DIRECT OBSERVATIONS OF CHILDREN AT RISK FOR ACADEMIC FAILURE: BENEFITS OF AN INTERGENERATIONAL VISITING PROGRAM

Ten elementary school students in need of a positive self-image and/or a sense of appropriate social conduct took part in a monthly intergenerational visiting program at an assisted living facility. In comparison to systematic observations obtained in their classrooms, the children were observed to be significantly less anxious, more interested, and participating more during the intergenerational program. Outcomes of a focus group with five seniors revealed that they had enjoyed the program and wanted it to continue. School administrators may want to consider intergenerational visiting programs for students whose behaviors place them at risk for academic failure.     

EFFECTS OF AN INTERGENERATIONAL FRIENDLY VISIT PROGRAM ON THE ATTITUDES OF FOURTH GRADERS TOWARD ELDERS

This article describes the effects of an intergenerational friendly visit program on the attitudes toward the elders of one fourth grade class. Students visited with their elder "special friends" at a nursing home every week for five months. In-class lessons regarding students' knowledge and attitudes toward elders prepared students for the visits. The results of this qualitative study indicated that students gained a raised level of awareness regarding elders and the aging process. Their attitudes revealed a realistic view of both the positive and negative aspects of aging. Their attitudes toward their "special friends" were consistently positive and their empathy increased during the course of the study.     

TRADITIONAL VERSUS HISTORICAL APPROACH IN THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE

This article describes results from interviews with Jewish teenagers about the tension between adherence to tradition and commitment to egalitarianism in relation to issues like women in the rabbinate, women wearing ritual garments like kipot and talitot, and gender separation at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. For many teens, egalitarian values trumped traditional objections to female rabbis and other forms of participation in synagogue life in America; however, they were more hesitant to challenge gender separation at the Kotel in Israel, where the purported antiquity and authenticity of Orthodox tradition is more readily accepted.     

INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUES: A TESTED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

Children's attitudes about growing old and about the elderly themselves are in large part influenced by negative images projected by the media and through lack of actual experience in interacting with older people. To counter this situation and to provide an opportunity for positive attitude shift, an educational program has been developed for 10‐ and 11‐year‐old students. Growing Up — Growing Older is a developed unit of instruction relying on a package of software including films and printed support materials. A strong experiential component is provided through structured intergenerational dialogues, facilitated by visiting older volunteers.

The program was field tested using both a treatment and control population. Survey methodology was used to determine pre‐ and post‐experience stages of attitude awareness and understanding of the elderly. Although the study population did not demonstrate the level of negative attitude we had anticipated from the literature, post‐experience testing indicated a positive shift. More significant is the demonstrated increase in level of awareness of aging issues and of older persons as a result of the educational experience. Finally, the treatment population increased significantly the percentage of old people they interacted with outside the classroom. This increased familiarity and awareness of the elderly can be expected to continue to produce attitudes based more on fact than on fancy.     

ELECTRONIC VERSUS TRADITIONAL STUDENT RATINGS OF INSTRUCTION

At a large university, ratings of faculty infive academic areas were collected from two groups ofstudents using paper-and-pencil and electronic surveyadministration modes. Factor analyses performed on both sets of data showed that the two modesyielded similar factor patterns. A 2 5 MANOVA indicatedthat ratings were significantly influenced by academicarea (p < .001) but not by survey method. A high percentage of students in both groups feltconfident that their ratings were anonymous, thoughanonymity ratings were significantly higher (p <.001) in the paperand-pencil group. Students'satisfaction with the mode of administration wassignificantly higher (p < .01) for the electronicgroup than for the paper-and-pencil group. Overall,results suggest that the electronic survey mode is aviable alternative to the paper-and-pencil mode ofadministration.     

AN INTEGRATION PROGRAM

This is an account of a teacher education program's attempt to connect with a neighboring community in order to better prepare faculty to teach about the urban context in which their preservice teacher education students practice. Taking a feminist perspective, the two authors discuss their goals—the processes of using a community organization to lead the discussion and obstacles inherent to university settings. Knowledge about urban communities is an area that is often neglected in teacher preparation and one that needs to be more fully considered.     

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ELDERLY: AN INTERGENERATIONAL EXAMINATION

The relationship between children's attitudes toward older people and older people's perception of children's attitudes toward them were examined using the Attitude Perception Questionnaire. Results were analyzed for 52 fifth‐ and sixth‐grade children and 52 older adults, and comparisons made on the basis of age, sex and amount of intergenerational contact. Older adults perceptions of children's attitudes toward them were more negative than the children's actual attitudes. Implications for persons involved in planning and implementing intergenerational programs are discussed.     

INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMMING IN ACTION: BEFRIENDERS

This article describes the development of an intergenerational program in a rural community. The Befrienders program was developed to aid homebound and isolated seniors who desired companionship and assistance in their homes. Young adults from the community and the local university were recruited to visit, actively interact with, and assist the seniors on a weekly basis. The collaborative work and processes are presented along with evaluation data from participants.     

AN INTERGENERATIONAL CURRICULAR MODULE FOR TEACHING AGING APPRECIATION TO SEVENTH-GRADERS

The research reported in this paper examines the influence of a one-week curriculum module on aging appreciation of the seventh-graders. Ninety-seven students completed the introductory questionnaire, and 98 students filled out the final questionnaire. A majority of the students were 13 years of age, boys, white, and had living maternal and paternal grandparents who lived in their own homes. T-test analyses revealed that the intervention curricular module showed significant improvement with regard to age perception, number of older people known, personal attributes of older people, and involvement in activities with older people. However, scores dropped significantly for the facts on aging. Several implications for extending this work are discussed.     

BENEFITS OF INTERGENERATIONAL STAFFING IN PRESCHOOLS

This article reports on a national study of older adults working in childcare as volunteers or aides. Observations, interviews, and a rating scale were used to identify the unique contributions of older adults who have not been formally trained as early childhood educators. Findings showed that the nurturing presence of the older adults brought a familial dimension to these settings that complemented what younger, trained teachers provide in the classroom. Although their behaviors are not always consistent with professional standards for early childhood educators, they make a significant and unique contribution that enriches all participants. The authors make recommendations for training and support to include older adults effectively in preschool classrooms as part of an intergenerational caregiving team.     

INTERGENERATIONAL EDUCATION AND SERVICE PROGRAMMING: A MODEL FOR SELECTION AND EVALUATION OF ACTIVITIES

The intergenerational approach is a proven method for education and service programming with older adults, children, and youth. However, the broad scope of intergenerational programming inherently makes it difficult to create general decision‐making processes or models for the selection of appropriate activities for diverse participants. We present a model for decision making in intergenerational programs that is adaptable to a wide variety of participant groups, sponsoring agencies, and program goals. The model emerged as we developed and conducted an intergenerational training program for caregivers of children and the frail elderly. It stresses the importance of involving all constituent groups in planning, delineates five program categories, and establishes four criterion levels for decision‐making regarding appropriate activities. The model will be useful to those planning and implementing intergenerational programs in a vareity of settings.     

STRATEGIES TO EXPAND A PENPAL PROGRAM FROM SIMPLE LETTERS INTO A FULL INTERGENERATIONAL EXPERIENCE

The Senior Pen Pal Program offered in the first grade classroom at Mulready Elementary School in Hudson, MAis an example of a successful intergenerational program. The program has evolved from a letter exchange to include the assignment of books about senior citizens, regular correspondence, and structured group visits between participants. Some of the seniors visit the classroom and lead activities. The senior center is visited by the students and an intergenerational concert is held during the holidays.     

A LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT OF ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AN UPWARD BOUND SUMMER PROGRAM

This study is a longitudinal assessment of an Upward Bound program's success in increasing college attendance and academic achievement. Although as a whole the data appear to indicate no significant gains in reading and spelling, a “ceiling effect” was noted to be the confounding variable. Hence, the total program results did indicate significant achievement in both language arts and quantitative skills. The results indicate Upward Bound is still meeting its goals.     

处理饱和蒸气压—温度关系的计算机程序

根据热力学原理，单组分体系中，物质饱和蒸气压的对数与相应的温度的倒数成直线关系。本文编写了用最小二乘法处理单组分体系中物质饱和蒸气压—温度关系的ＢＡＳＩＣ程序．     

CROSS-SECTIONAL VERSUS LONGITUDINAL DATA: AN EMPIRICAL COMPARISON OF MEAN DIFFERENCES IN ACADEMIC GROWTH

Three sources of data for studies of growth (matched longitudinal, unmatched longitudinal, and cross-sectional) were compared using mean achievement test scores collected from 32,000 students tested repeatedly from 1961 to 1967. The principal results were that matched longitudinal data yielded significantly higher means than unmatched longitudinal data, and that a school's dropout rate was highly related to the discrepancy between cross-sectional and matched longitudinal data ( r = .85). Seven sources of differences among the three types of data were considered: age differences, cohort differences, time changes, equating errors, retest effects, cohort change effects, and selection effects. Methodological guidelines for future research in studies of growth and change are presented.     

CHILDREN'S ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ELDERLY: AN INTERGENERATIONAL TECHNIQUE FOR CHANGE

This investigation examined changes in children's perceptions of the elderly following an intervention in the frequency of contact that school‐aged children had with old people. Elderly persons served as tutors in a reading tutorial program for a period of two months. Pre‐and postintervention measures of attitudes and reading skills were taken from the children; measures of morale were obtained among the elderly sample. Evaluations of the program were also provided by the elderly, the children, school principals, and teachers. An analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction effect of group by test, suggesting that even a relatively brief intervention can modify children's perceptions of the aged. Although there were no significant changes in the responses of the elderly subjects as measured by objective questionnaires, the majority of the tutors reported that they were happier and felt more involved in the community while working in the program.     

EVALUATING SELECTED PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS TEACHERS IN AN ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

In 2003 the University of Missouri (with the aid of US National Science Foundation funding) initiated an alternative certification program (ACP) to address the well-documented need in the US for increasing the quantity and quality of mathematics and science teachers for the middle and secondary levels. Nationwide current certification programs do not provide the quality and quantity of mathematics and science teachers needed in schools. As a result most American states have begun to experiment with ACPs as a way to address the shortage of math and science teachers. To evaluate the success of this program, we collected data from ACP participants regarding perceived preparation, self efficacy, and outcome expectancy at three time points in the program. State standards for beginning teachers were used to construct a perceived preparation instrument. Analysis of data suggests that over time, ACP participants exhibited an increasingly positive view toward their preparation for classroom teaching, as well as increased self efficacy. However, there was little change in the students’ outcome expectancy over time. In this article we share details of the unique ACP program and we describe steps taken to collect and evaluate a project data set. Our work provides useful guidance to researchers and practitioners in the field of science and mathematics teacher education.