German Pupils Research Articles

Psychometric intelligence dissociates implicit and explicit learning.

The hypothesis that performance on implicit learning tasks is unrelated to psychometric intelligence was examined in a sample of 605 German pupils. Performance in artificial grammar learning, process control, and serial learning did not correlate with various measures of intelligence when participants were given standard implicit instructions. Under an explicit rule discovery instruction, however, a significant relationship between performance on the learning tasks and intelligence appeared. This finding provides support for Reber's hypothesis that implicit learning, in contrast to explicit learning, is independent of intelligence, and confirms thereby the distinction between the 2 modes of learning. However, because there were virtually no correlations among the 3 learning tasks, the assumption of a unitary ability of implicit learning was not supported.

Separating "Rotators"From "Nonrotators" in the Mental Rotations Test: A Multigroup Latent Class Analysis

Items of mental rotation tests can not only be solved by mental rotation but also by other solution strategies. A multigroup latent class analysis of 24 items of the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) was conducted in a sample of 1,695 German pupils and students to find out how many solution strategies can be identified for the items of this test. The results showed that five subgroups (latent classes) can be distinguished. Although three of the subgroups differ mainly in the number of items reached, one class shows are very low performance. In another class, a special solution strategy is used.This strategy seems to involve analytic rather than mental rotation processes and is efficient only for a special MRT item type, indicating that not all MRT items require a mental rotation approach. In addition, the multigroup analysis revealed significant sex differences with respect to the class assignment, confirming prior findings that on average male participants perform mental rotation tasks faster and better than female participants. Females were also overrepresented in the analytic strategy class. The results are discussed with respect to psychometric and substantive implications, and suggestions for the optimization of the MRT items are provided.

Quality Assurance in the German School System

Whereas internationally the shift towards quality control of school systems started in the early 1980s, mainly promoted by transnational agencies, this development only began in Germany in the mid 1990s. However, a clear-cut change from an input-controlled and centralised to a more output-controlled, decentralised and deregulated supervision system was initiated in most of the German Länder (the states of the German Federal Republic) no more than at the beginning of the new century. Main triggers were the sobering results of German pupils in international assessment tests like the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) compared to other countries which regularly assessed the school system's performance by various means. Now, all 16 German Länder have started model projects with certain groups of schools in each state to try out how self-managing of schools or local management of schools works. They are on their way to an output-controlled steering system of school quality. Due to the federal constitutional system, the progression in this regard is differently advanced and the characteristics of the local management of schools are manifold. Nevertheless, in all Länder several concurrent aspects can be identified. The five structural components on which the new system of quality control is based are: the traditional tasks of the school supervisory authorities, external school inspections, internal self-evaluations, assessment tests for system monitoring combined with regular educational reports, and last but not least, teacher professionalisation. The fundament of this control system is an understanding of school as a self-managing organisation, which is responsible for educational, financial, and personnel matters. In this area of school self-management, Germany is just beginning to reform its highly centralised and regulated school system towards more self-managing structures at its base.

An examination of perceptions of parental influence on attitudes to language learning

Background The assumption that parents have some effect on their children's attitudes to learning is one that few educationalists would challenge. The ways in which this influence is brought to bear are a slightly more complex and contentious matter, however. Purpose The paper uses data from a tri-national PhD study on pupil attitudes to examine perceptions of the ways in which parents influence children's orientations towards foreign language learning (FLL). The comparative element is useful in providing a contrasting range of settings in which to examine the issue. The paper thus aims to provide some indication of the similarity and importance of particular influences by identifying features that seem significant, irrespective of setting. Sample A total of 411 learners of French, German and English (as foreign languages), represented in roughly equal numbers from across the ability range, took part in the survey. The pupils, aged 15 – 16, were drawn from two centrally located mixed comprehensive schools in each country—England, Germany and The Netherlands. The schools were similar in terms of size, social intake and their semi-urban location. Care was taken to ensure as close a gender balance as possible. Design and methods The study was designed as a qualitative survey and involved three data collection instruments. The first stage of data was collected using a written word association prompt distributed to the whole sample. The second stage involved around half the pupils generating written accounts of their attitudes and the factors they perceived to be influential. A total of 80 pupils took part in the final stage, consisting of 14 focus group interviews. A system of open coding was applied to all the data to support the process of inductive category building used in their analysis. Results The findings offer some evidence for an association between parental and pupil attitudes. Parental influence appears to operate in a number of ways, ranging from the role model potential of positive/negative behaviours and the communication of educational regrets, to the ways in which parents help to construct their children's understandings of language importance and status. The extent of parental language knowledge appears to be an important additional factor. Conclusions The evidence suggests that the ways in which parents contribute to the construction of their children's understanding of language utility are particularly important, and that this may be a key factor in the more positive attitudes demonstrated by the German pupils and the more negative orientations among the English participants.

Fitness as ‘social heritage’: a study of elementary school pupils in Berlin

Health and fitness among children and adolescents is a subject currently receiving public attention. This article focuses on the fitness of German pupils (third and fourth grades) in five schools in Berlin with widely differing social catchment areas as well as children from differing social backgrounds. Besides an orthopaedic examination and measurements of height and weight, we tested the children’s motor skills. In addition, a survey was carried out among pupils and their parents. For this purpose, questionnaires were developed which, besides furnishing demographic data, also provided information on attitudes towards the issue of sport and health as well as on sporting activities. In this contribution, we concentrate on the influence of parents and schools on the fitness and motor competencies of the children. The results of the test and the survey clearly showed correlations between the fitness level of the pupils and the education level of the parents. According to our results, fitness and physical skills are, at least to a certain extent, socially inherited. The fitness differences found in the different schools can be explained partly by the different social back ground of the children, but differences in facilities and provisions have also to be taken into consideration. Children who participated in a special programme and visited classes with an emphasis on physical education had a better fitness than pupils in ‘normal classes’. However, most of the children in these special classes were from a middle-class background.

TIMSS 2 elaboriert: Eine didaktische Analyse von Schülerarbeiten im Ländervergleich Schweiz / Deutschland

It was the major aim of the study to find out why the Swiss ranking in TIMSS 2 was so much better than the German ranking. Therefore a test population of 84 pupils in Switzerland and 107 pupils in Germany of comprehensive secondary schools had to work on twelve assorted TIMSS-2-items. The main differences to the TIMSS test-design were that they had to elaborate their answers instead of just ticking marks, that they were given plenty of time, and that they had to comment their processings explicitely. Further on they had to comment curricular circumstances, even if they just guessed an answer. Reasons for guessing were raised, too. By the process of evaluating the elaborated solutions it was possible to discriminate different kinds of mistakes, and to find out whether special kinds of mistakes were due to special attributes of the questions posed. One of the main results of the study is that students in Switzerland worked accurately and perseveringly even in topics that were not curricularly valid. This can be proved especially in geometry where the Swiss students handled topics that had not yet been subjects of tuition. They usually commented issue-related, while German pupils tended to skip problems, or in their annotations, shifted their blames. Seemingly by the lot of time given geometry achievements became noticeably better. Curricular mismatches don’t seem to be an essential reason for the ranking difference considered. Accepting little or additionally severe mistakes does not change the distance in ranking. Instead, it is shifted evenly. Summarizing, the ranking difference between Switzerland and Germany is not merely an instructional effect, but might be due to educational backgrounds, let it be sociocultural effects or else. Another substantial result of the study at hand is that especially in geometry, a lot of errors may be explainable by the type of questions given that led the students to the wrong trail. Might be this was an intention of the TIMSS-designers to test the students‘ stability. But this, naturally, can’t explain the ranking differences considered.

Lack of sustainable prevention effect of the “Smoke-Free Class Competition” on German pupils

Background. This study examines the effectiveness of the school-based campaign “Smoke-Free Class Competition” as a means of preventing young non-smokers from taking up smoking. Methods. Based on two measurements of the Heidelberg Children's Panel Study (1998 and 2000), a longitudinal sample of 1704 pupils was examined: 948 in the intervention group and 756 in the control group. In order to evaluate the effects of the intervention, we compared the smoking behavior in the intervention and the control group at two points in time, shortly before, and 18 months after the intervention, on an individual case basis. Results. (1) Stabilization of never-smoking rates: the proportion of pupils remaining a never-smoker at the follow-up is 62.1% in the intervention group and 61.5% in the control group (OR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.83–1.24); (2) Lowering of relapse rates among ex-smokers: the proportion of former smokers who had not started smoking again in the follow-up is 45.1% in the intervention group and 41.4% in the control group (OR 1.07, 95% CI: 0.77–1.49). Conclusion. The “Smoke-Free Class Competition” did not prevent smoking among adolescents and does not appear to be an effective substitute to the complete ban of tobacco advertising, the abolition of vending machines and the creation of smoke-free environments in German schools.

Die Bedeutung sozialer Ungleichheit für die Gesundheit im Jugendalter

The aim of the study was to investigate socioeconomic differences in adolescent health in Germany. Findings are based on data from 5650 11- to 15-year-old German pupils participating in the cross-national study "Health Behaviour in School-age Children" in 2002. Extend and occurrence of health inequalities depended largely on the selected health out comes. Moreover, there were marked gender-specific differences in respect of socioeconomic differences in health. For both, boys and girls, results showed a strong effect of socioeconomic status (parental occupation and family affluence) on overweight. Allergies yielded comparable results in respect of socioeconomic differences. On the other hand, social inequalities had an influence on psychological health mainly in girls. This effect was found for the number as well as for the extent of socioeconomic health differences. No health inequalities were found in respect of injuries, life satisfaction and underweight, independent of gender. The influence of social inequalities on adolescents' health was considerably more complex and more stratified than expected. The analysis indicates that the special characteristics of adolescence need to be taken into account in the discussion of social inequalities in health. The fact that young people's health is probably less influenced by social inequality then it is during other parts of the life course points attention to adolescence as an important stage for preventive efforts.

Hip pain in adolescents: Results of a cross‐sectional study in German pupils and a review of the literature

To determine the prevalence of hip pain (HP) in adolescents in East Germany and to evaluate the potential factors associated with HP. Cross-sectional epidemiological study of a total of 2368 pupils (1137 males, 1231 females; age 14.5+/-0.65, range 13-18 y). Demographic data and information on sports activity and consumption of soft legal drugs were obtained using a questionnaire. Physical examination was carried out by school doctors. Odds ratio (OR [95% confidence interval]) was calculated for common factors associated with HP. The prevalence of adolescents suffering from HP was 6.5% (n=151). Pain episodes were reported as occasional in 3.0%. A total of 69 subjects (2.9%) suffered from permanent pain during physical activity. Permanent pain when at rest was reported in 0.5% (n=12). Female subjects, students attending high school, smoking adolescents and adolescents with a consumption of alcoholic beverages had a significantly higher prevalence of HP. HP was associated with a significantly higher prevalence of low back pain and knee pain. The prevalence of pathological findings of the hip was 2.5% (n=60). Factors significantly associated with HP were: female gender (1.9-fold), attending high school (2.1-fold) and consumption of tobacco (1.6-fold). HP in adolescents seems to be mostly caused by functional disorders. There is a possible association between HP and psychological stress or consumption of legal drugs. Prophylactic measures are necessary in this age group in future.

Frühe Einflussfaktoren auf das Körpergewicht und die Prävalenz von Übergewicht zum Zeitpunkt der Schuleingangsuntersuchung bei 4610 Kindern im Raum Erlangen/Nordbayern

Childhood obesity is a growing health problem among German children. Birth weight is considered to have a major influence on the course of postnatal weight. The present study investigates the relation between birth weight and body weight at health examination prior to school entry. We tested other parameters influencing childhood obesity, and hypothesized that within a 5-year interval the prevalence of obesity in children has increased significantly. Our study is based on the retrospective analysis of the school enrolment health examinations of 4610 children in North Bavaria, e. g. the town Erlangen and administrative district Erlangen-Hoechstadt in 1995/96 and 2000/01. A higher birth weight was associated with a higher weight and BMI at school entry examination (p < 0.0001). An increased birth weight is therefore a considerable risk factor for later overweight in childhood. Hypotrophic newborn, however, gain less weight and exhibit a lower BMI in our study group. In general, boys were significantly heavier than girls (p < 0.001). Children of foreign origin were heavier and had a higher BMI corrected for age than German pupils but they were also 0.07 years older. Our regional survey revealed local differences in the prevalence of obesity. Comparing the cohorts 1995/96 and 2000/01 at school entry, a significant increase of BMI in the latter was found (p < 0.0001). A highly significant increase in the prevalence of infantile overweight has to be faced. Early prevention of childhood obesity is therefore mandatory to avoid the complications and higher morbidity.

Word Structure Effects in German and British Reading Beginners 1Dieser Beitrag wurde unter der geschäftsführenden Herausgeberschaft von Joachim C. Brunstein akzeptiert.

Abstract: Due to the late developmental onset of reading, it appears to be more malleable than other cognitive functions. In the present study, German- and English-spoken reading beginners were compared with respect to reading of words with increasingly novel word structure. A clear gradual effect of word novelty was found in English speakers only, while in German pupils a gradual word novelty effect was absent. For German reading beginners rhymed words were more difficult than scrambled words, probably because of the ambiguity of rhymed words being familiar and novel at the same time, with only the word onset distinguishing them from proper words. Another difference was that English speakers showed fast reading routines of familiar and rhymed words, while normally schooled German pupils read familiar words slower. This was different in German children with preschool education, who read familiar and rhymed words at the same speed as British pupils, and novel words even faster. Simultaneously their reading accuracy of novel words was further improved. Differences in response patterns to word structure were remarkably robust, although the amount of difference between word types could be varied both in English and in German pupils.

Wolfgang Avemann (I583 - nach I620) und die frühe Verbreitung der niederländischen Architekturmalerei

AbstractIt is sometimes difficult to distinguish the work of those Netherlandish painters who left their homeland in the second half of the I6th century, from that of their German pupils and followers from around I600. The genre of architectural painting is a particularly informative example of the complexities involved in this cultural exchange. Some years ago, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel, acquired a very interesting interior by an almost unknown Hessian painter Wolfgang Avemann (I583- after I620) (fig. I). With this as the starting point, it is possible to reattribute to Avemann a number of perspective paintings (fig. 3, 5-8, I2, 13), which until now were mostly attributed to either Hendrik van Steenwijck the Elder (around I550 - I603) or the Younger (I58I/82-I649). The Van Steenwijck workshop was active at Frankfurt around I600, and since in almost all his paintings Avemann used the Van Steenwijck compositional structure (fig. 2, 4, 9), it is most probable that he was an apprentice in their workshop in Frankfurt. Moreover, his figures were influenced by Frederik and Gillis van Valckenborch (fig. I0), who returned to Frankfurt from Italy just at the time when Avemann was learning his craft. Avemann became a master in Nuremberg in I6I2. Another young master of perspective painting working in the city at the same time was Paul Juvenel (I579-I643) (fig. II), whose father was a Netherlandish émigré. Interestingly, Juvenel's pictures are sometimes mistaken for works by the Van Steenwijcks. Clarifying Avemann's role as a painter of perspective pictures expands not only our understanding of the genre of perspective painting in the early I7th century, but also sheds light on the important influence of Netherlandish artists living in Frankfurt (and Nuremberg) - and just at the time when the young Adam Elsheimer departed for Italy.

Come_IN

Modern western societies are facing the challenges of immigration and integration. The main criterion for social participation and democratic collaboration is the successful integration of immigrants. A lack of social as well as cultural integration, especially among young immigrants, seems to be the consequence of a low level of education and unequal opportunities. Immigrant children who are enrolled at primary schools, for instance, show significant deficits in tests of German language acquisition in comparison to German pupils on the one hand, and even to other immigrant pupils of their parent's generation, on the other.

Helicobacter pylori-Infektion bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

In view of numerous sequelae of a Helicobacter pylori (H.p.) infection and sparse epidemiological data on the infectious status of children and juveniles, a cross-sectional study was undertaken in schools of the Aschaffenburg area. Data were recorded on the number of H.p. infections in pupils aged 14-20 years, the possible influence of various socio-economic factors, and a possible association of the infection with upper abdominal symptoms. In 540 pupils of grade 2 (aged 7-9 years: primary school, n = 183) grade 7 (aged 11-15: primary and secondary schools, n = 177) and grade 12 (aged 16-20 years: vocational or grammar school: n = 180), the presence of H.p. was elucidated with the 13C-urea breath test. An anonymous questionnaire was used to ascertain socio-economic status and any symptoms. In 51 of the 540 pupils (9.4%) the test for H.p. was positive. The infectious state increased with age, but there was no significant difference between the various age groups. Ethnically German pupils were less often infected (7.1%) than those of foreign origin (28.2%). The number of persons in a household correlated with the H.p. status. Upper abdominal symptoms were more frequently reported by infected children and juveniles and were an independent risk factor for H.p. infection. This study highlights the importance of socio-economic factors and the possible association of upper abdominal pain with H.p infection.

Evaluation of a Summer-School Program for Highly Gifted Secondary-School Students: The German Pupils Academy

Summary The German Pupils Academy (Deutsche Schüler-Akademie) is a summer-school program for highly gifted secondary-school students. Three types of program evaluation were conducted. Input evaluation confirmed the participants as intellectually highly gifted students who are intrinsically motivated and interested to attend the courses offered at the summer school. Process evaluation focused on the courses attended by the participants as the most important component of the program. Accordingly, the instructional approaches meet the needs of highly gifted students for self-regulated and discovery oriented learning. The product or impact evaluation was based on a multivariate social-cognitive framework. The findings indicate that the program contributes to promoting motivational and cognitive prerequisites for transforming giftedness into excellent performances. To some extent, the positive effects on students' self-efficacy and self-regulatory strategies are due to qualities of the learning environments established by the courses.

Environmental Perception: Factor Profiles of Extreme Groups

This paper describes an empirical survey of adolescent responses to two environmental perception batteries: “Environmental Perception” (ENV) and “New Environmental Paradigm” (NEP). The first was developed by the present authors for adolescents, while the second is already well-known within environmental psychology. The present study examines both batteries applied to a sample of over 800 German pupils. Responses to both batteries were subjected to factor analyses extracting the hypothesized 8 oblique factors. Groups were ranked according to their “Care with Resources” score, and the extreme groups were identified. Differences between these groups were examined in terms of the remaining seven factor scores, confirming the hypothesis that high scorers tend to enjoy nature, to favor a balanced nature and limits to growth, and to declare their intention to support conservation. Low scorers tend to do the opposite.

Learning from PISA. Reasons and remedies for student under-performance in reading, maths and science.

The great competition is over, the judges have given their marks and the chalk dust has settled over the arena. A few hurt prides pick themselves up off the floor, and set about the painful task of finding out what went wrong and why they did not fare as well as they expected. This is not the aftermath of the winter Olympics, rather the results of the PISA study, the Programme for International Student Assessment. The largest world‐wide test of student performance ever conducted, it provides a much needed assessment of how well various countries educate their children. And PISA served up a can of worms to some diners who can afford to pay for duck a l'orange, while other less wealthy guests came away substantially more satisfied. Many of the fatter countries had quietly been intellectually malnourishing their most important resource: school children. Investment in basic requirements is important, but what PISA revealed is that money is certainly not everything in education. It is other important factors, notably student motivation, teacher training, the role of parents and a well‐established infrastructure, that have put countries such as Finland and (South) Korea at the top of the list. For other countries, many of whom spend more money per student, PISA has been a rude awakening to the urgent need for change. In Germany it has stirred an intense debate—aside from the mutual finger‐pointing that usually follows bad results—as to how to achieve a long overdue and radical overhaul of the country's education system. Barely a day passes without a press release concerning ‘reforms’, ‘improvements’ and ‘opportunities’ in education. > PISA served up a can of worms to some diners who can afford to pay for duck a l'orange To appreciate the significance of PISA, it pays to know how the study was …

Schools in transition: The adaptation of east german pupils to a new school system

Abstract In a longitudinal study, a sample of seventh graders was followed over the course of a school year. At three measurement points in time, scales were administered measuring, among others, achievement motivation, test anxiety and achievement. The sample contains pupils from East Germany, who at the beginning of the seventh school year, were exposed to the West German school system, involving risks and uncertainties as to their success and career. It is therefore hypothesized that, in comparison to their “West German” counterparts, they experience higher anxiety and less positive achievement motivation and that their test results suffer accordingly, either during the whole year or that this effect vanishes over time. The hypotheses are tested by analyses of variance involving time as within subject effect. Results confirm the adaptation hypothesis. They are discussed with respect to recent life changes and new curricula.

Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Tests zur „mathematischen Leistungsfähigkeit“ deutscher und englischer Lernender in der Sekundarstufe I

In the context of empirical investigations into the learning and teaching of mathematics, we have developed a test (“Potential Test”) which is to measure the “mathematical potential” of 13/14-year-olds in England and Germany for the purpose of comparisons. In this paper we will describe the construction of the test as well as results of testing it with 1036 English and German pupils. The results will be interpreted with regard to characteristic features of mathematics teaching in both countries, known from our previous case studies.

Language awareness of German pupils

Something akin to language awareness has been a curricular aim in German schools for some time. After a discussion of terminology, the aims, content and methods of this area of the curriculum in the Gymnasium are presented in broad outline and compared with other — principally English — models. An empirical section of the article considers first of all the standing of Sprachbetrachtung — looking at language — with teachers and pupils. Pupils’ command of metalanguage is also investigated. The central section describes the design and results of a test to assess the level of pupils’ awareness of language and investigates whether there is any correlation between their test results and their linguistic competence. Both teachers and pupils regard looking at language as very important. However, pupils have only a shaky command of metalanguage, and their awareness of language, as measured by the test, is not well developed. It was not possible to establish any relationship between their level of awareness and their linguistic competence. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed, together with their implications for teaching.