The Academic Lives of Neglected, Rejected, Popular, and Controversial Children

The purposes of this study were to examine academically relevant characteristics of different sociometric status groups and to learn about the academic orientations of behavioral subgroups of rejected children. Results from a sample of 423 sixth and seventh graders (ages 11–13) suggested that sociometrically neglected children have quite positive academic profiles. When compared with average status children, these students reported higher levels of motivation, were described by teachers as more self-regulated learners, as more prosocial and compliant, and as being better liked by teachers. Analyses of two behavioral subgroups of rejected children indicated that aggressive-rejected but not submissive-rejected children have problematic academic profiles. Relations of neglected and aggressive-rejected status to academic adjustment in young adolescents' lives is discussed.     

Television Viewing Pattern of Primary School Children and Its Relationship to Academic Performance and Cognitive Skills

Television is becoming more and more widespread in India and teachers, as well as parents, are seriously worried about its impact on young children. The research presented in this article looks at the influence of long periods of television viewing on children's performance at school and their cognitive competence.     

A Longitudinal Study of Popular and Rejected Children's Rough-and-Tumble Play

The intent of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between the rough-and-tumble play (R & T) of popular and rejected children and consequential measures of social affiliation (i.e., engagement in social games-with-rules) and social cognition (social problem-solving flexibility). For two years the outdoor recess behavior and social problem-solving flexibility of elementary school children was assessed. Children were also classified as sociometrically popular or rejected. Replicating earlier cross-sectional work, the R & T of popular, not rejected, children predicted both games-with-rules and social problem-solving flexibility. Results are discussed in terms of probable, but as of yet untested, play group composition factors and relations between design features of R & T and outcomes measures. Suggestions for future research are also outlined.     

Individual Differences in Theory of Mind, Aggressive Behavior, and Social Skills In Young Children

Research Findings. The present study examined relations between social-cognitive skills, aggression, and social competence using teacher questionnaires and tabletop tasks with preschool and kindergarten children. It was hypothesized that the acquisition of a theory of “mind”, as indexed by an understanding of false beliefs, might be related to social behavior for this age group. Overall, results indicated that both generation of forceful solutions in a traditional social-problem solving task and performance on the false belief tasks were significantly related to social competence, after controlling for the effects of age, language comprehension, and teacher ratings of aggression. In addition, theory of mind understanding was a better predictor of social competence than performance on a more traditional social information-processing task that involved the generation of alternative solutions to interpersonal problems. Practice. The implications of these findings for preschool and kindergarten peer relations and their potential relevance to treatment of deficits in social skills are discussed. Specifically, training in an understanding of counterfactual thinking (e.g., through increased and structured opportunities to engage in pretend play and storytelling) may enhance preschooler social skills.     

Individual Differences in Theory of Mind,Aggressive Behavior,and Social Skills In Young Children

Research Findings. The present study examined relations between social-cognitive skills, aggression, and social competence using teacher questionnaires and tabletop tasks with preschool and kindergarten children. It was hypothesized that the acquisition of a theory of "mind," as indexed by an understanding of false beliefs, might be related to social behavior for this age group. Overall, results indicated that both generation of forceful solutions in a traditional social-problem solving task and performance on the false belief tasks were significantly related to social competence, after controlling for the effects of age, language comprehension, and teacher ratings of aggression. In addition, theory of mind understanding was a better predictor of social competence than performance on a more traditional social information-processing task that involved the generation of alternative solutions to interpersonal problems. Practice. The implications of these findings for preschool and kindergarten peer relations and their potential relevance to treatment of deficits in social skills are discussed. Specifically, training in an understanding of counterfactual thinking (e.g., through increased and structured opportunities to engage in pretend play and storytelling) may enhance preschooler social skills.     

Characteristics of Aggressive-Rejected, Aggressive (Nonrejected), and Rejected (Nonaggressive) Boys

95 boys at 3 developmental levels (ages 6–8, 8–10, 10–12) were selected on the basis of sociometric and aggression ratings to represent 4 groups: (1) aggressive and rejected, (2) aggressive (not rejected), (3) rejected (not aggressive), or (4) neither aggressive nor rejected. Behavioral observations, teacher ratings, peer ratings, and open-ended peer interviews were collected to characterize the behaviors of these boys in 3 social domains (conduct problems, sociability/withdrawal, and adaptability/responsivity to peer expectations). Distinct problem profiles emerged. Aggressive-rejected boys exhibited more diverse and severe conduct problems that did aggressive boys, along with greater deficiencies in the domain of adaptability. Nonaggressive rejected children were considered by teachers and peers to be shy and passive, deficient in prosocial behaviors, atypical, and socially insensitive. Grade-level decreases in physical aggression and increases in peer-reported atypical/insensitive behaviors corresponded to developmental differences in group characteristics.     

Charting the Relationship Trajectories of Aggressive, Withdrawn, and Aggressive/Withdrawn Children during Early Grade School

The premises examined in this longitudinal investigation were that specific behavioral characteristics place children at risk for relationship maladjustment in school environments, and that multiple behavioral risks predispose children to the most severe and prolonged difficulties. Aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive/withdrawn children were compared to normative and matched control groups on teacher and peer relationship attributes, loneliness, and social satisfaction from kindergarten (M age = 5 years, 7 months; n = 250) through grade 2 (M age = 8.1; n = 242). Children's withdrawn behavior was neither highly stable nor predictive of relational difficulties, as their trajectories resembled the norm except for initially less close and more dependent relationships with teachers. Aggressive behavior was fairly stable, and associated with early-emerging, sustained difficulties including low peer acceptance and conflictual teacher-child relationships. Aggressive/withdrawn children evidenced the most difficulty: compared to children in the normative group, they were consistently more lonely, dissatisfied, friendless, disliked, victimized, and likely to have maladaptive teacher-child relationships. Findings are discussed with respect to recent developments in two prominent literatures: children at-risk and early relationship development.     

影响处境不利儿童学习表现的主要因素

处境不利儿童具有社会经济地位较低、心理容易消极和悲观以及学业成绩不佳等特点.影响这类儿童学习表现的因素主要包括家庭的社会经济地位、家庭结构、学校类型、缺勤情况、性别、种族、地理位置和住宅类型等.其中,父母的社会经济地位是最重要的因素.如果把经济因素和社会因素区分来看,二者在影响儿童学习表现方面有时会有不同的影响.已有研究结果表明,在重视经济因素的同时更要重视包括家庭因素在内的社会因素对处境不利儿童的深远影响.     

Delayed Disaster Impacts on Academic Performance of Primary School Children

Social disruption caused by natural disasters often interrupts educational opportunities for children. However, little is known about children's learning in the following years. This study examined change in academic scores for children variably exposed to a major bushfire in Australia. Comparisons were made between children attending high, medium, and low disaster-affected primary schools 2–4 years after the disaster (n = 24,642; 9–12 years). The results showed that in reading and numeracy expected gains from Year 3 to Year 5 scores were reduced in schools with higher levels of bushfire impact. The findings highlight the extended period of academic impact and identify important opportunities for intervention in the education system to enable children to achieve their academic potential.     

Aggressive Boys' Hostile Perceptual and Response Biases: The Role of Attention and Impulsivity

The present study addressed whether (1) aggressive boys show hostile biases or general deficits in social perception, (2) aggressive boys' social perceptual difficulties also characterize isolate and isolate-aggressive children, (3) aggressive, isolate, and isolate-aggressive boys' social perceptual difficulties are attributable to inattention and impulsivity, and (4) aggressive and nonaggressive boys differ in the links between social perception and proposed behavioral responses. Aggressive boys demonstrated hostile biases, but not general deficits, in intention-cue detection relative to average-status boys. Isolate-aggressive boys resembled aggressive boys in social perception, whereas isolate boys showed mild deficits relative to average-status boys. Although isolates' general deficits were predominantly accounted for by inattention and impulsivity, aggressives' and isolate-aggressives' hostile biases remained after these problems were statistically controlled. The aggressive groups proposed aggressive responses much more frequently than the nonaggressive groups following intentions perceived as nonhostile. Measures corresponding to several stages of Dodge's social information processing model discriminated the aggressive from nonaggressive groups, thus providing support for this model.     

听力障碍儿童与正常儿童视觉记忆能力比较研究

本文通过对重度听觉障碍儿童与正常儿童视觉记忆能力比较的试验观察,分析了听觉障碍儿童视觉记忆增强的原因,认为对听觉障碍儿童尤其是重度听觉障碍儿童,在康复训练时,除采取必要的语言训练外,还应辅以视觉手段,以提高其整体康复水平.     

Aggressive Playground Behaviour in Children with Emotional and/or Behavioural Difficulties

This study takes the form of an action research project. The focus is on the aggressive playground behaviour demonstrated by a class of 10 7‐8 year old boys in a special school for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. An overview of the central issues is presented and potential strategies for behaviour improvement are identified. These strategies are evaluated and the most appropriate are identified for implementation in an attempt to remedy the aggressive playground behaviour. A non‐participant observation procedure is adopted and initial observations on the varying frequencies and levels of individual children's involvement in aggressive incidents are recorded. These findings are then analysed in order to identify the main types of aggressive actions and the children's individual roles within the incidents. The most appropriate strategies are then implemented, after which a second set of recordings of playground behaviour is taken. These show a marked decrease in the frequency of aggressive behaviours. Finally, the main findings are evaluated and a summary of procedures and central issues is offered.     

被拒幼儿行为问题的个案研究

被拒绝幼儿是指在群体中受到排挤和拒绝的幼儿。在幼儿成长过程中,幼儿良好的交往行为有利于其健康人格形成。文章运用同伴提名法选出班级内被拒绝幼儿,对其进行行为观察、家庭访谈、与教师沟通等方式了解幼儿交往行为状况并分析其成因,提出改善其同伴交往行为的策略。     

Home Literacy Exposure and Early Language and Literacy Skills in Children Who Struggle With Behavior and Attention Problems

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationships between behavior and attention problems and early language and literacy outcomes for 4-year-olds who experienced varied early home literacy environments. Participants were 1,364 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Attention problems and early home literacy exposure both significantly predicted language and literacy outcomes when relevant covariates were controlled. There was also a significant interaction between behavior and attention problems and early home literacy exposure in predicting expressive language abilities. Specifically, early home literacy exposure was related to more advanced expressive language achievement for children with behavior problems. In contrast, children with attention problems performed below their peers on expressive language measures even when they received comparable early home literacy exposure. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest the need for further research on the differential role of early home literacy exposure on the development of early language and literacy skills in children with behavior and attention problems.     

儿童假扮游戏中的认知技能发展

假扮游戏的出现、发展到成熟伴随儿童的认知发展．儿童需要具备必要的认知技能才能参与假扮游戏,与假扮游戏有关的认知技能主要包括:社会参照、解读意图、分离、符号化假扮、角色扮演等．假扮游戏与儿童认知发展是一个交互作用的过程,作用的起点是假扮行为的出现．     

儿童攻击行为的评估与治疗

攻击行为是目前儿童中常见的一种问题行为。本文介绍了儿童攻击行为的影响因素、评估方法、治疗策略。在此基础上,提出了今后研究的方向。     

流动儿童学业表现及影响因素分析-来自北京的调研证据

本文利用福特基金会课题组2008年初对北京市流动儿童教育状况的调研数据,采用有序概率选择模型考察流动儿童义务教育学业表现的影响因素。流动儿童转学次数的增加会导致学习成绩下降,特别是对女童、初中阶段和在公办学校就读的流动儿童负面影响更大。分性别模型的估计结果表明,家庭经济状况只对男童有积极的影响,说明流动儿童家庭可能更倾向于增加男童的教育投入;在分教育阶段模型中,家庭生活状况只在初中有显著正影响;在分学校类型模型中,家庭经济状况在公立学校和有证打工子弟学校有显著正影响。研究建议减少公立学校接受流动儿童的限制,规范收费制度,并为家庭经济困难的流动儿童特别是女童和高年级的学生提供经济资助。     

学术期刊编辑的学术功夫素养与审稿

学术期刊编辑具有学术研究素养，懂得学术功夫，是学术期刊质量的重要保证。学术期刊编辑懂得学术研究的功夫，在审读论文稿件的编辑工作中就能根据学术研究的问题意识、学术研究问题的难度、学术论文内容的属性和学术研究的学术性，对所审读稿件的质量作出快速正确判断。     

Academic and Managerial Skills of Academic Deans: A self-assessment perspective

Brazilian higher education institutions face a complex and challenging environment as the national market in education is becoming more competitive. International investment, a decrease in the population of potential students, and the proliferation of innumerable small institutions add to this complexity. Organizations are becoming flatter and the key managers within them are deans. Although deans are required to act as managerial experts, they are usually selected from the teaching body of the institution. In this paper, a group of deans from a large private institution gave their self-assessment of their academic and managerial skills. The results revealed that they tend to have a high perception of their managerial skills, even though they have no previous managerial experience or formal training. This underlines that senior academic administrators cannot simply assume that deans, by the nature of their work environment, are proficient in managerial skills; neither that they can easily identify inadequacies nor have them self-corrected. To accomplish the necessary institutional changes to face the complexities of the current globalized education market, a new assessment culture has to be implemented in the academic environment.

     

Parenting Practices and Aggressive Behavior in Chinese Children

Objective. We examined relations between parental warmth, guidance, and power assertion and child aggressive behavior in Chinese children. Design. A sample of children (N = 68), at 4 years of age, and their parents in P. R. China, participated in the study. Observational data concerning parenting and child compliance were obtained from home visits. Aggressive behavior was assessed in the context of peer interactions in the laboratory. Results. Maternal warmth and guidance were negatively associated with aggression. Parental power assertion was positively associated with aggression. The relations between parenting practices and aggressive behavior might be moderated by the child's characteristics: Whereas maternal warmth was negatively related to aggression mainly for compliant children, paternal positive parenting was negatively related to aggression for noncompliant and defiant children. Finally, maternal power assertion and paternal power assertion interacted with each other in predicting child aggression. Conclusions. The study provided valuable information about functional "meanings" of major parenting dimensions in Chinese culture.