Training older adults about Alzheimer’s disease – Impact on knowledge and fear

Although the impact of Alzheimer’s disease training programs directed to informal and formal caregivers has been extensively studied, programs for older adults who do not have the disease are relatively few. Moreover, increased knowledge increases fear of the disease, even though there is little empirical evidence to support this. This study investigated the impact of an Alzheimer’s disease training program for older persons on their knowledge and fear of the condition. Participants consisted of 110 older adults who voluntarily applied for a 16-hour course as part of the University of the Third Age. A questionnaire, consisting of two validated tools (Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale and the Fear of Alzheimer’s Disease Scale), was distributed pre- and posttraining to the participants. Sixty-six questionnaires (response rate = 60%) were collected at the start of the program and 46 at the end (response rate = 42%). Participants’ fear at pretraining was significantly related to their current knowledge of the disease. Training significantly improved knowledge of the disease, but the participants’ perceived fear did not change. The study indicated that an Alzheimer’s disease training program for older persons can increase their knowledge, but it does not necessarily increase their fear. Training programs aimed at raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease should target more effectively this age cohort who may be concerned and are seeking learning opportunities to know more about the condition.     

Determinants of older Korean adults’ participation in life-long learning programmes and life satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Using Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging data, we examined the influence of older adults’ individual characteristics (i.e. marital status, health and economic status) on life satisfaction, with the mediating effect of older adults’ active participation in lifelong learning. As a result, some individual characteristics appeared to significantly determine both learning participation and life satisfaction. Economic status appeared to function as a significant predictor of older adults’ participation in lifelong learning programmes, which ultimately resulted in a significant improvement in their life satisfaction. Marital status and health were also significant contributors to older adults’ life satisfaction. The mediating model was tenable according to model-data fit indices.     

Children’s stereotypes of older adults: Evaluating contributions of cognitive development and social learning

Past research has investigated the development of stereotypes surrounding race and gender in children; however, there is a lack of literature examining the development of children’s stereotypes of older adults. In this study, 163 children from four grades: first (n = 44), fourth (n = 49), fifth (n = 35), and eighth (n = 35) completed a new trait-rating questionnaire assessing their stereotypes of older adults. Children’s stereotypes of older adults were largely positive. Younger children described older adults in more positive, but more stereotyped, ways than older children. Older children’s views shared a stronger relationship with those of their parents and peers compared to younger children. Together, these results support both cognitive development and social influences as contributing factors to the formation of children’s stereotypes of older adults.     

Evaluating teachers’ self-perceptions of their knowledge and practice after participating in an environmental education professional development program

Building teachers’ confidence in their understanding of nature and encouraging the use of field experiences with students are important factors in increasing environmental awareness in students. A River Runs Through It (ARRT) is an integrated environmental education professional development program, immersed practicing teachers in hands-on field inquiry while providing them with valuable experiences, tools, and support necessary for raising teacher enthusiasm and self-confidence. The authors begin by taking a broad look at environmental education. They then narrow the focus to their environmental education professional development program – ARRT – and the positive knowledge and attitudinal impacts found from allowing teachers to explore local outdoor environments with a support system that aided them in bringing their ARRT experiences into their own classrooms.     

Leadership of older adults’ service learning in Taiwan: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

In Taiwan, there are service learning programs organized by older adult educational institutions that are held in high esteem. Director leadership plays a key role in the effectiveness of such institutions, and the leadership experiences of such directors in guiding service learning are worth exploring. This study conducted a qualitative approach and selected directors from eight Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) who achieved outstanding leadership effectiveness to take part in one-on-one and in-depth semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that: 1. Directors infused the entire service learning process with inspirational motivation by adopting through individualized consideration as a starting point. 2. When directors led the preparation process for service learning, they focused on inducing intellectual stimulation among the older adult learners, such that they felt empowered and capable of providing community services. 3. During the community service phase, directors practiced a form of leadership characterized by idealized influence to encourage, accompany, and support the elderly while they engaged in service learning. 4. The dilemma faced by directors was dissatisfaction with the leadership. Directors responded by reminding them of their original service learning intention and downplaying issues, which made the service learning group undergo a positive transformation. 5. The results of directors’ leadership had a positive effect on the community as it led to more dynamism and more people participating in community service.     

Whole language versus code-based skills and interactional patterns in Singapore’s early literacy program

This paper analyzes whole language and code-based skills approaches in early literacy and the specific patterns of interaction present in both approaches. Nineteen hours of video data were coded to analyze the nature of whole language versus code-based skills instruction and document the allocation of time spent on each approach in a reading program. Data come from a cross-sectional study in Singapore where the Learning Support Program (LSP), a reading program for low-track students, was studied in five schools. Overall, 73% of class time in the dataset showed code-based skills instruction. However, the approach to instruction changed within the LSP in a linear fashion. Though in the early years of the LSP there was an over-emphasis on code-based skills and lack of variety in patterns of interaction, in later years there was a balance between whole language and code-based skills and a wider variety of interactional patterns.     

Enhancing students’s social and ethical development in schools: An intervention program and its effects

This chapter describes effects on students social and ethical attitudes and behaviors of a comprehensive elementary school program that was implemented in 12 elementary schools in six school districts in the United States over a four-year period, with an additional 12 schools serving as a comparison group. The program as a whole is designed to promote a sense of the school as a community. Data, collected in a baseline year and each of three program years, included classroom observations and student and teacher questionnaires. Data analyses showed variability both within and between schools in teacher changes from baseline to classroom program implementation. Positive effects on students’s sense of community and on several social/ethical variables were found for the five program schools that showed adequate changes in implementation. Structural equations modeling analyses of classroom-level data showed clear support for a model in which program effects on social-ethical outcomes for students were mediated through intervening linkages with program implementation and with the sense of community.     

Characterizing mentoring capital in a residency program through mentor’s voices

The purpose of our study was to examine mentors’ conceptualizations of mentoring residents (preservice teachers) in a teacher residency program. Understanding the nuances of mentoring in a year-long placement in a mentor’s classroom may further illuminate mentoring in this context. In this qualitative, longitudinal study, we used constant comparative analysis to allow the data to drive recurring patterns and ideas linked to real-life situations and values coding to examine mentors’ conceptualizations of mentoring in a residency program. Residents enrolled in the federally-funded Teaching Residency Program for Critical Shortage Areas program were placed in a high-need urban secondary school for a year-long clinical experience to work alongside mentors, who had a non-evaluative role. By examining mentors’ conceptualizations of mentoring in this particular context, our data reveal aspects of their agency that reflected three main themes: (a) professional altruism, (b) extant knowledge, and (c) resident as stimulus. Our findings add to the research on mentoring by illuminating the voices of mentors to describe how they conceptualized mentoring and to further examine their motivations for mentoring, contributions to the mentee, and professional gains.     

Improving literacy and math instruction at scale in India’s primary schools: The case of Pratham’s Read India program

Pratham’s “Read India” initiative is a large-scale intervention to improve basic learning and arithmetic among children in primary school. It was started almost 10 years ago and has evolved considerably over time. Currently, this initiative uses two strategies. The first strategy is to work directly with village communities and local schools to improve children’s learning. “Learning camps” are organized in the local school or community for a period of 6–10 days at a time. Local village volunteers help to teach children who are organized in groups by their level of learning. These camps—intensive bursts of focused instruction—are repeated several times during the year. This model which has been rigourously evaluated shows that children’s learning levels improve significantly. The second strategy is to work with the government. This approach is used when school systems want to partner or collaborate with Pratham for improving basic learning. The key element here too is grouping children and teaching them from their level rather than by their grade. This approach also shows promising results. Independent evaluations and randomized control trials conducted on both models have indicated significant impact. Moving between the present set of conditions in India and past lessons, this case describes a decade-long journey of efforts to change teaching and learning at the ground level as well the efforts to bring about significant shifts in priority at the system level. The “Read India” case presented here contributes knowledge on strategies under which effective pedagogy can be brought to scale. It also discusses challenges of transforming instructional change in a context of low initial capacity at the school and system levels, where attention to rapid expansion of access to school had kept aside for a long time critical questions about teaching quality and learning outcomes. A second contribution of “Read India” to current knowledge on large-scale educational change relates to the role non-government actors such as Pratham can play in bringing effective pedagogy to scale to improve student learning.     

do i know its wrong: children’s and adults’ use of unconventional grammar in text messaging

There is concern that the violations of conventional grammar (both accidental and deliberate) often seen in text messages (e.g., hi how is ya?!!) could lead to difficulty in learning or remembering formal grammatical conventions. We examined whether the grammatical violations made by 244 British children, adolescents and young adults in their text messages was related to poorer performance on tasks of grammatical knowledge, including translating grammatically unconventional text messages into standard English. We found that variance in the production of grammatical violations in naturalistic messages was inconsistently predicted by grammatical task performance. Specifically, primary school children who made poorer grammar-based spelling choices were more likely to make more grammatical violations in their everyday messages, and university students who failed to correct more grammatical errors in a given set of messages were also more likely to make such errors in their own messages. There were no significant relationships for secondary school students. We conclude that using unconventional grammar when texting is not a consistent sign of poor grammatical abilities, although there may be links between some aspects of grammatical skill and grammatical violations in text messages.     

Interpersonal communication competence and digital citizenship among pre-service teachers in China’s teacher preparation programs

Abstract

The Internet, new media and social change have created issues requiring digital citizenship education, particularly within the socio-cultural context of Chinese education. Recent digital citizenship standards for education developed by organizations such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) highlight the importance of this issue. Researchers have explored digital citizenship with some mediated behavioral determinants; however, the critical influence of interpersonal communication competence (ICC) has not yet been explored. To expand understanding of the components needed for improving the appropriateness of digital citizenship among future role models of society, this study investigates the relationship between ICC skills and digital citizenship with a sample of 905 pre-service teachers. The results showed that 10 ICC skills were positively predictive of digital citizenship. Environmental control and immediacy were found to be the strongest predictors of digital citizenship among the skills examined. These results theoretically emphasize the importance of ICC skills in mediated behavior and provide practical direction for improving pre-service teachers’ digital citizenship, which can positively enable the behavior instructors display and convey to their future students.     

The ‘third age’ perspective: enrichment and informal modes of learning in an outdoor sketching group for older adults

The proposed benefits of participatory arts for older adults continue to attract empirical attention, but how informal group participation aids personal enrichment is not yet fully understood. This qualitative case study of a University of the Third Age ‘outdoor sketching group’ explores the meanings its members attach to art-making in retirement and how this informal context supports their preferred modes of learning. Hermeneutic interviews with six members elicited their personal framings of what it means to pursue sketching. Participant observations of group activities and learning interactions therein afforded insights into how this group meets the needs of its members. The emergent theme from interviews, ‘cultivating dispositions’, represents what they consider to be a central endeavour in retirement. It reflects the judicious selecting and shedding of activities depending on whether they are deemed conducive to personal enrichment. Members hone and nurture dispositions they perceive as befitting the way they wish to pursue art-making. The group’s egalitarian ethos, whereby expertise is distributed among the group rather than attached to an instructor, is valued. Within peer dialogue, ways of enmeshing oneself with certain artistic orientations are exchanged. These serve as one of various communal resources members utilise to cultivate their own desired dispositions.     

Paradox and Oxymoron in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Paradox and oxymoron are two rhetoric devices frequently used by Shakespeare in his sonnets and drama,especially in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. In applying paradoxes and oxymora to the play,Shakespeare succeeds in conveying the complex and conflicting psychological reality of the protagonists,increasing the textual tension,and achieving a good dramatic effect.     

Preschool children’s conceptions of water,molecule, and chemistry before and after participating in a playfully dramatized early childhood education activity

The present study reports an empirical investigation into concept formation of young children. Based on interviews conducted before and after participating in a playfully enacted chemistry lesson at a culture center, it is analyzed how 6-year-old children conceptualize water, molecule, and chemistry. Theoretically, the study is informed by Vygotsky’s cultural-historical perspective on concept formation. The empirical data consist of pre- and post-interviews with children and documentation of their participation in the intermediate activity. This documentation is used in the post-interviews as a mutual ground for talking with the children about what they remember and how they understand the activity they participated in and what the activity intended to illustrate. The results are presented in terms of three inductively generated categories: ‘everyday’, ‘experientially-based’, and ‘generalized experiences’ concepts, respectively. The implications of these findings for early childhood chemistry (science) education are discussed.

     

Gender differences in adolescents’ choice of heroes and admired adults in five countries

Seven hundred and sixty-eight adolescents from five countries and regions (USA, Spain, Hong Kong, Qatar, and Malaysia), aged 13–19 (M?=?15.78; SD?=?1.28) years, responded to a questionnaire designed to determine who was their most admired famous adult or hero. Male heroes clearly outnumbered admired females (73.3% vs. 26.7%). There was a pattern of same-sex choices, but it was more likely for girls to choose male heroes than for boys to choose females. Over half of the admired adults were athletes, and movie, television, and music stars. Regarding the personally known adults, there was a more balanced choice of males and females, with parents as the most frequent choice. Results suggest that society continues to fail in providing an adequate supply of female role models.     

Higher education and women’s empowerment in Pakistan

This paper summarises the findings of a 2005 doctoral study by Malik which explored to what extent participation in higher education offers empowerment to women in Pakistan. A survey instrument was used to question female faculty members and female students from 10 public universities in Pakistan; 1290 students and 290 faculty members responded. Subsequently, semi‐structured interviews were held with 10 faculty members and 10 students. Respondents highlighted economic independence and an increased standing within family and society as the main benefits of higher education participation. A major finding is that participation in higher education enables women to impact on a number of discriminatory practices simultaneously and thereby effect change for the better. The main recommendation is that future educational strategies be developed with the aim of further promoting gender equality in all areas of education in Pakistan, but particularly with the aim of increasing female students’ participation in higher education.     

Linguistic Differences in Female and Male’s Speech

For years,there has been a considerable interest in linguistic differentiation associated with the speaker’s gender.Based on the researches and investigations of many linguists,this paper examines the linguistic gender differences from the following respects:gender difference in phonology,gender difference in lexicon,gender difference in syntax and gender differences in pragmatics.The awareness of these linguistic differences between different genders can facilitate people’s communication in their daily lives.     

Gender Effects in Children’s Development and Education

This paper attempts to clarify several lines of research on gender in development and education, inter‐relating findings from studies on intuitive/informal knowledge with those from research on achievements and attitudes in science. It acknowledges the declining proportions of male teachers world‐wide and examination successes which indicate a reversal of educational disadvantage from female to male; as well as the recent evidence on the effects of the gender of teachers upon student success. An empirical contribution to the literature is offered, drawing from the gender‐related findings from research on children’s cosmologies in China and New Zealand with 346 boys and 340 girls (of whom 119 boys and 121 girls participated in the current study). The investigation focused on children’s concepts of the motion and shape of the Earth through observational astronomy and gave children opportunities to express their ideas in several modalities. The in‐depth interviews allowed children to share their meanings with gender differences becoming apparent (e.g. girls’ superior ability to visually represent their cosmologies and boys’ greater awareness of gravity). However, these differences were not universal across genders or cultures and marked similarities were apparent both in the content of children’s responses and in their reasoning processes. By comparing boy/girl cosmological concept categories and by tracking their developmental trends by age, statistical evidence revealed the extent of the similarities within and across these diverse cultures. The findings reinforce those from the authors’ knowledge restructuring and cultural mediation studies and provide support for the view that boys and girls have similar, holistic‐rather‐than‐fragmented, cosmologies which have features in common across cultures and ethnic groups.