The role of guidance professionals in enhancing the capabilities of marginalized students: the case of indigenous women in Canada

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Inspired by Sen’s capability approach and the intersectional perspective, we examine how guidance professionals facilitate or...     

Sitting Still and Reading: Rethinking the Role of Literary Fiction in Civics Education

In this article Annie Schultz argues that engaging with narratives of resistance and empowerment in literary fiction makes for an important addition to the practice of political education. She is interested, in particular, in what can be gained from the thoughtful contemplation modeled by the inner monologues of literary narrators. Many writers of fiction have turned the inner lives of oppressed characters outward in order for readers to glimpse depictions of moral injustices that mirror those of the real world. Using Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man as an example of a literary representation of an existential journey to political consciousness, Schultz explores the imaginative implementation of literature in politically engaged pedagogy that, she argues, results in the development of conscious, articulate citizens.     

Project Clarion: Three Years of Science Instruction in Title I Schools among K-Third Grade Students

The purpose of the study was to measure the effects of higher level, inquiry-based science curricula on students at primary level in Title I schools. Approximately 3,300 K-3 students from six schools were assigned to experimental or control classes (N?=?115 total) on a random basis according to class. Experimental students were exposed to concept-based science curriculum that emphasized ??deep learning?? though concept mastery and investigation, whereas control classes learned science from traditional school-based curricula. Two ability measures, the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R, Bracken 1998) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Intelligence Test (NNAT, Naglieri 1991), were used for baseline information. Additionally, a standardized measure of student achievement in science (the MAT-8 science subtest), a standardized measure of critical thinking, and a measure for observing teachers?? classroom behaviors were used to assess learning outcomes. Results indicated that all ability groups of students benefited from the science inquiry-based approach to learning that emphasized science concepts, and that there was a positive achievement effect for low socio-economic young children who were exposed to such a curriculum.     

Girls in residential care: From child maltreatment to trauma-related symptoms in emerging adulthood

The current study examined the association between child maltreatment and trauma-related symptoms in emerging adulthood – over and above the incidence of such symptoms and conduct problems during adolescence – among a sample of female adolescents in residential care. This study used data from a longitudinal study. The sample was composed of 89 adolescent females who were first interviewed at time of admission in a residential center (M_age = 15.33 years, SD = 1.31) and later in young adulthood (M_age = 19.27, SD = 1.55). At time 1, trauma-related symptoms were assessed with the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children and conduct problems with a composite measure. At time 2, child maltreatment was assessed retrospectively with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and trauma-related symptoms were reassessed with the Trauma Symptom Inventory-2. Results indicated that child maltreatment, especially emotional abuse and neglect, was related to anxious arousal, depression, and anger in emerging adulthood. This study showed that females from our sample often reported different types of maltreatment during childhood and that these traumatic experiences were significantly associated with poor adult psychological functioning.     

Is syllable segmentation developmentally constrained by consonant sonority within syllable boundaries in silent reading? Evidence in French children

There is agreement that French typically reading children use syllable‐sized units to segment words. Although the statistical properties of the initial syllables or the clusters within syllable boundaries seem to be crucial for syllable segmentation, little is known about the role of consonant sonority in silent reading. In two experiments that used audio‐visual and visual pseudoword recognition tasks with 300 French typically developing children, we showed a progressive increase in the use of syllable segmentation from the first through fifth years of reading instruction. The children were influenced both by an optimal ‘sonorant coda–obstruent onset’ sonority profile and by the individual position‐dependent consonant sonority within syllable boundaries. Orthographic and phonological statistical properties did not clearly modulate the response patterns. We provide innovative data to help further understand the developmental course of the use of syllable segmentation as determined by sonority. We discuss our results in the light of linguistic principles.     

Measuring Complex Features of Science Instruction: Developing Tools to Investigate the Link Between Teaching and Learning

There is a growing national recognition that teachers and teaching are at the heart of successful educational reform. However, few tools exist for measuring classroom instruction. The primary purpose of this article is to describe methods we developed to measure and study teaching, specifically while teachers were using a multimedia intervention for promoting scientific problem solving. Lessons were videotaped, and coding schemes were developed to measure 2 aspects of teaching: (a) the lesson's organization, particularly whole-class instruction used to introduce problems and share students' work; and (b) the nature of tasks and questions given to students. Results showed that the coding schemes were reliable and that they detected differences in instruction across teachers. Qualitative analyses were consistent with the quantitative findings. The codes also captured features of teaching that would have been difficult to detect or verify with qualitative observations alone. Finally, we explored how these measures could be used with student outcome data to examine the relationship between teaching and learning in future studies. We argue that quantitative measures of instruction serve many purposes, not the least of which is allowing researchers to explore the relationship between teaching and student learning at a high degree of granularity.     

Good intentions: teaching and specialist support staff perspectives of student disclosure of mental health issues in post-secondary education

This article reports findings from a qualitative case study, as part of which staff perspectives of student disclosure of mental health issues in an Australian post-secondary vocational education setting were explored. Twenty teaching and specialist support staff from four vocational education and training institutions participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Institutional policies and practices related to the management of disability at each site provided contextual information relevant to the staff experience. All data were analysed thematically. Staff participants strongly supported student disclosure of mental health issues. Staff linked the likelihood of course success for students experiencing mental illness with disclosure and the implementation of educational supports. Findings draw attention to subtle differences in constructions of student disclosure reported by the specialist support staff and the teachers: differences in perspective which were consistent across locations. This study highlights the influence of personal experience of mental illness and institutional processes for educational adjustment on staff perspectives of student disclosure. Implications of the current practices in post-secondary education student support services are discussed. Further research on disclosure beliefs among teachers and specialist support staff, in a wider range of educational settings, would allow for a deeper exploration of issues raised by this study.     

“I Feel Present. Therefore,I Experience Flow:” A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Flow and Presence in Video Games

Driven by theories of flow and presence, three studies examined the antecedents and consequences of flow across three different video game genres. Structural equation modeling analyses reveal the roles of (1) physical presence in medical simulation games; (2) spatial presence in driving games; and (3) self-presence in avatar-based narrative-driven games. A 3 (skill: low, medium, high) × 3 (challenge: low, medium, high) between-subjects ANOVA indicates that a balance between skill and challenge induces greater flow. Theoretical contributions regarding the relevance of flow to electronic games and practical implications for the design of diverse game genres are discussed.