Abstracts - Earli

Coeducational or single-sex school: Does it make a difference on high school girls’ academicmotivation?Roch Chouinard, University of Montreal, CanadaCarole Vezeau, College Joliette Lanaudiere, CanadaTherese Bouffard, UQAM, CanadaThe objective of the present study was to further examine the differential impact over time ofsingle-sex and coeducational school environment on high school girls’ motivation in two basicacademic domains: language arts and mathematics. Two cohorts comprising 340 girls (7th to 9thgrade; 9th to 11th grade) from 8 co-educational and 2 single-sex schools were followed inmathematics or in language arts during a period of three academic years in a longitudinal researchscheme. Data were collected with a self-reported questionnaire including several scales: parentalsupport, teachers’ support, competence beliefs, utility value and achievement goals. In general,mixed design repeated measures analyses of variance indicated no effect of the environment or ofthe interaction environment and time of measurement. Significant time effects on several variablesindicated a general decline of achievement motivation over time. Consequently, the augmentationof the number of non-mixed high schools, as proposed by some, would constitute an expensiveand inefficient social politic, as far as motivation is concerned. Other perspectives, such as theadaptation of the pedagogical practices in class and the addition of options in formation programs,would appear to better support engagement and perseverance of students of both sexes.D429 August 2007 11:00 - 12:20Room: PP4Poster SessionPoster sessionChair:Edit Katalin Molnár, University of Szeged, HungaryThe Role of Writing in Multi-modal Learning in Secondary ScienceVaughan Prain, La Trobe University, AustraliaBrian Hand, University of Iowa, USAJim Carolan, La Trobe University, AustraliaThere is now broad agreement that learning science in secondary school entails understanding andlinking verbal, visual and mathematical modes to develop knowledge of scientific concepts andprocesses. While past research has focused on the role of writing for learning in science, and morerecently on the integration of different modes, the relationship between these two research agendashas not been investigated in depth. Our paper reports on two case studies that aimed to identify thepossible roles of writing in enhancing students’ understandings of, and capacity to link, differentrepresentational modes to develop conceptual knowledge. Analysed qualitative and quantitativedata from two case studies included assessment of student work, focus-group interviews, andclassroom observations. The findings indicated that student writing can serve various keyfunctions in relation to effective multi-modal learning in science.– 207 –