When friends disappoint: boys' and girls' responses to transgressions of friendship expectations

In this study, the prevailing view that girls are pervasively more skilled in their friendships than boys was challenged by examining whether girls respond more negatively than boys when a friend violates core friendship expectations. Fourth- and fifth-grade children (n = 267) responded to vignettes depicting transgressions involving a friend's betrayal, unreliability, or failure to provide support or help. Results indicated that girls were more troubled by the transgressions, more strongly endorsed various types of negative relationship interpretations of the friend's actions, and reported more anger and sadness than did boys. Girls also endorsed revenge goals and aggressive strategies just as much as boys. These findings lead to a more complex view of boys' and girls' friendship competencies.     

The role of family orientation in predicting Korean boys' and girls' achievement motivation to learn mathematics

Informed by achievement goal orientation and self-determination theories, we explored the role of cultural/contextual factors on Korean students' achievement motivation. Specifically, we examined the role of the Korean middle school students' family orientation as a mediator between their perceptions of parent goals or motivating styles and their achievement motivations in learning math, when their perceptions of classroom goal structures were controlled. We also investigated gender differences in the role of the students' family orientation and of their perceptions of their parents and classroom variables in predicting their own achievement motivations. Multi-sample path analyses indicated that both Korean boys' and girls' family orientation mediated between their perceptions of parent variables and their own achievement motivations. Korean students' family orientation predicted mainly controlled forms of motivation and ego-focused goals. In addition, the relationships between students' perceptions of parent variables and their achievement motivations statistically varied across gender.     

Educated fathers and mothers have differential effects on overseas Japanese boys' and girls' math achievement

This chapter summarizes an investigation of the variables connected to the math achievement of 168, 5th- and 6th-grade Japanese students enrolled in an overseas Japanese school located in New York City. A mix of family processes and prior variables, including the language patterns in the home and the time the family had been away from Japan, were incorporated into the path models for analysis. The results of the study show that the education of the fathers and mothers played differential roles for the boys' and girls' math achievement. Educated mothers were found to positively influence their sons' achievement but to negatively influence their daughters' achievement. The authors interpret this finding as an attempt by the mothers to reinforce traditional Japanese values. Highly-educated fathers were found to have positive effects on their daughters' math achievement. This finding suggests educated fathers have a more open view of their daughters' academic potential. SES was found to be much more important to the math achievement of the girls (r=0.36). For both groups, excessive perceived parental pressure and help were found to indirectly undermine children's math achievement. Intellectual resources in the home were found to benefit boys' math achievement but to negatively effect girls' achievement. Overall, a high level of differential socialization was uncovered in this overseas Japanese community.     

A comparison between girls' and boys' experiences of unwanted sexual behaviour in secondary schools

Background

This study examines gender differences (and similarities) in the context, meaning and effects of unwanted sexual behaviour in secondary schools.

Purpose

First, the study's purpose is exploration of variables that discriminate between girls' and boys' experiences of unwanted sexual behaviour. Secondly, the aim is to find empirical grounding for diversity in schools' interventions and policies.

Sample

Respondents were 2808 adolescents (14 or 15 years of age) in secondary schools, randomly selected in two regions in The Netherlands. Of the 22 schools that participated in the project, 30% were Catholic, 25% Protestant, 11% interdenominational (several religions within one school) and 38% of the schools were public schools. School size varied. The majority of the students' parents were born in The Netherlands (86%), 14% were born in Morocco, Turkey and Surinam.

Design and methods

Survey questionnaires were to be completed during class time. Non-response rate: 2%. Analysis: discriminant function analysis.

Results

Girls more often experienced unwanted sexual behaviour by school personnel than boys. Their experiences were more often non-verbal in nature, physical or a combination of different sorts of behaviour. Girls experienced unwanted sexual behaviour as more upsetting than boys and they also experienced more psychosomatic health problems. The typical form of boys' experiences of unwanted sexual behaviour was verbal harassment by peers. The behaviour was less upsetting to boys and they experienced less psychosomatic health problems than girls.

Conclusions

This study was the first attempt to find out whether girls' and boys' scores on several variables form a different type of unwanted sexual behaviour. Two different types of unwanted sexual behaviour were found. Although the context (locations and the presence of others) was more or less the same for both sexes, the meaning and the effects of unwanted sexual behaviour were clearly different for girls and boys.     

Changes in primary boys' and girls' attitudes to school and science during a two-year science in-service programme

A pupils' attitude test was developed to monitor change over the two years of a primary science in-service programme. It explores pupils' views about school in general so that changes in science attitudes can be contextualized within the whole school experience; feelings towards science experiments; and perceptions of real-world science. The test was piloted with schools outside the in-service programme. Approximately 2000 pupils were tested in January 1999, September 1999 or January 2000. A random sample of children were retested in June 1999 and compared with a ‘control’ school. All the children in the project were tested again in July 2000. The results indicate a generally positive attitude towards coming to school, with particular preferences for work with computers and working together. As the pupils get older, their enthusiasm for science falls as they find it less difficult or demanding. This relationship appears to be broken by teacher in-service to some extent. Girls in particular also showed a greater enthusiasm for independent investigative science after the programme.     

Adolescent boys' and girls' block constructions differ in structural balance: A block-building characteristic related to math achievement

Two studies were conducted on block building in adolescents, assessing middle school (Study 1) and high school students (Study 2). Students were asked to build something interesting with blocks. In both samples, the same pattern of gender differences were found; boys built taller structures than girls, and balanced a larger number of blocks on a small base of upright blocks (a new measure developed for this study). Gender differences in the height of structures were fully mediated by this measure of structural balance. These findings suggest that balance elements are key to understanding gender differences in block building. In Study 2, high-school students were given a second task, requiring them to apply structural balance principles (only four upright blocks were provided on which to build), and instructing them to build a tall, complex, well-balanced structure. Gender differences again were found, suggesting that gender differences in block building may be skill-based as well as stylistic. A separate question was whether block-building characteristics at this age have any relevance to math achievement. In both studies, the measure of structural balance was the only block-building characteristic that predicted math achievement. Additional research is needed to understand the cognitive underpinnings of this new spatial measure, how malleable it is, and its further practical significance for adolescent learners.     

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disordered and control boys' responses to social success and failure

The behavioral, self-evaluative, and attributional responses of 120 boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and 65 control boys to social success and failure were examined using a dyadic, laboratory get-acquainted task employing child confederates. Objective coders rated boys with ADHD as less socially effective than controls in their interactions, but also as less frustrated and helpless. In terms of self-evaluations, ADHD boys overwhelmingly rated their own performance more favorably than did controls and in some instances, these differences were more apparent following failure. The attributional pattern of ADHD and control boys differed in that ADHD boys were more likely than controls to attribute success to external, uncontrollable factors such as task ease and being lucky; controls, on the other hand, were more likely than ADHD boys to attribute initial failure to not having tried hard enough. Results are discussed in the context of existing literature documenting a positive illusory bias in ADHD boys' self-perceptions.     

A Juggling Act: A feminist post-structuralist analysis of girls' and boys' talk in the secondary classroom

Relatively few models of good practice in feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis exist in current educational research. Drawing on a study of girls' and boys' speech in a secondary, mixed-sex classroom, the article aims to show that the use of feminist post-structuralist analysis can often be a tricky juggling act. On one hand, it aims to show the complexity of how girls are multiply positioned by competing classroom discourses as at times powerful and at other times powerless; on the other, it aims to reveal how and why girls can be silenced in particular classroom contexts. Such multiplicity in the analysis does not, however, undermine the use of feminist post-structuralism as a politically confident theoretical framework. On the contrary, it is argued that it can produce powerful insights about gendered discourse that may potentially transform educational practice.     

Longitudinal examination of peer and partner influences on gender-specific pathways from child abuse to adult crime

Research provides increasing evidence of the association of child abuse with adult antisocial behavior. However, less is known about the developmental pathways that underlie this association. Building on the life course model of antisocial behavior, the present study examined possible developmental pathways linking various forms of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) to adult antisocial behavior. These pathways include child and adolescent antisocial behavior, as well as adulthood measures of partner risk taking, warmth, and antisocial peer influences. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, a prospective longitudinal study examining long-term developmental outcomes subsequent to child maltreatment. Participant families in the Lehigh Longitudinal Study were followed from preschool age into adulthood. Analyses of gender differences addressed the consistency of path coefficients across genders. Results for 297 adult participants followed from early childhood showed that, for both genders, physical and emotional child abuse predicted adult crime indirectly through child and adolescent antisocial behavior, as well as adult partner and antisocial peer influences. However, for females, having an antisocial partner predicted an affiliation with antisocial peers, and that in turn predicted adult crime. For males, having an antisocial partner was associated with less partner warmth, which in turn predicted an affiliation with antisocial peers, itself a proximal predictor of adult crime. Sexual abuse also predicted adolescent antisocial behavior, but only for males, supporting what some have called “a delayed-onset pathway” for females, whereby the exposure to early risks produce much later developmental outcomes.     

Direct observation of peer rejection acts and their temporal relation with aggressive acts

The peer rejection literature has focused only on sociometric rejection and has not included direct observation of specific acts of rejection. This study provides observations of rejection acts and examines the temporal relation between acts of rejection and aggressive acts. Videotape samples of 86 preschool children were collected from 6 classrooms. Acts of rejection were reliably coded. Aggressive acts and acts of rejection by peers tended to occur closely together in time, suggesting that these are related. A clear temporal pattern was found in which children were likely to be recipients of rejection acts shortly after exhibiting aggressive acts.     

Action research on a collegial model of peer observations

Observing peers for professional development is a familiar and valuable practice but not always favoured in many educational institutions. This small-scale action research (AR) was conducted in an institution where teachers are accustomed to regular peer observation, requiring each teacher to conduct peer observation and to reflect in their teachers’ portfolios. Conventionally, to fulfil the requirement each teacher finds a colleague to observe them either with or mostly without a certain focus. This study, however, employed action research methodology to inquire into a collegial peer observation model to improve this organisational practice. It aimed to promote mutual growth of the participating faculty members in an agreed area. Including the author, five faculty members, who are midcareer and experienced English language teachers, acted as members of the consultation group. In the AR project, appreciative inquiry was used when reflecting on the observed classes and during focus group interviews. As a result of this AR, at least two levels of knowledge were generated: first-person (author) and second-person (the team). The knowledge claim that this practitioner research constructed is ‘When small groups of teachers conduct peer observations focusing on a common concern, learning and collegial growth may increase.’ It is expected to lead to a third-person stage in the department and the academic community in general.     

Caregiver and peer responses to children with language and motor disabilities in inclusive preschool programs

The free-play social behaviors of 24 children with special needs in two discovery-oriented, inclusive preschool programs were compared with their typically-developing classmates who were matched by age and sex. Children who, for various reasons, used little or no productive language spent more time in solitary pursuits, seldom initiated interactions and, when they did, used a different entry strategy than any other group. Children who were incapable of independent locomotion were largely dependent on adults for initiating changes in their activities and for social exchanges. Although they received more adult support than children developing typically, perhaps because of limited sample size, children with disabilities who were capable of independent locomotion and displayed sufficient language to make their needs and intents clear did not differ significantly from the children who were developing typically. Adults’ behavior varied according to child condition and activity. From observing a single, 20-minute videotape of free play, naı̈ve observers agreed with our classifications of over 78% of the children.     

'Best Friends': A case-study of girls' reactions to an intervention designed to foster collaborative group work

In this article, we provide an account of how two high achieving girls reacted to a teaching intervention designed to foster collaborative group work. The study focuses on the varying aspects of the girls cultural practices as they experienced tensions and contradictions in their relationships with each other and with other pupils. Their main interest appeared to involve action to gain support for basic emotional security and the maintainance of their identity as high achievers. The girls were primarily influenced by a competitive individualist ideology which we believe was 'deviant' in terms of the values of the project, but not in terms of the values of the school.     

Relationally and physically aggressive children's intent attributions and feelings of distress for relational and instrumental peer provocations

Numerous studies have demonstrated that physically aggressive children exhibit hostile attributional biases in response to instrumental peer provocations, a social information-processing pattern that has been recognized as a contributor to peer-directed aggression. The present studies (N = 127 and N = 535) were designed to extend past research by evaluating the intent attributions and feelings of emotional distress of relationally and physically aggressive children in response to instrumental and relational provocation contexts. Results indicated that physically aggressive children exhibited hostile attributional biases and reported relatively greater distress for instrumental provocation situations, whereas relationally aggressive children exhibited hostile attributional biases and reported relatively greater distress for relational provocation contexts. Implications of these findings for the understanding of factors that may contribute to relational as well as physical aggression are discussed.     

Back to School: a model of the processes of becoming an adult student

This paper presents a model of the factors influencing the processes of becoming an adult student at secondary school. The focus is upon the manner in which biographical, contextual and interactional influences contribute towards this process and their intersection as the student is, at one and the same time, both integrated as a member of the overall school culture and differentiated as a member of the separate adult student subculture. Particular emphasis is placed upon notions of situational adjustment, negotiation, strategies, socialisatory episodes, power, multiple realities, and the individualistic nature of the processes as the students ‘adapt to’ their situations in undergoing the ‘status passage’ of becoming an adult student.     

The effects of social isolation on two shock-induced aggressive responses in rats

This experiment investigated the effects of social isolation during development and during adulthood on the topography of the shock-induced aggressive behavior of rats. Rats isolated during development from weaning to adulthood displayed more shock-induced biting than rats housed in groups during that period. Isolation during development did not affect the frequency of the upright boxing behavior, but isolation during adulthood reduced the frequency of the boxing response regardless of rearing conditions during development.