Differential correlates of multi-type maltreatment among urban youth

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the differential effects of multi-types of maltreatment in an adolescent sample. Different combinations of maltreatment (emotional, sexual, physical, neglect) were examined in relation to both negative affect and externalizing symptoms in male and female youth. METHOD: One thousand four hundred fifty-two middle and high school youth were recruited from urban schools and a mandated early warning truancy program. Youth completed an anonymous survey that included measures of child maltreatment, depression, suicide proneness, hopelessness, delinquency, hostility, substance use, and promiscuity. Respondents were categorized into groups of different combinations of maltreatment by their reports of sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect (emotional and physical), and emotional abuse. RESULTS: Nearly two-thirds of boys and girls reported some form of maltreatment, and multi-type maltreatment was common (e.g., 13% reported experiencing both physical and sexual abuse and neglect). Individuals with maltreatment histories were more depressed (F=52.78, p<.0001), suicide prone (F=24.29, p<.001), and hopeless (F=32.07, p<.0001) than non-abused individuals. Maltreated adolescents were also more hostile (F=35.03, p<.0001), and they engaged in more delinquent behavior (F=26.76, p<.0001), promiscuity (F=8.54, p<.0001), and drug and alcohol use (F=9.61, p<.0001). Individuals experiencing multi-type maltreatment were the most symptomatic, particularly youth with histories of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. In general, gender differences in effects were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the importance of studying combined types of maltreatment, as well as understanding the particularly deleterious effects of neglect and emotional abuse. The results are generally consistent with an additive model of maltreatment effects.     

Seven place-conscious methods to stimulate situational interest in science teaching in urban environments

In this study, we explored how teachers can take advantage of a ‘place’ in urban environments outside the school and thereby stimulate pupils’ situational interest in science teaching. Drawing on the Sophos research method, we conducted a single case study including film-elicited interviews. The data consisted of transcribed interviews with 4 experienced teachers and 11 pupils. The interviews were elicited by films showing group work in science teaching in urban environments: a parking lot, a green public park and a zoo. We conducted individual interviews with science teachers, while the interviews with pupils were carried out in small groups. To analyse our data, we applied a hermeneutic content analysis. We identified seven place-conscious teaching methods that have the potential to stimulate pupils’ situational interest. These methods included: (1) handling objects; (2) integrating new places; (3) alignment between the environment and task; (4) integrating minimal cultivated places; (5) providing a science perspective on everyday places; (6) disseminating historical or cultural knowledge of places; and (7) surprises. Starting from a discussion drawing on studies that explored triggers of pupils’ situational interest, we argue that science teachers can draw on these seven place-conscious methods to stimulate interest in science teaching in urban environments.     

Ethnicity and image: correlates of crowd affiliation among ethnic minority youth

Because ethnicity is a basis for defining peer crowds in ethnically diverse American high schools, some may question whether crowds foster discrimination and stereotyping or affirm minority youths' positive ties to their ethnic background. Through examination of both self- and peer ratings of crowd affiliation among 2,465 high school youth aged 14–19 years, this study assesses the likelihood that African American, Asian American, Latino, and multiethnic adolescents are associated with ethnically defined crowds. Crowd affiliations are related to friendship patterns among all groups, positive features of ethnic orientation for Asian and Latino youth, but also some aspects of stereotyping and discrimination for Latinos. Results emphasize ethnic diversity in the role that peer crowds play in minority adolescents' social experiences.     

民族地区发展生态经济的思考

发展生态经济是21世纪经济建设的一项重要内容，对于气候寒冷、植被脆弱的民族地区来说，发展生态经济具有更加重大的现实意义，生态经济是指按照生态和经济有机整体运行的客观规律来发展现代生产力和促进人们生活质量的提高。     

Not everything's contagious: Adult education for a minority interest

Commonly, the work situation of migrant and refugee women declines notably on arriving in the new country, irrespective of their existing qualifications and even after they have taken accepted qualifications. The primary objectives of this research were to test the hypothesis that women bring to their new countries skills and competencies arising from their education, working life and experiential learning, in addition to those learnt in the process of adapting to a new way of life, such as communicative and intercultural competencies, and to develop a typology which would facilitate access to appropriate education and training. This process also, crucially, involves vocational guidance and counselling to ensure that women develop goals which are both realistic and desirable to them. To this end an interview schedule was developed and delivered, after adaptations to local circumstances, to 120 women in four countries: Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic and the UK. This paper presents only the detailed findings from the UK research. The main value of the data gathered is qualitative and the samples used were non‐random, but certain patterns emerged which are described in this paper. It was concluded that education and training were usually necessary in the new country but that a much more considered approach needs to be taken to placement on courses. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice by institutions of further education and case studies to illuminate the findings. Four case studies are attached.     

Child strengths and placement stability among racial/ethnic minority youth in the child welfare system

While all children deserve a stable living environment, national data illustrate that many states struggle to achieve placement stability for youth in the child welfare system as a significant number of children in foster care continue to experience multiple placements while in state custody. Prior research has not considered the impact of youth protective factors or strengths on the frequency of placement changes that youth experience while in the child welfare system. This study examined the association between strengths measured at multiple levels (i.e., individual, family, and community) and placement stability among 4022 minority youth (aged 10–18) using administrative and clinical data from the Illinois child welfare system. Negative binomial regressions at the family level revealed that youth with at least one loving and supportive family member experienced 16% fewer placement changes than youth without family strengths. At the community level, youth attending schools that work to create an environment that meets its students’ needs experienced 13% fewer placement changes than youth without educational supports. These findings can inform the quality of treatment and services provided to minority youth in the child welfare system.     

Developing a tobacco survey for deaf youth

Formidable barriers hinder use of standard data collection methods among deaf youth. Culturally and linguistically sensitive data collection strategies are needed to identify the unmet health and programming needs of this population. Unfortunately, researchers often fail to describe the issues involved in developing such targeted methods. The authors describe development of a culturally appropriate data collection instrument for a study of tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among deaf youth. The instrument uses interactive multimedia technology to administer a questionnaire translated into the primary languages used by the Deaf. The procedures taken to accommodate this technology to these languages and to Deaf culture are described. This process yielded useful insights with respect to data collection not only among the Deaf, but among other frequently overlooked and underserved populations as well.     

展现自我放飞梦想--试论如何激活儿童的绘画兴趣

教师对儿童绘画状态及其作品给予鼓励肯定，并采用形式多样的教学方式、方法对其引导、培养，才能激活儿童的绘画兴趣，发展儿童的创造潜能，使他们在绘画艺术的海洋中展现自我，放飞梦想。     

Notes from California: an anthropological approach to urban science education for language minority families

This article describes a unique and ongoing collaboration involving a team of bilingual/multicultural teacher‐educators, preservice teachers, teachers, students, and community members in an urban California elementary school. According to the model this team employed, children, teachers, and student teachers gather community “funds of knowledge” about the science to be studied in a classroom, then incorporate this knowledge by using parents as experts and by creating community books. In this model community‐generated materials parallel and complement standards‐based curricula, although science topics that have natural significance in particular communities are used as a starting point. Using critical ethnography as a framework, the article focuses on a particular experience—the building of a Mien–American garden house—to show how, by drawing on participants' funds of knowledge, a new kind of multiscience can emerge, one accessible to all collaborating members and responsive to school standards. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 983–999, 2001     

Enhancing self-efficacy in minority youth: A group technique

This article presents a two-phase group process that can be utilized to develop self-efficacy in minority youth. The process involves helping minority students to develop realistic educational and precareer goals through group supported analysis of individual strengths, weaknesses, resources, and roadblocks to success. Modeling, role playing, and outside activities are the major components of the group process.     

School belonging among low‐income urban youth with disabilities: Testing a theoretical model

Positive school environments and school belonging have been associated with a variety of positive academic, social, and psychological outcomes among youth. Yet, it is not clear how these constructs are related, and few studies have focused on urban at‐risk youth with disabilities. This study examines baseline survey data from 136 low‐income African American and Latino students in grades 5 to 12, most of whom have disabilities, recently transferred following a school closure. Using structural equation modeling, we tested a model that examined the relationships among school stressors and resources, school belonging, academic outcomes (school satisfaction and academic self‐efficacy), and psychological outcomes (anxiety and depression). This model was an excellent fit with the data, and findings indicate that school belonging plays a central role in explaining how school context can affect both psychological and academic outcomes. This model has implications for school‐based interventions that can enhance student success and well‐being. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Developing interest in reading with film

Summary A specially designed motivational version of the filmKidnapped, using only a few interesting episodes, was more effective in motivating the withdrawal from school libraries of the book by the same title than a longer version which presented the whole story in condensed form. There was no reliable difference between the two film groups in the amount of reading done, but there was some indication that the motivational version stimulated boys to read more carefully, and a greater proportion of them therefore made higher scores on an objective test. The results of this experiment suggest that producers of classroom films in this particular field need to consider the possibility of making fewer general purpose films and developing more films around very specific objectives of teaching. One of these which needs attention is the problem of motivation covered by this study. In its program of excerpting feature films for school use, Teaching Film Custodians, the organization which developed the film materials used in this experiment, is moving in the direction of selecting shorter excerpts for meeting more specific teaching objectives. This study tests the bypothesis that a high-school teacher can do a more effective job in motivating students to read a book by using a film made up of only a few interesting episodes than a film which gives the complete story of the book. Mark A. May is professor of Educational Psychology, director of the Motion Picture Research Project of the Department of Education, and director of the Institute of Human Relations at Yale University. He is also president of the Board of Trustees of Teaching Film Custodians. Nelle Lee Jenkinson is assistant director of the Division of Audio-Visual Education of the St. Louis Public Schools.     

Developing ethics competencies among science students at the University of Copenhagen

Many philosophers and sociologists of science have tried to understand the profound changes that have occurred in science, engineering and technology. In the first part of this paper, I present the work of one such scholar: Jerome Ravetz who, in collaboration with Silvio Funtowicz, has characterised what he calls ‘postnormal science’. The purpose of this theoretical part of the paper is to describe what characterises contemporary science and to formulate which competencies contemporary scientists need to act ethically. In the second part of the paper, I present and analyse the course ‘Philosophy of Science and Ethics’ that I have taught since 2005 to biochemistry, chemistry and nanotechnology students at the University of Copenhagen. The course is intended to prepare its participants for postnormal knowledge production that is scientific work that is embedded in a societal context characterised by uncertainty and conflicting values systems. With this in mind, I analyse the course by relating its content to the concepts that describe postnormal science, and I discuss how the course develops the ethics competencies that contemporary scientists need to work in postnormal science. I will also briefly discuss the relevance of the course for engineering students.     

Factors in life science textbooks that may deter girls' interest in science

In order to examine factors that may deter girls' interest in science, five seventh-grade life science textbooks were analyzed for sexism in language, images, and curricular content, and for features of activities that have been found to be useful for motivating girls. Although overt sexism was not apparent, subtle forms of sexism in the selection of language, images, and curricular content were found. Activities had some features useful to girls, but other features were seldom included. Teachers may wish to use differences that were found among texts as one basis for text selection.     

Female and minority experiences in an astronomy-based science hobby

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Despite policy changes and targeted outreach, issues of underrepresentation persist for women and minorities in science fields. Previous research has...     

Building teacher identity with urban youth: Voices of beginning middle school science teachers in an alternative certification program

Teacher identity development and change is shaped by the interrelationship between personal biography and experience and professional knowledge linked to the teaching environment, students, subject matter, and culture of the school. Working from this framework, this study examines how beginning teacher interns who are part of an alternative route to teacher certification construct a professional identity as science educators in response to the needs and interests of urban youth. From the teacher interns, we learn that crafting a professional identity as a middle‐level science teacher involves creating a culture around science instruction driven by imagining “what can be,” essentially a vision for a quality and inclusive science curriculum implicating science content, teaching methods, and relationships with their students. The study has important implications for the preparation of a stronger and more diverse teaching force able to provide effective and inclusive science education for all youth. It also suggests the need for greater attention to personal and professional experience and perceptions as critical to the development of a meaningful teacher practice in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1044–1062, 2004     

Combining formal education and citizen science: a case study on students’ perceptions of learning and interest in an urban rat project

Abstract

Citizen science is a valuable tool in environmental and formal education in creating scientific knowledge for the researchers and facilitating learning and fostering a positive relationship toward the environment and study species. We present a case study on the Helsinki Urban Rat Project in which students surveyed rat occurrence in their own near environments. According to our results, experientiality, involvement, meaningfulness, freedom to choose, ease of participation, and the rats themselves contributed to students’ increased interest in participation. Furthermore, students described diverse factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge that they acquired during their participation. In general, students described negative attitudes toward rats, but they less negative views on rats after participation. We reflect on the success of the citizen science project and implications of planning a future citizen science project and incorporating citizen science in formal education.     

Predictors and outcomes of situational interest during a science learning task

In this study we examined change in students’ situational interest as a function of student and task characteristics. Fifth- and sixth-graders (n = 52) were assigned to one of two task conditions that used a different version of a science simulation. The versions differed in how concrete vs. abstract the simulation elements were. Students’ prior knowledge, achievement goal orientations, and subject-specific interest were assessed before the task and situational interest was measured repeatedly in different phases of the task. Post-task performance was assessed 1 day after the task. The results showed different mean-level changes in situational interest in the two task conditions; students working with the more concrete version of the simulation reported increase in their interest while the opposite was true for students working with the more abstract version. The ratings of situational interest were nevertheless rather stable over time, regardless of the task condition. Students’ situational interest at the beginning of the task was predicted by mastery-intrinsic goal orientation and subject-specific interest. Post-task performance was predicted by prior knowledge and the task condition; students working in the more concrete task condition performed better. The importance of acknowledging both individual characteristics and task elements in the emergence of students’ situational interest is discussed.