IV. GROWTH FAILURE IN INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILDREN

Children within institutional care settings experience significant global growth suppression, which is more profound in children with a higher baseline risk of growth impairment (e.g., low birth weight [LBW] infants and children exposed to alcohol in utero). Nutritional insufficiencies as well as suppression of the growth hormone–insulin‐like growth factor axis (GH‐IGF‐1) caused by social deprivation likely both contribute to the etiology of psychosocial growth failure within these settings. Their relative importance and the consequent clinical presentations probably relate to the age of the child. While catch‐up growth in height and weight are rapid when children are placed in a more nurturing environment, many factors, particularly early progression through puberty, compromise final height. Potential for growth recovery is greatest in younger children and within more nurturing environments where catch‐up in height and weight is positively correlated with caregiver sensitivity and positive regard. Growth recovery has wider implications for child well‐being than size alone, because catch‐up in height is a positive predictor of cognitive recovery as well. Even with growth recovery, persistent abnormalities of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal system or the exacerbation of micronutrient deficiencies associated with robust catch‐up growth during critical periods of development could potentially influence or be responsible for the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional sequelae of early childhood deprivation. Findings in growth‐restricted infants and those children with psychosocial growth are similar, suggesting that children experiencing growth restriction within institutional settings may also share the risk of developing the metabolic syndrome in adulthood (obesity, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart disease). Psychosocial deprivation within any caregiving environment during early life must be viewed with as much concern as any severely debilitating childhood disease.     

CURRICULUM SEQUENCING AND THE ACQUISITION OF CLOCK-READING SKILLS AMONG CHINESE AND FLEMISH CHILDREN

The present study addresses the impact of the curriculum on primary school children’s acquisition of clock-reading knowledge from analog and digital clocks. Focusing on Chinese and Flemish children’s clock-reading knowledge, the study is about whether the differences in sequencing of learning and instruction opportunities—as defined by the curriculum—result in differences in accuracy and development of clock-reading knowledge. By means of (1) an in-depth qualitative analysis of the Chinese and Flemish mathematics curriculum standards and textbooks and (2) a quantitative analysis of 11,743 students’ accuracy in reading the time, the current study mirrors the differential impact of alternative curriculum designs for primary education. The results of the analyses reveal that Chinese children acquire clock-reading knowledge—for analog and digital clocks—2 years earlier than their Flemish peers, due to a 2-year earlier exposure. Discussing these results, it is argued that the Flemish curriculum tends to underestimate what children are capable of and that clock-reading within the Flemish primary mathematics curriculum builds on dated assumptions and research results. Building on these outcomes, it is argued that curriculum development should be the result of collaborative inquiry involving policy makers, researchers, and teachers.     

ADULT AGE DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

Both working memory (WM) and existing vocabulary knowledge are used when the meaning of a new word is deciphered in context. Age-related WM deficits and vocabulary strengths suggest that younger and older adults rely on these factors differently. Participants gave definitions for rare, novel words that appeared in short passages. Three measures of each individual difference factor (WM and vocabulary) were administered. Older adults gave more complete definitions for the novel words, had higher vocabulary knowledge test scores, but reduced WM scores compared to younger adults. As predicted, existing vocabulary knowledge contributed more to extracting word meaning from context than did WM for the older adults only.     

CERTAIN NATIVE LANGUAGE INTERFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Here we refer the native language to Chinese and the second language to English especially college English. According to linguistic study, there are certain native language interferences in secondlanguage acquisition when one is learning the second language,i. e. when a Chinese is learningEnglish, due to the influence of mother tongue which is habitually applied in learning the second language, his pronounciation, his grammar and his vocabulary are quite likely influencedor interfered by his native language or his dialect. Unfortunately, we did find certain first language interferences in our English teaching and learning processes on various items or subjects.     

科学解释在知识创新中的作用

科学解释是科学家用科学规律来消解自然之谜的知识创新活动，它在知识创新中的作用表现在：第一，科学解释具有预测未知现象的存在中未来事态发展趋势的功能；第二，它在建构新颖理论体系的过程中起着特别重要的作用。     

全球知识经济中的高等教育

许多国家的政府政策和学术工作都认同在世界范围的知识经济中,高等教育和研究的作用与日俱增,高等教育和知识同时具有全球性、国家性和地方性的特点。高等教育由国家政府各个部门共同孕育,而且其模式受到社会投资方式的影响,跨境或者全球层面的高等教育活动逐渐增加,尤其是对于知识而言。通过研究变化中的全球高等教育图景。可以为政府和国家政策、大学发展战略及国际机构提供建议。     

CHILDREN RECEIVING REMEDIAL TEACHING IN READING

Over 1,200 children receiving remedial teaching in reading were studied on ten main variables: IQ, chronological age, mental age, initial reading age, reading age after treatment, treatment length, number of attendances, percentage attendance, size of teaching group, and improvement. Sex distribution and laterality patterns were also examined.

The findings of many previous smaller studies were in general borne out. In particular, little relationship was found between lateral dominance and reading disability or between intelligence as measured and reading improvement. Only when groups contained more than six children did group size affect progress adversely. Further studies are in hand.     

UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN CULTURALLY DIFFERENT GIFTED CHILDREN

The paper examines issues related to underachievement in culturally different children. For a specific cultural group, the Canadian Inuit (Eskimo) people, the inappropriateness and inadequacy of the frequently used intelligence‐achievement discrepancy for identifying underachievement are demonstrated Approaches for assessing underachievement and giftedness in culturally different children, without reliance on standardized and inappropriately normed tests, are considered As well, a number of cognitive strategies programs are noted as having potential for remediation of learning difficulties in culturally different, underachieving, gifted children. The ultimate goal is identification of culturally different children, reduction or elimination of underachievement, and development of their full potential.