Families are crucial in the development of a college-going culture in the home. This qualitative study illustrates that Mexican American families are no exception. Using a multiple case study design, this study explored the funds of knowledge present in Mexican American families. Findings from this study reveal how daily educational practices,…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyse the conceptual approaches to competence and practice in competence management in France. Design/methodology/approach: Extensive literature review, discussion with academic experts in the French competence network of AGRH and interviews concerning developments following the 2003 national agreement…

Discusses the frequent misconception displayed by students that chromosome structure is a function of chromosome number or ploidy. Provides detailed analyses of the evidence concerning the prevalence of this ploidy/structure misconception among students of introductory genetics and the potential sources for inaccurate communication that it can…

Student knowledge in a subject area prior to and after instruction has traditionally been assessed by administering a pre- and post-test, usually multiple choice, though recent studies criticize the use of even the best-constructed multiple choice tests. This study assessed college freshmen's knowledge before and after a laboratory experience in…

Investigates how 20 English primary teachers understand the concepts of force and gravity. Uses the interview about instances technique. Finds teachers' views of these concepts are not in accord with accepted scientific interpretations but similar to those of children's views. Discusses implications of the findings. (NL)

Examines grading systems in undergraduate education at a large university, using data from a 12-month ethnographic study. Identifies how grades determine student movement from college to other organizations. Questions relationships of grading systems to students' perceptions of their own knowledge and grading's role in educational outcomes. Finds…

A study in a remote, rural, mid-Atlantic school system assessed how teachers regarded the curriculum and their instructional needs; 226 personnel directly related to instructional services responded to the questionnaire, 42 were interviewed, and 72 were observed in classroom settings. Teachers generally rated themselves much more favorably than…

Describes the method of having children observe videotapes of other children's mathematics activities to gain insights into the observing children's thought processes and the observed children's activities. Discusses the applications of this method as a research tool and as a probe for classroom teachers in evaluating students. (MDH)

Interviews Wisconsin high school economics teachers, cited for their teaching excellence, to discover methods used to correct students' misconceptions about economics. Covers opportunity cost, supply and demand, money creation, and gross national product. Finds teachers were adept at using germane examples, showed more confidence teaching…

The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project focused on science teaching/learning in the Form 1 to 4 level (ages 10 to 14) and sought to identify problems and difficulties in several areas. Provided in this paper are comments obtained during structured/unstructured interviews (from students, ex-students, teachers, headmasters,…