MEDICAL ADHERENCE AND AGING: SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVES By Denise C. Park & Linda L. Liu (Editors)

This article describes a unique intergenerational project that involves senior citizens in elementary education. The real‐life experiences of the elderly contain many valuable lessons for today's young children when developed into thematic stories and delivered in exciting dramatic form. Participants underwent training and development over a 4‐week period and then shared their stories in elementary school classrooms with groups of children ranging in size from 15 to 175. The stages of project development are described and the technique utilized to develop the storytelling skills of elders is discussed. The project outcomes relative to the storytellers, school administrators, teachers, and students were overwhelmingly positive.     

Letting Go of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids. Adelson,J. L., & Wilson,H. E. (2009)

Given the severe paucity of gifted programs in this nation, the educational and legal rights of gifted students are not being adequately served. This article briefly examines developments at the federal level that impact upon both the legal and educational rights of gifted students. It also reviews educational data supporting the need to establish special programs, and concludes by suggesting implications and recommendations for informed practice.     

KINDERGARTEN SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL AND READING ACHIEVEMENT: A CROSS‐LAGGED PATH MODEL FOR AT‐RISK LEARNERS

The association between social withdrawal, school adjustment, and academic functioning in preschool and school entry is well‐established. Children who experience social withdrawal in primary grades are at risk for decreased academic performance. The bidirectional relationships among early literacy and social withdrawal in primary grades have not been examined to date. The present study used a cross‐lagged model to examine the relationship between social withdrawal and early literacy skills from kindergarten to second grade (N = 137). Results indicated that kindergarten social withdrawal predicted second grade reading achievement after controlling for prior literacy skill acquisition. Bidirectional influence hypotheses were not confirmed in the present study.     

CLASSROOM CONTEXTS AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING SOCIAL–EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT: A NATIONAL STUDY IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Contextually based assessments reveal the circumstances accompanying maladjustment (the when, where, and with whom) and supply clues to the motivations underpinning problem behaviors. The Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) is a teacher rating scale composed of indicators describing behavior in 24 classroom situational contexts. This study examines the Trinidad and Tobago national normative process for the ASCA contextual dimensions with a representative sample of elementary school children (N = 900). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded the same three dimensions (peer context problems, teacher context problems, and learning context problems) observed in U.S. national samples. Dimensions were scaled using item response theory (IRT) and Bayesian scoring methods, with peer and learning context problems scores relating more strongly to clinical behavior disturbances and learning context problems showing stronger association with classroom learning styles. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

中国高等教育需求中的城乡差异-人力资本与社会资本理论的视角

本文应用人力资本和社会资本理论,探讨了中国高等教育需求中的城乡差异。研究表明:在控制其他因素以后,城乡高中生对高等教育有着同样强烈的需求,但学生的城乡背景与影响高等教育需求的人力资本和社会资本因素之间存在交互作用:(1)当高等教育预期收益率较低时,农村学生比城市学生更希望接受高等教育;当高等教育预期收益率较高时,城市学生比农村学生更希望接受高等教育。(2)当家庭网络资源较少时,农村学生比城市学生更希望接受高等教育;当家庭网络资源较多时,城市学生比农村学生更希望接受高等教育。农村低社会经济地位的学生对高等教育的旺盛需求表明,接受高等教育几乎是他们改变其不利社会地位、实现流动的惟一渠道。扩大农村学生的高等教育机会,是改善城乡差异的重要手段。政府应该在教育财政和招生等方面进行制度创新以回应此类教育需求。