US principals’ attitudes about and experiences with single-sex schooling

Despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting the use of single-sex education, the number of US public schools offering single-sex education has increased. However, our understanding as to why decision-makers have implemented single-sex education is lacking. To address this gap, we surveyed US public school principals and assessed their attitudes about and experiences with single-sex schooling. Sixty-seven principals from single-sex schools and 193 principals from co-educational schools participated. The results indicated that principals who had experience with single-sex schooling tended to have more positive attitudes about single-sex schooling, viewed it as more effective, and more often evoked gender-essentialist rationales for the use of single-sex schooling than did co-educational principals. However, both single-sex and co-educational principals noted issues with single-sex schooling. It was concluded that single-sex schooling is not a silver bullet to educational reform and that when single-sex schooling is implemented, one set of issues and problems is substituted for another.     

Use and value of information sources by parents of child psychiatric patients

Objective: With Web 2.0, the variety of information sources for parents of paediatric psychiatric patients has increased dramatically. Information use theory suggests newer sources supplement rather than supplant traditional sources of health information. This study sought to determine the use and value of traditional and emerging sources of information and whether the subjects had access to highly valued sources of information. Methods: One hundred parents indicated the use and value of six sources of information on the child’s symptoms, diagnoses and treatment. The data were analyzed to determine if significant relationships existed between type of source and the use and value of the information sources. Results: Ninety‐four percent of the subjects had access to the Internet and almost half of those reported using the Social Web. Eighty‐five percent had at least one high‐value information source. The psychiatrist in the clinic, the Internet and the primary care physician were the most highly used and valued sources. Conclusion: Use of digital information sources was greater than found in other studies of similar populations. This use appears to complement rather than supplant more traditional sources. Further studies are needed to see if the negative impact of lack of Internet access is replicated.     

Math and Science Scholars (MASS) Program: A Model Program for the Recruitment and Retention of Preservice Mathematics and Science Teachers

The shortage of certified teachers in mathematics and science in Texas classrooms is a major concern and mirrors national tends. Dramatic increases in shortages of teachers have stimulated the design of new certification programs that recruit and place teachers in classrooms as quickly as possible (Texas Center for Educational Research, 1999). While maintaining several of the characteristics of traditional certification programs, the Math and Science Scholars (MASS) Program streamlines the certification process, supports preservice students through tuition remission and scholarships, and provides quality mentoring and early fiend experiences in K–12 classrooms with well-qualified teachers. The strategies in this model program are dramatically increasing the numbers of undergraduate majors in mathematics and science considering high school teaching as a career.     

Risk and Protective Factors for Frequent Electronic Device Use of Online Technologies

A sample of 10,460 U.S. elementary schoolchildren was analyzed to identify early predictors of frequent use of online technologies (i.e., messaging, online gaming, and social networking). Children (M_age = 67.44 months) at greater risk displayed more externalizing problem behaviors in kindergarten (messaging OR = 1.11; online gaming OR = 1.21; social networking OR = 1.12) or were Black (messaging OR = 1.65; online gaming OR = 1.64; social networking OR = 1.68). Children from higher-income families were at lower risk (online gaming OR = 0.89; social networking OR = 0.89). Boys were more frequent users of online gaming (OR = 3.35) but less frequent users of messaging (OR = 0.62) and social networking (OR = 0.80). Protective factors included specific parenting behaviors.     

Women and Nature: Using memory-work to rethink our relationship to the natural world

Memory-work is a feminist research methodology that is used by research collectives to study socialization within the dominant values that make up a particular culture. The power of memory-work lies with its potential to interrupt hegemonic ways of seeing and knowing the world. Consequently, it can open up possibilities for individual and social transformation. Intrigued by memory-work, the authors of this article formed a research collective and studied their socialization in relation to the natural world. We examined our early memories of trees and the natural elements earth, air, fire, and water. Initial analysis of these memories showed predictable and gendered patterns of socialization reflecting dominant values in relation to nature. For example, fathers defined many of our experiences in the natural world and taught us that nature was separate from the human realm and subject to control. Additional analysis of the memories moved us below this layer of socialization. We found sensual connection with the elements and discovered the influence of our mothers.     

Deconstructing Google Dataset Search

This essay examines the beta tool from Google, Google Dataset Search. The Google Dataset Search, announced in September 2018, is a search engine specific to finding research data published on the internet. The structure and methods of the search engine are examined, as well as the methods Google recommends to web developers to make it an effective tool across the World Wide Web. The column concludes with a discussion of the pros and cons of this tool in the research information landscape.     

The arts in England: Developing a survey of attendance,participation and attitudes

Reliable data on attendance, participation and attitudes to the arts are needed by planners, policy makers, arts organisations, those concerned with marketing the arts and researchers.

This chapter describes the development and piloting of a national survey of people's engagement with the arts by the Arts Council of England and the Office for National Statistics. It outlines the main reasons for the development of the survey, presents results from the pilot and compares them with other national and international sources of data.

From the outset, procedures for obtaining feedback on the pilot questionnaire were built into the planning process. The paper discusses respondents’ reactions to the questionnaire, their views on how meaningful the questions were and how well the interview worked. It also explores respondents’ understanding of such terms as ‘the arts’ and ‘public funding’, and how they responded to questions.

The chapter concludes with a summary of the changes made in the light of the pilot and outlines future plans for the survey.     

The relations of proper character introduction to narrative quality and listening comprehension for young children from high poverty schools

The present study explored the types and frequency of literate language features in children’s narratives, and the relation of literate language and proper character introduction to children’s oral language skills in a sample of 184 prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade students from high-poverty schools. Using hierarchical regression, the results showed that literate language features were not predictive of listening comprehension or narrative quality outcomes. In contrast, children’s skill in properly introducing characters significantly accounted for variance in all outcome measures (narrative comprehension, narrative quality, and listening comprehension) above and beyond the control variables (age, total number of words, and mean length of utterance) and literate language features (adverbs, conjunctions, mental and linguistic verbs, and elaborated noun phrases). These results indicate that the child’s retell and language comprehension skills may develop concurrently with proper character introduction.