Raven's test performance of sub-Saharan Africans: Average performance,psychometric properties,and the Flynn Effect

This paper presents a systematic review of published data on the performance of sub-Saharan Africans on Raven's Progressive Matrices. The specific goals were to estimate the average level of performance, to study the Flynn Effect in African samples, and to examine the psychometric meaning of Raven's test scores as measures of general intelligence. Convergent validity of the Raven's tests is found to be relatively poor, although reliability and predictive validity are comparable to western samples. Factor analyses indicate that the Raven's tests are relatively weak indicators of general intelligence among Africans, and often measure additional factors, besides general intelligence. The degree to which Raven's scores of Africans reflect levels of general intelligence is unknown. Average IQ of Africans is approximately 80 when compared to US norms. Raven's scores among African adults have shown secular increases over the years. It is concluded that the Flynn Effect has yet to take hold in sub-Saharan Africa.     

The average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans assessed by the Progressive Matrices: A reply to Wicherts,Dolan, Carlson & van der Maas

Wicherts, Dolan, Carlson & van der Maas (WDCM) (2010) contend that the average IQ in sub-Saharan Africa is about 76 in relation to a British mean of 100 and sd of 15. This result is achieved by including many studies of unrepresentative elite samples. Studies of acceptably representative samples indicate a sub-Saharan Africa IQ of approximately 66.     

Differences in achievement not in intelligence in the north and south of Italy: Comments on ,

Lynn (2010a, 2010b) argued that individuals from south Italy have a lower IQ than individuals from north Italy, and that these differences in IQ are at the basis of north–south gap in income, education, infant mortality, stature, and literacy. In the present paper, we discuss several theoretical and methodological aspects which we regard as flaws of Lynn's studies. Moreover, we report scores of southern Italian children on Raven's Progressive Matrices and a north–south comparison for the PASS theory of intelligence as measured by the Cognitive Assessment System (Taddei & Naglieri, 2006). Both results reveal similar levels of performance of northern and southern Italian children in fluid intelligence and PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) cognitive abilities.     

The Influence of Ernst Mach in the Teaching of Mechanics

We present Newton's main ideas for the formulation of classical mechanics as given in the Principia. Then we discuss Ernst Mach's criticisms of Newtonian mechanics as contained in his book The Science of Mechanics. We analyze the influence of Mach's ideas in the teaching of classical mechanics considering five representative textbooks: those of Kittel, Knight and Ruderman; Marion and Thornton; Symon; Feynman, Leighton and Sands; and Goldstein. We conclude that the influence of Mach's ideas has been very great, being incorporated in the textbooks, although not always with the deserved acknowledgment.     

生态危机、人类中心主义和人的天性

L·怀特在他的著名论文《我们的生态危机的历史根源》中,断言我们当代社会的生态危机根源于世界上已知的最为人类中心主义的基督教,因为基督教在人与自然的关系上强调:自然除了服务于人之外便没有任何存在的理由。怀特认为解决生态危机的唯一出路,就是采取一种谦逊的、而非异端的人与自然友好的宗教观,以取代那种人类中心主义的基督教信仰。然而,包括基督教在内的所有宗教,它们对自然环境的影响仅仅是表面意义的,因为,我们在自然以及与它的关系上所形成的态度,本质上是与我们的天性深刻地联系在一起的。这就是说,生态危机包括人类中心主义的基督教教义有一个共同的生物学上的根源,即人类天生渴望占有他们想要占有的一切东西,而基督教的教义和人类中心主义不过是对人的这种不愿受到任何限制的天性的一种强烈的自我意识和观念化。     

The Relationship Between IQ,Homework, Aspirations and Academic Achievement for Chinese,Vietnamese and Anglo-Celtic Australian School Children

Flynn (1991) proposed that students from Asian cultural backgrounds typically achieve at higher levels than non-Asian students with the same IQs. This study investigated relationships between IQ, study time, educational and occupational aspirations, and academic achievement among Australian school children ( n = 160) from Chinese, Vietnamese and Anglo-Celtic backgrounds. Mathematics grades for Chinese and Vietnamese Australian children were higher. They spent more time studying and were more likely to desire an occupation requiring tertiary qualifications than Anglo-Celtic Australian peers. Consistent with Flynn's hypothesis, students from Asian backgrounds obtained higher mathematics grades than their Anglo-Celtic Australian peers with the same IQ. However, study and occupational aspirations formed only part of a more complex socio-cultural package that contributed to group achievement differences. Parents' support for studying and aspirations may interact with these factors to produce high achievement.     

The impact of the Flynn effect on LD diagnoses in special education

Because of the Flynn effect, IQ scores rise as a test norm ages but drop on the introduction of a newly revised test norm. The purpose of the current study was to determine the impact of the Flynn effect on learning disability (LD) diagnoses, the most prevalent special education diagnosis in the United States. Using a longitudinal sample of 875 school children who were initially diagnosed with LD on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), children experienced a significant decline in IQ when retested on the third edition of the WISC (WISC-III) compared to peers who were tested on the WISC-R twice. Furthermore, results from logistic regression analyses revealed that the probability of a rediagnosis of LD on reevaluation significantly decreased, in part, because of this decline on the WISC-III. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for both basic research and educational policy.     

Measuring stability and change in WISC-R IQS

Webster (1988) assessed WISC-R IQ stability in samples of adolescents identified as EMR and LD. It is argued here that Webster used an inappropriate standard error of measurement in his study. This resulted in magnified estimates of the number of individuals who obtained significantly discrepant IQs from one test admnistration to the next. Webster's analyses therefore exaggerated the degree of test-retest instability inherent in WISC-R IQs.     

Spelling errors and reading fluency in compensated adult dyslexics

Generally, a person who is diagnosed as dyslexic remains diagnosably dyslexic all his/her life. However, occasionally, an individual compensates for his/her difficulties in some way, and by adulthood is no longer diagnosably dyslexic. In what ways are these compensated dyslexics different from both dyslexics and nondyslexics? We compared IQ, achievement test, and spelling error scores in adult dyslexics, adult nondyslexics, and adult compensated dyslexics (N=25) in the two studies reported here. The second study differed from the first in that the subjects were matched for age, education, IQ, and SES. In both studies, compensateds were significantly different from nondyslexics on the WRAT Spelling subtest and Reading Quotient scores. In the second study the compensateds differed from the nondyslexics in total raw score and average reading speed on Gray Oral Reading Test. On the other hand, they were different from dyslexics on all reading and spelling variables in both studies, except for PIAT Reading Comprehension in Study 2. Finally, in Study 2, the compensateds were different from both dyslexics and nondyslexics in average reading speed. In conclusion, it appears that compensation does not result from differences in IQ, education, or SES, though it may be influenced to some extent by sex. Compensateds appear very similar to nondyslexics in their reading and spelling skills; however, there appears to be a difference in the automaticity with which they apply these skills.     

Young children's explorations of average through informal inferential reasoning

This study situates children's early notions of average within an inquiry classroom to investigate the rich inferential reasoning that young children drew on to make sense of the questions: Is there a typical height for a student in year 3? If so, what is it? Based on their deliberations over several lessons, students' ideas about average and typicality evolved as meaning reasonable, contrary to atypical, most common (value or interval), middle, normative, and representative of the population. The case study reported here documents a new direction for the development of children's conceptions of average in a classroom designed to elicit their informal inferential reasoning about data.     

Does IQ matter in adolescents' reading disability?

We studied the connection of IQ, reading disability (RD) and their interaction with reading, spelling and other cognitive skills in adolescents with average IQ and RD (n = 22), average IQ, non-RD (n = 71), below average IQ and RD (n = 29), and below average IQ non-RD (n = 33). IQ was not connected to reading and spelling in subjects without RD, but a connection to non-word spelling in subjects with RD existed. IQ and RD showed a connection to other cognitive skills (IQ to working memory, verbal memory and syntactic skills, RD to poor performance in text reading and rapid naming and both of them to reading comprehension, phonological and arithmetic skills), but no interaction existed. Our results are consistent with those of earlier studies showing that IQ does not play a significant role in the presentation of RD. However, adolescents with below average IQ and RD seemed to have much broader deficits in academically important skills such as arithmetic and reading comprehension than the other groups.     

How Should Reading Disabilities Be Operationalized? A Survey of Practicing School Psychologists

School psychologists' perceptions of how reading disabilities (RD) should be operationalized were examined and compared to those of journal editorial board members in the learning disabilities field ( Speece & Shekitka, 2002 ). Participants were practicing school psychologists drawn from the membership directory of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). The sample consisted of 549 participants and was generally representative of the demographic characteristics of NASP membership at large. Results indicated that over 75% of participants endorsed using treatment validity/response to intervention (RTI), cognitive processing, and phonemic awareness as components of RD operationalization. A large percentage (61.9%) also endorsed use of an IQ‐achievement discrepancy criterion. Statistically significant differences were found between the endorsements of this study's participants and those in the Speece and Shekitka (2002) study, with our participants reporting higher endorsement of RTI, cognitive processing, and IQ‐achievement discrepancy criteria.     

Surveillance of school violence,injury, and disciplinary actions

The safety of America's schools is a major issue. Yet, the magnitude of the problem cannot be accurately assessed because some of the data concerning incidents and disciplinary actions come from reporting systems that are seriously flawed. In this article we examine how data from student self‐report surveys and other sources can be used to assess the weaknesses in current school incident‐reporting systems and improve the validity of surveillance data on school violence. Particular attention is paid to assessing the validity of data from Gun‐Free Schools Act (GFSA) reports on the number of guns in schools in light of nationally representative student survey data. We also discuss the difficulties of obtaining accurate surveillance data and suggest changes in surveillance systems that could produce more valid estimates of violence and injury in our nation's schools. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The role of IQ in the use of cognitive strategies to learn information from a map

The role of IQ in individual differences in real-life problem solving and strategies use was explored. Repeated trials of learning and recall of information from a map were analyzed with high IQ and average IQ Korean students. IQ correlated with the selection and use of strategies in recall. However, the performance and strategic behaviors of low-recall high IQ students and high-recall average IQ students cautions the overgeneralization of the advantage of high IQ in the selection and use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The individual's mind set about learning and domain-specific ability needs to be considered as compensatory mechanisms to explain the relationship between IQ and strategies use.     

Sociology and Music Education: a response to Swanwick

This paper is a response to Professor Swanwick's critique of our sociological perspective on music education. A detailed presentation of the sociology of music thesis demonstrates that accusations of ‘social determinism’ and ‘referentialism’ are both misconceived. Moreover, Swanwick's position leads to difficulties in his approach to music aesthetics, where at times he makes assumptions concerning the work of theorists such as Meyer and Keil which these authors have themselves explicitly repudiated. We then relate certain observations which Swanwick makes concerning the processes of schooling to wider sociological theories of schooling that help make sense of the kinds of constraints Swanwick correctly identifies. Finally, we accept Swanwick's challenge to be more explicit concerning both our response to his charge of relativism and our practical recommendations for the reform of music teaching.     

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? JEAN‐JACQUES ROUSSEAU ON LISTENING EDUCATION

In this essay Megan J. Laverty argues that Jean‐Jacques Rousseau's conception of humane communication and his proposal for teaching it have implications for our understanding of the role of listening in education. She develops this argument through a close reading of Rousseau's most substantial work on education, Emile: Or, On Education. Laverty elucidates Rousseau's philosophy of communication, beginning with his taxonomy of the three voices—articulate, melodic, and accentuated—illustrating the ways in which they both enhance and obfuscate understanding. Next, Laverty provides an account of Rousseau's philosophical psychology, with specific reference to amour‐propre and amour de soi. Listening plays a central role in Rousseau's philosophy of communication, Laverty maintains, because it is in the act of listening that humans fulfill, or fail to fulfill, the imperative that we seek to understand others.     

Sonya Hartnett's Thursday's Child: Readings

Sonya Hartnett's Thursday's Child was published in Australia by Penguin Books in 2000. Editions are available in the UK (Walker Books, 2002), the USA (Candlewick, 2002), as well as in Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Denmark. In 2002, the book was awarded the Guardian's Children's Fiction Prize in the UK. Like Harper, the narrator of the novel, Sonya Hartnett began to write early—her first book, Trouble All the Way, was written when she was 13 and published 2 years later. It seems that adults read Thursday's Child and talk about it without any reference to young readers; we see it as one of those books you read and immediately look for someone to discuss it with. And then go back to the book to reread. It's one of those novels that, like many poems, offers multiple readings and the reader may be content to accept several of them. The UK editors of this journal wanted to bring this intriguing novel to the notice of readers who may not yet have discovered it, and, we felt sure, those who already knew the book would welcome two close readings to set alongside their own. We invited Judith Armstrong to begin the discussion. Then David Rudd, with the benefit of Judith's insights, adds his exploration of the novel. Between the two essays, we have included some comments, extracted from a taped conversation, of two 14-year-old readers. This article comprises two sustained responses to Sonya Hartnett's award-winning novel, Thursday's Child. Both essays explore multiple readings of a complex and intriguing text. Set in the Great Depression in Australia, the novel is seen as at once realistic, mythic, and even fantastic. Judith Armstrong considers Tin, the subject of the title, as a feral child and examines his influence on the other members of his family. As he tunnels through the earth, so does the narrator Harper (Tin's older sister) “dig” with her pen. Their excavations leave both children forever marked by the bleak and sometimes violent events recorded in the book. David Rudd continues the discussion, finding Freud's exploration of “the uncanny” and J. M. Barrie's character, Peter Pan, illuminating in his reading of the novel. He also asks how far Harper can be trusted as narrator: can we even be certain that her brother survived a mudslide that occurred early in the story?     

Educational implications following idiopathic encephalopathy and prolonged coma: a longitudinal case study

This paper explores standard considerations of accommodations for paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) survivors as illustrated through an intensive case study. Specifically, we explore methods by which school systems can enhance a middle school student's learning environment after losing 30 points in his intellectual functioning (IQ) following a rare coma recovery. For the purpose of this paper, coma is defined as a period following neurological injury or illness during which an individual does not open his/her eyes and does not have sleep–wake cycles. This case emphasises the use of current behavioural evidence‐based treatments in young ABI patients. Multiple comparisons are especially beneficial in delineating the strength of intervention modalities and specific challenges unique to this population. Current data are of particular interest because measures of both pre‐ and post‐morbid functioning are available, because of earlier school testing for a pre‐existing learning disability. Finally, implications for prognosis and treatment of young ABI patients are discussed.     

Dichotomy in thinking,dilemma in actions: Researcher and teacher perspectives on a chemistry teaching practice

This article is a case study of the thinking and actions of Mr. Corrigan, an experienced high school chemistry teacher. We explored Corrigan's ideas on teaching science by conducting two types of interviews, and wrote a case summary for Corrigan to read that compared his ideas with our classroom observations. We described his practice as centering on structured classroom and laboratory time, and contrasted it with his emphasis on students' exploratory thinking in the interviews. Corrigan's reflections on the case summary revealed a set of tacit conceptions of teaching science centered on the necessity of having a highly organized classroom and laboratory to ensure students' content understanding and success on tests and in college. We felt Corrigan faced a dilemma in that he values both his control of learning activities and the students' learning through exploration. Corrigan was confident in his practice and did not see much of a dilemma, and felt he was attending to both aspects of his thinking in an adequate fashion. Corrigan's reflections on the case summary are presented as a commentary on our perspective of the relationship between his thinking and actions. Working with Corrigan revealed to us the complexity of characterizing a teacher's thinking and its relationship to actions, and the value of the insight researchers gain from discussing their conclusions with the teacher. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 239–254, 1997.