Search results for: 0239-6858 in All Content

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Developmental support for children aged 5–7 and their readiness to cope with the challenge of school

Wspomaganie rozwoju dzieci w wieku od 5 do 7 lat a ich gotowość do radzenia sobie z wyzwaniami szkoły

Author(s): Anna Izabela Brzezińska,Joanna Matejczuk,Anna Nowotnik / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2012

Keywords: educational psychology; child-school goodness of fit; early school education; preschool and early school age; readiness for school; zone of actual and proximal development

Public discussion about lowering of school entry age has stimulated debate about child readiness to start school and school readiness to take on the youngest pupils. Child readiness was defined using categories of modern health psychology focusing on the resources within the framework of the zone of actual and proximal development rather than on child deficits. The paper stresses high diversity of first-year children’s readiness for school resulting from the varied rate and dynamics of maturation, from different experiences and quality of training in key prerequisites for school education. The aim is to identify the nature of child development during the transition from preschool to school and to provide guidance to encourage child readiness for school.

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The experience of reading

Doświadczenie lektury

Author(s): Anna Burzyńska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 2/2012

Keywords: reading; experience; reception; interpretation; reader; deconstruction; pragmatism; hermenutics

The article discusses reading from the perspective of human inquiry into the nature of experience. The author pinpoints a dual problem. The first relates to difficulties with definition of experience in the philosophical tradition. The second is an influence of 20th century theories which replace the concept of interpretation with the concept of reading. The main thesis of the article argues for the necessity to enter a new reflection on the experience of reading away from its essentialistic tendency, to be more based on pragmatics and performatics. This could be followed by questions about how literature works, the kind of experience that is created in the process of reading and how people should be inspired to embrace literature. In view of the reading crisis and the crisis of classics these questions seem crucially important.

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Teenagers and books – from daily reading to avoidance

Nastolatki i książki – od czytania codziennego do unikania

Author(s): Zofia Zasacka / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 2/2012

Keywords: readership; lower secondary school; youth literature; popular culture; sociology of youth

This paper is based on the outcome of a survey conducted in May 2010 on a nationally representative sample of 15 year olds from 70 lower secondary schools. The general research question concerns the proportion of Polish students no longer reading books after finishing compulsory schooling. The aim of this study was to describe the place of books in an adolescent‘s everyday life in terms of their reading activities (at school and in their leisure time), spontaneous reading choices, their favourites, books they recommended, values attributed to enjoyable reading and social circle of book readers. The article focuses on students’ reading activities and choices outside school, namely reading for pleasure and the priority of reading books among their other leisure time activities. It presents how gender differentiates teenagers’ reading practices and preferences.

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The reception of Czesław Miłosz’s poetry by students of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools

Poezja Czesława Miłosza w odbiorze uczniów szkół podstawowych, gimnazjalnych i liceum

Author(s): Angelika Matuszek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 2/2012

Keywords: literature studies; polish language didactics; Czesław Miłosz; poetry; analysis and interpretation

The works of Czesław Miłosz are usually regarded as “especially difficult” literature. It is therefore important to examine how young people analyse and interpret selected works of the poet. The article presents the results of a study evaluating the quality of reception of Miłosz’s poetry by students at all levels of compulsory education prior to the Czesław Miłosz Year in 2011. The study enabled the assessment of students’ knowledge of the life and work of Miłosz and the reading competencies required by a modern student to analyse and interpret his literary work.

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An example should be just an example. Which tasks really check skills?

Przykład powinien być tylko przykładem, czyli jakie zadania naprawdę sprawdzają umiejętności

Author(s): Wojciech Grajkowski,Elżbieta Barbara Ostrowska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2012

Keywords: skills assessment; exam; national curriculum; science education; test question

The new core curriculum for natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics and geography) at lower secondary school level details each topic and the teaching goals involved, defining the generic skills that a lower secondary school graduate should possess. The aim of the lower secondary school leaving examination is, therefore, not only to assess memorization of specific material but also mastery of more universal skills. The authors of the article advocate the use of test questions that check the skills included in the core curriculum and employ unfamiliar examples. In this way, it should be possible to distinguish between cases in which the student knows the example (remembers the facts), and the one in which they know the principle (have mastered the skill and know how to apply it in different situations). In addition, an analysis of example tasks of this type and the results obtained by students solving them, invites the thesis that embedding a task in an unusual context does not lead to significant increase in its difficulty.

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Evaluating lower secondary school examination essay: from the key to the scale

Ocenianie rozprawki egzaminacyjnej, czyli od klucza do skali

Author(s): Adam Brożek,Joanna Dobkowska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2012

Keywords: scale; evaluation key; score; reliability of assessment; essay

The authors of the article give a critical analysis of the essay evaluation criteria used in the final lower secondary school examinations in the years 2002–2011. Subsequently they present the attempts at preparing a holistic scale of essay evaluation undertaken at the Educational Research Institute. The attempts eventually resulted in the implementation of a significant modification in the essay evaluation criteria, which provided an inspiration for the team working on the modernization of the final general lower secondary school of Polish language examination.

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External high school exam: what enables and what limits

Zewnętrzny egzamin gimnazjalny: co umożliwia, a co ogranicza

Author(s): Lidia Pawlusińska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2012

Keywords: educational process; external examinations; secondary school; school assessment

The article focuses on the role and importance of external examinations in our school system. The starting point for research presented in the paper are expected alterations which should have occurred after the introduction of external examinations and bringing the next stage of education secondary school into being. The main research problem was to determine the positive and negative influence of external examinations system on the educational process and assessment in secondary school. The most important was to determine the dimension of external examinations influences on school assessment system and question, how they would affect the cognitive realm and the personality of students. Inappropriate use of external examinations system may cause irreversible (not always beneficial) changes in students graduating from those schools.

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Adaptation of a three-year old child to preschool environment

Adaptacja dziecka trzyletniego do środowiska przedszkolnego

Author(s): Anna Izabela Brzezińska,Magdalena Czub,Natalia Ożadowicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2012

Keywords: adaptation strategy; preschool environment; child; adaptation; development

The article presents the results of research aimed at verifying the hypothesis relating to the links between selected subjective and contextual factors and adaptation strategies of a three-year-old child to preschool environment. The research was conducted on a group of 40 children, who began preschool education in 2012. Children were tested with The Denver Developmental Screening Test (the Denver test) and with the Adaptation Strategy Questionnaire (ASQ) developed for the purposes of the research. The results indicate that there exists three strategies which simultaneously constitute the criteria for the level of adaptation of a child to preschool environment: positive (creative adaptation) and negative (anxiety and indifference). Significant statistical correlations between age, psycho-motor development, level of mother’s education and the child’s adaptation strategy have been established. Children of mothers who attained tertiary education, older children, children who achieved a higher level of psycho-motor development more often manifested a positive adaptation strategy. It was, however, revealed that only 15 out of 40 children subject to the examination applied the strategy of creative adaptation. The result is alarming and requires further research in order to identify the factors determining it.

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School climate construct in the studies of risky youth behaviours

Pojęcie klimatu szkoły w badaniach zachowań ryzykownych młodzieży

Author(s): Krzysztof Ostaszewski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2012

Keywords: school climate; youth; prevention; risky behaviours; mental health

The article explores „the school climate” construct and its implementation in research of school institutions effectiveness. Like individuals have their unique „personality”, the schools have their own „climate”. Neither the personality of individuals nor school climate can be explained by a sum of individual qualities. Results of the researches indicate that a positive school climate is related to lower rates of risky youth behaviours. School-based prevention activities should include a creation of a climate that supports youth positive development within a school institution.

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The importance of school culture and climate for academic achievement and the intensity of youth problem behaviours perceived by teachers

Znaczenie kultury i klimatu szkoły dla wyników nauczania oraz spostrzeganego przez nauczycieli nasilenia zachowań problemowych wśród uczniów

Author(s): Krzysztof Bobrowski,Agnieszka Pisarska,Krzysztof Ostaszewski,Katarzyna Okulicz-Kozaryn / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2012

Keywords: pedagogy; school climate; academic achievement; youth problem behaviour

The aim of this study was to reveal the relationships between the teachers’ perception of various school climate/culture aspects and school academic achievement and perceived intensification of problem behaviour among young people. The anonymous survey was conducted among teachers (n = 140) from four Warsaw lower secondary schools. The study included various aspects of school climate and culture: perceived social relationships at school, the characteristic of the educational process, educational ideologies among teachers, and sense of workload. Teachers’ perception of intensification of youth problem behaviour was directly related to three factors: results-oriented teaching, acceptance of the romantic educational ideology and the negative relations between students. The higher school academic achievement was related to the length of teachers’ career, perceived students’ commitment to learning and low teachers’ sense of workload. Moreover, it turned out that the male teachers, compared to female teachers, perceived school climate as a more favourable.

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Paradoxical effect of triangulation?

Paradoksalny efekt triangulacji?

Author(s): Elżbieta Hornowska,Anna Izabela Brzezińska,Katarzyna Kaliszewska-Czeremska,Karolina Appelt,Joanna Rawecka,Aleksandra Bujacz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2012

Keywords: convergent validity; discriminant validity; inquiry approach; reliability; sources of data; triangulation

This article discusses the use of triangulation in social research. Triangulation is typically a strategy for improving the reliability and validity of research findings. It is a powerful technique, used to verify the findings of a study using data from more than two data sources. Triangulation employs a combination of several research tools or inquiry approaches in the study of the same phenomenon. Positive evidence for the use of triangulation (specifically data triangulation) in social research is presented. A common misunderstanding about triangulation – that different data sources or inquiry approaches should yield the same result – is demonstrated. Triangulation research can serve two purposes: (1) to corroborate findings and more importantly, (2) to gain a holistic view of the phenomenon under study. Triangulation may offer an opportunity for deeper insight into the relationship between the approach to the inquiry and the phenomenon under study, and allow the creation of new ways of understanding.

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Family socio-economic profile and private spending on educational goods and services in Poland

Cechy społeczno-ekonomiczne rodziny a ponoszenie wydatków na prywatne dobra i usługi edukacyjne

Author(s): Magdalena Rokicka,Urszula Sztanderska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: education economics; private educational expenditure; educational goods and services; financing of education; statistical analysis

According to theory, educational goods and services have an important impact on a child’s human capital. Although the majority of educational services in Poland are delivered within a public education system, various educational costs are borne by parents. This paper looks at the socio-economic determinants of private spending on education, including fees, private tutoring and courses, educational goods and materials, and the internet. The analysis was performed using the Polish Household Budget Survey for 2009 and 2010. Results from a logit regression suggest that disposable household income per capita and parental level of education, especially mother’s level of education have the greatest impact on spending on educational goods and services. This was true for all analysed categories of expenditure. Regional disparities and community size were an important factor especially with regards to spending on private tutoring and additional courses.

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Children in the twilight zone – a review of psychosocial functioning of children with below average intelligence

„Dzieci szarej strefy” – aktualizacja stanu wiedzy dotyczącej funkcjonowania psychospołecznego uczniów z inteligencją niższą niż przeciętna

Author(s): Anna Jankowska,Marta Bogdanowicz,Marta Łockiewicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: educational psychology; psychosocial functioning; borderline intelligence; academic failure; learning difficulty

Borderline intelligence is the level of intellectual ability located between -1.01 and - 2.00 standard deviations, i.e. between the average level and intellectual disability. People with borderline intellectual function constitute one of the most neglected groups, both in education as well as the social system. Despite the fact that these individuals represent a significant portion of our society (14% of the population), their problems remain ignored or overlooked. The aim of this paper is to deepen the reader's knowledge about the problems experienced by children and adolescents with borderline intelligence in their cognitive and psychosocial functioning and the contribution of recent international research to this field.

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Attention functioning and level of reading skills in early school children

Funkcjonowanie uwagi a poziom umiejętności czytania u dzieci w wieku wczesnoszkolnym

Author(s): Anna Nowotnik / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: cognitive psychology; attention span; comprehension; decoding; inhibitory control; reading skill

The paper presents results of research on the level of reading skill and attention functioning in early school children. The study involved 256 I–III grade elementary school children, each grade numbering roughly one third of the sample population. Two dimensions of reading skills (decoding and reading comprehension) were measured by PROLEXIA test and five attention parameters (concentration, perceptivity, impulsivity, inattention and cognitive inhibition) were measured. The three colour version of the Stroop Test was applied as a cognitive inhibition task. The D2 Test of Attention by Brickenkamp was used to measure concentration, perceptual abilities, impulsiveness and inattention. Cluster analysis was used for all ages. Five significantly different groups of all participating children were identified, respectively labelled as: "uncoordinated," "average," "impulsive," "focused" and "distracted" according to attention function. In the cases of decoding and comprehension there were statistically significant differences in literacy levels between "focused", who produced significantly higher reading scores than the "uncoordinated" and "average".

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Dismantling the educational system or its transformation? An analysis of The Pact for Education by the Union of Polish Teachers

Demontaż systemu oświaty czy jego przemiana? Analiza Paktu dla edukacji Związku Nauczycielstwa Polskiego

Author(s): Danuta Uryga / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2013

Keywords: educational policy; Union of Polish Teachers; public education; education system; local government; Teacher’s Charter

This article is concerned with the discussion on public education in which the Union of Polish Teachers participates, presenting its opinion in The Pact for Education – their 2011 report. The context of the discussion is related to the difficulties which are experienced by schools run by local governments. They refer to significant diversification of expenditure between authorities and schools being liquidated or handed over to other legal entities. The UPT lists detailed demands and provides a general vision for the development of education. The article introduces the content of The Pact for Education paying particular attention to public education and its political aspect.

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Parental involvement and student achievement

Zaangażowanie rodziców a osiągnięcia szkolne uczniów

Author(s): Waldemar Kozłowski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 2/2013

Keywords: school education; school achievement; parents; students

school education; school achievement; parents; studentsActivity of parents as a determinant of educational achievement of students is considered in two ways: as an engagement in the learning process of the child and as a contact with the school. This paper is intended to signal the selected issues related to re-search of this problems. It is based mainly on American works in which these issues are widely and thoroughly analyzed. Article consists of two parts; the first shows the issues related to defining and identifying the components of engagement, the second discusses research on the relationships between parents involvement and pupils’ achievements.

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Invented spelling – a window on early literacy

Invented spelling jako obiekt badań

Author(s): Elżbieta Awramiuk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2013

Keywords: applied linguistics; early spelling development; error analysis; invented spelling; kindergarten; linguistic factors

A wide spectrum of research on preschool spelling development in different languages is presented. In Poland, children at kindergarten are usually at a stage of pre-literacy. Invented spelling means the writing produced by young children (aged 3–7) before they are formally taught reading and writing or are at the beginning of the learning process. Their writing is more spontaneous than learnt. The paper describes an investigation of the development of early literacy and factors influencing it, such as knowledge about orthography (spelling), early morphological awareness or teaching methods. Children’s early writing provides a window on their conceptualisation of the written language, illustrating the process of developing language awareness and spelling skills. Invented spelling, together with phonological abilities and letter knowledge is considered to be a strong predictor for later literacy skills.

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Improving early number competence by board game intervention

Gry planszowe jako narzędzie wspomagania rozwoju wczesnych kompetencji matematycznych

Author(s): Krzysztof Cipora,Monika Szczygieł / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2013

Keywords: psychology; board games; intervention; early mathematics; number competence; number sense

Number competence strongly influences educational success, as well as life quality and well-being. Low numeracy can be more of a handicap than poor reading skills. Early deficits are not remedied spontaneously but prevent the development of more advanced skills. There is therefore a need for methods to improve numeracy. Intervention aimed at enhancing number competence is most effective at the earliest stages of the education. Linear number board games are an effective tool that facilitates development of proper linear representation of magnitude in children. The effects of short and inexpensive intervention are prevalent and stable. In the paper we review current research on board game intervention and present a Polish game.

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Performance-based budgeting in education. The international evidence, opportunities and limitations

Budżet zadaniowy edukacji. Doświadczenia międzynarodowe

Author(s): Marta Rucińska,Mateusz Pawłowski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2013

Keywords: performance-based budgeting; labour market; performance indicators; international evidence

There has been debate on progress away from the traditional, line-based budget to new means of budgeting for a few decades. Most ideas based around “performance-based budgeting” according to the literature are reviewed in this paper. Education, as well as public finance, comes under public and political scrutiny that has an impact on the structure of performance budgeting in Poland. We present a wide array of issues concerning performance-based budgeting in Poland and abroad. The set of indicators used in Polish performance budgeting suggests that they have a distinctive qualitative character. It seems that they are not the product of ideological thought from any particular social or political group. International evidence reveals that while performance budgets are aimed at tackling problems identified by particular interest groups, in Poland, indicators monitor quality of public services, using data presently available.

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Proxemics of the classroom – the hidden dimension of education

Proksemika klasy szkolnej – ukryty wymiar edukacji

Author(s): Wiesław Sikorski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2013

Keywords: nonverbal communication; classroom physical environment; crowd density; interior design physical distance; proxemics; seating arrangement

This article reviews investigation into the significance of the physical environment of the classroom (proxemics) to the learning process, climate and quality of communication. It focuses on analysis of zones of distance, crowding and concentration, seating arrangements and the interior decoration of teaching space. A review of the research shows that the closer the physical distance between the teacher and students, the more conducive to higher academic performance. Lack of adequate physical space creates problems with concentration for students, decreases accuracy in performance of tasks and increases incidence of aggressive behaviour. Experts in classroom proxemics stress the importance of the seating arrangements in the classroom for the relationship between teacher and students, as well as for the process of teaching. The setting of benches in a system-series, a horseshoe or segments is frequently preferred. Researchers of classroom proxemics assure that innovative seating arrangements, brighter wall colours, colourful carpets and decoration can create a more stimulating and pleasant learning environment for the student.

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