Beliefs and Practices of In-Service Preschool Teachers in Inclusive Settings: Implications for Personnel Preparation

This study examined the beliefs of in-service teachers working in inclusive classrooms regarding developmentally appropriate practices and how those beliefs affected their attitudes toward, knowledge of, and comfort levels regarding working with children with disabilities. A mixed-method approach was utilized and data were collected through the use of three survey instruments: Teacher Belief Scale and Instructional Activities Scale (Hart et al., 1990 Hart, C., Burts, D., Charlesworth, P., Fleege, P., Ickes, M. and Durland, M. 1990. The teachers Questionnaire: Preschool version, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University, School of Human Ecology.  [Google Scholar]) and the In-service Teacher Self-Report Survey (Mitchell, 2002 Mitchell, L. C. 2002. Blending practices in regular education: A mixed method design study on course practicum and training experiences in relation to preservice teacher attitudes and knowledge about inclusion. Dissertation Abstracts International, 5: A63 (UMI No. 726467131). [Google Scholar]). Data were also collected through open-ended questions to assess Teachers' perceived level of preparation for the inclusive classroom. This study also examined whether education or experience levels had an influence on Teachers' perceptions regarding inclusive practices. Results of the study indicate that there is not a significant relationship between in-service Teachers' beliefs regarding developmentally appropriate practices and their attitudes toward, knowledge of, and comfort levels regarding inclusion. Additionally, results indicate that the Teachers' levels of education or experience do not necessarily indicate that they are prepared to meet the needs of the inclusive classroom environment. Implications regarding the preparation of and ongoing training needs of teachers are discussed.     

Building Family Partnerships: The Journey From Preservice Preparation to Classroom Practice

This study reports the relationship of an undergraduate course in family and community relations to the teaching practices of 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-year elementary and early childhood education graduates of a mid-sized Midwestern university. Sixty students were surveyed using the Peabody Family Involvement Survey (Katz & Bauch, 1999 Katz, L. and Bauch, J. P. 1999. The Peabody Family Involvement Initiative: Preparing preservice teachers for family / school collaboration. School Community Journal, 9: 49–69.  [Google Scholar]), with a treatment group (n = 21) having taken the course, and a control group (n = 39) who did not, in order to both quantify and qualify a difference in practices based on preservice preparation. Quantitative measures indicated minimal differences between groups. Qualitatively, however, treatment group members reported engaging families in creative, less standardized levels of involvement than members of the control group. Treatment group members articulated a theoretical and practical understanding of the benefits of family involvement. They emphasized importance of collaboration between home and school, while control group members expressed frequent antagonism and ambivalence toward families.     

Time to go back to the drawing board: organisation of primary school reading development in South Africa

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 findings highlighted concerns about reading literacy teaching quality in South African primary schools (Howie et al., 2007 Howie, S.J., Venter, E., Van Staden, S., Zimmerman, L., Long, C., Scherman, V. and Archer, E. 2007. Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 summary report. South African children's reading literacy achievement, Pretoria, South Africa: Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria.  [Google Scholar]). In response, the national Department of Education (DoE, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2008d) has emphasised instructional practice improvement. However, little emphasis has been placed on the role of school organisation in learners’ reading success or failure. This article presents school organisation findings from a mixed methods study that explored South African Grade 4 teachers’ instruction practices and schooling conditions for reading literacy development. The analysis considered is based on the reclassification of the PIRLS 2006 sample according to class achievement levels on the PIRLS benchmarks and instructional language profiles. Findings from the PIRLS 2006 school questionnaire data are reported together with findings from case studies to illustrate differences and similarities in school organisation for reading literacy across a range of low- and high-performing schools.     

Learning to Teach with Two Mentors: Revisiting the “Two-Worlds Pitfall” in Student Teaching

Research on learning to teach repeatedly cites the disjuncture in teaching practices promoted across universities and K–12 schools. Much of the literature that is focused on this “two-worlds pitfall” (Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1985 Feiman-Nemser, S. and Buchmann, M. 1985. Pitfalls of experience in teacher preparation. Teachers College Record, 87(1): 53–65. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) describes the influence of cooperating teachers' more traditional teaching practices on teacher candidates' developing practice. This article, however, provides a case study of a student teacher whose commitment to social constructivist practices was reinforced by the intersection of competing views of teaching and mentoring that collided during her student teaching. We highlight the significant impact of the cooperating teacher's approach to mentoring—more so than teaching—on a student teacher's developing practice. We conclude with recommendations for supporting student and cooperating teachers to develop shared understandings of the purpose of student teaching and mentoring and to engage in educative dialogues about teaching that support the cross-institutional negotiations inherent in mentoring and learning to teach.     

A mixed methods comparison of teachers' lunar modeling lesson implementation and student learning outcomes

The authors compare three teachers' adaptations and implementation of a lunar modeling lesson to explain marked differences in student learning outcomes on a spatial-scientific lunar assessment. They used a modified version of the Practices of Science Observation Protocol (P-SOP; Forbes, Biggers, &; Zangori, 2013 Forbes C., Biggers, M., &; Zangori, L. (2013). Investigating essential characteristics of scientific practices in elementary science learning environments: The practices of science observation protocol (P-SOP). School Science and Mathematics, 113, 180–190.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) to identify ways in which features of inquiry were emphasized in each classroom. Additionally, classroom communities of practice were categorized as task-based or practice-based (Riel &; Polin, 2004 Riel, M. &; Polin, L. (2004). Learning communities: Common ground and critical differences in designing technical support. In S. Barab, R. Kling, &; J. Gray (Eds.), Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning (pp. 16–52). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The authors found that student learning outcomes were related to the fidelity with which the teachers implemented the lesson. Teachers with higher P-SOP scores fostered more of a practice-based learning community than task-based one, which also paralleled greater student learning gains. Although the students' scores did not differ by teacher on the preassessment, they did differ significantly on the postassessment, indicating that the curricular choices and learning communities developed by the teachers impacted what students were able to learn.     

Conceptions of assessment: trainee teachers' practice and values

This study examines the values and practice in relation to assessment of a sample of 220 trainee teachers studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, an initial teacher training and education (ITET) course, at the University of Cambridge, UK. The survey instrument was drawn from James and Pedder (2006 James, M. and Pedder, D. 2006. Beyond method: Assessment and learning practices and values. The Curriculum Journal, 17(2): 109–138. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), and was composed of questionnaire items that sought to elicit how trainees valued different classroom assessment practices, and the extent to which their own teaching complied with such values. The study draws additionally on the findings of James and Pedder (2006 James, M. and Pedder, D. 2006. Beyond method: Assessment and learning practices and values. The Curriculum Journal, 17(2): 109–138. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) to compare and contrast results with those for qualified teachers. Item and factor analyses revealed three dimensions that underpin trainees' classroom practice and values (promoting learning autonomy, performance orientation, making learning explicit). Values-practice gaps were greatest on promoting learning autonomy and performance orientation. Trainees valued practices associated with the former more than they implemented them in their teaching, while they implemented practices associated with the latter more than predicted by their values. Values-practice gaps suggested that trainees were constrained from implementing their values to a greater extent than qualified teachers, particularly with respect to these two factors.     

Structural Equation Models of Latent Interactions: Clarification of Orthogonalizing and Double-Mean-Centering Strategies

The purpose of this investigation is to compare a new (double-mean-centering) strategy to estimating latent interactions in structural equation models with the (single) mean-centering strategy (Marsh, Wen, & Hau, 2004 Marsh, H. W., Wen, Z. and Hau, K. T. 2004. Structural equation models of latent interactions: Evaluation of alternative estimation strategies and indicator construction.. Psychological Methods, 9: 275–300. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2006 Marsh, H. W., Wen, Z. and Hau, K. T. 2006. “Structural equation models of latent interaction and quadratic effects”. In A second course in structural equation modeling Edited by: Hancock, G. and Mueller, R. 225–265. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.  [Google Scholar]) and the orthogonalizing strategy (Little, Bovaird, & Widaman, 2006 Little, T. D., Bovaird, J. A. and Widaman, K. F. 2006. On the merits of orthogonalizing powered and product term: Implications for modeling interactions among latent variables.. Structural Equation Modeling, 13: 497–519. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Marsh et al., 2007 Marsh, H. W., Wen, Z., Hau, K. T., Little, T. D., Bovaird, J. A. and Widaman, K. F. 2007. Unconstrained structural equation models of latent interactions: Contrasting residual- and mean-centered approaches.. Structural Equation Modeling, 14: 570–580. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). A key benefit of the orthogonalizing strategy is that it eliminated the need to estimate a mean structure as required by the mean-centering strategy, but required a potentially cumbersome 2-step estimation procedure. In contrast, the double-mean-centering strategy eliminates both the need for the mean structure and the cumbersome 2-stage estimation procedure. Furthermore, although the orthogonalizing and double-mean-centering strategies are equivalent when all indicators are normally distributed, the double-mean-centering strategy is superior when this normality assumption is violated. In summary, we recommend that applied researchers wanting to estimate latent interaction effects use the double-mean-centering strategy instead of either the single-mean-centering or orthogonalizing strategies, thus allowing them to ignore the cumbersome mean structure.     

Changes in Understandings of Three Teachers' Beliefs and Practice Across Time: Moving From Teacher Preparation to In-Service Teaching

Beliefs often guide a teacher's decision-making, thinking, and practice in the classroom (Vartuli, 2005 Vartuli, S. 2005. Beliefs: The heart of teaching. Young Children, 60: 76–86.  [Google Scholar]). There is limited longitudinal research on how early childhood preservice teachers develop new knowledge about their beliefs as they transition into in-service teaching positions (Joram & Gabriele, 1998 Joram, E. and Gabriele, A. J. 1998. Preservice teachers' prior beliefs: Transforming obstacles into opportunities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14: 175–191. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Across 4 years that encompassed a series of three studies, this article chronicles three teachers' understandings of how their beliefs and practices were interrelated and informed by one another. Preservice teachers were interviewed and completed written reflections as they moved from under the umbrella of an undergraduate early childhood teacher preparation program into classrooms as in-service teachers. Findings reveal (a) how the preservice teachers' beliefs were initially unstable and nascent during Study One, (b) how a transactional nature between beliefs and practice began to emerge during Study Two, and (c) how, during Study Three, this relational exchange contributed to an increase in deliberate action as in-service teachers. Implications for early childhood teacher preparation programs include ensuring opportunities for preservice teachers to use self-reflection and inquiry across a range of course and field experiences as they identify and make connections between beliefs and practice.     

A Note from the New Editors

This article develops a multimodal model for how claims and evidence work across linguistic, numeric, and visual modes in the professional writing of environmental scientists. I coded and analyzed two reports (Bacey &; Barry, 2008 Bacey , J. , &; Barry , T. ( 2008 ). A comparison study of the proper use of Hester-Dendy® samplers to achieve maximum diversity and population size of benthic macroinvertebrates Sacramento Valley, California (Report No. EH08-2) . Sarcramento , CA : California Environmental Protection Agency . [Google Scholar]; Levine et al., 2005 Levine , J. , Kim , D. , Goh , K. S. , Ganapathy , C. , Hsu , J. , Feng , H. , &; Lee , P. ( 2005 ). Surface and ground water monitoring of pesticides used in the Red Imported Fire Ant Control Program (Report EH05-02) . Sacramento , CA : California Environmental Protection Agency . [Google Scholar]) written by research scientists working for California's Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) by applying concepts from studies of argument, genre, and visual representations in science. The claim-evidence patterns show initial and summative claims as well as warrants being presented in linguistic forms; however, supporting evidence (i.e., data and backing) is found in numeric, visual, and linguistic forms. These findings highlight the need to extend Toulmin's understanding of claim-evidence relationships into a more robust multimodal model.     

The Creation and Evolution of a Co-Teaching Community: How Teachers Learned to Address Adolescent English Language Learners' Needs as Writers

This article reports findings from a four-year formative experiment (Reinking &; Bradley, 2008 Reinking, D., &; Bradley, B. (2008). On formative and design experiments. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. [Google Scholar]) investigating a summer writing institute for ninth graders entering an urban high school. Intended as enrichment, not remediation, for a heterogeneous group of students, and as a learning experience, not just a teaching opportunity, for practitioners, the institute was grounded in multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996 New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66, 60–92. [Google Scholar]) and scholarship on inclusive schooling (Udvari-Solner, 1997 Udvari-Solner, A. (1997). Inclusive education. In C. A. Grant &; G. Ladson-Billings (Eds.), Dictionary of multicultural education (pp. 141–144). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. [Google Scholar]). Its essential elements included (1) composing by students in both print and digital genres, (2) a small set of instructional approaches effective for heterogeneous populations, and (3) co-teaching and co-planning by institute staff. This article focuses on teachers' efforts to support the writing development of English Language Learners (ELLs), who represented 20–30% of institute participants each year. Findings revealed that as teachers made adjustments to the institute model over time, their efforts to support ELLs' participation became more grounded in collective examination of varied student data. As teachers worked in community with each other (Swanson, 2007 Swanson, D. (2007). Ubuntu: An African contribution to (re)search for/with a “humble togetherness.” Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2(2), 53–67. [Google Scholar]; Venter, 2004 Venter, E. (2004). The notion of Ubuntu and communalism in African educational discourse. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 23, 149–160. [Google Scholar]), they increased their ability to address student writers' diverse needs.     

Observed Classroom Quality Profiles of Kindergarten Classrooms in Finland

Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to examine classroom quality profiles of kindergarten classrooms using a person-centered approach and to analyze these patterns in regard to teacher and classroom characteristics. Observations of the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support were conducted in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms utilizing the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (R. C. Pianta, K. M. LaParo, &; B. K. Hamre, 2008 Pianta , R. C. , &; Hadden , D. S. ( 2008 , June ). What we know about the quality of early education settings: Implications for research on teacher preparation and professional development . The State Education Standard , pp. 20–27 . [Google Scholar]). In addition, questionnaire data on classroom and teacher characteristics, as well as Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (D. Stipek &; P. Byler, 2004 LaParo , K. M. , Pianta , R. C. , &; Stuhlman , M. ( 2004 ). The Classroom Assessment Scoring System: Findings from the prekindergarten year . The Elementary School Journal , 104 , 409 – 426 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) observational ratings, were used in the analyses. Latent profiling analysis was utilized to identify different profiles of classroom quality. Four latent profiles of classroom quality were identified that differed from one another most clearly in the domain of Emotional Support. Profile 1 represented a generally high level and Profile 4 a generally low level of classroom quality compared to the other profiles, whereas the medium-quality Profiles 2 and 3 showed varying levels of support in the assessed dimensions of quality. Only a few differences emerged among the profiles in classroom and teacher characteristics: The teachers in Profile 4 provided the least literacy instruction and had the least amount of work experience of all of the teachers. The findings using the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure indicated that child-centered practices were predominant among the profiles of higher classroom quality. Practice or Policy: The results of this study can be used to recognize kindergarten teachers' professional strengths and weaknesses and to support teachers' professional development with the aid of pedagogical interventions.     

A Theory-Driven Model of Community College Student Engagement

This mixed-methods study develops, operationalizes, and tests a new conceptual model of community college student engagement. Themes emerging from participant observations and semistructured interviews with 30 adult students enrolled at a Large Best Practices Community College (LBPCC) over the 2005–2006 academic year are used to guide selection of Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985 Deci , E. L. & Ryan , R. M. ( 1985 ). Intrinsic motivation and self-direction behavior . New York : Plenum .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 2000 Deci , E. L. & Ryan , R. M. ( 2000 ). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions . Contemporary Educational Psychology , 25 , 54 – 67 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2002 Deci , E. L. & Ryan , R. M. ( 2002 ). Handbook of self-determination research . Rochester , NY : University of Rochester . [Google Scholar]) to frame the new conceptual model. Structural equation modeling techniques confirm that variables and relationships proposed by the new model represent a good fit with data from over 1,000 students surveyed in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. Findings from this study suggest that community college engagement and related outcomes can be fostered by tuning campus policies, practices, and climates to promote students' senses of belonging, competence, and autonomy.     

Literacy Teachers Engage in Service-Learning via Community Organization Involvement

Service-learning provides community service as well as authentic, curriculum-driven learning experiences (Furco &; Root, 2010 Furco, A. and Root, S. 2010. Research demonstrates the value of service-learning. Kappan, 91(5): 16–23. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and has been an effective component of teacher education courses (García, Arias, Murri, &; Surna, 2010 García, E., Arias, M. B., Murri, N. J. H. and Serna, C. 2010. Developing responsive teachers: A challenge for a demographic reality. Journal of Teacher Education, 61: 132–142. doi:10.1177/002248710934787[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Mitton-Kukner, Nelson, &; Descrochers, 2010 Mitton-Kukner, J., Nelson, C. and Desrochers, C. 2010. Narrative inquiry in service-learning contexts: Possibilities for learning about diversity in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26: 1162–1169. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2010.01.001[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Spencer, Cox-Petersen, &; Crawford, 2005 Spencer, B. H., Cox-Petersen, A. M. and Crawford, T. 2005. Assessing the impact of service-learning on preservice teachers in an after-school program. Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(4): 119–135.  [Google Scholar]). With these authentic experiences, teachers construct conceptions of literacy learning as broader than classroom teaching and learning. This study investigates how 54 preservice elementary teachers (hereafter called teachers) learned about literacy development and cultural responsivity by engaging in a service-learning experience.     

Emotion-Related Parenting Styles (ERPS): A Short Form for Measuring Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy

Research Findings: Parents’ meta-emotion philosophy guides their approach to teaching their children about emotions (J. M. Gottman, L. F. Katz, &; C. Hooven, 1997 Gottman , J. ( 1997 ). The heart of parenting: Raising an emotionally intelligent child . New York , NY : Simon &; Schuster . [Google Scholar]) and is measured with the Emotion-Related Parenting Styles Self-Test–Likert (Gottman et al., 1997 Gottman , J. M. , Katz , L. F. , &; Hooven , C. ( 1997 ). Meta-emotion: How families communicate emotionally . Mahwah , NJ : Erlbaum . [Google Scholar], modified by J. Hakim-Larson, A. Parker, C. Lee, J. Goodwin, &; S. Voelker, 2006 Hakim-Larson , J. , Parker , A. , Lee , C. , Goodwin , J. , &; Voelker , S. ( 2006 ). Measuring parental meta-emotion: Psychometric properties of the Emotion-Related Parenting Styles Self-Test . Early Education and Development , 17 , 229 – 251 . doi: 10.1207/s15566935eed1702_2 [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying structure of this measure, develop a short form, and assess its psychometric properties. In a sample of 107 parents of typically developing children, principal factor extraction with a direct oblimin rotation (delta = 0) identified 3 factors: emotion coaching, parental acceptance of negative emotion, and parental rejection of negative emotion. In a sample of 107 parents of children with developmental disabilities, a 4th factor was identified: feelings of uncertainty/ineffectiveness in emotion socialization. The 4-factor, 20-item short form showed good validity and reliability, with Cronbach's alphas ranging from .70 to .80. Practice or Policy: This short form is a practical means of assessment and may be used to identify parents of typically developing children who perceive similar challenges with their children's emotions as do parents who have children with developmental disabilities. The discussion centers on potential emotion-related parenting practices and the identification of children at risk for emotion regulation difficulties.     

Reading Achievement in the Middle School Years: A Study Investigating Growth Patterns by High Incidence Disability

Numerous research studies (e.g., Anderson, Kutash, &; Duchnowski, 2001; Lane, Carter, Pierson, &; Glaeser, 2006 Lane, K. L., Carter, E. W., Pierson, M. R., &; Glaeser, B. C. (2006). Academic, social and behavioral characteristics of high school students with emotional disturbances or learning disabilities. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 108–117. doi:10.1177/10634266060140020101[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Volpe, Dupaul, Jitendra, &; Tresco, 2009 Volpe, R. J., Dupaul, G. J., Jitendra, A. K., &; Tresco, K. E. (2009). Consultation-based academic interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Effects on reading and mathematics outcomes at 1-year follow-up. School Psychology Review, 38, 5–13.[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Wei, Blackorby, &; Schiller, 2011 Wei, X., Blackorby, J., &; Schiller, E. (2011). Growth in reading achievement of students with disabilities, age 7 to 17. Exceptional Children, 78, 89–106.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) have shown that students with disabilities generally exhibit lower reading scores than their peers without disabilities. However, questions remain about the possibility of longitudinal differences among high-incidence disability classifications (e.g., speech/language impairments, SLI; emotional disturbances, ED; learning disabilities, LD; and attention deficit disorders, ADD). This study investigated growth patterns in reading achievement among middle school students from 5th to 8th grade with different high incidence disability classifications on one state's high-stakes assessment. After a repeated measures analysis of variance and post hoc testing, results reveal that students identified as LD and SLI evidenced more growth in reading than those classified as either ADD or ED. In light of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 legislation, findings about the various growth patterns are discussed with respect to policy, measurement, and practical implications.     

A Simple Technique for Determining Whether Children Know the Meaning of Spelling Words

ABSTRACT

Empirical research has provided evidence supporting the validation and prediction of 4 major sources of self-efficacy: enactive performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional states. Other research studies have also attested to the importance and potency of self-efficacy in academic learning and achievement. Despite this emphasis, very few, if any, research has explored the impact of the 4 sources of information on self-efficacy from a developmental perspective. The author used latent growth modeling to explore the impact of the 4 sources of information on self-efficacy over 4 occasions. This methodological approach, similar to recent studies (Caprara et al., 2008 Caprara, G. V., Fida, R., Vecchione, M., Del Bove, G., Vecchio, G. M., Barbaranelli, C. and Bandura, A. 2008. Longitudinal analysis of the role of perceived self-efficacy for self-regulated learning in academic continuance and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100: 525–534. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), is significant, as it allowed the author to trace the developmental trajectories of elementary school children's self-efficacy beliefs in English and mathematics over time. Three hundred and thirty-nine 3rd- and 4th-grade students (147 girls, 192 boys) took part in this study. Two Likert-type inventories were administered and the data collected were analyzed with the statistical software SPSS AMOS 18. Causal modeling analyses indicated that children's self-efficacy for English and mathematics learning increased over time. Furthermore, of the 4 informational sources, enactive performance accomplishments associated closely with the growth of change of English and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs. Children's emotional states also associated negatively with the growth of change of mathematics self-efficacy. Enactive performance accomplishments and verbal persuasion associated positively with the initial levels of English and mathematics self-efficacy. Finally, the results provide methodological support for the psychometric properties of the inventories used.     

Principles and Practice of Scaled Difference Chi-Square Testing

We highlight critical conceptual and statistical issues and how to resolve them in conducting Satorra–Bentler (SB) scaled difference chi-square tests. Concerning the original (Satorra & Bentler, 2001 Satorra, A. and Bentler, P. M. 2001. A scaled difference chi-square test statistic for moment structure analysis. Psychometrika, 66: 507–514. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and new (Satorra & Bentler, 2010 Satorra, A. and Bentler, P. M. 2010. Ensuring positiveness of the scaled chi-square test statistic. Psychometrika, 75: 243–248. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) scaled difference tests, a fundamental difference exists in how to compute properly a model's scaling correction factor (c), depending on the particular structural equation modeling software used. Because of how LISREL 8 defines the SB scaled chi-square, LISREL users should compute c for each model by dividing the model's normal theory weighted least-squares (NTWLS) chi-square by its SB chi-square, to recover c accurately with both tests. EQS and Mplus users, in contrast, should divide the model's maximum likelihood (ML) chi-square by its SB chi-square to recover c. Because ML estimation does not minimize the NTWLS chi-square, however, it can produce a negative difference in nested NTWLS chi-square values. Thus, we recommend the standard practice of testing the scaled difference in ML chi-square values for models M ₁ and M ₀ (after properly recovering c for each model), to avoid an inadmissible test numerator. We illustrate the difference in computations across software programs for the original and new scaled tests and provide LISREL, EQS, and Mplus syntax in both single- and multiple-group form for specifying the model M ₁₀ that is involved in the new test.     

Taking a Different Route: Contribution of Articulation and Metacognition to Intervention With At-Risk Third-Grade Readers

This study compared the impact of 2 types of small-group interventions targeting below-level 3rd-grade students. The study compared WordWork decoding and spelling instruction (Calfee, Miller, Norman, Wilson, &; Trainin, 2006 Calfee, R. C., Miller, R. G., Norman, K., Wilson, K., &; Trainin, G. (2006). Learning to do educational research. In M. A. Constas &; R. J. Sterenberg (Eds.), Translating theory and research into educational practice: Developments in content domains, large scale reform, and intellectual capacity (pp. 77–103). New York, NY: Routledge. [Google Scholar]; Calfee &; Patrick, 1995 Calfee, R. C., &; Patrick, C. L. (1995). Teach our children well: Bringing K–12 education into the 21st Century. Stanford, CA: Stanford Alumni Assoc. [Google Scholar]), which includes attention to articulation and metacognition, with a more traditional phonological awareness program (Torgesen &; Bryant, 1993 Torgesen, J. K., &; Bryant, B. R. (1993). Phonological awareness training for reading. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. [Google Scholar]). University education students delivered the interventions with equal instructional time and fidelity, to both groups. Students in both intervention groups engaged in repeated readings of connected text to promote transfer. The impact of training was assessed through decoding, spelling, and oral reading fluency measures. Results indicated that WordWork produced more positive results in decoding, spelling, and fluency, and had significantly fewer treatment resisters.     

Investigating Elementary Students' Scientific and Historical Argumentation

This article examines the relationship between epistemic cognition and classroom argumentation practices in elementary science and history. Literature highlights argumentation as a critical epistemic practice for science and history learning (Duschl & J. Osborne, 2002; National Research Council, 2007, 2012). Although there is ample support for argumentation in the teaching of history and science, the specific epistemic issues that students address through this practice are not always empirically documented. We draw on the work of Chinn, Buckland, and Samarapungavan (2011 Chinn, C. A., Buckland, L. A. and Samarapungavan, A. 2011. Expanding the dimensions of epistemic cognition: Arguments from philosophy and psychology. Educational Psychologist, 46(3): 141–167. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to examine argumentation practices in science and history in 2 fifth-grade and 2 sixth-grade urban classrooms. Students' and teachers' emergent argumentation practices were coded and analyzed and epistemic reasoning was examined using the 5 components of the Chinn et al. model. Findings highlight that students engaged in complex argumentation practices that were consistent across classrooms. The classroom case examples demonstrate that students addressed all 5 epistemic components in the Chinn et al. model through their argumentation practice. Further research to better understand the relationship between teacher epistemic commitments, pedagogical practices, and student epistemic commitments and learning is suggested.