SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT OF HIGH ABILITY STUDENTS

This article investigates interpersonal relations of high ability children with peers in the same class. Subjects were eighth grade students who, eight years earlier, had started school at the age of 6 (Le., one year in advance of agemates), because they had demonstrated outstanding abilities while in nursery school Of the 51 students from 40 elementary schools in the industrial town of Lodz, 27 were girls and 24 boys. Research instruments included the Chart of Students’ Behaviour, Raven's Matrices, Choynowski's TZT, the sociometric technique of j. L. Moreno and school records including marks. The majority of the students tested displayed high or very high achievement and appropriate interpersonal relations with peers. However, a small group of about one quarter of the total group displayed low achievement and low social acceptance, although they were of high ability. This finding is of considerable interest in view of conflicting conclusions in the relevant literature.

     

PREFERRED INFORMATION SOURCES OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

To effectively communicate with potential students, it is important to utilize their preferred information sources. Survey data were gathered from 716 high school students who planned to attend college. There were communication source differences based on race and intent to attend two-year vs. four-year institutions. Important information sources for potential community college and university students include media, social normative, and direct sources. Recruiting and marketing strategies are discussed.     

PERSPECTIVE TAKING IN HIGH AND ABOVE AVERAGE IQ PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

This study compared 13 high (mean = 132.5) and 13 above average IQ (mean = 111.8) children aged 44 to 63 months on a spatial perspective taking task. The high group made significantly fewer egocentric errors and more correct responses. This may be a useful indication of high ability from an early age. All subjects made a relatively large number of adjacent errors, selecting a perspective between one's own and another viewer's, but the total score was uncorrelated with egocentric errors. Adjacent errors may provide more clues than egocentric errors to understanding the specific skills that need to be learned to overcome egocentrism, notably distinguishing the common features shared by the viewers in addition to recognizing the view of each. Possible relations to metacognition and flexibility are discussed. The results warrant continued exploration of perspective taking and its relationship to the development of thinking.

     

IMPACTS OF TRADITIONAL BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

A critical debate within the field of school psychology has centered on the relationship between bullying and cyberbullying in terms of prevalence, overlap, and impact. The current study sought to address the following questions: (1) Does cyberbullying create new victims or merely a new means of victimization? (2) Does cyberbullying uniquely contribute to negative outcomes above and beyond those of traditional bullying? Utilizing an anonymous survey to examine students’ experiences with cyberbullying, traditional bullying, and negative psychological symptoms, it was found that the vast majority of students who were bullied online were also victims of in‐person bullying. Both forms of victimization were independently associated with negative outcomes. However, when controlling for traditional bullying, cyberbullying did not remain a predictor of negative mental health outcomes. In contrast, when controlling for cyberbullying, traditional bullying remained a significant predictor of negative mental health outcomes. These results suggest that although traditional and cyber forms of bullying tend to target the same victims, traditional bullying is more uniquely associated with negative psychological outcomes.     

EFFECTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

Student behavioral engagement is a key condition supporting academic achievement, yet student disengagement in middle and high schools is all too common. The current study used a randomized controlled design to test the efficacy of the My Teaching Partner‐Secondary program to increase behavioral engagement. The program offers teachers personalized coaching and systematic feedback on teachers’ interactions with students, based on systematic observation of videorecordings of teacher‐student interactions in the classroom. The study found that intervention teachers had significantly higher increases, albeit to a modest degree, in student behavioral engagement in their classrooms after 1 year of involvement with the program compared to the teachers in the control group (explaining 4% of variance). In exploratory analyses, two dimensions of teachers’ interactions with students—their focus on analysis and problem solving during instruction and their use of diverse instructional learning formats—acted as mediators of increased student engagement. The findings offer implications for new directions in teacher professional development and for understanding the classroom as a setting for adolescent development.     

CONCEPT MAPPING: AN ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY FOR EVALUATION

Concept maps are proposed as an alternative tool for evaluation in higher education and examples of concept maps, drawn by college students performing evaluation tasks, are presented in the areas of physics and literature.     

INFLUENCE OF PEER SOCIAL EXPERIENCES ON POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INDICATORS OF MENTAL HEALTH AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Modern definitions of complete mental health include both positive and negative indicators of psychological functioning. We examined the associations between peer relationships (victimization and receipt of prosocial acts) and multiple indicators of mental health that represent subjective well‐being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive and negative affect) and psychopathology (general internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems—aggressive behavior) among 500 high school students in Grades 9 to 11. Peer experiences explained the most variance in positive affect (R² = 18%) and internalizing psychopathology (R² = 19%). Different types of peer experiences drove these effects, with relational victimization particularly salient to internalizing psychopathology and prosocial acts by peers most predictive of positive affect. Moderation analyses indicated that peers’ prosocial acts did not serve a protective role in the associations between victimization and mental health. Instead, the presence of overt victimization negated the positive associations between prosocial acts and good mental health (high life satisfaction, low internalizing psychopathology). Understanding these associations illuminates the range of student outcomes possibly impacted by victimization and suggests that both limiting peer victimization and facilitating positive peer experiences may be necessary to facilitate complete mental health among high school students.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADES FOR PREDICTING COLLEGE GRADES OF BLACK STUDENTS: A REVIEW AND DISCUSSION1

The purpose of this study was to reexamine the value of high school grades (relative to standardized test scores) for predicting college grades of black students. Data from previous studies and from a predominantly black university were analyzed. Results tend to indicate that high school grades do not consistently make the greatest contribution in predicting college grades of black students, perhaps particularly of men, whereas they do for whites. Unreliability of grade reporting, invalidity of grades in high school, restriction in range due to selection processes, and intergroup differences in personality characteristics were advanced to explain this phenomenon. Further research on this problem was suggested in view of the fact that many selective institutions are relying heavily on high school grades in their selection of black students.     

影响高中生学习成绩的多因素分析--学习策略、学业自我概念、自我监控学习行为对学习成绩的影响

对242名高中生进行了学习策略、学业自我概念、自我监控学习行为与学习成绩关系的研究。结果表明：1．学习策略、学业自我概念、自我监控学习行为与学习成绩有显的相关,但相关的密切程度存在差异;2．学习策略对学习成绩有直接影响;3．学习策略、学业自我概念、自我监控学习行为存在密切关系。     

LINKING MINORITY AND DISADVANTAGED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING: A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR STUDENTS AND OLDER ADULTS

This article describes a pilot project designed to encourage career interest by minority high school students in health professions in geriatrics and gerontology. This multifaceted educational program used a contextual training approach and was conducted over a five-week period. Program components included classroom sessions, group as well as independent activities and research, guided field trips, faculty lectures, and the development of a final report directed at health careers in gerontology. The majority of the students were planning or considering a career in geriatrics or gerontology at the completion of the program. Students' evaluative comments revealed a more positive attitude toward the elderly, significant interest in gerontology careers, and strong support for the program. A strategy for longterm follow-up of participants is presented, as well as lessons learned and plans for future programming. This program was implemented by the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center, in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island Urban Field Center, in response to the "Kids Into Health Careers" initiative established by the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions.     

GERONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS OF RELIGION

Stereotypes about aging and the old, both negative and positive, have significant influence upon older people themselves. Often unknowingly, older people incorporate these stereotypes into their own thinking and self-perceptions. A literature search revealed four primary hypotheses about the manner in which these self-stereotypes impact older people: stereotype threat, comparison, externalization, and internalization. Anecdotal examples of the four hypotheses are drawn from an unrelated research study that the authors are currently undertaking. Among these hypotheses, four basic characteristics of self-stereotypes are identified: (a) stereotypes can be negative or positive; (b) stereotypes have significant power, particularly if they are self-relevant; (c) stereotypes can be operative without awareness and influence physical and cognitive outcomes; and (d) negative stereotypes can be countered by positive priming. Due to their ability to significantly influence the cognitive and functional well-being of older people, further research is essential to better understand how these self-stereotypes function.     

科学发展观与国有经济

随着国有企业改革的深化，在新自由主义思潮的误导下，很多人认为国有经济存在的合理性很小。因而对巩固和发展国有经济持怀疑和否定态度。本文认为，在我国建立和谐社会，落实科学发展观，促进经济社会和人的全面、协调和可持续发展必须毫不动摇地巩固和发展国有经济。为此，国有企业的改革和调整不能偏离社会主义方向，不能只退不进。不能从竞争性领域全部退出来。     

THE PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS PROGRAMS

This cross‐sectional study determined whether students who take part in academically challenging high school curricula experience elevated levels of stress and whether this stress co‐occurs with psychological and/or academic problems. Data from self‐report questionnaires and school records were collected from 480 students from four high schools. Results of analyses of covariance suggested that stress is not always associated with deleterious outcomes, as students in academically rigorous programs (specifically, Advanced Placement [AP] classes and International Baccalaureate [IB] programs) reported more perceived stress than did students in general education, while maintaining exceptionally high academic functioning. Furthermore, despite their stress level, the psychological functioning of students in AP and IB is similar or superior to the levels of psychopathology, life satisfaction, and social functioning reported from their peers in general education.     

SCHOOL RACIAL CLIMATE AND THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

This investigation utilized an integrative model of development for ethnic minority children and a process model of engagement to explore whether three dimensions of school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) mediated relationships between school racial climate, academic performance, and educational aspirations. A total of 139 African American students were recruited from a high school in the southeastern United States. Findings revealed an indirect association between perceptions of racial fairness and academic achievement indicators through behavioral and cognitive engagement. Behavioral and cognitive engagement also mediated relationships between youths’ perceived peer discrimination and academic achievement indicators. No significant indirect associations between teacher discrimination and academic achievement through school engagement dimensions were found. Study limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.     

SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF GIFTED STUDENTS

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between intellectual, social, personal and personality variables of academically gifted secondary school students. A total of 297 tenth grade boys and girls were identified on the basis of three main criteria: 1. Academic achievement with special emphasis on Arabic language, science and math scores; 2. Behavioural traits; 3. General mental ability and general adjustment. Data related to socioeconomic status and personal characteristics were also collected. Results of the analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences between gifted and nongifted groups in general mental ability, achievement, general adjustment, behavioural traits, personal and social variables, in favour of the former.     

大学生膳食营养状况分析与探讨

合理营养是全面提高大学生身体素质的重要保证。文章采用24h回顾法,通过对本校272名学生进行连续5小时的膳食调查并进行了膳食营养状况分析,结果表明学生的膳食结构基本合理,但需要进一步完善以保证均衡饮食和合理营养。