In this study, the influence of teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and opinions regarding the creative and intellectual abilities of primary school children on the achievement of these children is...Show moreIn this study, the influence of teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and opinions regarding the creative and intellectual abilities of primary school children on the achievement of these children is investigated. Intelligence and creativity are both crucial for problem solving, high achievement and reasoning on a daily basis. The first hypothesis states that intelligence and creativity have a positive relationship, where intelligence predicts creativity, according to the “necessary but not sufficient” hypothesis. The second hypothesis states that the influence of teachers operates as a moderator in this relationship, thus strengthening the connection between intelligence and creativity. According to the idea that the social context is important in the development of intelligence and creativity and that this development commences early in childhood, teachers are seen as influential in this development. Intelligence is measured through the Nederlandse Intelligentietest voor Onderwijsniveau (NIO). Creativity is measured through the Creative Problem Solving task (CPS) and the Test of Creative Thinking and Drawing Production (TCT-DP). Teachers’ opinions is measured through a questionnaire. Results show that intelligence does significantly predict creativity, but that teachers have little to no influence on this connection and therefore do not operate as a moderator. Further research is needed to investigate the influence of teachers more comprehensive, expand the use of intelligence tests, examine the effects of a longitudinal instead of a cross-sectional study design, and look into the possible influence of parents, age and gender on the development of intelligence and creativity.Show less
In this study, the influence of teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and opinions regarding the creative and intellectual abilities of primary school children on the achievement of these children is...Show moreIn this study, the influence of teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and opinions regarding the creative and intellectual abilities of primary school children on the achievement of these children is investigated. Intelligence and creativity are both crucial for problem solving, high achievement and reasoning on a daily basis. The first hypothesis states that intelligence and creativity have a positive relationship, where intelligence predicts creativity, according to the “necessary but not sufficient” hypothesis. The second hypothesis states that the influence of teachers operates as a moderator in this relationship, thus strengthening the connection between intelligence and creativity. According to the idea that the social context is important in the development of intelligence and creativity and that this development commences early in childhood, teachers are seen as influential in this development. Intelligence is measured through the Nederlandse Intelligentietest voor Onderwijsniveau (NIO). Creativity is measured through the Creative Problem Solving task (CPS) and the Test of Creative Thinking and Drawing Production (TCT-DP). Teachers’ opinions is measured through a questionnaire. Results show that intelligence does significantly predict creativity, but that teachers have little to no influence on this connection and therefore do not operate as a moderator. Further research is needed to investigate the influence of teachers more comprehensive, expand the use of intelligence tests, examine the effects of a longitudinal instead of a cross-sectional study design, and look into the possible influence of parents, age and gender on the development of intelligence and creativity.Show less
Primary school textbooks are filled with images and text that provide information about other countries, even if the intention of those books is not to teach about world orientation, but how to...Show morePrimary school textbooks are filled with images and text that provide information about other countries, even if the intention of those books is not to teach about world orientation, but how to read and write. This thesis studied Dutch “Lijn 3” reading and writing books of Malmberg through Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA), which encompasses both textual Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Visual Discourse Analysis (VDA), and found that there is a significant amount of information on China within them. This information is often stereotypical, and corresponds to existing prejudice and humour on China and the Chinese ethnic minority in the Netherlands. Furthermore, interviews with teachers showed that they are aware of harmful effects of stereotypes and prejudice, but they are reluctant to intervene when they encounter stereotypes in books. They prefer to ignore stereotypes because they argue that children do not see them. This incorrect observation, that children are unable to see and understand stereotypes, creates a non-critical environment for children and teachers, in which stereotypes and prejudice teach children a power hierarchy. In this hierarchy, the Caucasian Dutch are dominant, and the rest is subordinate. This thesis suggests that stereotypes in textbooks need to be acknowledged by teachers, and communicated to children, or illustrators and authors need to eliminate stereotypes out of books, in order to change this problematic power hierarchy.Show less
This thesis examines the role of education in the Mysterious Benedict Society series on two levels. On the level of the story, I analyze how the two opposite characters of Nicholas Benedict and...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of education in the Mysterious Benedict Society series on two levels. On the level of the story, I analyze how the two opposite characters of Nicholas Benedict and Ledroptha Curtain function as "educators" in the intradiegetic world. Then, on a second level, I delve into the ways in which the text can "educate" its readers. I place my research in a framework of children's literature theory and criticism, narratology, and a text on education by Jacques Rancière.Show less
This research had generated insight in the relation between math anxiety of parents and teachers and genderstereotyped thinking of parents, teachers and pupils on pupils’ math performance. In total...Show moreThis research had generated insight in the relation between math anxiety of parents and teachers and genderstereotyped thinking of parents, teachers and pupils on pupils’ math performance. In total 42 teachers (nwomen = 30), 279 pupils (ngirls = 156) and 206 parents (nmothers = 188) participated during this research. The pupils have been asked to fill in a questionnaire based on the Student Attitude Questionnaire. For the parents and the teachers this questionnaire was expanded with the Math Attitude Scale. There was also asked for pupils’ math skills from the Leerlingvolgsysteem. The first result showed that boys were better in math than girls (p = .03). Secondly no relation was found between teachers’ math anxiety (p = .41) and genderstereotyped thinking of teachers (p = .58) and pupils (p = .45) on pupils’ math performance. The same relations were found for male and female teachers on pupils’ math performance. Opposed to this, parents’ math anxiety had a negative relation with pupils’ math performance (p = .01), but the genderstereotyped thinking of parents (p = .75) and pupils (p = .70) did not predict pupils’ math performance. In conclusion, the influence of parents on pupils’ math performance is larger compared to the influence of teachers. For further research is suggested to include more male teachers and fathers. In addition, it would be interesting to investigate the difference between male and female pupils and the input of pupils own math anxiety to get insight in their own influence on their math performance.Show less
ICT has become increasingly integrated into daily life: WiFi spots are available in every public place and social media are very popular. However, the usage of ICT within primary education is more...Show moreICT has become increasingly integrated into daily life: WiFi spots are available in every public place and social media are very popular. However, the usage of ICT within primary education is more variable: Some teachers utilize ICT more extensively than others. This paper provides the results of quantitative and qualitative research conducted on ICT usage within primary education in The Netherlands. Research questions were answered, to answer the following question: What factors motivates a primary school teacher to use ICT in their lessons? The research questions that were used to give an answer were: What is the relation between ‘frequency of participation’ and ‘readiness for action’ (chi-square)? Is there a difference in educational ICT-use between men and women (t-test)? Does ICT-attitude predict the educational ICT-use (linear regression)? What factors stimulate/limit the PrOnt-activities of teachers? The study consisted of 218, randomly selected, respondents who work at a primary school in The Netherlands. Ten respondents were interviewed. The results were presented at the University of Leiden. The results of the research indicate that there are multiple factors that may influence ICT usage by a teacher. There was correlation to be found between gender and ICT usage, with men using ICT more often than women. Frequency of being a part of an activity and personal attitude are also factors that correlate with the usage of ICT. More research should be done to gain a deeper understanding of what is actually causing these correlations that have been identified.Show less
In this study a difference in the use of educational ICT between young and older teachers was examined in multiple areas. Therefore 226 teachers from various schools in the Netherlands did a...Show moreIn this study a difference in the use of educational ICT between young and older teachers was examined in multiple areas. Therefore 226 teachers from various schools in the Netherlands did a questionnaire. Furthermore ten teachers from this sample were interviewed. The subjects of the questionnaires and the interviews were about the attitude towards the use of educational ICT, the way ICT was used, the degree of ICT use and the performance of carrying out ICT support tasks. Data were analyzed through various quantitative analyses, and qualitative analysis. The analyses showed that there is a difference between young and older teachers in the use of educational ICT. The young teachers have used the same amount of educational ICT and performed as many educational tasks as older teachers, but in a different way and with a different attitude towards the use of educational ICT. Consequently, the attitude towards ICT should change along with the innovations in ICT. Thereby all the education in the field of ICT simultaneously will be gathered simultaneously.Show less
In this thesis a research is described about the relationship between characteristics of teachers (experience in front of the class) and students in fourth and fifth grade (gender and reading...Show moreIn this thesis a research is described about the relationship between characteristics of teachers (experience in front of the class) and students in fourth and fifth grade (gender and reading ability) and (the knowledge of) the reading preferences of these students, through the analysis of questionnaires. These teachers (n = 11, M age = 47.60, SD = 11.04), and students (M age = 10.47, SD = 2.84), have been recruited through elementary schools, by students of Leiden University. There was no significant difference in reading preferences between boys (n = 49) and girls (n = 49) and between students with a good (n = 46), average (n = 61) or poor reading ability (n = 8). Teachers knew equally much about children with a good as well as average reading ability (29-30% explained variance). Twenty-five percent of the reading preferences of boys were in correspondence with teachers’ predictions. With the girls there was 24% of their reading preferences in correspondence with the knowledge of the teachers. Whether more experience was an influence to the knowledge of the reading preferences with teachers did not show in this study. The results of the analyses show that the teachers have insufficient correspondence with the reading preferences of the students. Spending more time on reading education and the associated activities such as doing book reports and making children read more frequently in class, could enhance the knowledge. Future studies can focus on enhancing the size of the sample, modifying the questionnaires and adding research questions and variables to add to the recent study.Show less
This study examined the mediating role of parental involvement with school on the relation between parental education level and two child outcomes: academic work habits and social networks....Show moreThis study examined the mediating role of parental involvement with school on the relation between parental education level and two child outcomes: academic work habits and social networks. Teachers rated questionnaires were used to provide information on parental involve-ment, academic work habits and social networks for 45 children of second generation Turkish mothers living in the Netherlands. Results showed that parental education level and academic work habits were significantly correlated. No other significant associations were found among the other variables. Results did not support the mediation model of parental involvement with the school on the relation between parental education level with academic work habits and social networks.Show less
