Predicting elements of early maternal elaborative discourse from 12 to 18 months of age

To date, much of the research investigating maternal–child discourse has focused on the preschool period of children's development, with little attention paid to how these styles develop. The current study aimed to assess whether maternal elaborative discourse elements seen in preschool are also evident during the toddler years, and whether the use of these elements is predicted by children's temperament, maternal mind mindedness, and attachment security. Results revealed that elaborative discourse elements are used by mothers during discourse with 12- and 18 month-old children, and that child temperament, attachment security, and maternal mind mindedness at 12 months predicted maternal use of these elements when children were 18 months old. These results provide evidence that elements of maternal discourse style begin forming prior to children's active involvement in discourse interactions and that child, maternal, and relationship characteristics assume important roles in shaping early discourse styles.     

How early maternal separation and juvenile experience with pups affect maternal behavior and emotionality in adult postpartum rats

To assess the effects of preweaning and juvenile experiences on adult maternal behavior, two experiments were completed. In Experiment 1, pups were separated for long periods or short periods or were left undisturbed over the 1st week. Following weaning, the rats were exposed to foster pups over a 5-day period or were left undisturbed. There were no effects of early experience on juvenile behavior. In adult postpartum maternal tests, short separations reduced latencies to express maternal behaviors, whereas long separations combined with juvenile exposure to pups increased latencies. In Experiment 2, pups were separated for long periods or were left undisturbed over the 1st week. Following weaning, the rats were exposed to foster pups for 4 days or 8 days or were left undisturbed. Long separation retarded maternal responding in juvenile animals but had no effect on the adults. Four days of juvenile experience had negative effects on adult behavior, whereas 8 days did not have an effect.     

母爱缺失的“创伤性经验”——《沉没之鱼》别解

《沉没之鱼》是谭恩美全新突破的一部作品,文中的幽灵叙述者陈璧璧是潜在的主人公。她幼时缺乏母爱的＂创伤性经验＂对她以后的成长产生了重要的影响,她在兰那王国之旅逐渐走出自己的心理创伤,并去了解爱、接受爱的过程。     

电大办学模式初探

随着时代的进步与发展，社会主义市场经济体制的建立与健全，近几年我国电大的办学模式已发生了许多新的变化。各地电大在解放思想、实事求是方针的指引下，以社会主义市场经济为导向锐意改革、大胆实践、创造出一些新的卓有成效的办学模式。（一）与名牌大学合作某些地方性电大，一方面独立办学，另一方面与名牌大学合作办学，开展远程教育。电大成了名牌大学的办学点、辅导站。名牌大学远程教育急需找到一批地方实体作依托，电大也需要名牌大学的“资源”优势。这种优势互补的作法已在许多地方推行。据有关资料披露，北大、清华的成人教育…     

The needs and potential of the highly gifted: Toward a model of responsiveness

Programs for the general population of gifted and talented children may bypass the needs of the highly gifted, if not responsive to the special, often unique, ways such individuals think, act, and feel. Joseph Renzulli's concepts and enrichment programs, emphasizing task‐commitment and creativity as prerequisites for advanced enrichment services, risk discrimination against children of great potential who fail to display these traits. Insights from David Henry Feldman's studies of prodigies — combined with an alertness to the interplay of emotional, social, and cognitive factors pointed to by Lita Hollingworth, Carl Rogers, D. K. Simonton, and others — suggest the essentials of a model for maximally nurturing the potential of the highly gifted.     

Effect of maternal rubella on hearing and vision: a twenty year post-epidemic study

Three years of research conducted at NTID beginning in 1984 examined the hearing and vision characteristics of two groups of deaf college students. All 242 students studied received complete audiometric assessments and ophthalmological examinations. Of those students examined, 104 were known to be deaf as a result of maternal rubella (congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) group). The remaining 138 (non-CRS group) became deaf for a variety of other reasons. No significant differences were found between groups in puretone thresholds for frequencies measured at octave intervals from 250 thru 8000 Hz. There were, however, significant differences between the two groups relative to their vision characteristics. Seven visual pathologies or resulting conditions were found to be more prevalent with the CRS population. Among them were 38 cases of amblyopia which might have been prevented with early intervention. The various implications of this problem are discussed.     

Growth at the age of 4 years subsequent to early failure to thrive

Fifty-five children previously investigated for failure to thrive (a rate of weight gain below -2 SD) during at least 6 weeks at 4-18 months of age were followed up and reinvestigated at the age of 4 years. The children were studied in two groups: children with organic causes (OFTT) (n = 21); and children for whom no organic cause was found (nonorganic failure to thrive, NFTT) (n = 34). In children with OFTT, normalization of growth was found for both weight and height attained, as most of the diseases were either amenable to treatment or spontaneously subsided. The only exception was a child with severe encephalopathy. In children with NFTT, much lower values were found, particularly for weight, p less than .01 for both weight and height. Children with a low psychosocial score (less than or equal to 3 adverse factors) showed partial catch-up growth, although significantly lower than that of children with OFFT. Among 13 children with high psychosocial scores (greater than or equal to 4), 6 children had been subjected to strong social and/or psychological intervention. These children showed a more favorable growth pattern compared to children with comparable psychosocial scores where no intervention had been undertaken. The children with NFTT continued to grow slowly, remained meager and seemed to maintain a suboptimal growth pattern, particularly those with higher numbers of risk factors.     

早期工程体验课程的设计与实践

学生接受高等工程教育之前所拥有的工程实践经验显著地影响其专业兴趣、理解能力和实际工程能力的发展.目前大学新生普遍缺乏工程实践经验,有必要在一年级开设基于项目的早期工程体验课程,为学生构建工程科学、专业知识和工程能力的框架.深圳大学机电与控制工程学院为新生开设的早期工程体验课程以灭火机器人比赛为工程任务,以机器人教学套件为载体,在教学实践中取得初步成效.学生问卷调查表明,经过该课程的学习,学生对专业的兴趣和认同程度明显增加.     

Awareness of inner experience: a systems perspective on self-regulatory process in early development

This brief synopsis of an organizational perspective on early development represents an integration of three major areas of the author's research: that of a detailed observational study of early mother-infant interaction over the first three years of life; that of a continuous neonatal state and caregiving interactional monitoring method over the first two months of life; and that of a 25- to 30-year follow-up on the same infants observed initially. From these data a ground plan is proposed for our thinking about the individual's life span trajectory as a unique construction within a unique context for that individual's interactional and adaptive self-regulatory strategies. Beginning with a review of biological principles, the paradoxical integration of complexity and unity in living systems is traced from the conceptualization of infant state and observations on its regulation through the role of state in the origins of awareness of inner experience, to the consolidation and validation of the self as agent in self-regulation. Central to integration is the recognition process, stemming from one's awareness that another is aware of what one is aware of within oneself. The constructionist perspective on the critical role of specificity in this organizing process is illustrated by reference to the negotiation between caregiver and infant of seven issues of adaptive coordination over the first three years of life. Finally, five propositions are formulated describing such specificity in this organizing process, as one that underlies integration of levels of the living system relating the biological, the developmental, the shaping of the life span trajectory, and the reconstructive therapeutic process.     

Dearth of early education experience: a significant barrier to educational and social inclusion in the Western Balkans

The article summarises the socio-political, cultural, economic and educational background to the Western Balkans region and outlines the wider qualitative research study that provided the data on early and pre-school educational opportunities in the seven countries involved; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The authors examine international research and literature on early education that identifies it as an important means of enabling subsequent educational and social inclusion and attainment. They proceed to discuss and illustrate from the research data five inter-linked factors showing that provision of early education in the Western Balkans is inadequate and exclusive and that children who are already at greatest socio-economic and cultural disadvantage and at potential risk in elementary and secondary education are least likely to participate in, or benefit from, it. Some recent more encouraging developments are noted but the article concludes that substantially more investment and positive actions are needed in raising awareness of the importance of early education and in developing policies and provision for it that will benefit children currently at greatest disadvantage.     

Teachers’ sanction in the classroom: Effect of age,experience, gender and academic context

The moral judgement of sanction in teaching and disciplinary practices was studied in a group of 222 teachers to determine the factors that affect sanction in the classroom. Factors studied included pupils' intent, consequences, recidivism, pupils' academic level, and family stability in two contexts: discipline and schoolwork. Results showed the significant effects of these factors for each context. Age of teachers, gender and teaching level (primary or secondary school) were also investigated in the judgement of sanction. Results showed a significant main effect of age, and specific differences in the moral algebra of teachers according to gender and teaching level.     

Effect of maternal soothing on infant stress response

The effect of maternal soothing to infant inoculation as well as everyday distress on infant cortisol and behavioral responses to stress was examined in two longitudinal samples of 55 and 74 infants, respectively, between 2 and 6 months of age. There was no evidence that maternal soothing was effective in reducing infants' cortisol or behavioral responses to stress. The absence of this relation occurred despite evidence for cross-time stability and cross-situation consistency in maternal soothing. That maternal soothing plays little role in lowering infant responses to stress leaves open the possibilities that other maternal behaviors may mediate children's distress or that infant temperament may be related to infant stress.     

The influence of early linguistic skills and family factors on literacy acquisition in Chinese children: Follow-up from age 3 to age 11

The present longitudinal study investigated the predictive power of preschool linguistic skills and early family factors on children's comprehensive literacy skills at the end of primary school in 262 Chinese children. The results indicated that a substantial (20–34%) share of variance of 5th grade (age 11) literacy skills in Chinese could be explained by early family factors (age 3) and linguistic skills (age 3–age 5). Family socioeconomic status and parent-child reading tuition were associated with different literacy measures. A differential pattern of prediction was also observed among different literacy skills. Furthermore, path analyses indicated that the relationships between early family factors and literacy skills at age 11 were mediated by specific linguistic and cognitive skills at preschool.     

Effect of the challenger experience on elementary children's attitudes to science

This research explored how the Challenger experience influenced over 655 elementary boys' and girls' general attitudes to science and space during the 5 months after their visit by examining their responses to four different attitude scales. These were administered to the 10‐ to 11‐year‐olds immediately before and after the Challenger experience as well as 2 and 5 months later. Knowledge tests were also administered before and after the visit. A sample of children completed an existing measure of anxiety. Although there were mainly positive outcomes immediately after the Challenger experience, there were some negative effects. There were also noticeable differences between boys and girls. Some 24% of pupils were inspired to become scientists. There was also less fear of space travel with a greater appreciation of the use of science to protect the planet after the visit. Most girls improved and maintained their attitudes toward science in society. A sizeable number of pupils were relatively unaffected by the experience and there was a significant negative effect on a small group of anxious girls. There are indications that previsit preparation and careful choice of roles during the simulation are important. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 979–1000, 2002     

The impact of maternal responsiveness and control on change in externalising behaviour problems: differences between regular and special schools

The present study compared 124 adolescents from special schools for students with emotional and behavioural disturbances (EBDs) and 133 regular schooled adolescents with regard to their perceived maternal behaviour. It was also tested longitudinally whether effects of maternal parenting behaviour on subsequent externalising behaviour vary as a function of school type. The two groups did not differ from each other with regard to perceived maternal parenting behaviour. However, an interaction effect of school type and parenting behaviour on externalising behaviour was found. Maternal warmth/support predicted a decrease and maternal strict control an increase in subsequent problem behaviour only for adolescents from special schools. The importance of parenting programmes especially for parents of adolescents attending special schools for students with EBD is discussed.     

Classroom age composition and the early learning of preschoolers

Data from 1,407 preschoolers were used to examine the implications of classroom age composition for the early learning and development of 4-year-olds in classrooms with 3- and 5-year-olds also in attendance. Results suggest that a greater number of younger classmates did not detract from 4-year-olds’ language development, literacy performance, or inhibitory control, nor did having older peers consistently facilitate learning in these domains. However, 4-year-olds who entered school with low inhibitory control and print knowledge demonstrated greater gains in both domains when attending classrooms with more same-age or older classmates than when in classrooms with more younger peers. When taken together, these results suggest that classroom age composition, in prekindergarten programs serving mostly 4-year-olds, for the most part has little consequence except for those 4-year-olds entering school with lower skill levels in key domains, in which case having older peers is of benefit.