Early contribution of phonological awareness and later influence of phonological memory throughout reading acquisition

The acquisition of reading skills is known to rely on early phonological abilities, but only a few studies have investigated the independent contribution of the different steps involved in phonological processing. This 1‐year longitudinal study, spanning the initial year of reading instruction, aimed at specifying the development of phonological discrimination, awareness and various aspects of phonological memory and at assessing their respective contributions to early reading acquisition. Our results show an increase in performance at each phonological processing step, but also suggest a qualitative evolution in their relative importance. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that reading skills are mainly predicted by phonological awareness measured at the kindergarten stage and, subsequently, by phonological memory abilities measured at the end of first grade. More precisely short‐term memory for serial‐order information seems to contribute to the development of decoding abilities, while phonological knowledge stored in long‐term memory seems to influence word recognition.     

Qualitative differences in the exploration of upright and upside-down faces in four-month-old infants: an eye-movement study

Four-month-old infants were habituated with an upright or an upside-down face. Eye-movement recordings showed that the upright and upside-down faces were not explored the same way. Infants spent more time exploring internal features, mainly in the region of the nose and mouth, when the face was upright. They also alternated as frequently between the face's internal features (eyes vs. nose/mouth) as between external and internal features. When the face was upside down, the infants spent half of their time exploring external features, and preferentially alternated between external features and internal features. The main effect of inversion was a decrease of the looking time to the nose/mouth region and of the number of shifts between the eye region and the nose/mouth region.     

Does the social working environment predict beginning teachers’ self-efficacy and feelings of depression?

We investigate how the social working environment predicts beginning teachers’ self-efficacy and feelings of depression. Two quantitative studies are presented. The results show that the goal structure of the school culture (mastery or performance orientation) predicts both outcomes. Frequent collaborative interactions with colleagues are related to higher self-efficacy only when the novices are experiencing few difficulties or work in an environment oriented towards mastery goals. The mere occurrence of mentoring and meetings with the principal is not related to the outcomes, but the quality of these activities predicts them significantly. Conditions increasing the effectiveness of these support activities are discussed.     

Engineering ethics at the Catholic University of Lille (France): Research and teaching in a European context

This paper relates to the development of non-technical education (and to ethics) in engineering curricula in Europe and particularly in France. Two projects being followed at the Centre de recherche en éthique de l'ingénieur (CREI) at the Catholic University of Lille (France) are discussed: the first is an engineering ethics course which has been running for 6 years in a state engineering school, where there is a strong emphasis on analysing the ethical issues of the students' first work experience. The second has to do with the writing of a European handbook on engineering ethics which gives us good insight into how engineering ethics as a discipline is shaped by the cultural background of those who develop it (dominant philosophical tradition, religious background, the way the engineering profession is organized and education). Two main approaches seem to be prevalent in Europe today: the first relates to professional ethics as discussed in the USA since the 1950s, the second relates to a new discipline that is developing in Europe, that of the ethics of technology.     

Acculturation preferences of a host community: The effects of immigrant acculturation strategies on evaluations and impression formation

This article examines how host populations perceive immigrants. Research in intercultural psychology has shown that the acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation or marginalization) adopted by immigrant populations may be viewed very differently by the host population. In addition, social perception studies have demonstrated that host populations evaluate immigrants on two dimensions, warmth and competence. Our research brings together these two findings to investigate whether perceptions of immigrants on these two dimensions are affected by the acculturation strategy adopted. We present two studies that focus on the host population in France, a country that has adopted a policy of assimilation towards its immigrant populations. In general, the participants rejected separation on the part of immigrants. Evaluations of assimilation and integration were similar, although the student population showed a preference for integration. Adoption of the host culture and conservation of the original culture were both found to be pertinent for the warmth dimension, but only adoption was pertinent for the competence dimension. The effect of immigrant origins was found to be marginal.     

Explaining learning gaps in Namibia: The role of language proficiency

In a multilingual context, this study investigates the role on mathematics achievement of the provision of instruction in the home language. It compares characteristics of 5048 Grade 6 learners in 275 Namibian schools. The outcome variable is the standardized SACMEQ mathematics score collected in year 2000. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to partition the total variance in mathematics achievement into its within- and between-school components. The results do confirm the significant role of low language skills on the overall low mathematics scores, which may question the effectiveness and equity of the current bilingual policy.     

Sensory integration in the learning of aiming toward "self-defined" targets

This study aimed at supporting the specificity of learning hypothesis, when aiming was based on internal cues, as directing the hand toward a "self-defined" target location. Participants practiced modest (20 trials) or intensive (720 trials) training with visual and proprioceptive information or proprioceptive information only. Pretests and posttests were performed in sensory conditions that did or did not match the training condition. Results showed that dynamic visual cues played a dominant role at the beginning of the task, and an intensive practice resulted in increased accuracy of kinesthetic information and efferent mechanisms of motor responses. These results have implications with regard to motor learning conceptions and training as a function of the task constraints.     

Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Their Emotional State,Relationships with Parents,Challenges, and Opportunities During the Early Stage of the Pandemic

Early Childhood Education Journal - This article presents a study about the impact of COVID-19 on childcare center educators in Quebec (Canada). Regulated childcare services were closed...     

How failure experience combined with high teacher self-aspect importance puts self-efficacy at risk among student teachers

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The present study focuses on how elementary-level student teachers reacted to difficulties during their first internship experience. More specifically,...