Using 21st century video prompting technology to facilitate the independence of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Barriers in acquiring, maintaining, and generalizing daily living skills are factors that contribute to discrepancies in independent living outcomes among transition age youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Acquisition and generalization of daily living skills empowers transition age youth and young adults with disabilities to meet their own needs with minimal reliance on others. Infusing the use of technology as a self‐prompting device facilitates the acquisition of tasks that may not be otherwise attainable. In this study, self‐directed video prompting on an iPad with the My Pictures Talk application was used to help young adults with IDD in a postsecondary program acquire daily living skills in a single subject, multiple probe across subjects design. The effects of the intervention on generalization to tasks that were one, two, and three components different were also assessed. Results demonstrated a functional relationship between the introduction of the intervention and improvement in skill performance.     

Interpersonal communication and transactional relationships: Clarification and application

What model does one use to understand interpersonal communication and how does one apply such a model when teaching a course in interpersonal communication? The author presents and applies a self‐validation model and topology of transactional relationships to help select concepts, principles, and skills that are essential for the study of interpersonal communication.     

Components of leadership giftedness and multiple intelligences among Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong

This study examined the relationships between components of leadership giftedness and multiple intelligences among 510 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. These students perceived their strengths in intrapersonal, interpersonal and verbal‐linguistic intelligences, and their weaknesses in bodily‐kinesthetic and naturalist intelligences. They also rated themselves higher on leadership flexibility and goal orientation than on leadership self‐efficacy. In predicting the three leadership components, intrapersonal and verbal‐linguistic intelligences emerged as common and significant predictors, suggesting that self‐reflection and self‐management skills as well as a good command of language use were important in leadership. Other significant predictors such as logical‐mathematical intelligence for leadership self‐efficacy as well as goal orientation and interpersonal intelligence for leadership flexibility suggested that critical thinking might be important for the sense of confidence or efficacy and the vision of goals, whereas relational or people skills might be important for the openness to different options. Students who were classified high on both verbal‐linguistic intelligence and personal intelligences, high on one and low on the other, and low on both were found to be generally high, medium and low on all three leadership components, respectively. Implications of the findings for inferring different levels of components of leadership giftedness from specific intelligences and for developing leadership training programs are discussed.     

Low‐Income Ethnically Diverse Children's Engagement as a Predictor of School Readiness Above Preschool Classroom Quality

This study examined whether children's observed individual engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks related to their school readiness after controlling for observed preschool classroom quality and children's baseline skills. The sample included 211 predominately low‐income, racially/ethnically diverse 4‐year‐old children in 49 preschool classrooms in one medium‐sized U.S. city. Results indicated that children's positive engagement with (a) teachers related to improved literacy skills; (b) peers related to improved language and self‐regulatory skills; and (c) tasks related to closer relationships with teachers. Children's negative engagement was associated with lower language, literacy, and self‐regulatory skills, and more conflict and closeness with teachers. Effect sizes were small to medium in magnitude, and some expected relations between positive engagement and school readiness were not found.     

Self‐assessment and the disadvantaged student: potential for encouraging self‐regulated learning?

The Science Foundation Programme (SFP) at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg attempts to address past educational inequalities by providing disadvantaged matriculants with the skills, resources and self‐confidence needed to embark on their tertiary studies. Students entering the Programme typically adopt a surface approach to learning with emphasis being placed on high score achievement which results in a mark‐driven attitude towards assessment. Students also lack the metacognitive skills associated with a deep approach to learning. Within this mark‐driven culture, it is important to attempt to move students away from such a superficial approach to learning and assessment. Worldwide, self‐assessment practice has been gaining recognition, and it has been linked to the adoption of a deep approach to learning; self‐regulated learning and the development of metacognitive skills. In the biology module of the Programme, students are given two essay assignments, tasks that are routinely performed very poorly. In attempt to improve SFP students’ essay writing abilities, a self‐assessment scheme to accompany the essay tasks was instituted, hoping that this would get the students to engage with the assessment criteria. It was intended that students would not only fulfil the requirements of the task better, but also achieve the valuable skill of self‐assessment. The results provide overwhelming evidence that SFP students cannot accurately self‐assess. Their naivety and inexperience in fulfilling assessment criteria was also revealed. Overall, marks awarded by staff were significantly lower than those awarded by students, and there was no evidence to suggest that any one category of students based on academic ability were better able to self‐assess than another. Marker inconsistencies were revealed, but this was shown to have no effect on findings. In spite of these results, a case for pursuing self‐assessment is made and proposals for improving student self‐assessment practice in the SFP are suggested.     

A Self‐Management Strategy for Increasing Implementation of Behavioural Procedures by Residential Staff

Two preliminary studies explored the use of a self‐management strategy as a component of a training program for residential Child and Family Workers. The self‐management strategy comprised the Correspondence Training procedures of Risley (1977) and the formulation of specific implementation plans (Sanders & Glynn, 1981). Experiment 1 found that prompting staff to formulate plans of how they would implement target behaviour management skills and providing individual feedback on their performance in accordance with their plans resulted in gains in implementation of target skills; no gains in implementation resulted from Instruction and Group Feedback conditions alone. This experiment examined pooled data from 18 staff collected by regular time sampled observations. Experiment 2 introduced similar procedures in a multiple baseline design to four volunteer staff, each of whom selected two target behavioural skills from the training manual. The self‐management strategy resulted in clear gains in implementation of these self‐selected target skills by all four staff. Results are discussed in terms of the potential of the correspondence training paradigm and the formulation of specific implementation plans as an approach to on‐the‐job training of residential staff.     

I Know Who My Friends Are,but Do You? Predictors of Self‐Reported and Peer‐Inferred Relationships

Using social network data, this study examines which features of social and spatial proximity predict self‐reported, or “real,” and peer‐reported, or “inferred,” relationships among 2,695 pairwise combinations of African American second‐ through fourth‐grade students (aged 7–11). Relationships were more likely to exist, and more likely to be inferred to exist by peers, between pairs of children who were the same sex, sat near one another, shared a positive academic orientation, or shared athletic ability. Sex similarity had a dramatically larger effect on peers' inferences about relationships than on self‐reported real relationships, suggesting that children overestimate the importance of gender in their inferences about relationships. Results were stable across different grade levels in middle childhood and for boys and girls.     

Identifying and promoting self‐regulated learning in higher education: roles and responsibilities of student tutors

This article reports on a case study of learning and academic achievement in engineering education. Two sets of oral exams were used as a source of information in relation to students’ learning and needs in the learning situation. Through ensuing interviews, patterns of learning strategies were discerned. Academically successful students utilised self‐monitoring skills, such as self‐evaluation and comprehension monitoring, while these skills were used only to a minor extent by those less successful. Promoting self‐regulated learning could be one way to improve student learning. The research literature, however, suggests that merely teaching self‐monitoring skills does not necessarily make a difference. This study therefore focuses on roles of tutors in identifying and promoting self‐regulated learning.     

Advice for sex advisors: a guide for ‘agony aunts’, relationship therapists and sex educators who want to work with the media

Education programmes for sex and relationships are greatly needed globally. One way such information can be delivered is via the media. Sex and relationship advice has long been a popular media component, but the quality, accuracy and effectiveness of such advice—particularly from the sex ‘expert’ or ‘agony aunt’—has not been adequately addressed. Given the rising cult of the ‘expert’ and ‘self‐improvement’ features within the media alongside growing sexual health problems, this paper discusses problems associated with providing media sex education and makes suggestions for effective communication of sex and relationships messages for those who wish to be media sex educators or who already offer media sex and relationships advice and seek to improve their skills.     

‘I – from dreams to reality’: A Case Study of Developing Youngsters’ Self‐Efficacy and Social Skills through an Arts Educational Project in Schools

This is a case study of a one‐year arts educational project ‘I – from dreams to reality’ in which artists worked at school with teachers and learning at the school was planned through arts‐based, co‐operative teamwork during one extra school year of 10th grade students in Finnish basic education. The theme of the year was ‘I’, and so the project was designed to highlight everyone's own way of thinking and expressing art. The research task was to determine whether long‐term holistic arts pedagogy and artist co‐operation at school have any significant connection to students’ self‐efficacy and social skills. Data has been collected through students’ self‐evaluations before and after the school year. Altogether 40 students from 10th grade participated in this case study. Half of the pupils participated in an arts educational project called ‘I – from dreams to reality’ and half formed the control group. Artists worked with the test group weekly during a period of one school year (altogether nine months). Students’ self‐evaluations concerning their self‐efficacy and social behaviour were collected by e‐questionnaire. The measures used were Likert‐based evaluation scores of pupils’ self‐assessment of their self‐efficacy and social behaviour in everyday situations at school. According to the results, artist–teacher co‐operation and learning through the arts can be worthwhile experiences to develop students’ self‐efficacy and social skills.     

Facilitating Meta‐learning in Art and Design Education

Art and design programmes are educationally unique in that students themselves play a central role in determining their own learning needs. To be successful in their study, art and design students are required to operate with a high degree of independence and self‐direction. Developing the skills for greater self‐reliance requires students to become aware of their conceptions of the subject of study, and of themselves as learners in a particular learning context. Developing greater self‐awareness as a learner and becoming more independent in one's learning is captured by the concept of meta‐learning. In this article I present an alternative strategy to prevalent diagnostic approaches to assist in developing a student's capacity for meta‐learning in the subject context of art and design. An inquiry cycle was created to provide a structure within which to facilitate generative thinking about learning through engaging with fundamental questions related to the subject of learning (art and design) rather than the learning subject (i.e. the student). This method represents a departure from existing approaches to engaging students in meta‐learning. A pilot study used to trial the effectiveness of this strategy is also presented here. The inquiry map, and the conceptual base upon which it was developed, were found to be useful ways to structure reflective thinking about learning and to assist in developing a student's conception of the subject.     

The role of the school climate in high school students’ mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study

The well‐documented increase in student mental health issues in Australia and growing recognition of the need for education to play a part in students’ identity formation prompted this study. The research reported in this article sought to identify specific elements of the school climate that were likely to influence the interplay of adolescent health and development and students’ identity formation. The aim was two‐fold. First, the study examined the relationships between students’ perceptions of the school climate and self‐reports of wellbeing, resilience and moral identity; and, second, the interrelationships between the three outcome variables were explored. Two surveys, one to assess students’ perceptions of features of the school climate, and another to assess students’ wellbeing, resilience and moral identity, were administered to 618 Year 11 students from 15 independent schools in South Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate hypothesised relationships between students’ perceptions of their school climate and self‐reports of wellbeing, resilience and moral identity. Our results indicated statistically significant and positive relationships between school‐climate factors and each of the three outcome variables. Further, indirect relationships (mediated largely by resilience) were found between school‐climate factors and students’ wellbeing. Our findings could be used to guide schools in building tangible, purposeful environments that engender well‐balanced, positive, resilient citizens with strong moral identities.     

The Career Development Needs of College Students with Learning Disabilities: In Their Own Words

The career development and disability knowledge of 97 students with learning disabilities from three postsecondary institutions in the Midwest was examined through semi‐structured interviews. Students with disabilities who were eligible for services while in high school generally did not engage in transition planning as required by federal law. Their career development activities were limited despite having unique career needs. The majority of students had difficulty describing their disability and its impact on their career exploration and planning. For students with learning disabilities at the postsecondary level, career development services should be provided, including training in self‐advocacy and career exploration in the first two years. Instruction in career self‐management skills should be ongoing.     

THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN ADOLESCENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER‐STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR ACADEMIC SELF‐REGULATION: DOES LIKING A SPECIFIC TEACHER MATTER?

Although positive teacher‐student relationships are known to aid students’ academic self‐regulation, the emotional aspects of teacher liking are often neglected within research. The present study used a large sample of seventh‐ and eighth‐grade students (N = 1,088; M_Age =  13.7) in secondary schools in Germany to investigate whether the motivation students gain from specific well‐liked teachers (i.e., that students identify) can moderate the relation between their perception of teacher‐student relationships overall and academic self‐regulation (intrinsic motivation, identified, introjected, and external regulation). By means of latent moderated structural equations, students’ motivation based on liking one specific teacher was found to moderate the association between teacher‐student relationships and intrinsic motivation. The present study makes a contribution to the existing research on teacher‐student relationships and academic self‐regulation by investigating the role of students’ motivation related to the liking of a specific teacher. Results indicate that when early adolescent students can identify a well‐liked teacher, they tend to have higher levels of academic motivation. Hence, students’ motivation based on liking a single teacher compensates for generally low‐quality teacher‐student relationships and their respective impact on students’ intrinsic motivation.     

Attachment,Entitlement, and the Impostor Phenomenon in Female Graduate Students

This study examined the utility of attachment and entitlement as predictors of the impostor phenomenon in female graduate students. Findings suggested that individuals with high levels of self‐reliance/self‐assurance entitlement are able to associate positive feedback with stable internal attributes. Those with anxious attachment and narcissistic expectations/self‐promotion entitlement, however, were unable to openly accept positive feedback because of perceived deficits in self‐worth. Implications are discussed for addressing these issues with female college counseling clients.     

A Case‐study Investigating the Relationship Between Perceived Self‐efficacy and Performance at Subtraction Tasks

Abstract This research note describes the rationale and methods used in a pilot single case‐study of teaching subtraction to an adolescent with specific learning difficulties. The rationale is derived from Bloom's theory of school learning with its emphasis on mastery of objectives and on the contributory influence of self‐concept of ability on learning outcomes. This is linked to Bandura's theory of self‐efficacy which is associated with a methodology for assessing self‐efficacy in relation to objectives. The results indicated that self‐efficacy judgements could predict subsequent subtraction performance and that there could have been some transfer in self‐efficacy from one task to another related task. The results are discussed in terms of assessment methodology and of future areas for theoretical and practical developments.     

MEASURING KINDNESS AT SCHOOL: PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF A SCHOOL KINDNESS SCALE FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

In this study, we sought to create and validate a brief measure to assess students’ perceptions of kindness in school. Participants included 1,753 students in Grades 4 to 8 attending public schools in a large school district in southern British Columbia. The School Kindness Scale (SKS) demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure and adequate internal consistency. The pattern of associations of the SKS to a corpus of theoretically relevant constructs obtained via student self‐reports (classroom supportiveness, optimism, happiness, prosocial and social goals, satisfaction with life, and academic self‐efficacy) provided evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, the SKS was significantly and positively associated with teacher reports on students’ empathy, social skills, and peer acceptance. Analyses by gender and grade indicated that girls perceived significantly higher levels of kindness in school than did boys, and that students’ perceptions of kindness in school decreased from fourth to eighth grade, with fourth‐grade students reporting the highest levels of kindness in school and eighth‐grade students reporting the lowest levels. The theoretical importance of investigating students’ perceptions of kindness in the school context and the practical implications of this research for informing educational efforts to promote social and emotional competencies in school communities are discussed.     

The development and application of affective assessment in an upper‐level cell biology course

This study exemplifies how faculty members can develop instruments to assess affective responses of students to the specific features of the courses they teach. Means for assessing three types of affective responses are demonstrated: (a) student attitudes towards courses with differing instructional objectives and methodologies, (b) student self‐efficacy (confidence) in completing tasks common to practicing experts, and (c) interests in subject‐specific topics and associated intellectual skills. The iterative processes used in refining the instruments and performing the statistical analyses of their effectiveness are detailed. An analysis of data obtained using these instruments is also included. Positive attitudes towards courses emphasizing analytical thinking increased significantly over the course of a 14‐week semester, as did the measures of self‐efficacy. Despite the rigorous analytical nature of the course experience, the initial strong interest in cell biology topics and higher order thinking skills remained unchanged. There were no significant differences based on gender in any of the affective measures. We discuss the apparent dichotomy, revealed in these assessments, between students' idealistic, academic attitudes towards the course's effectiveness and their opinions of its effects on them personally. We conclude by reporting how insights garnered both from these formal assessments and from anecdotal communications have prompted experimental modifications in the design and conduct of the course. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1057–1087, 2007     

Differentiated Curriculum Design: Responding to the Individual and Group Needs of Students with Learning Difficulties with Self‐regulated Learning Strategies

The purpose of this study was to explore special educational curriculum design at senior secondary school level and whether this helps to enhance the academic attainment and self‐confidence of students with learning difficulties. An in‐depth discussion focuses on lesson planning for the individual needs and group needs of students by implementation of self‐regulated learning strategies, based on a case study in a special school in Hong Kong. A multiple methods research design was envisaged for the implementation phase of this participatory action research. Lesson observations, video recordings, teachers’ diaries and students’ interviews were collected during one academic year in a form 5 (equal to year 12 in the UK) classroom. It is suggested that curriculum design should include various elements: learning knowledge, values and attitudes, and generic skills. This differentiated curriculum design showed how subject learning targets could be responsive to both the individual and the group needs of students with learning difficulties. Conclusions also indicate that assisting students to become aware of their individual needs is beneficial both for learning and for curriculum design.     

Enhancing life skills development: Chinese adolescents’ perceptions

This study explored Chinese adolescents’ perceptions of their own life skills development and the importance they place on such skills. The study also investigated the within‐school and outside‐school influences that may help develop and enhance life skills development. Six focus groups involving 52 high school students were conducted, using a set of predetermined discussion topics. Results revealed students’ awareness of many salient life skills, including those related directly to academic development, ‘learning to learn’, personal and social growth, and future career planning. The students were also able to suggest practical strategies that schools might use to further enhance students’ life skills development. Contextual factors influencing the development of life skills appear to include not only experiences within the school curriculum and the guidance and counseling program, but also talent development opportunities, and family and peer relationships. The implications of the findings are discussed with particular reference to implementing comprehensive school guidance and counseling programs in Hong Kong.