Quantity of Group Child Care,Behavior Problems,and Prosocial Behaviors: A Study with Portuguese Preschoolers

Research Findings: Data from a national sample of Portuguese preschool centers were used to examine the relationship between age of start and number of hours in child care and levels of externalizing and prosocial behaviors with peers. Participants were both parents and teachers of 543 children (mean age = 4.5 years, 50.6% girls). Children started child care between 3 and 64 months and were attending child care 1–9 hr per day. The child care centers’ classrooms had adult–child ratios between 5 and 8.7 and group sizes between 15 and 26 children. Externalizing and prosocial behavior with peers was assessed with the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale–Short Form completed by the 3 adult informants. Control variables included family sociodemographics and education level, maternal parenting style assessed with the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, and maternal stress assessed with the Parenting Experiences questionnaire. Practice or Policy: Both the number of hours per week in child care and an earlier start of center-based child care had modest but significant associations with dimensional scores from teachers’ reports of externalizing behavior but not with mothers’ or fathers’ reports, suggesting that externalizing behavior with peers could be regarded as context specific to peer relationships in group child care. There was no evidence that the quantity of exposure to child care per se could be a substantial risk factor for severe levels of externalizing behavior. Prosocial behavior with peers was not significantly associated with the number of hours in child care or with the age of entry into group child care.     

A Review of Interventions for Preschoolers with Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior

The uneven availability of child-care centers for different kinds of families has been detailed in recent years. Much less is known about the distribution of center quality across communities. Nor do we understand the role that local contexts or state policies may play in shaping quality levels. This paper describes several quality indicators, based on reports of 170 center directors situated in three California counties. We found that most centers in lower-income and working-class communities displayed at least moderate levels of quality along structural measures, such as class size, the ratio of children per staff member, and staff education levels. About one in six failed to meet recommended quality standards. Some quality indicators were lower for centers located in communities with lower supply of center enrollment slots per capita, possibly due to excess family demand for center-based care. Center quality was not consistently influenced by community conditions such as poverty levels, ethnic composition, or maternal employment rates. Quality was higher among centers receiving stronger flows of public subsidies. We discuss the success of state agencies in advancing quality among centers and remaining policy challenges.     

Cross-Cultural Analysis of Social Competence and Behavior Problems in Preschoolers

A multi-national study using the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Inventory (SCBE-30) was conducted to investigate preschool children's social and emotional development across cultures. A total of 4,640 children from eight participating countries, including Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States were evaluated by their preschool teachers. The main objective of the study was to validate the SCBE-30 in each country and build a cross-cultural data set for the investigation of universals, as well as cultural differences, in the development of preschool children's social competence and the frequency and type of their behavioral problems. Results provide a clear case for the structural equivalence of the SCBE-30 across all samples, for universals in the structure of early social behavior, and possibly some differences that may be attributed to culture. The pattern of gender differences found in North American samples was found to generalize across cultural contexts as preschool boys were universally reported to be significantly more aggressive and viewed as less socially competent than girls. Age differences were also found in all eight samples reflecting increasing competence in older children, however age trends in the prevalence of behavior problems were culture specific.     

Comparing Multi-Informant Assessment Measures of Parental Monitoring and Their Links With Adolescent Delinquent Behavior

Objective. Parents’ poor monitoring of adolescents’ whereabouts and activities is commonly linked to adolescents’ increased engagement in delinquent behaviors. Yet, different domains of parental monitoring (parental monitoring behaviors versus parental knowledge) and reports from multiple informants (parent versus adolescent) may vary in their links to delinquent behavior. Design. Seventy-four parental caregivers and 74 adolescents completed survey measures of parental monitoring and knowledge, and adolescents completed self-report surveys of delinquent behavior. Results. We observed low-to-moderate magnitudes of correspondence between parent- and adolescent-reports of parental monitoring behaviors and parental knowledge. Adolescent self-reported delinquent behavior related to parent and adolescent reports of parental monitoring behaviors and parental knowledge, with adolescents who self-reported engagement in delinquent behaviors evidencing lower levels of parental knowledge and higher levels of poor monitoring compared to adolescents who did not self-report engagement in delinquent behaviors. Adolescent self-reported engagement in delinquent behaviors evidenced stronger links to parental monitoring when based on adolescent reports of monitoring (relative to parent reports), whereas stronger links held between adolescent self-reported delinquent behavior and parental knowledge when based on parent reports of knowledge (relative to adolescent reports). Conclusions. Links between monitoring and adolescents’ delinquent behavior vary by the kind of monitoring measure completed as well as the informant completing the measure. These findings inform measurement selection in research and clinical assessments of parental monitoring and adolescent delinquent behavior.`     

Comparing Teacher Assessment and Standard Task Results in England: the relationship between pupil characteristics and attainment

This study examines the 1992 National Curriculum assessment data from one large LEA in England in order to address the issue of equity. For comparison purposes we also present additional data obtained front the same sample of pupils on an NFER standardised word recognition test. The report focuses on the relative performance of gender, low income, linguistic, and special needs groups on a standardised reading test and the teacher (TA) and standard task (ST) performance assessments administered in 1992 to 7‐year‐olds as part of the national curriculum (NC) in England and Wales. The impact of schools and teacher effectiveness on student attainments scores is also examined and discussed. Briefly, the findings show that irrespective of the method of assessment, differences in attainment were found between most pupil groups investigated. However, importantly, only very modest evidence was found that particular methods of assessment appeared either to reduce or increase the differences in attainment and overall no clear patterns emerged. The findings are discussed in the context of various factors that may have an impact on the assessment of student attainment.     

动态评价与选择性评价的比较与借鉴

动态评价和选择性评价是当今国外两种最引人注目的学习评价,直接评估学生的学习过程和未来发展潜能,弥补了静态评价的缺陷。动态评价和选择性评价各有千秋,本文分别从产生背景、理论基础、实施操作和实施困境对它们进行了比较,并提出对我们学习评价的借鉴。     

基于功能性行为评估的智力障碍儿童课堂问题行为的个案研究

研究使用跨行为撤回实验设计,以功能性行为评估为基础,在培智学校自然教学情境下对一名智障儿童严重的课堂问题行为进行积极干预.研究在自然教学情境下对被试课堂问题行为的功能进行分析,并以此为依据制定并实施以积极行为支持导向的干预.视觉分析、简化时间序列的C统计与社会效度分析结果表明,以功能性行为评估为基础的前事控制、后果控制等干预策略在改善智障儿童课堂问题行为中显示出良好效果.     

Linking Extreme Marital Discord, Child Rearing, and Child Behavior Problems: Evidence from Battered Women

Relations between marital discord, parental behavior, and child behavior were investigated in a sample of 37 battered women and 37 comparison mothers and their children, aged 2-8 years. It was hypothesized that violent fathers would be more irritable but less involved, battered women more stressed and inconsistent in discipline, and both parents would reportedly use fewer positive and more negative child-rearing responses than comparison families. Based on maternal self-reports and mother-child observations, the only robust self-report difference between the groups of mothers were the level of stress and reports of inconsistency in parenting; in contrast, all of the expected differences were found between the mothers' reports of the 2 groups of fathers. Group effects on child behavior problems were also found. Children from violent families were reported to have more internalizing behavior problems, more difficult temperaments, and to be more aggressive than the comparison children. In the violent families, maternal stress and paternal irritability were the 2 significant predictors of child behavior problems, whereas in the comparison families only maternal stress was a reliable predictor.     

Assessing Social Competence and Behavior Problems in a Sample of Italian Preschoolers Using the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale

Research Findings: The main goals of this study were to examine the factor validity of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30) scale using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis and to test factor invariance across gender in a sample of Italian preschool-age children (241 boys, 252 girls). The concurrent validity of the SCBE scale was examined with measures of children's popularity and rejection. Our findings replicated a 3-factor model of the SCBE scale found in other studies with 3 correlated factors of social competence, anger–aggression, and anxiety–withdrawal. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance of the scale across gender. Popularity was positively related to children's social competence and negatively related to anxiety–withdrawal. Rejection was positively related to children's anger–aggression and anxiety–withdrawal and negatively related to social competence. Practice or Policy: The use of the SCBE scale in the Italian educational setting may help teachers understand children's emotional and social competencies and thereby improve social adjustment in the classroom.     

积极行为支持干预智障儿童课堂干扰行为的成效

该研究旨在对一名11岁智障儿童的打人、大喊"安静"这两项课堂干扰行为进行干预,采用单一个案研究法(ABA设计),以积极行为支持方案进行为期四个月的干预。研究发现:个案课堂干扰行为的功能是引起他人注意;积极行为支持能有效减少个案的课堂干扰行为;积极行为支持能增强个案正向行为。     

幼儿成长记录袋评价的发展现状及误区

幼儿成长记录袋是通过收集幼儿作品来促进幼儿在知识、技能、态度、情感、价值观等方面协调发展的一种新型的质性评价方式。近年来,人们对幼儿成长记录袋的认识逐渐趋于理性化,对其评价法的评判也由价值分析转向对问题的审思。但幼儿成长记录袋也存在一些误区,如功能异化、标准化程度低、可操作性不足等,仍有待改进。     

Marital Adjustment, Parental Disagreements about Child Rearing, and Behavior Problems in Boys: Increasing the Specificity of the Marital Assessment

2 studies were conducted to illustrate how measuring a specific aspect of marriage, namely, child-rearing disagreements, provides a better understanding of the link between marriage and boys' behavior. In Study 1, 200 mothers of 3-year-old boys completed unstandardized measures of marital functioning and child behavior. An index of child-rearing disagreements: (1) correlated with a greater variety of behavior problems than nonchild disagreements, and (2) improved upon the prediction of behavior problems after accounting for nonchild disagreements as well as after accounting for boys' exposure to marital conflict. In Study 2, 87 mothers with 4-6-year-old sons completed the index of child-rearing disagreements used in Study 1 as well as standard measures of marital functioning and child behavior. Child-rearing disagreements: (1) predicted a greater variety of behavior problems than global marital adjustment, and (2) improved upon the prediction of internalizing problems after controlling for global marital adjustment as well as after controlling for boys' exposure to marital conflict.     

儿童游戏:行为种系发生与个体发生之间的桥梁——三论进化、发展和儿童早期教育

儿童游戏通常被界定为以其本身为目的的活动,除了教科书通常所列的特点外,游戏还具有生物性与原发性、愉悦性与自发性、新异性与创造性等特点.把儿童游戏作为行为种系发生与个体发生之间的桥梁这一隐喻的核心思想是:通过游戏,行为的种系发生影响其个体发生.游戏提供心理的适应性和更加广泛的行为库.在游戏中,儿童自发地掌握大量行为技能和策略,使其更好地适应当前环境,并为以后的生活作准备,更重要的是游戏使儿童得以渲泄本能,自由想像,缓冲焦虑并体验愉悦情绪.同时,行为的个体发生通过游戏影响种系发生,个体在游戏中的创造和学习有助于整个种群的适应,即环境压力导致有机体产生新的表型、身体的或(更有可能)行为的改变,并能传递给下一代,这就是所谓的鲍德温效应.总之,可以把游戏看作是儿童发展的核心动力系统的表现.儿童游戏是行为种系发生与个体发生之间的桥梁这一命题的教育涵义在于:游戏与儿童期(不成熟期)之间存在着必然联系,或者说,游戏是不成熟儿童的核心成分.游戏在儿童生活的理性与情感、纪律与自由、个体与社会、本能与文化、幻想与现实、主体与客体等诸多二元对立范畴之间提供了缓冲与中介.无论人类社会如何朝着信息化、虚拟化、网络化的方向发展,游戏仍然是幼儿期最主要、最基本的活动形式.     

聋、盲校儿童异常行为的相关研究

行为矫正技术在今天已深入到各个领域 ,但在我国的聋、盲校却很少有人运用它来解决儿童的行为问题 ,是否聋、盲儿童就没有行为问题 ?本研究对此作了深入的调查 ,发现聋、盲校儿童存在多种异常行为且表现频率较高 ;同时两者所表现的异常行为又有较大的差异。因此 ,应培养聋盲校的老师应用科学的方法有针对性地去矫正这些异常行为。     

智障学生的儿童适应行为评定与分析

本文采用“儿童适应行为评定量表”对1 1 0名智障学生进行测试,分析智障学生适应行为的特点。结果显示:智障学生的适应行为各因子功能随缺陷程度而减退的趋势不同;适应行为的发展在智障男、女生之间的差异不显著;随着年龄的增长,与自身比较,智障学生大部分的适应行为能力都有明显提高,但与同龄正常儿童比较,智障儿童的适应行为与他们之间的差距逐渐增大,其中以认知功能的减退最为显著。     

儿童行为问题产生的原因及家庭干预

本文阐述了儿童行为问题的界定及国内外发展心理学家关于儿童行为问题产生原因的研究成果 ,针对上述研究成果提出了家庭早期干预的具体措施     

Examinee Noneffort and the Validity of Program Assessment Results

Educational program assessment studies often use data from low-stakes tests to provide evidence of program quality. The validity of scores from such tests, however, is potentially threatened by examinee noneffort. This study investigated the extent to which one type of noneffort—rapid-guessing behavior—distorted the results from three types of commonly used program assessment designs. It was found that, for each design, a modest amount of rapid guessing had a pronounced effect on the results. In addition, motivation filtering was found to be successful in mitigating the effects caused by rapid guessing. It is suggested that measurement practitioners routinely apply motivation filtering whenever the data from low-stakes tests are used to support program decisions.