Modification of a mother's verbal abuse

In this study an abusive parent was instructed in techniques of behavior modification. It was hypothesized that the parent-child interactions would improve as the mother, Mrs. X, began modifying her daughter Jan's behavior.An A-B - A-B reversal design was implemented. Baseline data was collected to determine the frequency with which Jan interrupted Mrs. X. During the treatment phase, Mrs. X was to ignore Jan's interruptions and positively reinforce Jan when she spoke to Mrs. X without interrupting. However, Mrs. X did not apply the treatment consistently and the frequency of Jan's interruptions did not change significantly. Thus a return to baseline and reimplementation of the treatment was not necessary.In order to ascertain whether the parent-child interactions chanqed, two thirty-minute tapes of the baseline sessions were made and two thirty-minute tapes of the treatment sessions were made. The tapes were transcribed and assessed according to the Kasprin-Burrelli, Egolf, and Shames Parent-Child Interaction Scale (Kasprin-Burrelli, et al., 1972).The quality of the parent-child interactions, as measured by the Kasprin-Burrelli, et al., Parent-Child Interaction Scale, improved throughout the study. Thus, it is impossible to state that the treatment was responsible for the improvement. It is hypothesized that the presence of the examiner resulted in the improvement. Mrs. X is a college-educated woman and appears to need adult stimulation. When Mrs. X's need for adult stimulation was met, then her interactions with Jan improved. Thus, although Mrs. X did not modify Jan's interruption behavior, her interactions with Jan did improve throughout the experiment.     

The Evidence Base for Improving School Outcomes by Addressing the Whole Child and by Addressing Skills and Attitudes, Not Just Content

If we want the best academic outcomes, the most efficient and cost-effective route to achieve that is, counterintuitively, not to narrowly focus on academics, but to also address children's social, emotional, and physical development. Similarly, the best and most efficient route to physical health is through also addressing emotional, social, and cognitive wellness. Emotional wellness, similarly, depends critically on social, cognitive, and physical wellness.     

English language learners and kindergarten entry age: Achievement and social-emotional effects

In evaluating the role of kindergarten entry age, previous researchers have not examined the entry-age effects for English language learners (ELL). Additionally, little work has assessed the role of entry age on both achievement and social-emotional outcomes. This study is the first to do both simultaneously. The authors used data from a longitudinal study that followed a national sample of U.S. students from kindergarten through Grade 5. Relying on variation in children's birth dates and in states' kindergarten entrance age cutoffs, the authors estimated how differences in the age at which children enroll in kindergarten are related to their achievement and social-emotional outcomes. Our results show that enrolling in kindergarten as an older entrant is associated with significantly higher achievement and social-behavioral outcomes during the early elementary school years for ELL students, but that these effects largely disappear by the end of elementary school. Policy implications are addressed.     

Pathways from parental stimulation of children’s curiosity to high school science course accomplishments and science career interest and skill

Curiosity is fundamental to scientific inquiry and pursuance. Parents are important in encouraging children’s involvement in science. This longitudinal study examined pathways from parental stimulation of children’s curiosity per se to their science acquisition (SA). A latent variable of SA was indicated by the inter-related variables of high school science course accomplishments, career interest, and skill. A conceptual model investigated parental stimulation of children’s curiosity as related to SA via science intrinsic motivation and science achievement. The Fullerton Longitudinal Study provided data spanning school entry through high school (N?=?118). Parental stimulation of curiosity at age 8 years comprised exposing children to new experiences, promoting curiosity, encouraging asking questions, and taking children to a museum. Intrinsic motivation was measured at ages 9, 10, and 13 years, and achievement at ages 9, 10, and 11 years. Structural equation modelling was used for analyses. Controlling for socio-economic status, parental stimulation of curiosity bore positive and significant relations to science intrinsic motivation and achievement, which in turn related to SA. Gender neither related to stimulation of curiosity nor contributed to the model. Findings highlight the importance of parental stimulation of children’s curiosity in facilitating trajectories into science, and relevance to science education is discussed.     

Stephen Colbert's Civics Lesson: How Colbert Super PAC Taught Viewers About Campaign Finance

This study tests whether exposure to The Colbert Report influenced knowledge of super PACs and 501(c)(4) groups, and ascertains how having such knowledge influenced viewers' perceptions about the role of money in politics. Our analysis of a national random sample of adults interviewed after the 2012 presidential election found that viewing The Colbert Report both increased peoples' perception of how knowledgeable they were about super PACs and 501(c)(4) groups and increased actual knowledge of campaign finance regulation regarding these independent expenditure groups. Findings suggest that the political satirist was more successful in informing his viewers about super PACs and 501(c)(4) groups than were other types of news media. Viewing The Colbert Report also indirectly influenced how useful his audience perceived money to be in politics.     

Regional knowledge spillovers: Fact or artifact?

The explanation of different levels of innovation and their spatial distribution represents the central focus of the analysis. The empirical literature documents the incidence of spatial autocorrelation in patenting activities and interprets them as evidence for knowledge spillovers. Alternatively, the authors propose the spatial pattern of input variables in innovation processes as driving forces of patenting autocorrelation. They analyze 51 Nuts 1 regions in Europe and find that the high degree of spatial autocorrelation exhibited by patent applications can be explained comprehensively by the spatial location of the input factors in the knowledge production function. These are traditional indicators on R&D investments and human capital from Eurostat and proxy variables on social capital from the European Values Study. This finding has important implications for the scope of an autonomous regional innovation policy.     

Trajectories from academic intrinsic motivation to need for cognition and educational attainment

This long-term longitudinal study addressed the theoretical underpinning of academic intrinsic motivation (AIM) from childhood through adolescence, to need for cognition (NFC) and educational attainment (EA) during adulthood. AIM was measured from 9 to 17 years old, NFC and EA at 29 years old, and IQ at 8 years old. Latent change and growth mixture modeling were utilized. These models complemented each other, revealing that initial motivational status significantly related to both outcomes. Growth mixture modeling elaborated the findings by identifying distinctive subgroups in initial status and developmental change. In contrast to children with initially higher AIM, those starting lower declined resulting in lower NFC and EA. IQ was controlled in these analyses. Findings enhance understanding of trajectories across two decades of development, indicating that students’ early motivation relates to adulthood NFC and EA. Implications for educational practices are discussed.