An examination of the conflict resolution strategies and goals of children with depressive symptoms

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the reports of conflict strategies and goals in response to hypothetical conflict situations, (b) generation of solutions to hypothetical conflicts, and (c) conflict in observed dyadic exchanges in children with high and low depressive symptoms. Children from Grades 4, 5, and 6 were divided into high (n = 57) and low (n = 57) depressive symptoms groups. Results indicated that the two groups differed on the types of conflict strategies but not conflict goals chosen in hypothetical social problem‐solving tasks. Also, children reporting depressive symptoms typically chose less effective strategies to solving social problems. In observed dyadic exchanges, the high depressive symptoms group employed more negative strategies than the low depressive symptoms group, but no significant differences were noted for the prosocial conflict resolution strategies exhibited. Findings and implications for children with depressive symptoms are highlighted.     

Pre-service teachers' representations of children's understanding of mathematical concepts: conflicts and conflict resolution

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which research experience could enhance pre-service teachers' understanding of children's knowledge of mathematical concepts. A group of five pre-service teachers designed and conducted a study of children's understanding of fractions. As participant-observers throughout their study we gathered evidence of change in pre-service teachers' representations of children's knowledge of fractions. The focus of our observations was on the conflicts generated by the gaps between the pre-service teachers' research findings and their representations of the children's knowledge of fractions. Results indicate that research experience is fruitful in developing an inquisitive disposition in pre-service teachers and in sensitizing future teachers to children's knowledge of a mathematical concept. Pre-service teachers became familiar with the research literature regarding children's understanding of fractions, they questioned the typical instructional sequence of teaching fractions and they scrutinized methods of assessing children's knowledge of mathematical topics.     

Social goals as predictors of children's in vivo emotional responses to social challenges

This study examined the role of social goals in shaping children's in vivo emotional responses during a challenging dyadic peer interaction. In all, 132 children (M_age = 9.46 years, SD = 0.33; 50% girls; 72% White) participated in a dyadic social challenge (conflict-of-interest situation) and reported their social goals and emotions during the task, and observers coded child emotions and dyad negativity. Mastery goals predicted more positive emotions unless interactions were highly negative. Performance-avoidance goals predicted more negative emotions, particularly in the context of negative interactions and disappointing outcomes. Performance-approach goals predicted less negative displayed emotions but more negative self-reported emotions. Findings provide novel insights into how context-specific social goals contribute to affective social competence during peer interactions.     

Training parents to mediate sibling disputes affects children's negotiation and conflict understanding

The effects of training parents to use formal mediation procedures in sibling disputes were examined in 48 families with 5- to 10-years-old children, randomly assigned to mediation and control conditions. Children whose parents were trained in mediation were compared with those whose parents intervened normally. Parents reported that children used more constructive conflict resolution strategies, compromised more often, and controlled the outcomes of conflicts more often in mediation families than in control families. Observations indicated less negativity in children's independent negotiations of recurrent conflicts, better understanding of the role of interpretation in assessing blame, and better knowledge of their siblings' perspectives in the mediation group. Thus, both social and social-cognitive gains resulted from experience with constructive conflict resolution.     

Young children's responses to "when" questions: issues of directionality

On the basis of the bulk of the available literature, it appears that in talking or reasoning about temporal sequences, preschoolers lack bidirectional flexibility and are limited to forward order, antecedent toward consequent movement. 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds and adults responded to when-questions designed to permit assessment of directional preferences. All questions referred to the second sentence of 3-sentence stories, so that before-type (antecedent to consequent) and after-type (consequent to antecedent) responses were possible for all questions. Children showed a strong preference for giving after-responses. Contrary to claims made in previous literature, preschoolers are quite capable of reasoning from consequences to antecedents when provided with a context, such as responding to when-questions, for which such movement is appropriate. Children's apparent lack of bidirectional reasoning on problems involving temporal sequence may reflect preferred directionality based on conventions associated with particular tasks rather than a lack of flexibility in temporal reasoning per se.     

Education as a mechanism for conflict resolution in Northern Ireland

How education systems operate in divided societies is an increasingly important question for academics and educational practitioners as well as for governments. The question is particularly pertinent in post‐conflict societies, where education is a key mechanism for resolving conflict between divided communities. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, this article sheds new light on the role of education in conflict resolution by examining the long‐term impact of segregated and integrated education on attitudes towards community relations and levels of contact between the Protestant and Catholic communities. The results suggest that individuals who had attended an integrated school are significantly more likely to have friends and neighbours from across the religious divide and that these friendship networks translate into a more optimistic view of future community relations. This is not the case, however, when kinship networks are considered. The evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that the education system can be a source of both conflict and cohesion depending on the nature of the school system as well as the particular source of division to be addressed.     

Interpersonal conflict resolution strategies in children: A father-child co-construction

The interpersonal conflict gives an opportunity to learn living together and to accept differences. We consider the interpersonal conflict resolution strategies as an indicator of the socialization and as such of the autonomisation and social integration. If, at the earliest age, the child has the advantage of a differentiated and early paternal involvement, he would use a larger variety of adjustment mechanisms when he will be in conflitual situations. Indeed, the father facilitates and stimulates the subjectivation process which integrates the appearing premises of self-consciousness, around 3–4 year old, in the conducts of initiative and self affirmation; the father introduces and consolidates the process which integrates the opening to wider interpersonal relations, which notably appears in collaboration conducts and more especially resolution interpersonal conflict.     

A survey on parent-child conflict resolution: intrafamily violence in Italy

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper was to investigate factors associated with intrafamily violence toward children in Italy. Family structure and the characteristics of both caretakers and children were explored. Their association with the incidence of minor and severe violence was analyzed to test the hypothesis that child physical abuse is related to a combination of different factors involving the family as a whole. METHOD: This research was carried out by submitting an anonymous questionnaire to 2388 families residing in Tuscany, Italy. The form included two sections, one related to the family cultural substrate, and to potentially influential events affecting the family during the year 1998. The other one, taken from the conflict tactics (CT) scales, presented a hierarchy of possible responses to conflict. RESULTS: Physical punishment appeared to be a general behavior in Italy, because the incidence of minor violence was 77%. The incidence of severe violence was about 8%. When considering family, caretaker, and child characteristics mostly associated with physical punishment in Italy, we found that families with a low income, where caretakers had health problems or were stressed, and with younger and more "problematic" children presented the highest risk of intrafamily violence during conflict resolution. CONCLUSIONS: The results point to the importance of a balance between potentiating and compensatory factors in complex and dynamic relationships among family members, to avoid strategy resolution of conflict ultimately leading to violence. Moreover, minor and severe violence appeared to be two related but different phenomena.     

Scapegoating and conflict in the classroom: A resolution through classroom discussions

Summary As is often the case for the counsellor, initial referrals when explored further lead to other issues. In this paper, a methodology was presented for dealing with scapegoating problems and a negative classroom atmosphere. The methodology involved the use of structured questions designed to help children: explore problem areas, express feelings, understand conflicts and activate the motivation to change and act positively. The sequencing of the format is important in that it allows for movement and transformation of thoughts and feelings. In addition, particular attention was paid to entry and exit stages and to shifts from self to other, facts to problems and problems to solutions. The model is easily understood by teachers and after a few modelling sessins by the counsellor most are able to use it on their own with minimal supervision.University of British ColumbiaThis article will also be published in Elementary School Guidance and Counseling, a journal of APGA.     

Academic delay of gratification and children's study time allocation as a function of proximity to consequential academic goals

Students (N = 302) in Chinese elementary schools were assessed regarding their academic delay of gratification (ADOG) and reported the time they devoted to non-school study and playtime during an extended interval prior to taking a high-stakes final exam. Students high compared those low in ADOG were more likely to spend time studying and less time playing several weeks prior to the exam. Growth curve analyses verified, however, that this difference diminished as a function of the temporal proximity to the exam, and that the group differences were non-existent just before the exam. Associations between ADOG and students' academic motivation and use of learning strategies replicated those obtained previously with adults in the USA. Results contribute to the general literatures on volition, homework and the dynamics of conflicting goals and action tendencies.     

Opportunities and obstacles to consider when using peer- and self-assessment to improve student learning: Case studies into teachers' implementation

Peer- and self-assessment (PASA) are student-led assessment practices with the potential to positively affect achievement. Case studies of three New Zealand classrooms were examined to explore teacher and student perspectives of and purposes for PASA. Four themes (i.e., improvement, accountability, social interaction, and accuracy) were identified. Teachers cited mainly improvement purposes for PASA, with students primarily focused on accuracy and social interaction concerns. Data indicated that these teachers and students needed deeper understanding of how to use PASA for improvement and self-regulation purposes. This suggests teachers must provide concrete instruction in PASA and carefully manage interpersonal issues for successful implementation.     

Impact of hostility and withdrawal in interparental conflict on parental emotional unavailability and children's adjustment difficulties

This multimethod, prospective study examined the nature of pathways between interparental hostility and withdrawal, parental emotional unavailability, and subsequent changes in children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and school adjustment difficulties over a 3-year period in a sample of 210 mothers, fathers, and 6-year-old children. The results of autoregressive structural equation models indicated that interparental withdrawal had a detrimental impact on all areas of children's adjustment, whereas interparental hostility had an indirect effect on subsequent changes in child adjustment. An intermediary role of parental emotional unavailability in links between interparental withdrawal and hostility and child outcomes was indicated, with specific, differential effects observed for fathers and mothers.     

Understanding heterogeneity in pathways between interparental conflict and children's involvement: The moderating role of affect-biased attention

The study examined the moderating role of children's affect-biased attention to angry, fearful, and sad adult faces in the link between interparental conflict and children's distinct forms of involvement. Participants included 243 preschool children (M_age = 4.60 years, 56% female) and their parents from racially (48% African American, 43% White) and socioeconomically (median annual household income = $36,000) diverse backgrounds. Data collection took place in the Northeastern United States (2010–2014). Utilizing a multi-method, multi-informant, longitudinal design, attention away from anger selectively amplified the link between interparental conflict and children's subsequent coercive involvement (β = −.15). Greater attention to fear potentiated the pathway between interparental conflict and children's later cautious (β = .14) and caregiving involvement (β = .15). Findings are interpreted in the context of environmental sensitivity models.     

学生课堂提问的障碍分析及培养对策

学生课堂提问是学生参与教学活动中高层次的认知反应。本文分析了生物学课堂教学中影响学生提问的思想观念、教学方法、提问技能方面的因素。提出了相应的促进学生提问的培养对策。     

消除新高职生英语学习障碍之对策

本从主观和客观两个方面对新高职生英语学习中存在的障碍及不利因素进行了分析，并提出一些针对性的解决办法，旨在促进新高职生的英语学习水平及整体素质的提高。     

Hard-pressed to achieve the EFA goals by 2015 in the Philippines

The Philippines has experienced a setback in its progress towards EFA 2015 Goals. In particular, a decline in primary and secondary education performance indicators and a widening gap between boys’ and girls’ performance were noted. While the present policy environment in the country has been conducive to education reforms, a lack of political will, discontinuity in education leadership and an inability to capitalize on proven educational innovations and major programmes/projects are likely to further undermine EFA progress. The country must immediately introduce efficient and effective measures to arrest this trend. The government must also return to social marketing among all stakeholders, emphasizing the long-term benefits of basic education.

Development in children's interpretation of pitch cues to emotions

Young infants respond to positive and negative speech prosody (A. Fernald, 1993), yet 4-year-olds rely on lexical information when it conflicts with paralinguistic cues to approval or disapproval (M. Friend, 2003). This article explores this surprising phenomenon, testing one hundred eighteen 2- to 5-year-olds' use of isolated pitch cues to emotions in interactive tasks. Only 4- to 5-year-olds consistently interpreted exaggerated, stereotypically happy or sad pitch contours as evidence that a puppet had succeeded or failed to find his toy (Experiment 1) or was happy or sad (Experiments 2, 3). Two- and 3-year-olds exploited facial and body-language cues in the same task. The authors discuss the implications of this late-developing use of pitch cues to emotions, relating them to other functions of pitch.