Do individuals with autism process categories differently? The effect of typicality and development

This study examined the effect of exemplar typicality on reaction time and accuracy of categorization. High-functioning children (age 9-12), adolescents (age 13-16), and adults with autism (age 17-48) and matched controls were tested in a category verification procedure. All groups showed improved processing throughout the lifespan for typical and somewhat typical category exemplars. However, individuals with autism responded more slowly than matched controls to atypical exemplars at all ages. The results are discussed in terms of potential differences in the type of processing that may be required for categorizing typical and atypical category exemplars. Parallels are also drawn to the results of previous studies on face processing in individuals with autism.     

Am I That Talented? The experiences of gifted individuals from diverse educational backgrounds at the postsecondary level

The experiences of gifted students at the postsecondary level have not been studied widely. The goal of the present study was to explore and describe gifted students’ perceptions of their first year after high school regarding experiences of success and failure. Two focus groups were conducted with 12 students (8 males, 4 females) from different educational backgrounds, who had participated in a university-based enrichment program, to discuss topics related to their academic and socio-emotional experiences at a postsecondary level. Many students who attended vocational high schools experienced high levels of discomfort with their academic preparedness to face postsecondary education. Other initial problems were adapting socially to a new environment and perceiving themselves as “less” gifted than their peers. However, after these initial adjustment problems, students revealed high perseverance to face difficulties and a strong motivation for continuing the academic path they had outlined for themselves. Conducting longitudinal research and rethinking college services offered for gifted students are some of the implications discussed in this study.     

The legacy of the ‘care challenge’: re‐envisioning the outcome of the justice‐care debate

The current study investigated whether parents are accurate judges of their own children’s lie-telling behavior. Participants included 250 mother–child dyads. Children were between three and 11 years of age. A temptation resistance paradigm was used to elicit a minor transgressive behavior from the children involving peeking at a forbidden toy and children were subsequently questioned about the transgressive event. Mothers were asked to make predictions about whether their child would peek and then watched a video of their child being questioned about their peeking behavior. Mothers were asked to detect whether or not they thought their child was lying. Overall, 59.6% of parents accurately predicted their child’s lie-telling behavior. Mothers had more difficulty detecting older children’s lies. Signal detection analyses revealed parents had a strong tendency to believe their child was honest. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for parent–child relationships.     

Does early schooling narrow outcome gaps for advantaged and disadvantaged children?

This paper explores how starting school at a younger age affects the developmental score gaps between relatively advantaged and disadvantaged children. While previous findings suggest that delaying school entry may improve school readiness, less is known about whether it has differential effects for advantaged and disadvantaged children. For disadvantaged children, starting school early may be a better alternative to staying at home for longer as school provides a more stable and educational environment than the family home, overcompensating for the penalties of starting school early. This may be less applicable to relatively advantaged children who generally have greater access to resources in the home and who are more likely to utilise formal pre-school services. We use the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to investigate if there is support for this hypothesis. The endogeneity of school starting age is addressed using the regression discontinuity design. We find that an early school start generally improves children’s cognitive skills, which is even more pronounced for disadvantaged children. In contrast, an early school start tends to negatively affect children’s non-cognitive skills with both advantaged and disadvantaged children affected in similar ways. Thus, our findings suggest that an earlier school entry may narrow the gaps in cognitive skills, whereas the gaps in non-cognitive skills are not affected by the school starting age.     

The gendered landscape of UK higher education: do men feel disadvantaged?

The landscape of UK higher education (HE) has changed significantly over the past decades. Key shifts relate to the changing gender balance of the undergraduate student body and to emergent gender gaps in retention and attainment. Men are now less likely to access HE, complete their degrees or achieve ‘Upper’ degrees. There has been minimal empirical exploration of men’s perceptions of the current gender patterning of HE, and none focusing on the extent to which they identify as a minority, or experience minority disadvantage, within this context. This study explores these questions via analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from 333 male and female survey respondents. The findings suggest that men do not recognise themselves as comprising a disadvantaged minority within HE, and that both men and women perceive that women face greater challenges because of their gender, both during their studies and in relation to post-degree life chances.     

From care to education and work? Education and employment trajectories in early adulthood by children in out-of-home care

BackgroundTemporal dynamics during the early adulthood transition among children in out-of-home care is a neglected research area, leaving the possibility of coping with childhood adversity over time a poorly understood topic.ObjectiveTo explore early adulthood education and employment trajectories among young adults who experienced out-of-home care during childhood and to examine how various care history factors predict these trajectories.ParticipantsWe use longitudinal birth cohort data comprising individual-level information from national registers of all children born in Finland in 1987 (N = 59,476, of whom 1893 were in care).Setting and methodsWe use trajectory clustering from a previous study on the 1987 birth cohort to compare trajectories between children in care and a propensity score–matched group of peers never in care. We investigated the association between care history factors and trajectories with multinomial logistic regression modeling.ResultsCompared with the matched peer group, children in care were less likely to enter trajectories characterized by education and employment (38%) and more likely to enter trajectories involving early parenthood (14%) or long periods of fragmented social assistance benefit receipt and unemployment (21%). Those on early parenthood trajectories were almost exclusively women, whereas those receiving social assistance benefits and experiencing unemployment for lengthy periods were mostly men. Entering disadvantaged trajectories was associated with, inter alia, placement as an adolescent, residential care, and aging out of care.ConclusionThe study demonstrates the relevance of examining longitudinal trajectories in children in care’s early adulthood. Many young adults with care experience need support in education and employment beyond young adult age.     

Students’ experiences with contrasting learning environments: The added value of students’ perceptions

This study investigated the effects of two contrasting learning environments on students’ course experiences: a lecture-based setting to a student-activating teaching environment. In addition, the evaluative treatment involved five research conditions that went together with one of four assessment modes, namely, portfolio, case-based, peer assessment, and multiple-choice testing. Data (N = 608) were collected using the Course Experience Questionnaire. Results showed that the instructional intervention (i.e. lectures versus student-activating treatment) influenced students’ course experiences, but in the opposite direction to that expected. In declining order, the following scales (5 out of 7) revealed statistically significant differences: Clear Goals and Standards; the General scale; Appropriate Workload; Good Teaching; and Independence. Moreover, when the assessment mode was considered, also the Appropriate Assessment scale demonstrated significant differences between the five research conditions. Moreover, the same teaching/learning environments led to diverse students’ perceptions. While the perceptions of lecture-taught students were focused and concordantly positive, students’ course experiences with student-activating methods were widely varied and both extremely positive and negative opinions were present. Students’ arguments in favour of the activating setting were the variety of teaching methods, the challenging and active nature of the assignments and the joys of collaborative work in teams, whereas students expressed dissatisfaction with the perceived lack of learning gains, the associated time pressure and workloads, and the (exclusive) use of collaborative assignments and related group difficulties.     

Is education for all? The experiences of ethnic minority students and teachers in North-western Vietnam engaging with social entrepreneurship

This paper discusses the challenges teachers and ethnic minority students face living in rural North-western Vietnam and how social entrepreneurship can mitigate these. The data was gathered through 33 interviews (teachers N = 10; students N = 20; parents of a student N = 2; social entrepreneur N = 1). The data were analysed using thematic analysis, drawing from Fraser’s (2010) justice model. The paper also links to Granovetter’s (1985, 2005) social embeddedness concept, to emphasise how social enterprise enabled socio-economic networks can support ethnic minority students to overcome redistribution, representation and recognition problems. The paper makes an original contribution by showing how socio-economic networks enhance weak-ties and bridge resources to empower the socially disadvantaged to achieve educational inclusion.     

Acceptance or rejection? The social experiences of children with special educational needs and disabilities within a mainstream primary school

ABSTRACT

This article details a study which investigated the social acceptance and friendships of children with SEND, and their typically developing peers, at a mainstream primary school in the North West of England. Participants were 29 children aged five and six years old, separated into three groups; typically developing children, children who were being monitored for SEND, and children with formally identified SENDs. With the use of a peer nomination sociometric technique, findings revealed that children with SEND had less promising peer relations and friendships compared to children tracked for SEND and their typically developing peers, consequently questioning the mainstream ‘ideal’.     

Do adverse childhood experiences predict adult interpersonal difficulties? The role of emotion dysregulation

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are risk factors for interpersonal difficulties in adulthood, however the mechanism that underlies this association is unknown. The current study investigated the association of a wide range of ACEs with interpersonal difficulties in adulthood, and tested whether emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and interpersonal difficulties. Patients over the age of 18 were recruited from primary care clinics (N = 4006). Participants completed self-report questionnaires that assessed ACEs, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal difficulties. Results indicated that, after controlling for a range of demographic variables, each type of ACE significantly predicted increased interpersonal difficulties and that cumulative ACEs predicted increased interpersonal difficulties, F(8, 3137) = 39.68, p < .001, R² = 0.09. Further, emotion dysregulation mediated the association between ACEs and interpersonal difficulties, B = 0.79, SE = 0.09, 95% CI [0.64, 0.97]. These findings emphasize the role of childhood adversity on interpersonal functioning in adulthood, and highlight emotion dysregulation as a mechanism by which this association occurs. Results have the potential to inform preventative and treatment efforts to improve adaptive outcomes among individuals with a history of childhood adversity.     

The dynamics of ‘market-making’ in higher education

Abstract

This paper examines what to some is a well-worked furrow; the processes and outcomes involved in what is typically referred to as ‘marketization’ in the higher education sector. We do this through a case study of Newton University, where we reveal a rapid proliferation of market exchanges involving the administrative division of the university with the wider world. Our account of this process of ‘market making’ is developed in two (dialectically related) moves. First, we identify a range of market exchanges that have emerged in the context of wider ideological and political changes in the governance of higher education to make it a more globally competitive producer of knowledge, and a services sector. Second, we explore the ways in which making markets involve a considerable amount of microwork, such as the deployment of a range of framings, and socio-technical tools. Taken together, these market-making processes are recalibrating and remaking the structures, social relations and subjectivities, within and beyond the university and in turn reconstituting the university and the higher education sector.     

The dynamics of learning engagement and its relationship with teachers’ classroom practices in primary school

The current study was part of a larger project which examined teachers’ classroom practices and relationships with students’ learning engagement in primary-school education in Estonia. The focus was the role of autonomy supportive and structured teaching on learning engagement. Two primary-school teachers and their 46 students were selected for this study. The aim of the study was to explore how teachers’ classroom practices influence students’ learning engagement over two years during grade two and grade four of the educational system. Three trained observers rated classroom practices and students self-reported learning engagement. The results highlight primary students’ high-learning engagement, and did not confirm an expectation that low-autonomy-supportive teaching results in low-learning engagement in primary school.     

Doctoral students’ experiences of nondisclosure with their dissertation chair

We examined doctoral students’ experiences of nondisclosure with their dissertation chairs. Using a hermeneutic phenomenology design, we analyzed two individual interviews of 10 doctoral students. We identified the following three themes: (a) the professional dynamics in the relationship, (b) the interpersonal and cultural dynamics in the relationship, and (c) prioritization of completing the dissertation. Implications for doctoral students and dissertation chairs are discussed.     

Metaphors as expressions of followers’ experiences with academic leadership

Researchers continue to investigate and understand leadership in higher education. However, leadership does not stand alone; it is part of an interactive dyad with followers. Building on a previous study that aimed to unpack academics’ experiences of leadership in higher education with a view to enhancing leadership practices, this paper creatively examines metaphors in order to understand how followers interpret academic leadership, followership and follower–leader interactions. Data were gathered from academics in follower roles through written narratives or face-to-face interviews in accordance with participants’ preferences. Drawing on a social constructionist perspective and a metaphorical conceptual framework, we align with Lakoff and Johnson [1980. Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press] who claim that metaphors pervade thought and action. Our findings illuminate followers’ understandings of leadership efficacy; their multifaceted responses to particular encounters with leaders and the complexities of following and leading in university workplaces. We demonstrate how metaphors can explain some of the concerns and constraints shaping follower and leader interactions in academia. Our analysis highlights the importance of framing leadership as a relational and dynamic construct.     

Limited representation of individuals with disabilities in early childhood classes: alarming or status quo?

UNICEF’s new Millennium Development Goals and Beyond (2015. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/) focus on the needs of the largest marginalised minority, individuals with disabilities, challenging us to examine issues related to exclusion and develop strategies for making an authentic sense of belonging and high-quality early childhood education a reality for over 93 million children with disabilities (United Nations Children’s Fund. 2006. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150). A first step in addressing stigma and the exclusion of individuals with disabilities is to examine materials in environments, given that positive representation in books and media contributes to a sense of belonging, increased self-esteem, and greater understanding of and attitudes towards others. Historically, the portrayal of individuals with disabilities in the literature and media has been absent or negative while the number of children with disabilities in early childhood classes has steadily increased. In this study, the representation of individuals with disabilities in school materials was examined in 32 kindergarten classes using the Inventory of Disability Representation (Favazza, P. C., and S. L. Odom. 1997. “Promoting Positive Attitudes of Kindergarten-Age Children Toward People with Disabilities.” Exceptional Children 63: 405–418). Two classrooms (6%) had moderate representation, 22 classrooms (69%) had low representation, and 8 classrooms (25%) had no representation of disabilities. Implications for practice and research are presented in light of the current focus on disability rights and becoming a more inclusive society.     

Schooling of immigrant children in West-Germany — Sweden — England: The educationally disadvantaged

The focus of this article is on children of migrant workers and immigrants in the schools of West-Germany, Sweden and England. One central problem, that of language, is considered both as it is dealt with in policy, i.e., in curricula, and as it is actually implemented in some programmes, which are typical for the actions in these countries. The three countries that are compared have similar proportions of immigrant children but these children differ in nationality. The analysis is based on the concept that children of immigrants belong to the disadvantaged people in our societies, which include not only immigrants but people with whatever kind of deprivation. Some demographical data are given as background information and underline the urgency of action.

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Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel behandelt die Kinder von Gastarbeitern und Einwanderern in den Schulen Westdeutschlands, Schwedens und Englands. Ein zentrales Problem, das der Sprache, wird einmal im politischen, d.h. Curriculums-Aspekt, betrachtet, zum anderen so, wie es in einigen Programmen verwirklicht wurde, die für die Aktionen in diesen Ländern typisch sind. Die drei verglichenen Länder haben ähnliche Anteile an Einwandererkindern; diese Kinder haben jedoch verschiedene Nationalitäten. Die Analyse beruht auf dem Konzept, dass Einwandererkinder zu den benachteiligten Gruppen unserer Gesellschaft gehören; diese schliessen nicht nur Einwanderer, sondern alle Arten von Benachteiligten ein. Demographische Angaben als Hintergrund unterstreichen die Notwendigkeit des sofortigen Handelns.

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Résumé Cet article se concentre sur les enfants des travailleurs migrants et des immigrants dans les écoles d'Allemagne occidentale, de Suède et d'Angleterre. Un problème essentiel, le problème linguistique, est considéré à la fois comme on l'aborde p.ex. dans la politique, dans les curricula, et aussi comme il est vétitablement appliqué dans certains programmes qui sont typiques pour les actions de ces pays. Les trois pays que l'on compare ici ont des proportions similaires d'enfants immigrants, mais ces enfants sont de nationalité différente. L'analyse se base sur le concept d'après lequel les enfants d'immigrants font partie des défavorisés de notre société, qui ne comprend pas seulement des immigrants, mais aussi les personnes affectées par toutes sortes de privations. Des données démographiques sont aussi mentionnées comme renseignements de base, et elles soulignent l'urgence d'une action à prendre.

     

The “Effects” of infant day care reconsidered

Evidence concerning the developmental correlates of nonmaternal care in the first year of life are examined with respect to infant-mother attachment and subsequent social development. Even though the evidence is somewhat inconsistent, a circumstantial case remarkably consistent with attachment theory can be made that extensive infant day care experience is associated with insecure attachment during infancy and heightened aggressiveness and noncompliance during the preschool and early school-age years. Several studies indicate that such later consequences may dissipate over time, but it is not evident that this is always the case. It is concluded that some nonmaternal care arrangement in the first year for more than 20 hours per week may be a risk factor in the emergence of developmental difficulties and that the ultimate consequences of such risk are best understood in the context of characteristics of the child, the family, and the caregiving milieu. It is emphasized that this reading of the literature carries with it no inevitable implications for public policy.     

Are children of young mothers disadvantaged because of their mother's age or family background?

Using a national sample of children 3 to 16 years old, this study found that the lower test scores and increased behavior problems of children born to younger mothers are not due to her age but to her family background. First, for nonfirstborn children, maternal age at first birth has a significant effect on test scores, whereas maternal age at the child's birth does not. Second, this study replicated a controversial study by Geronimus, Korenman, and Hillemeier (1994) and found that the disadvantage of children born to younger mothers is greatly reduced when maternal family background is controlled through a comparison of children born to sisters. Third, maternal age is not an important predictor of children's test score rates of improvement over time. This evidence suggests that maternal age is not causal.     

Why volunteer? The complexities of international pre-service teachers’ intercultural adjustment experiences through community service engagement

Anecdotal evidence suggests that pre-service teachers who have volunteered in schools demonstrate greater awareness of the general operational aspects of a school and, thus, are better prepared for the teaching practicum. However, there is little documented evidence about the cross-cultural challenges of international pre-service teachers volunteering in the host community. Drawing on the preliminary findings of a larger study, this paper offers a hermeneutic view of the adjustment experiences of five international pre-service teachers who have volunteered to be tutors in schools and unpaid helpers within local community centres. The findings highlight a range of cultural and personal dimensions associated with the process of pre-service teacher professional development and their intercultural engagement with members in the host society. Hence, adjustment through community service engagement is viewed as an opportunity to increase the intercultural and intracultural awareness of the international pre-service teachers.