Brasileira: The Evidence SAEB-2001

This work uses data from SAEB?National System for Evaluation of Basic Education?to describe the cognitive achievement of 4th, 8th and 11th grade Brazilian basic education students. The achievement is measured on a scale that is the same for all grade levels. The test items are chosen to cover a synthesis of the curriculum frameworks of all Brazilian states. The achievement level of the great majority of the students does not meet the officially recommended levels. Also, there are large differences of achievement among students of different regions of the country, of different races, and of different socioeconomic status. The data, therefore, show the existence of large problems of quality and equity in Brazilian basic education. The students, their teachers, and the school principal provide, through their answers to contextual questionnaires, information on potential explanatory factors for the achievement levels. Using these data, it is possible, using adequate statistical methodology, to correlate the student achievement with the student and school factors. Several factors, under the control of school and public policies, are reported as having potential for improving the quality of education. The very few factors that affect the equity of the system act in the direction of increasing the inequalities among students of different races and of different socioeconomic backgrounds. The article concludes showing that the quality problem should be faced together with the equity problem, and for that, this latter dimension should be given a more prominent role in school improvement projects.

The Impact of Invisible Illness on Identity and Contextual Age Across the Life Span

This study explored the impact invisible illness has on identity, specifically contextual age, throughout the life span. It was grounded in the assumption that an individual's identity is formed through communicative interaction. Using social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) as a framework, individuals' identities after disclosure of invisible illness were explored. Rubin and Rubin's (1986) Contextual Age Questionnaire was used to determine self-perceived as well as other-perceived contextual age. Invisibly ill individuals reported significantly "higher" contextual age scores than did same chronologically aged, matched non-ill individuals. In addition, the friends of invisibly ill individuals reported "higher" contextual age scores for the invisibly ill individuals than the self-reported scores of the same chronologically aged non-ill individuals. Interviews further revealed that illness instilled insight and that disclosure of illness provoked comments from others that led invisibly ill individuals to identify with older individuals. Future directions and limitations of this study are also discussed.

Clinical supervision and support for nurses: an evaluation study

Clinical supervision and support for nurses: an evaluation study Aim. To assess the effects of clinical supervision and informal support on qualified nurses. Rationale. Earlier small‐scale research studies have provided conflicting evidence about the impact of clinical supervision, hence the need for this larger‐scale study. Design. Survey design drawing on an opportunity sample of 211 qualified nurses from 11 randomly selected hospital and community NHS Trusts in one region in England. Quantitative data collection used the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Nursing in Context Questionnaire (NICQ), while qualitative data were based on written critical incidents. The analysis compared supervized with unsupervized nurses. Findings. The critical incident analysis revealed that supervized nurses continued to use informal support networks as well as their supervision sessions to discuss clinical issues. The MBI found no significant differences in levels of burnout between supervized and unsupervized nurses. However, the NCIQ detected some statistically significant differences, with supervized nurses reporting a more listening and supportive management, coping better at work and feeling that they had better access to support than unsupervized nurses. Closer analysis found that this positive finding was particularly strong among the more junior supervized nurses. Conclusion. Where resources are limited, it is better to concentrate on providing clinical supervision to more junior grades of nurses as a valued form of support during their early years as qualified practitioners.

Clinical supervision and support for nurses: an evaluation study

To assess the effects of clinical supervision and informal support on qualified nurses. Earlier small-scale research studies have provided conflicting evidence about the impact of clinical supervision, hence the need for this larger-scale study. Survey design drawing on an opportunity sample of 211 qualified nurses from 11 randomly selected hospital and community NHS Trusts in one region in England. Quantitative data collection used the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Nursing in Context Questionnaire (NICQ), while qualitative data were based on written critical incidents. The analysis compared supervized with unsupervized nurses. The critical incident analysis revealed that supervized nurses continued to use informal support networks as well as their supervision sessions to discuss clinical issues. The MBI found no significant differences in levels of burnout between supervized and unsupervized nurses. However, the NCIQ detected some statistically significant differences, with supervized nurses reporting a more listening and supportive management, coping better at work and feeling that they had better access to support than unsupervized nurses. Closer analysis found that this positive finding was particularly strong among the more junior supervized nurses. Where resources are limited, it is better to concentrate on providing clinical supervision to more junior grades of nurses as a valued form of support during their early years as qualified practitioners.

The context-specific positive alcohol outcome expectancies of university women.

Alcohol outcome expectancies are subjective beliefs about the psychological and physical effects of alcohol consumption. The primary purpose of the present study was to determine whether the types and strengths of university women's positive alcohol outcome expectancies differ across three typical student drinking contexts. Seventy-eight female undergraduates completed three versions of the Expectancy Context Questionnaire (ECQ) depicting Social, Sexual, and Tension drinking contexts, respectively, and then prospectively self-monitored their own drinking behavior. Respondent's total positive expectancies were strongest, overall, in the Sexual context and weakest in the Tension context. Consistent with hypothesis, the strengths of certain specific alcohol expectancies varied significantly across contexts: Arousal expectancies were strongest in the Sexual context and weakest in the Social context; Social/Sexual Enhancement expectancies were strongest in the Sexual context and weakest in the Tension context; and Global Positive Affect expectancies were strongest in the Social context and weakest in the Tension context. Drinking levels over the week of self-monitoring were significantly predicted by Global Positive Affect and Relaxation expectancies in the Social Context, and by Social/ Sexual Enhancement, Arousal, and Relaxation expectancies in the Sexual Context. The theoretical and clinical importance of identifying drinking context when examining alcohol expectancies is discussed.

What Can Mathematics Educators in England Learn from TIMSS?

In most of the countries taking part in TIMSS, students scored at similar levels for mathematics and science. England was one of the few countries where the results did not conform to this pattern. The key question for mathematics educators in England is: why did students in England perform relatively well in science but relatively badly in mathematics? The results for 9-year-olds were particularly intriguing since the majority of students at this age in England were taught mathematics and science by their class teacher. In order to seek answers to the question posed above, this article compares the responses to the TIMSS context questionnaires made by 9-year-olds and their teachers in the 13 European countries taking part in the TIMSS survey of that age group (Population 1). Issues examined include: curriculum content; lesson time; homework; class size; use of calculators in mathematics; practical activities in science; classroom organisation and students’ attitudes.

Antecedents of pre-competition achievement goals in elite junior tennis players

The aim of this study was to integrate both dispositional and situational factors to examine their interactive ability to predict pre-competitive goal states of task and ego involvement in a sample of National junior tennis players. The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (Chi and Duda, 1995) and a set of single- item assessments of match goal orientation represented the dispositional measures in the study. These were administered at home, away from the tennis environment. The situational antecedents of pre-match task and ego involvement were assessed by an 11-item Match Context Questionnaire, which was administered to the players (n=119) within 1 h of their singles match start time at the National Junior Championships. The Match Context Questionnaire also measured the personal task- and ego-involved goal states of the player with respect to the upcoming singles match (i.e.'state' goals). Factor analysis of this questionnaire revealed three situational factors which cumulatively accounted for 64.7% of variance in the match context: social/personal perceptions of ability; perceived state goal preference of significant others; and match value. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed significant main effects of the dispositional and situational factors on the different goal types. Specifically, perceptions of significant others, the achievement value of the match and perceptions of ability were the major predictors of task involvement. The pre-match intensity of ego involvement was predicted by ego orientation combining with perceptions of significant others and match value. These findings reinforce the need for researchers to consider the importance of both dispositional and situational variables when predicting goal involvement in competitive contexts.

Antecedents of state goals in age-group swimmers: an interactionist perspective.

A theoretical tenet of 'goal perspective' theory that has received little research attention has been the nature of the relationship between the person and the environment with respect to predicting task and ego involvement in sport. This study therefore integrated both dispositional and situational criteria in order to examine their relative ability to predict 'state' goals of task and ego involvement in a sample of age-group swimmers (n = 214). The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and several single-item assessments of goal orientation represented the dispositional measures, and these were completed away from the race environment. The situational antecedents of task and ego involvement were assessed by the 11-item Race Context Questionnaire (RCQ), which was administered to the swimmers within 1 h of their main event at their county championships. The RCQ also assessed the extent to which the performer had set task and ego goals for the upcoming race (i.e. 'state' goals). Factor analysis of the RCQ revealed four factors which cumulatively accounted for 65.3% of the variance: social/personal perceptions of ability; perceived state goal preference of significant others; race outcome value; and perceived readiness. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed separate main effects as well as significant interactions between the dispositional and situational predictors of the different goal types. Specifically, social perceptions and race-specific criteria were the major predictors of ego involvement, whereas the level of task orientation combined with the above situational factors seemed to exert greater influence in determining the intensity of task involvement in age-group swimmers. These findings alert researchers to the importance of applying an interactionist perspective to the examination of 'state' goals.