Examining Transcultural Spiritual Literacies Among Latino Children Through Artifactual Mediations

Although the notion of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986) has been well studied and affirmed as important in recognizing the strengths of children and developing inclusive pedagogical models (Albright & Luke, 2008), this article presents a study of transcultural spiritual literacy—an element of cultural capital that is often overlooked, seldom studied in an organized fashion (Smith & Osborn, 2007, p. 23), and rarely validated in pedagogical inquiry as a vital indicator of children’s meaning-making. However, this important form of cultural capital threads through the lives of children who participated in this study, which provided a “multi-modal ethnographic gaze” (Rowsell, 2011, p. 335) of spiritual literacies of 14 children from first-generation immigrant Latino families at a U.S. church-affiliated community center. This article, which discusses part of that study, will focus on the artifactual mediations of one of those children: Paulina. Spirituality, although not synonymous with religion in our study, overlaps with religion in both space and ideology, and surround issues including identity, transcultural navigations, and sociocritical perspectives and understandings.     

Using Nearpod in elementary guided reading groups

A student teacher placed at a school with a high English Language Learner population used mini iPads, and an application called Nearpod, during guided reading instruction. Groups of students in a fourth grade classroom used this application. The students and the teacher were interviewed to determine the benefits and challenges of this approach. An analysis of data revealed that all of the students found this type of guided reading to be beneficial and motivating in learning the content presented through the application. Students also explained how they could transfer the knowledge gained into their independent work. The teacher discussed how it improved organization in a guided reading group, but how careful consideration and planning must be done to ensure the technology will work properly during guided reading. It is recommended that the Nearpod application be used in guided reading lessons because of its user-friendliness, ability to engage students, and monitor their progress.     

Discovering the More: Reading Wright's,Colette's,and Cather's Texts as Philosophy of Education

Rather than using literary texts to evidence an analytic argument, within this piece we read Julia McNair Wright's (US, 1840–1902), Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette's (France, 1873–1954), and Willa Cather's (US, 1873–1947) texts through theoretical lenses that expose their educational meaning and value and that create conversation among them concerning girls’ and women's educations. While we do not claim that one can generalize these women's works and lessons to every life, we contend that these women and the literary products they created offer girls and women powerful lessons about resistance, subversion, and nurturing one's intellect, lessons that in some ways transcend class and race in particular. First, we define and explain Bruner's concept of the more using Rosenblatt, Gallagher, and Gardner's theories and findings to illuminate his concept. Next, we identify and examine three themes that emerge across these authors’ texts—subverting through the everyday, becoming one's own steward, and moving from survival to self-actualization. Establishing these themes first in Wright's texts, we then use them to frame Colette's and Cather's fiction and support these themes by focusing on one lesson that emerges from each author's work(s). Finally, we ask what one might learn about educating girls and women from these texts and others whose educative meaning and value remain hidden.     

The relationship between quality of the present level of academic achievement and functional performance statement and student learning

The present level of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) is an essential component of the individualised educational program (IEP) process because it identifies student strengths and areas for growth. However, there is minimal research that examines components of an IEP and student outcomes. The current study examined the relationship between PLAAFP quality and student achievement, and between training and ongoing professional development and quality of the PLAAFP. The data were obtained from 211 special education teachers in one state. Results suggested that ongoing professional development predicted the quality of the PLAAFP statement, accounted for a large amount of the variance (r² = 0.14) in the PLAAFP quality score, and was a stronger predictor than participating in a single training. Additionally, PLAAFP quality predicted winter achievement scores beyond the school district, fall achievement scores and teacher variables, and accounted for significant and moderate amount of unique variance for reading (r² = 0.05) and math (r² = 0.07). Implications for research and practice are included.     

Mindfulness‐based SEL programming to increase preservice teachers’ mindfulness and emotional competence

Eighty‐seven preservice teachers, some of whom had preschool teaching experience, were randomly assigned to an intervention that included training in breathing awareness meditation infused with social‐emotional learning (n = 43) or a control group that received training in (n = 44) in breathing awareness meditation only. Both groups showed an increase in mindfulness from pre‐ to posttest. However, as expected, dimensions of emotional competence improved more significantly for preservice teachers in the intervention group. Increases were also greater for participants with teaching experience. Both groups also increased in the belief that classroom misbehavior would result in negative cognitive and social costs to children, but a larger increase was observed for the intervention group. Implications for teacher preparation are discussed.