Peer Network Overlap in Twin,Sibling, and Friend Dyads

Research suggests that sibling–peer connections are important for understanding adolescent problem behaviors. Using a novel behavioral genetic design, the current study investigated peer network overlap in 300 child–child pairs (aged 7–13 years) in 5 dyad types: monozygotic (MZ), dizygotic twins, full siblings (FSs), friend pairs, and virtual twins (i.e., same‐aged, genetically unrelated siblings). Genetic relatedness, sex composition, and age differences contributed to peer overlap in sibling dyads. MZ twins showed the highest overlap (82%), opposite‐sex FS pairs showed the lowest overlap (27%), and friend pairs (48%) were close to the mean (53%). Social contact variables and self‐reported relationship intimacy predicted additional variance in peer overlap. The roles of genotype–environment correlational and shared environmental processes in the sibling–peer connections are discussed.     

CURRICULUM RESEARCH IN SWEDEN II‐‐MATHEMATICS AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

In Study 1, eight‐ and 11‐year‐old children's participation in playground activities was examined by means of direct observations. At both ages, the two most common categories of behaviour engaged in were sociable activities and rule games. The older children spent significantly more time in rule games and significantly less time alone than the younger children. Girls spent significantly more time in sociable activities and significantly less time alone than boys. The proportion of time spent in these and other categories of behaviour was not found to differ from the beginning to the end of playtime. A more detailed analysis revealed the proportion of time spent in some more specific games and activities, as well as other age and sex differences. Many activities were found to be typically single sex and/or single age affairs, although others were more often played in mixed sex and/or mixed age groups. Some of the reasons for why this was the case were explored in Study 2, along with the children's feelings at being excluded by other groups. It appeared that the older boys were largely responsible for the lack of mixed age and mixed sex play on the playground.     

The educational gurus and teacher education: a review

Abstract

Characteristics which enhance a teacher's popularity with students may or may not be compatible with promotion of his/her classroom effectiveness and/or long‐term influence. Data from a sample of Barbadian adolescents indicated that factors relating to physical attractiveness figured strongly, though in some respects ambiguously, in ratings of teacher popularity. Factors perceived as contributing to unpopularity, on the other hand, seemed most essentially related to lack of teacher respect for students. Nevertheless, the relative prominence of certain ‘popular’ and ‘unpopular’ characteristics were determined to some extent by the variables of teacher sex and student sex and age.     

The impact of a cooperative learning experience on pupils’ popularity,non‐cooperativeness,and interethnic bias in multiethnic elementary schools

In this study we investigated popularity and perceived non‐cooperativeness in multiethnic elementary schools. A sample of 94 pupils aged 10–12 years, from five multiethnic elementary schools, were divided into 26 teams and participated in a structured cooperative learning (SCL) curriculum of 11 lessons. Neither teachers nor pupils had prior SCL experience. The results show that SCL time increased popularity and decreased perceived non‐cooperativeness across ethnic backgrounds. In addition, experience with SCL enhanced the popularity of immigrant pupils and decreased differences in perceived non‐cooperativeness between immigrant and non‐immigrant pupils. Importantly, SCL time only raised popularity and decreased perceived non‐cooperativeness within ethnically heterogeneous teams. This last result extends the notion that enduring interethnic contact is fruitful for interethnic friendships.     

What Happens With Comparison Processes When “the Other” is Very Similar? Academic Self-Concept Formation in Twins

According to the internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model (Marsh, 1986), individuals’ academic self-concept is strongly influenced by comparing their achievement in one domain with their achievement in other domains and with the achievement of others. Research has typically found contrast effects such that high-achieving others have a negative effect on students’ academic self-concept. Yet, what happens if the “other” is somebody very similar to oneself as in the case of monozygotic twins? We postulate and examine the mirror effect, which means that rather than serving as a contrast, the effect of the co-twin’s achievement parallels the effect of a monozygotic twin’s own achievement on academic self-concept. We used data from two school-aged cohorts (11- and 17-year-olds) from a representative sample (N = 4,202) of monozygotic and dizygotic twins in Germany. We regressed twins’ math and German self-concepts on their own and their co-twins’ mathematics and German achievement. Internal and external comparison effects as postulated in the I/E model were replicated for both monozygotic and dizygotic twins across both age groups. In line with our hypothesis, the mirror effect was found in monozygotic twins only: Co-twins’ achievement and twins’ own achievement showed a parallel pattern of positive effects on academic self-concept within each domain and negative effects on academic self-concept between domains, duplicating the I/E pattern. The mirror effect tended to be more pronounced for older monozygotic twins. We argue that the mirror effect is likely caused by high interpersonal similarity and constitutes a rare exception to the broad generalizability of contrast effects as assumed in the I/E model.     

Investigating Preschoolers’ Categorical Thinking About Gender Through Imitation,Attention, and the Use of Self‐Categories

Whereas traditional theories of gender development have focused on individualistic paths, recent analyses have argued for a more social categorical approach to children’s understanding of gender. Using a modeling paradigm based on K. Bussey and A. Bandura (1984) , 3 experiments (N = 62, N = 32, and N = 64) examined preschoolers’ (M age = 52.9 months) imitation of, and memory for, behaviors of same‐sex and opposite‐sex children and adults. In all experiments, children’s imitation of models varied according to the emphasis given to the particular category of models, despite equal attention being paid to both categories. It is suggested that the categorical nature of gender, or age, informs children’s choice of imitative behaviors.     

Childhood peer status as predictor of midadolescence peer situation and social adjustment

This longitudinal study examined the relation between stable sociometric status among same‐gender classmates at age 10–11 and peer situation and social adjustment at age 15. Rejected, popular, and average groups of both genders (N = 90) were selected from a representative school sample. Rejected boys and girls preserved their low position among same‐gender class peers at age 15. They also had low status among cross‐gender class peers. Furthermore, rejected children perceived their peer situation as worse compared to other children. As expected, adolescents had most of their peers in ordinary or conventional peer categories, that is, same‐age peers, class peers, and other school peers. Rejected participants had a smaller number of conventional peers than other children in some categories (same‐age and school peers). There were, however, no peer‐status differences in nonconventional peer categories, like different‐age and antisocial peers; neither were there differences in own antisocial tendencies. Antisocial deviancy seems to be more common among boys and their peers than among girls. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 745–757, 2005.     

Moral Development Among Mildly Mentally Handicapped School Children

Abstract

According to the cognitive‐developmental theory, intellectual development is best understood in terms of age‐related changes. This has been found to be a valid theory in the case of mentally subnormal subjects as well, although their development proceeds at a speed and up to a level different from their normal age‐mates. The same theory has been applied to moral development and describes it, likewise, as a stage‐like progress of moral reasoning with age. The present study tries to answer the following question: Does the moral reasoning of the subjects classified as subnormal change with age so that it can be said to develop? According to the results obtained (dealing with subjects nine‐, 11‐, 13‐, 15‐ and 17‐years‐old), the cognitive‐developmental hypothesis of moral development is only partially confirmed. Namely, there is a development from the less to the more mature forms of moral reasoning, but the course of that development is not entirely such as the theory assumes. Moreover, moral reasoning of the subjects in this study is more advanced than their intelligence level as expressed by the IQ score.     

辅助生殖技术学龄前单双胎子代的认知发展存在差异么?(英文)简

Objective： To explore whether there exist differences in cognitive development between singletons and twins born after in vitro fertilization （IVF） or intracytoplasmic sperm injection （ICSI）. Methods： A total of 566 children were recruited for the study, including 388 children （singletons, n=175; twins, n=213） born after IVF and 178 children （singletons, n=87; twins, n=91 ） born after ICSI. The cognitive development was assessed using the Chinese-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children （C-WISC）. Results： For all pre-term offspring, all the intelligence quotient （IQ） items between singletons and twins showed no significant differences no matter if they were born after IVF or ICSI. There was a significant difference in the cognitive development of IVF-conceived full-term singletons and twins. The twins born after IVF obtained significantly lower scores than the singletons in verbal IQ （containing information, picture ＆ vocabulary, arithmetic, picture completion, comprehension, and language）, performance IQ （containing maze, visual analysis, object assembly, and performance）, and full scale IQ （P〈0.05）. The cognitive development of full-term sin- gletons and twins born after ICSI did not show any significant differences. There was no significant difference between the parents of the singletons and twins in their characteristics where data were collected, including the age of the mothers, the current employment status, the educational backgrounds, and areas of residence. There were also no consistent differences in the duration of pregnancy, sex composition of the children, age, and height between sin- gletons and twins at the time of our study although there existed significant differences between the two groups in the sex composition of the full-term children born after ICSI （P〈0.05）. Conclusions： Compared to the full-term singletons born after IVF, the full-term twins have lower cognitive development. The cognitive development of full-term singletons and twins born after ICSI did not show any significant differences. For all pre-term offspring, singletons and twins born after IVF or ICSI, the results of the cognitive development showed no significant differences.     

Individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning abilities in young twin pairs and their older siblings

We explored the genetic background of individual differences in dynamic measures of verbal learning ability in children, using a Dutch version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). Nine-year-old twin pairs (N = 112 pairs) were recruited from the Netherlands Twin Register. When possible, an older sibling between 10 and 14 years old participated as well (N = 99). To assess verbal learning, non-linear curves were fitted for each child individually. Two parameters were estimated: Learning Speed (LS) and Forgetting Speed (FS). Larger twin correlations in monozygotic (MZ) than in dizygotic (DZ) and sibling pairs for LS and FS indicated the importance of genetic factors in explaining variation in these traits. The heritability estimate (percentage of variance explained by genetic factors) for LS was 43% for both twins and siblings. For FS heritability was estimated at 20% in twins and was slightly higher (30%) in their older siblings.     

Value Changes in Kibbutz Society‐‐educational implications

Abstract

This article reports two studies‐‐a longitudinal investigation of moral judgement and reported moral experience, and an outcome study on the impact of a moral intervention project with adult undergraduate students. In the first study, 29 middle‐class, primarily white, well‐educated adults, ranging in age from 18 to 80 were administered Standard Form Moral Judgment interviews 4 years apart and were asked to describe their own moral events that had occurred. The average moral judgement score on the hypothetical dilemmas was Stage Four. The reasoning in the spontaneously reported moral events was significantly lower, although the two scores were highly correlated. Difference scores between the two were not related to dilemma scores. While there were no significant gender differences in scores on the hypothetical dilemmas, there were in scores on spontaneous‐reported events favouring males. The ethical quality of the reported events could be easily categorised by traditional moral‐philosophic categories. About half the events contained traditional deontic moral content (moral right); the other half contained material defined as the moral good. The context of most events was interpersonal, as opposed to societal. The second study investigated the reported impact on mostly white, middle‐and upper‐class undergraduate students who participated in a mentor programme in an inner‐city high school, a programme designed to impact both moral thinking and moral sentiments (motivation). Thirty‐nine adults, ranging in age from 20 to 57 participated, of which 26 were female and 13 were male. In both short‐ and long‐term follow‐up surveys, most participants reported major changes in their thinking about and motivation to address social justice issues.     

Should computing be taught in single‐sex environments? An analysis of the computing learning environment of upper secondary students

It has been well established in the literature that girls are turning their backs on computing courses at all levels of the education system. One reason given for this is that the computer learning environment is not conducive to girls, and it is often suggested that they would benefit from learning computing in a single‐sex environment. The purpose of this study was to identify whether there were differences in perception between boys and girls and the type of school they attended. The College and university classroom environment inventory (CUCEI) was used as an instrument to measure the computing learning environment of 265 Year 12 and 13 secondary schools students in Wellington, New Zealand. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in perceptions between sex, and between different types of school, and it is suggested that there may be a place for single‐sex computing classrooms in mixed‐sex schools.     

Action cycles: rhythmic actions for engagement with children and young adults with profound mental handicap

ABSTRACT

Rhythmic groups of cyclical movements—action cycles—were identified during interactions between adults and children and young adults with profound mental handicap. The cycles were allocated to five categories according to rate, each action cycle clearly having its own communicative purpose. There was a striking regularity of rate within each performed set of action cycles, this being observed in the people with profound mental handicap as well as the adults, with the regularity more marked in the faster cycles. The people with profound mental handicap performed similar actions for apparently similar reasons at similar rates to their caregivers, giving strong indication of a biologically robust system of basic emotional communication which can quite literally be tapped into by caregivers. Comparisons of video records of interactions between mothers and their non‐handicapped babies (4‐8 weeks old) in Scotland and Nigeria yielding similar action cycles and rates to those seen in the interactions with people with profound mental handicap support this hypothesis.     

Stability and Lability in Science Interest from Middle Schools to the Age of Science Choices (14 + )

Summaries

English

In parts of England and Wales, middle schools have been introduced for pupils of eight to 12 or nine to 13 years of age. From these they enter secondary schools whose general age of entry is 11. It is feared that the teaching of science in middle schools is inadequate and variable. This research has followed the science interests of pupils aged from 12 to 14 and investigated the factors that affect them by means of three questionnaires administered at yearly intervals.

The first questionnaire was administered to almost 600 boys and girls mainly to explore their recollections of the science activities they had experienced or not done in the 52 middle schools from which they came. Their liking for science was also measured and each of the activities done or not done was correlated with it. There were activities which correlated positively and negatively with liking for middle‐school science. There were also sex differences, with boys showing greater interest in ‘physical science’ activities and girls in biological ones. The most remarkable finding was that for girls the higher correlating activities were not merely biological but botanical and they were deterred by some activities with animals.

The second questionnaire after one year in the secondary schools, i.e. at 13 + , monitored the liking for chemistry, physics and biology taken by about 450 pupils. The third questionnaire was given at 14+ when these pupils had chosen to continue or abandon the further study of the three sciences. All the variables from the three questionnaires were then correlated with these science choices. Although the general influence of liking for middle‐school science had by then disappeared, certain specific middle‐school science activities still correlated significantly with science choices. The correlates of chemistry and physics choice were not exclusively physical science but included biological activities in which some measurement was involved, for example plant growth. There were sex differences. Previous activities with animals was detrimental to girls’ biology choices.

A range of other factors had, however, altered pupils’ liking for sciences over the two years in the secondary school: effects of teachers, perceptions of difficulty (especially in the case of girls’ physcial science) and liking for practical work. About a third of the pupils had not made up their minds about what subjects they wanted to study indicating that such an early age of choice is undesirable.     

Understanding students' interactions: why varied social tasks matter

Many social interactions between school‐age children contain both competitive and cooperative elements. In order to gain a better understanding of how students at risk for emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) negotiate social exchanges in cooperative and competitive‐related tasks in comparison with non‐EBD students: (a) prosocial; (b) negative; and (c) conflict behaviours were assessed. Fifty‐seven children at risk for EBD and 57 comparison children participated in three different social tasks with non‐target partners. Both students and teachers completed a standardised behaviour checklist. Social ability and sex differences were considered. Results are discussed from a social‐cognitive framework, and practical implications will be highlighted.     

The social perception of learning disabled and non‐learning disabled children

This study was undertaken to determine if there were differences in the social perception of learning disabled and non‐learning disabled youngsters, whether social perception was related to sex and if interaction by sex and learning disability status was involved. Fifty‐seven elementary school children aged 9 to 11 years were given four measures of social perception. Results showed that learning disabled children differed significantly (p .01) from their non‐learning disabled peers on each of the four measures. Neither sex nor group by sex interaction was significant. Assessment and intervention aimed at improving social perceptual skills should be incorporated into educational programming for those learning disabled children who exhibit deficiencies in this area of functioning.     

Dropouts in Two-Year Colleges: Better Prediction with the Use of Moderator Subgroups

Abstract

Failure to identify and account for the effects of moderator variables, variables that intervene in and affect the relationship between two variables, has been an important reason for the low explanatory power of a large portion of educational research. This study illustrates the use of pre-existing subgroups as moderator variables and the consequent increase in efficiency of the analysis of data.

Data on 32 variables, consisting of measures on personality, family background, attitudes, aspiration, and academic ability, were collected on an entering class of an urban community college. These variables were used as predictors in a regression analysis, and the status of the freshmen at the end of one year as dropouts or persisters was treated as the dependent variable. The categories of sex, ethnicity, and curriculum were tested for their moderating effect, and significant slope differences were found for the categories of all three variables. In view of this, sex and curriculum were used as subgrouping variables, and ethnic categories were used to generate interaction terms. The results showed that the use of moderator variables increased the amount of variance explained by 460%.     

Advancement of Low Achievers within Technology Studies at High School

Abstract

Upper secondary education in Israel is divided into a ‘general track’ and a ‘technological track’. About half the students in the ‘technological track’ sit matriculation examinations. Mechanics studies, at the non‐matriculating level, suffers from a negative image and poor students’ motivation. A 3 year experiment was carried out with the goal of helping low achieving high school students progress to matriculation level. Class activities consisted of: project oriented studies; use of modern computerised machines (i.e. instructional CNC); use of computers for design, drawing and simulation; gradual progress while giving the student continual feedback. The pilot class (tenth grade) contained 13 students. In the second year two further schools joined the programme and in the third year it was expanded to six schools with 86 students, starting in tenth grade and progressing through grades 11 and 12. Data were gathered by interviews and follow‐up on achievements in school and state examinations. The results showed a change in the class atmosphere and students’ self image and motivation improved. In parallel to the growth in the number of students participating in the programme, the number of high achievers in technology studies in mechanics at the same schools rose, and the number of non‐matriculating students decreased. The technology studies united the class as a group and affected their motivation at general studies like Hebrew and English studies     

Knowledge about Puberty and Sexual Development in 11‐16 Year‐olds: implications for health and sex education in schools

Knowledge is an important but largely neglected variable in sex education research. This study aimed to develop a measure to assess young people's knowledge about puberty and sexual development, and to examine knowledge in relation to age, gender and school. The main results of the study were that knowledge increased more between age 11/12 and 13/14 than between 13/14 and 15/16, girls knew more than boys at every age, and there were few differences in knowledge between the four schools involved in the study. The research has a number of implications for sex education in schools. First, it was found that even by age 15‐16 some young people lack information which is essential if they are to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Second, it may be that boys and girls need to be taught separately to enable the different needs of each gender to be addressed. Third, young people know more about some aspects of puberty and sexual development than others, and there are particular times when knowledge develops most rapidly. Giving teachers this information could help them to target areas of particular ignorance. The questionnaire developed to assess knowledge proved to be accurate and reliable, and a measure that is straightforward to score and analyse. As such, it has considerable potential for use in the classroom.     

Characteristics of Moral Problems as Formulated by Gifted Adolescents

Abstract

A study was conducted to examine the nature of moral problems as formulated by gifted adolescents. Subjects from Grades 9‐12 were asked to generate stories involving a moral problem and to provide a solution. As in Kohlberg's moral dilemmas, students depicted a central protagonist as well as a definite subsidiary character. There was a significant relationship between the sex of the student and the sex of the protagonist. The protagonist and subsidiary characters were approximate to the age of the subject. Half (53 per cent) of the moral problems involved friendship or a love relationship between the protagonist and the subsidiary character. Most subjects (92 per cent) were able to give guidelines for a solution to their moral problem. Solutions to moral problems were categorized as indicating primarily either a personal (focus on self) or social (focus on group or society at large) perspective. The majority (55 per cent) of subjects gave solutions based on a social perspective, while 45 per cent offered solutions indicating a personal perspective. Comparisons by sex and grade revealed that older students (Grades 11 and 12) tended to resolve their moral problems from a personal perspective while the younger students (Grades 9 and 10) more often took a social perspective. Comparisons were also made between the stories written by gifted adolescents, the Kohlberg dilemmas, and the moral dilemmas formulated by a general population of adolescents (Yussen, 1977).