Show and Tell: Making museums... making meaning!

I have something for the museum. Our day begins with these words most days. Participation inShow and Tell is inviting and valued in our classroom. Using the museum as a framework, each child's contribution reflects his or her choice and sparks daily enthusiasm in an exhibit children are building.Rose C. Merenda is Associate Professor, Henry Barnard School, Rhode Island College, Providence, R.I.     

Racism in Interracial Dating: A Case Study in Southern Culture and Fundamentalism

This article presents a case study of Bob Jones University (BJU), a fundamentalist Christian institution located in South Carolina that is known within the context of U.S. higher education for its conservatism on multiple levels. Our analysis traces the beliefs of the institution's founder and subsequent leaders, in addition to particular religious, cultural, and social influences, all of which shaped BJU's institutional policies, including the university's racial practices. We believe that BJU's policies can best be understood from the contexts of two primary influential forces: its Southern cultural heritage (specifically, the culture-of-honor that has existed within the Deep South of the United States) combined with its fundamentalist moorings. Although BJU's policies have historically differed markedly from other Christian institutions regarding racism, we believe that the present study may be helpful in illustrating important historical lessons that possess potential contemporary applications for higher education policy and prac-tices.     

Visual recognition memory: a predictor of later cognitive functioning in preterms

A number of preterms who had participated in a study of visual recognition memory when they were 6 months of age were seen at older ages to assess the predictive validity of the early visual measures for cognitive outcome. The Bayley scales were administered at 6, 12, and 24 months, the Stanford-Binet at 34 and 40 months, and the WISC-R at 6 years. Novelty scores, which reflect the relative amount of time infants look at new compared to familiar stimuli, constituted the measure of infant visual processing. These scores, obtained by averaging over performance on the 3 or 4 problems administered at 6 months of age, were consistently and significantly related to cognitive measures from 24 months to 6 years, with correlations ranging from r = .53 to r = .66. Parental education, which was unrelated to novelty scores, bore a strong relationship to outcome beginning at 24 months. Although both measures contributed uniquely to the variance in cognitive outcome at 24 months and 6 years, visual novelty scores made a stronger contribution than did parental education. Neither 6- nor 12-month Bayley scores, nor various perinatal variables, were related to outcome.     

Informed consent,gatekeepers and go‐betweens: negotiating consent in child and youth‐orientated institutions

Gaining informed consent from research participants is widely regarded as central to ethical research practice. This article reports on research which sought to identify contemporary practice in this area amongst researchers working in fields where research participants are often constructed as vulnerable within the research process, and where their potential involvement tends to be mediated by institutional gatekeepers. Drawing on telephone interview and focus group data, the article focuses specifically on the experiences of researchers working with children and young people. It highlights the tensions experienced by many researchers between a personal commitment to an ethical framework which seeks to prioritise the agency and competency of children and young people, and the conditions imposed upon them by working within institutional settings where these principles may be undermined. This research suggests that the consent practices of child‐ and youth‐orientated institutions, however much frowned upon, tend to go largely unchallenged by researchers, to the detriment of the rights of children and young people to opt in and out of research on their own behalf.     

Librarian participation in expanding the pool of potential medical students

This article reports on the results of an exploratory survey to determine if librarians actively participate in medical school student recruiting programs. It looks specifically at what librarians are doing to assist with recruitment and what biomedical career resources their libraries offer. The survey link was e-mailed to all U.S. medical school library directors, who were asked to forward it to the appropriate librarian. Out of 113 medical schools, 68 (60%) responded to most questions. Forty-three (86%) of 50 item respondents do participate in such activities, and 29 (67%) of 43 item respondents have been doing so for more than five years. Thirty-two (64%) of 50 item respondents provide resources on biomedical careers in the libraries.     

Psychological Capital,Well-being,and Distress of International Students

International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling - International students continue to experience myriad of challenges, some of which further transpired disproportionately during the...     

Social Integration and the Mental Health of Black Adolescents

The influence of family, school, and religious social contexts on the mental health of Black adolescents has been understudied. This study used Durkheim's social integration theory to examine these associations in a nationally representative sample of 1,170 Black adolescents, ages 13–17. Mental health was represented by positive and negative psychosocial well‐being indicators. Results showed that adolescents' integration into family and school were related to better mental health. In addition, commitment to religious involvement positively influenced mental health. Although the direct effect of religious involvement was inversely related to mental health, mediation analyses revealed a positive influence through religious commitment. Findings suggest a greater emphasis on all three social contexts when designing strategies to improve the mental health of Black adolescents.     

Sources of Individual Differences in Children's Understanding of Fractions

Longitudinal associations of domain‐general and numerical competencies with individual differences in children's understanding of fractions were investigated. Children (n = 163) were assessed at 6 years of age on domain‐general (nonverbal reasoning, language, attentive behavior, executive control, visual‐spatial memory) and numerical (number knowledge) competencies; at 7 years on whole‐number arithmetic computations and number line estimation; and at 10 years on fraction concepts. Mediation analyses controlling for general mathematics ability and general academic ability revealed that numerical and mathematical competencies were direct predictors of fraction concepts, whereas domain‐general competencies supported the acquisition of fraction concepts via whole‐number arithmetic computations or number line estimation. Results indicate multiple pathways to fraction competence.     

Empowerment and ownership in effective internationalisation of the higher education curriculum

Internationalising the curriculum (IOC) in order to produce graduates with global citizenship skills is a common strategic goal in modern higher education. The extent to which this is achieved and the level of understanding amongst staff and students of what IOC involves and the benefits it imparts are varied. In this study, activities and attitudes across 15 subject disciplines delivered in a modern UK university were surveyed through an analysis of official course documentation, and semi-structured interviews with a range of academic staff. The outcomes are discussed in relation to the level of understanding and ownership that staff have of IOC. Through the modification of a process control model Barnett (European Journal of Education, 29(2), 165–179, 1994), suggestions are made as to how to move this top-down strategic imperative forward through empowerment of the academic staff involved in course delivery.     

The day care and early education curriculum planning guide for September and October

With custodial care the nemisis of parents, educators, and funding sources, a prime concern of child-care and early education people is finding ways to provide the high-quality developmental care that all of us want for our children. This is the third in a series of four month-by-month curriculum planning guides to daily activities for preschoolers designed to keep you and your children busy for quite a while. And though it might not be obvious, virtually every activity has readiness of some kind built right in. So go ahead — enjoy! There're good for you, and the children too.Rose Blue is an early childhood educator, an editor, and the author of over ten books for children and young adults. Correspondence can be addressed to her at 1320 51st Street, Brooklyn, New York 11219.