Do creativity self-beliefs predict literacy achievement and motivation?

Previous work has suggested that creativity self-beliefs show only small relations with academic achievement and may only be related to intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation. We set out to re-examine these relationships accounting for the multifaceted and process embedded nature of creativity self-beliefs and the full domain range of extrinsic motivation. One hundred and twenty-two secondary school pupils completed self-report measures of creativity self-beliefs and motivation and were administered as test of fluid intelligence. Creativity self-beliefs were positively related to teacher assessed literacy attainment, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and also inversely related to amotivation. Creativity self-beliefs accounted for a significant additional proportion of variance in both literacy achievement and in motivational measures, beyond that already accounted for by fluid intelligence. These findings suggest that it is important to attend to the multifaceted nature of creative self-beliefs and the full domain range of extrinsic motivation.     

PARENTING PROGRAMMES: Do generalist parenting programmes improve children's behaviour and attendance at school? The parents’ perspective

Previous research has demonstrated that parenting programmes can be an effective intervention in changing behaviour and parent/child interactions. However, less attention has been given to the impact of these programmes in relation to improving attendance and behaviour at school. Lynne Rogers, lecturer in teacher education specialising in the post-14 sector, Susan Hallam, Professor of Education and Dean of the Faculty of Policy and Society, and Jacquelene Shaw, educational psychologist, all working in the University of London, set their debate in this article in the context of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the Respect Action Plan 2006. These authors use their article in order to describe parents' perceptions of the impact of parenting programmes on their own and their children's behaviour, with particular reference to behaviour at home and at school. The perceptions reported here, and enlivened with direct quotes from parents, are based on questionnaire data from 142 parents and interviews with a sample of parents and teachers. Parents were broadly positive about the benefits of parenting programmes. However, where the child's problem was rooted in school-related issues, some concerns about behaviour and attendance remained. Lynne Rogers, Susan Hallam and Jacquelene Shaw close their article with a call for parenting programmes to be more closely aligned with activities in school and with educational processes.     

Do You Know Who Will Win at Last?

InMay1997,acomputerbeattheworldfamouschessplayerforthefirsttime.IBMssupercomputercalledDeepBluebeatGaryKasparov,thegreatchessplayerfromRussia,inNewYork.Thiswasthefirsttimeasupercomputerhadeverbeatenamanintraditionalchess,al-thoughmenoftenhadbeenbeatenbycomputerswhenplayingspeedchess.Intraditionalchess,playershaveasmuchtimeastheywanttomaketheirmoves,butinspeedchesstheirtimeislimited(有限的).TheIBMcomputerisabletoknowbetweentwoandthreemillionchesspositions(位置)everysecond.Itcanmake100bill…     

Psychological and physical intimate partner violence and young children’s mental health: The role of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms and parenting behaviors

Young children are at significant risk of exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV), and vulnerable to exposure-related psychopathology, yet few studies investigate the effects of exposure to IPV on children under the age of 5 years. The current study investigated the role of maternal PTSD symptoms and parenting strategies in the relationship between mothers’ IPV experiences and psychopathology in their young children, ages 3–6 years in a community-based cohort of 308 mother-child dyads at high risk for family violence. Data were collected from 2011 to 2014. IPV history and maternal PTSD symptoms were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Children’s symptoms were assessed with a developmentally-sensitive psychiatric interview administered to mothers. Punitive/restrictive parenting was independently-coded from in-depth interviews with mothers about their disciplinary practices. Hypothesized direct and indirect pathways between physical and psychological IPV, maternal PTSD, maternal parenting style, and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined with mediation models. Results indicated that neither physical nor psychological IPV experienced by mothers was directly associated with children’s symptoms. However, both types of victimization were associated with maternal PTSD symptoms. Examination of indirect pathways suggested that maternal PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship between mothers’ psychological and physical IPV experiences and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mothers’ restrictive/punitive parenting mediated the relationship between mothers’ psychological IPV and children’s externalizing symptoms. In addition, there was a path from maternal physical IPV to child externalizing symptoms through both maternal PTSD symptoms and restrictive/punitive parenting. Findings highlight the importance of supporting parents in recovering from the sequelae of their own traumatic experiences, as their ensuing mental health symptoms and parenting behaviors may have a significant impact on their children’s emotional health.     

Do hostile attributions and negative affect explain the association between authoritarian beliefs and harsh parenting?

The present study examined the associations between authoritarian parenting beliefs, attributions of hostile intent, negative affect, and harsh parenting practices. General population parents (N = 183; 31.1% fathers) completed self-report measures of authoritarian parenting beliefs and read vignettes describing children engaging in transgressions. Following each vignette, parents indicated the extent to which they would attribute hostile intent to the child, feel negative affect, and respond with harsh parenting practices (e.g., yelling, hitting). As hypothesized, parents who subscribed to higher levels of authoritarian beliefs attributed more hostile intent to the child and expected to feel more negative affect in response to the transgressions. In turn, higher levels of hostile attributions and negative affect were associated with increased likelihood of harsh parenting practices. Results from a path analysis revealed that the association between authoritarian parenting beliefs and harsh parenting practices was fully explained by attributions of hostile intent and negative affect.     

Do emotional and behavioural difficulties in primary school predict adolescent victimisation trajectories?

Chronic victimisation in adolescence is a traumatic experience with potential negative long-term health consequences. Given that victimisation has been shown to increase over the transition from primary to secondary school, longitudinal data from 1810 students transitioning from primary to secondary school were used to identify victimisation trajectory groups; classified as low-increasing, low-stable, medium-stable and not-bullied. Males with emotional and behavioural difficulties (both internalising and externalising behaviours) and females with externalising behaviours were more likely to be in the increasing and stable victimised groups than the not-bullied group. The results of this study suggest whole-school bullying intervention programmes need to occur before students reach secondary school, and that transition programmes need to emphasise and support social interaction between peers to reduce victimisation and the harms caused by long-term exposure to bullying.     

Looking without listening: is audition a prerequisite for normal development of visual attention during infancy?

Potential effects of auditory and other communicative experience on development of visual attention were investigated for four groups of infants at 9, 12, and 18 months of age. Participants included 20 deaf infants with deaf mothers, 19 deaf infants with hearing mothers, 21 hearing infants with hearing mothers, and 20 hearing infants with deaf mothers. Infants' hearing status alone did not associate with patterns of visual attention. Deaf infants with deaf mothers showed significantly longer times in the most advanced attention state (coordinated joint) than did deaf infants with hearing mothers. However, other aspects of experience were associated with group differences. Both deaf and hearing children with deaf mothers who signed spent more time onlooking (or watching) their mothers than did children (deaf or hearing) with hearing mothers. Hearing children with hearing mothers spent more time looking at objects than did children with deaf mothers. Despite these differences in time in various attention states, the general trajectory of development of each of the attention states was similar across groups. Results indicate that early visual attention is associated with and potentially influenced by a complex interaction of maturation, communicative experiences, and other developing skills.     

Do drawing tasks improve monitoring and control during learning from text?

In two experiments it was investigated how drawing as a monitoring task affects self-regulated learning and cognitive load. To this end, participants (Exp. 1: N = 73, Exp. 2: N = 69) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the experimental condition, students were asked to read an expository text on the formation of polar lights consisting of five paragraphs, whereby, after each paragraph, they had to create a drawing of the text's content. In the control condition, students read the same text, but performed no drawing task. In both conditions, students had to give judgments of learning (JoLs) after each paragraph and after reading the whole text as well as rate their cognitive load. Then, they were asked to select paragraphs for restudy. In Experiment 1, participants continued with an assessment of their learning outcomes immediately after their restudy selection, whereas in Experiment 2 they were first given the opportunity to actually restudy the selected paragraphs before working on the posttest. Results of both experiments indicate that JoLs rather than cognitive load predicted posttest performance. Moreover, students in the drawing condition compared with the control condition exhibited more accurate (relative) monitoring in Experiment 1 in that their JoLs were more strongly related to performance. Moreover, JoLs predicted students' restudy decisions in both experiments; however, this effect was by-and-large independent of whether they had to draw. Overall, results hint towards the potential of drawing to support metacognitive monitoring.     

Do parenting advice books help or harm? Critiquing ‘common-sense’ advice for mothers raising boys

Educationalists lament the resilience of the so-called ‘boy crisis’, despite research that demonstrates only some boys are in crisis, as well as some girls. The boy crisis in New Zealand shows no sign of abating, partly due to popular rhetorical literature in the form of parenting advice books. In particular, authors Celia Lashlie and Nigel Latta have garnered a strong following among parents and educators. In this article we argue their texts not only continue to inflame the boy crisis, they are harmful in the ways they inform narrow ‘de facto’ education policies and practices focused on boys. Our analysis of He’ll be ok and Mothers raising sons found each author privileged particular combinations of classic rhetorical strategies with discourses of essentialist masculinity and mother blame to position their parenting advice as common sense. Our critique highlights the vital importance of examining intersections between parenting advice books and education.     

Parent socialization and anti-racist ideology development in White youth: Do peer and parenting contexts matter?

The development of anti-racist ideology in adolescence and emerging adulthood is informed by parent socialization, parenting style, and cross-race friendships. This study used longitudinal, multi-reporter survey data from White youth and their parents in Maryland to examine links between parents' racial attitudes when youth were in eleventh grade in 1996 (N = 453; 52% female; M_age = 17.12) and the youths' anti-racist ideology (acknowledgment of anti-Black discrimination and support for affirmative action) 1 year after high school in 1998. This study also examined whether these associations varied based on authoritative parenting and the number of cross-race friendships. Positive parent racial attitudes toward racially and ethnically minoritized populations predicted higher anti-racist ideology in the independent contexts of more cross-race friendships and low authoritative parenting.     

Do adverse childhood experiences predict adult interpersonal difficulties? The role of emotion dysregulation

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are risk factors for interpersonal difficulties in adulthood, however the mechanism that underlies this association is unknown. The current study investigated the association of a wide range of ACEs with interpersonal difficulties in adulthood, and tested whether emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between ACEs and interpersonal difficulties. Patients over the age of 18 were recruited from primary care clinics (N = 4006). Participants completed self-report questionnaires that assessed ACEs, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal difficulties. Results indicated that, after controlling for a range of demographic variables, each type of ACE significantly predicted increased interpersonal difficulties and that cumulative ACEs predicted increased interpersonal difficulties, F(8, 3137) = 39.68, p < .001, R² = 0.09. Further, emotion dysregulation mediated the association between ACEs and interpersonal difficulties, B = 0.79, SE = 0.09, 95% CI [0.64, 0.97]. These findings emphasize the role of childhood adversity on interpersonal functioning in adulthood, and highlight emotion dysregulation as a mechanism by which this association occurs. Results have the potential to inform preventative and treatment efforts to improve adaptive outcomes among individuals with a history of childhood adversity.     

How Do Parents Support Preschoolers’ Numeracy Learning Experiences at Home?

This study described the kinds of early numeracy experiences that parents provide for their preschoolers, and determined the extent to which parental experiences and involvement in home activities enhanced preschoolers’ numeracy knowledge. Twenty-five parents completed a home activity questionnaire, a 2-week diary study, and a videotaped play session where they were asked to draw out numerical content. Preschoolers’ numeracy scores were predicted by: (1) parental reports of positive personal experiences with mathematics and (2) involvement in activities with complex (versus basic) numeracy goals. Parents felt that most activities had important or essential mathematical value, but focused on number sense goals. Finally, parents who reportedly spent more time on numeracy tasks received high quality interaction ratings in the videotaped sessions; but these variables did not predict numeracy scores. The findings are discussed in terms of educating parents about incorporating numeracy concepts.     

Do siblings influence one another? Unpacking processes that occur during sibling conflict

This study examined the extent to which 205 sibling dyads influenced each other during conflict. Data were collected between 2013 to 2015. The sample included 5.9% Black, 15.1% South Asian, 15.1% East Asian, and 63.8% White children. Older siblings were between 7–13 years old (Female = 109) and younger siblings were 5–9 years old (Female = 99). Siblings' conflict resolution was analyzed using dynamic structural equation modeling. Modeling fluctuations in moment-to-moment data (20-s intervals) allowed for a close approximation of causal influence. Older and younger siblings were found to influence one another. Younger sisters were more constructive than younger brothers, especially in sister–sister dyads. Sibling age gap predicted inertia in older siblings. Socialization processes within sibling relationships are discussed.     

Do socio-motivational relationships predict achievement motivation in adolescents with high and low school self-concepts?

Considering the essential role that socio-motivational relationships at school play with respect to achievement motivation, this study examined the differences between students with a low school self-concept and students with a high school self-concept in a large sample of 7th and 8th grade students (N= 1088; MAge= 13.7) in secondary schools in Brandenburg, Germany. Multi-group structural equation modelling was used to estimate the associations between the variables of socio-motivational support and achievement motivation. The results showed that students with a high school self-concept report higher levels of socio-motivational support than students with a low school self-concept, whereas a teacher plays a more important role in motivating low self-concept students. Furthermore, the results underline the importance of adjusting the teacher's support to the level of the student's school self-concept as one of the possible prevention and intervention strategies aimed at boosting adolescents' achievement motivation after the transition to secondary school.     

Do student perceptions of teaching predict the development of representational competence and biological knowledge?

Dealing with representations is a crucial skill for students and such representational competence is essential for learning science. This study analysed the relationship between representational competence and content knowledge, student perceptions of teaching practices concerning the use of different representations, and their impact on students' outcome over a teaching unit. Participants were 931 students in 51 secondary school classes. Representational competence and content knowledge were interactively related. Representational aspects were only moderately included in teaching and students did not develop rich representational competence although content knowledge increased significantly. Multilevel regression showed that student perceptions of interpreting and constructing visual-graphical representations and active social construction of knowledge predicted students' outcome at class level, whereas the individually perceived amount of terms and use of symbolic representations influenced the students' achievement at individual level. Methodological and practical implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the development of representational competence in classrooms.     

Do students’ beliefs about knowledge and knowing predict their judgement of texts’ trustworthiness?

We examined whether epistemic beliefs predict students’ evaluation of documents. Undergraduates read two texts on climate change. Participants judged the trustworthiness of each text and then indicated the criteria for their rating. We found that readers who believe strongly in relying on personal interpretations rather than on authorities trusted both documents less and used the document’s content or their own opinion as criteria for judging trustworthiness. We also found that readers who believe that knowledge claims should be critically evaluated through logic and rules rated the science text as more trustworthy and used the criteria of their own opinion, author and content more than readers who believe in relying on their own experiences. These effects hold true while controlling for readers’ prior knowledge and text comprehensibility.     

Do allegations of emotional maltreatment predict developmental outcomes beyond that of other forms of maltreatment?

OBJECTIVES: To understand the features of child abuse/neglect (CA/N) allegations in cases with emotional maltreatment (EMT) allegations, as well as the features of the EMT allegations themselves, and to describe any associations of EMT with distinct impairments of children's behavior, emotion and functioning. METHOD: The sample consisted of 806 high-risk children, 545 with one or more maltreatment reports to CPS. The Maltreatment Classification System was used to record the number and severity levels of maltreatment allegations, which compared cases with and without EMT. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using 10 outcome scales from the Child Behavior Checklist, Vineland Screener, and Trauma Symptom Checklist. Successive blocks of predictor variables included demographics, maltreatment classification variables, maternal and family characteristics, and study site. RESULTS: When there were allegations of EMT as well as CA/N in a CPS case-record (by age 8), the CA/N allegations tended to be either more frequent or less severe than those kinds of allegations in cases without EMT. When neglect was alleged to occur with EMT, neglect allegations outnumbered allegations of EMT. However, when sexual abuse allegations were accompanied by EMT allegations, there were more EMT allegations than sexual abuse allegations in the cases. Higher severity ratings for EMT allegations than for physical abuse occurred when cases included any abuse. Distinctive effects of EMT subtypes were found between problems of safety/restriction and self-reported anger symptoms, and between problems of self-esteem/autonomy and posttraumatic stress. CONCLUSION: Differences exist between the CA/N allegations in cases with and without EMT. Having few cases containing only EMT allegations made it difficult to assess distinctive harm associated with EMT. Certain types of EMT allegations were associated with increases in children's anger and posttraumatic stress.     

Will the ‘good’ [working] mother please stand up? Professional and maternal concerns about education,care and love

The purposes of this article are to understand the factors that women are likely to take into consideration when making employment decisions and childcare choices while their babies are young, and to identify their choices, beliefs and dilemmas: the focus is on the experiences of working mothers in England. These choices are problematised in the context of mothers placing their babies with carers in day care settings who ‘love’ their children. Drawing from a larger study, the focus is on the narrative and experience of Ayesha in order to illuminate the tensions of being a mother responsible for, and making decisions about her child's care and education, coupled with her working role as an early years education advisor. Issues about gender and education are enmeshed in Ayesha's narrative through these two roles and the subject positions which they created. Ayesha's narrative illustrates the ways in which such decisions can be fuelled by contradictory political messages which are sensationalised by the media in relation to the role of a ‘good’ mother. The findings suggest there is a need to discuss the impact of media sensualisation on mothers' decision-making and to highlight the importance mothers place on close, loving relationships between the carer and the baby.     

Do dialectical self-beliefs moderate the indirect effect of betrayal traumas on posttraumatic stress through self-compassion?

BackgroundTraumatic events experienced in childhood, particularly those that are perpetrated by someone whom the child trusts or depends upon (i.e., high betrayal traumas [HBTs], such as abuse by a parent) can lead to long-term negative consequences, including a tendency to see oneself in a negative light, low self-compassion, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Although negative psychological consequences of HBTs are well-documented in the literature, little is known surrounding the protective factors that may reduce the effects of HBTs on individuals’ functioning. The present study focused on one potential protective factor, dialectical self-beliefs, that may moderate the negative effects of HBTs experienced in childhood on self-compassion, and hence reduce posttraumatic stress (PTS).ObjectiveThe present study is aimed at determining whether dialectical self-beliefs moderate the indirect effect of HBTs on PTS via self-compassion.Participants and settingData of the present study were collected from 747 college students attending a university in the Northeast region of the United States.MethodUsing a correlational study design, the data of this study were collected from college students through an online survey.ResultsThe results of a moderated mediation analysis indicated that the hypothesized model explained 25% of the variance in PTS. After controlling for low betrayal traumas, the indirect effect of HBTs on PTS through self-compassion was moderated by dialectical self-beliefs. These findings provide support for our hypotheses and suggest that having a dialectical self-view may enhance the adjustment of individuals with a history of HBTs by reducing the negative effect of HBTs on self-compassion.     

Do Belonging and Social Exclusion at School Affect Structural Brain Development During Adolescence?

Students’ sense of belonging presents an essential resource for academic and health outcomes, whereas social exclusion at school negatively impacts students’ well-being and academic performance. Aiming to understand how feelings of school-related belonging and exclusion shape the structural brain development, this study applied longitudinal questionnaire-based data and MRI data from 71 adolescent students (37 females, M_age at t1 = 15.0; t2 = 16.1 years). All were white participants from Germany. Voxel-based morphometry revealed only an association of social exclusion (and not of belonging) and gray matter volume in the left anterior insula: From t1 to t2, there was less gray matter decrease, the more social exclusion students perceived. School-related social exclusion and disturbed neurodevelopment are thus significantly associated.