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This multinational research study was carried out between 2004 and 2006 in four teacher education institutions in Cyprus, England, Switzerland, and Germany. With the help of a written questionnaire, the confidence and perceived competence of preservice primary teachers (N = 690) to deliver biodiversity education in school were investigated. Data were triangulated with findings from a previous stage of the overall research project. Study participants' confidence to carry out certain outdoor activities in school increased with the number of similar experiences they had during their own secondary school education, and the more personal classroom experiences they had during their teacher education. A sound knowledge of local wild organisms strongly added to their confidence. However, preservice teachers' perceived competence, and thus motivation to implement biodiversity education later on in school, was related even more strongly to the extent of preparation they had received during their teacher education. The results indicate that teacher education programmes that focus exclusively on filling (biodiversity) knowledge gaps might fail to raise confidence and competence in their students to carry out biodiversity education in school. Programmes that have a higher possibility of attaining effectiveness in biodiversity education seek to strike a balance between background knowledge development, pedagogical content knowledge, and opportunities during teaching practice that leads to experiential gains in enacting meaningful activity sequences and engaging students in holistic educational innovations. Within such programmes, it would be fruitful to further explore the relationship between confidence, perceived competence, and actual teaching performance. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

In this article, we present results from an international research study on biodiversity education in pre-service education of primary school teachers. The study was carried out between 2004-2006 in four teacher education institutions in Cyprus, England, Switzerland and Germany. We used document analyses and in-depth interviews with 27 teacher educators and 22 student teachers to examine the integration of biodiversity into the pre-service teacher education programmes, and the student teachers' satisfaction with their respective education. In all teacher education institutions, aspects of biodiversity education were integrated mostly in the natural science modules which provided students at least with some information on the scientific aspects of biodiversity. Few modules included aspects of the controversial nature of biodiversity conservation in relation to economics, ethics, social and political concerns, and methodological approaches on how to deal with this. In the institutions in Cyprus, England and Germany the teaching focus was content-oriented, whereas in Switzerland a situated method-oriented approach was used. The student teachers in Switzerland felt more confident to teach about biodiversity in school. All interviewees thought it necessary to prepare primary school student teachers on how to address biodiversity in schools, and strategies on how best to achieve this are critically discussed. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)

Background: Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a cicatricial alopecia mostly affecting the frontotemporal hairline. Its aetiology and associated factors remain unclear. Objective and methods: An observational, cross‐sectional and descriptive study was conducted in France and Germany to identify demographic and health characteristics associated with the severity of FFA. Results: Of 490 included patients, 95% were female, of which 84% were postmenopausal. Age at onset of FFA symptoms ranged between 15 and 89 years, but diagnosis was frequently delayed up to 24 years. Lichen Planopilaris Activity Index scores were low (median 1.8, IQR 1.0 to 3.5). Thyroid function disorders were reported in 13% of men and 35% of women. Abnormal blood lipid levels were found in 42% of tested men and 47% of women. In the bivariate analyses, LPPAI scores were negatively correlated with abnormal testosterone (rs = −0.775) and oestrogen values (rs = −0.664), regular use of face cleaning products (rs = −0.465), hair colourants (rs = −0.679) and hairspray (rs = −0.500). Conclusions: The most common comorbidity was thyroid disease, with proportions higher than in the European population, possibly reflecting a role of thyroid hormones in FFA pathogenesis. The association of abnormal testosterone and oestrogen values with lesser disease activity needs to be explored in further studies. Our correlation analyses do not support a role of leave‐on cosmetic products in the pathophysiology of FFA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]