Occult drug exposure in young children evaluated for physical abuse: An opportunity for intervention

BackgroundAlthough screening for drug exposure is an important consideration in the evaluation of suspected child maltreatment, limited data are available on the frequency of drug exposure in children with suspected physical abuse.ObjectiveTo examine occult drug and pharmaceutical exposure in young children with suspected physical abuse.Participants and settingChildren ages 2 weeks –59 months evaluated for physical abuse by a tertiary referral center Child Protection Team.MethodsCross-sectional study of young children diagnosed with high, intermediate, or low concern for physical abuse and tested for occult drug exposure from 2013-2017. Chart review was performed to determine adherence to recommended testing and drug test results with comparison between groups.ResultsOccult drug exposures were found in 5.1% (CI 3.6–7.8) of 453 children tested: 6.0% (CI 3.6–10.0) of 232 children with high concern for physical abuse, 5.0% (CI 2.7–9.3) of 179 children with intermediate concern, and 0% of 42 children with low concern. As adherence to protocol-based screening improved during the second half of the study, so did the overall rate of detection of occult drug exposures (7.9%, CI 5.2–11.9) in 252 children with intermediate or high concern for physical abuse. Most exposures were to cocaine, although non-prescribed pharmaceutical exposures were also detected.ConclusionsUp to 7.9% of young children suspected of being physically abused also had an occult drug exposure. Given the adverse health consequences associated with exposure to a drug-endangered environment, screening for occult drug exposure should be considered in the evaluation of young children with intermediate or high concern for physical abuse.     

Sexual abuse prevention education for young children: A comparison of teachers and parents as instructors

The purpose of this study was to compare teachers and parents as instructors of a personal safety program. One hundred seventy-two Head Start preschoolers were randomly assigned to a personal safety program taught by their teachers, parents, both teachers and parents, or to a general safety control program. Following program participation, children taught the personal safety program by their teachers, parents, or both, demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual abuse and higher levels of personal safety skills compared with those in the control group. Gains in knowledge and skills were maintained at the 5-month follow up. Children taught by their parents showed greater improvements in recognizing inappropriate-touch requests and in their personal safety skills compared with children taught by their teachers, and children who received the program both at home and school were better able to recognize appropriate-touch requests and to demonstrate higher levels of personal safety skills compared with children taught only at school. The emotional costs associated with participating in the program were minimal, and both parents and children rated the program positively. The advantages of home-based instruction for young children are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Prenatal cocaine exposure: a comparison of 2-year-old children in parental and nonparental care

Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and parental versus nonparental care on outcome at 2 years of age were examined. The sample included 83 cocaine-exposed and 63 nonexposed children and their caregivers; 49 and 34 of the cocaine-exposed children experienced parental and nonparental care, respectively. Prenatal drug exposure was not related directly to children's outcome at 2 years of age. However, compared with cocaine-exposed children in parental care, those in nonparental care experienced a more optimal environment and performed better in several developmental domains at 2 years of age in spite of being at greater neonatal risk. Further analyses suggested that this protective effect of nonparental care was in part due to nonkin rather than kin care.     

Tests, test scores and teachers of young children: Reflections on two case studies

Meet Melanie. She's a first-grader who's just taken her first standardized test. Melanie is a bright and happy child; but she's just been branded “below average” by the people who make tests--because she didn't feel well the morning of the test and it was hard to concentrate. … Yesterday, a bright child. Today, “below average.” (NEA, 1980)     

Challenging behaviour: the perceptions of teachers of children and young people with severe learning disabilities

This paper reports the findings of a study which aimed to elicit teachers' perceptions of pupils' challenging behaviour. Teachers were asked to indicate: which aspects of challenging behaviour concerned them; their responses to it; which strategies they found effective; what they believed to be the causes of it; how stressed they felt; and how effective they felt when dealing with it. They were also asked to identify sources of information, advice and help and to rate different types of challenging behaviour in terms of severity of challenge. Results indicate that teachers are concerned about challenging behaviour and find it stressful. Whilst considering themselves to be effective in dealing with it, a proportion report feeling frustrated by it, angry, upset and/or at a loss. The most frequently cited challenging behaviour was aggression, although self-injury was found to be the most challenging. Whilst recognising the communicative basis of many forms of challenging behaviour teachers nevertheless tended to select strategies which were concerned with diffusion rather than prevention. The most likely source of information, advice and help was other teachers. Some differences in responses were noted according to experience and whether or not additional qualifications were held.     

Prenatal testosterone,visual-spatial memory,and numerical skills in young children

Lateralization of the brain is strongly influenced by prenatal androgens, with differential exposure thought to account for cognitive sex differences. This study investigated sex and individual differences and relationships between 2D:4D (the ratio of the 2nd to 4th digit [digit ratio] as a proxy indicator of prenatal testosterone exposure), visual-spatial memory, and numerical skills in 5-year-old children. No sex differences were found in any of the numerical or visual-spatial tasks. Visual-spatial memory was positively correlated with arithmetic score. Girls with a lower (more masculinised) 2D:4D had better number sense and visual-spatial skills, whilst boys with lower 2D:4D had better arithmetic skills. This suggests that prenatal testosterone exposure may have differential effects on the visual-spatial and numerical skills of girls and boys.     

Factors affecting the impact of inservice courses for teachers: Implications for policy

A central component of government strategies for improving the quality of education and the implementation of new programs and policies is often the short inservice course. The context for this particular study was the National Computer Education Program in the State of Victoria, Australia. Week-long courses were provided from 1984 to 1986 for over 2,000 teachers on the applications of microcomputers in schools at a cost of approximately $2m. Policy-makers within the State Program had a second agenda: that course participants would act as “change-agents” when they returned to their schools. Teachers were surveyed up to 2 years after attending the course about the extent to which they had implemented course objectives. What had been done varied greatly from school to school and the factors which mainly accounted for this variation were the levels of administrative support and follow-up assistance teachers received after their course. The study indicates that returns from investments in inservice education by school systems will be limited if the need for such support and assistance is not anticipated; that is, if planning for policy implementation goes no further than the provision of inservice courses alone, without the orchestration of follow-up support, both from within the school and from external sources.     

Researching teachers working with young adolescents: implications for ethnographic research

Several societies throughout the global North and South are now witnessing unprecedented patterns of marginally higher female academic performance and educational attainment. But the processes that have generated such patterns and responses to their development have not been uniform across or within these societies. In multiracial Fiji, statistics reveal higher secondary school enrolment and lower attrition rates for Fijian females compared with Fijian males, and while national examination scores are not aggregated by sex, Fijian girls are widely viewed as relatively ‘higher achievers’. Drawing from participant observation in a working-class, co-educational, predominantly Fijian secondary school and a selective Fijian girls’ secondary school, this article explores how the intersections of social class, culture and sex structure in schools mediate the interpretation of, response to, and assessment of Fijian female academic achievement.     

Fostering metacognitive awareness among teachers: Implications for the Nigerian school system

Abstract

This article focused on the concept of metacognition. Some theoretical models of metacognition were discussed to provide a general framework to understand the relationship between the different aspects or components of this phenomenon. The study also looked at five metacognitive strategies that enhance learning in schools, namely: (1) graphic organizers; (2) metacognitive scaffolding; (3) reciprocal teaching; (4) explicit instruction; and (5) collaborative learning. The work also briefly highlighted the problems of metacognitive strategies used in Nigerian schools. We noted that all learners do not engage spontaneously in metacognitive thinking unless they are explicitly encouraged to do so through carefully designed instructional activities. The study therefore recommended effective practice of scaffolded instruction on metacognitive strategies use in Nigerian schools and other countries in the world.     

Software for young children

Due to the pervasive nature of computers in all areas of our society, it comes as no surprise that they are creeping into the world of preschoolers. The issue is no longer whether or not it is appropriate to use computers with very young children, but rather how they can be used effectively with them.Janet Fowle McLanahan is an Associate Professor and Chair of Early Childhood Education at North Shore Community College in Beverly, MA.     

From conceptions of effective teachers to styles of teaching: Implications for higher education

The present study investigates the predictive power of conceptions of effective teachers for teaching styles. Ninety-three academic staff from two large comprehensive universities in the People's Republic of China responded to The Effective Teacher Inventory [Zhang, L.F. (2003). The effective teacher inventory. Unpublished test, The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong.] and to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Grigorenko, E.L., & Sternberg, R.J. (1993). Thinking styles in teaching inventory. Unpublished test, Yale University.]. Results suggested that teachers who considered being superior in research-related activities as a more important attribute of an effective university teacher reported that they taught more conservatively, whereas teachers who perceived teaching-related activities as being more critical functions of an effective teacher reported that they taught more creatively. Implications of this finding for university teachers and administrators are discussed.     

The prospect of integrating ICT into the education of young children: the views of Greek early childhood teachers

Greece has so far seen the introduction of computers into its schools on only a limited scale. Nevertheless, technological reforms are under way to integrate information and communication technology into education at all levels. This research project has studied the views of early childhood teachers on the prospect of computer use being integrated into education at the kindergarten level. The project employed a questionnaire which was completed by 278 early childhood teachers. They appear to be favourably disposed, to a greater or lesser degree, while some voiced certain reservations. The views of the teachers are shaped by their knowledge and experience of computers and by the in‐service training in computer use which they have received. The results point to in‐service training as a crucial issue and also identify a number of contradictions in the views of the teachers.

L'introduction de l'ordinateur à l'école grecque est limitée. Toutesfois, un changement technologique est en cours ayant comme objectif l'integration de la technologie de l'information et de communication dans tous les niveaux éducatifs. Cette recherche a étudié les points de vue des enseignants de l'école maternelle. On a utilisé un questionnaire qui a été completé par 278 enseignants. Les résultats ont montré que les enseignants sont plus au moins favorables, toutefois, certains enseignants expriment des réserves. Leurs points de vue sont influencés par le savoir, l'experience et leur formation sur l'ordinateur. La formation se relève comme un facteur décisif. A noter, enfin, que le points de vue des enseignants à l'égard de la formation présentent des contradictions.

En Grecia la introducción de los ordenadores en las escuelas es muy limitada. Sin embargo, se encuentra en marcha con el fin de incorporar la Information Computer Technology a todos los niveles de la educatión. Este estudio investigó los puntos de vista los educatores de educatión pre‐escolar en relatión a la perspectiva de incorporatión de los ordenatores en la education pre‐escolar. Se utilizó una encuesta a la cual respodieron 278 maestros de educatión pre‐escolar. Los maestros parecen ser mas o menos favorables, a pesar de todo expresan algunas reservas. El punto de vista de los maestros esta determinado por el conociemento, la experiencia y formatión en los ordenadores. La formation se destaca como un tema crusial mientras que el punto de vista de los maestros presenta limitadas contracciones.

In Griechenland ist die Einführung des PC in den Schulen noch im Anfangsstadium. Trotzdem ist eine technologische Wende abzusehen, welche die Eingliederung der Information Computer Technology zum Ziel hat. Dieses Forschungsprojekt untersuchte die Meinungen des Lehrpersonals in der Vorschulebene bezüglich der Eingliederungsperspektive der PC Technologie in die Vorschulausbildung. Mit dem angewendeten Fragebogen wurden 278 Vorschullehrer befragt. Die Lehrer scheinen dieser Perspektive mehr oder weniger positiv entgegenzusehen, bringen jedoch einige Bedenken zum Ausdruck. Die Lehrermeinungen fallen je nach Wissen, Erfahrung und Ausbildungsniveau mit PC aus. Ihre Weiterbildung scheint ein kritischer Punkt zu sein, da die Stellungnahmen der Lehrer einige gegensätzliche Punkte aufweisen.     

Conceptualisations of multicultural education among teachers: Implications for practice in universities and schools

This study examined teachers' conceptualisations of multicultural education (MCE) within the setting of a laboratory school affiliated with a university campus in south eastern USA. This unique setting provided the researchers with an opportunity to study multiculturalism as a whole-school construct and in terms of how universities teach multicultural education. The analysis of data collected from a school-wide survey and group interviews with teachers revealed a) the importance of how language is used in teachers' conceptualisations of MCE, b) patterns of congruence and divergence in these conceptualisations and c) the implications of these conceptualisations for the teaching of MCE in universities and its implementation as school-wide practice.