Correlates of metacognitive control in 10-year old children and adults

Metacognitive control is an important factor for successful learning and has been shown to increase across childhood and adolescence. Only few studies have attempted to investigate the cognitive processes and psychological mechanisms that subserve metacognitively-based control and the development thereof. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to gain an insight into the cognitive and psychological correlates that relate to metacognitively-based control processes. Specifically, we were interested in two measures of metacognitive control: learners’ ability to self-regulate their study time in a study time allocation paradigm, as well as the efficiency with which they allocated their study time. It was of particular interest to explore the relation between declarative metamemory and procedural metacognitive skills. In addition, we assessed learners’ general cognitive and executive abilities. We tested a group of 10-year olds and a group of adults. Surprisingly, and in contrast to previous studies, the current study does not support a relation between declarative metamemory and procedural skills, or executive functions and intelligence and procedural skills. We interpret our results in line with a dual systems view of metacognitive abilities and further speculate whether procedural skills might become increasingly independent and automated with age.     

‘There is Still a Long Way to Go to be Solidly Marvellous’: Professional Identities,Performativity and Responsibilisation Arising From the Send Code of Practice 2015

Special educational needs and disability (SEND) professionalism can be seen as a microcosm of the wider policy arena where traditional policy frameworks of professionalism and bureaucracy are challenged by frameworks of managerialism, consumerism and individual rights and where the neoliberal policy technologies of performativity and responsibilisation challenge and change collaborative working practices and professional identities. The recent introduction of the statutory SEND Code of Practice 2015 in England brings this transformation into relief. An exploratory qualitative interview study highlights how individual professionals respond to, are changed by and sometimes resist these demands.     

Stichwort: Familie und Bildung

Ohne Zusammenfassung      

Affordances for Risky Play in Preschool: The Importance of Features in the Play Environment

The purpose of this article is to qualitatively explore the affordances for risky play in two different preschool outdoor environments, an ordinary preschool playground and a nature playground, based on Gibson (The ecological approach to visual perception, 1979) theory of affordances and Heft’s and Kytte?’s (Heft in Children’s Environ Qual 5(3) 29–37, 1988; Kytt? in J Environ Psychol 22:109–123, 2002, Kytt? in J Environ Psychol 24:179–198, 2004) extended work on this theory. Observations of risky play in two Norwegian preschools, one ordinary preschool (where play took place on an ordinary playground) and one nature and outdoor preschool (where play took place in a nature area) were conducted. In addition, the children were interviewed about their actualized affordances of risky play, their mobility license, and the constraints on risky play. The results show that both play environments afford an extensive amount of risky play among the children, and that the degree of mobility license tolerated by the staff is an important factor for the children to actualize these affordances. Differences in the qualities and features in the two play environments were found to have an impact on the degree of riskiness in the play situations. As such, the nature playground afforded a higher degree of risk in children’s risky play.     

The Development of Scientific Thinking in Elementary School: A Comprehensive Inventory

The development of scientific thinking was assessed in 1,581 second, third, and fourth graders (8‐, 9‐, 10‐year‐olds) based on a conceptual model that posits developmental progression from naïve to more advanced conceptions. Using a 66‐item scale, five components of scientific thinking were addressed, including experimental design, data interpretation, and understanding the nature of science. Unidimensional and multidimensional item response theory analyses supported the instrument's reliability and validity and suggested that the multiple components of scientific thinking form a unitary construct, independent of verbal or reasoning skills. A partial credit model gave evidence for a hierarchical developmental progression. Across each grade transition, advanced conceptions increased while naïve conceptions decreased. Independent effects of intelligence, schooling, and parental education on scientific thinking are discussed.     

German Book Publishers’ Barriers to Disruptive Innovations: The Case of E-Book Adoption

To succeed in a period of change, German book publishers need to adopt innovations, e.g., implement e-books into their product portfolio. Yet, in the book industry, the adoption of new technologies is not commonplace: Despite being the second biggest book market worldwide, only 1.2 % of all published books in Germany are available as e-books. This problem leads us to investigate the factors that determine whether publishing companies decide in favor or against entering the e-book market. Based on a standardized survey of more than 240 German publishing houses, barriers to innovation adoption are examined from a micro, meso and macro perspective. Our main findings show that individual characteristics of management and the company’s corporate culture strongly predict adoption. Also, organizational communication seems to be critical. Taking this into account, the key resource to enable innovation seems to be information underlining the necessity of communities of practice.     

Reconceptualising dyslexia provision in a primary school by applying the five ‘special educational needs in mainstream school’ EEF recommendations: meeting identified need in order to thrive

This article reports on an action-research improvement project undertaken in a primary school setting in London in collaboration with local authority advisors and a reference school. It describes the journey towards the goal of becoming a dyslexia-friendly school framed by the five key recommendations of the Education Endowment Fund recently published guidance report Special Educational Needs in Mainstream School. I argue that this framing supports the thriving of individuals, rather than perpetuating a reliance on outdated diagnosis-led support. I conclude that the EEF recommendations can support practitioners to embed inclusive practices that take individual needs seriously but reject deficit models of disability.     

‘What was required above all else was collaboration’: keeping the momentum for SEND partnership working in the wake of Covid-19

This article considers implications for partnership working across the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system in England, at a time when a long-overdue SEND Review is imminent and the SEND Code of Practice 2015 is awaiting a significant overhaul. It highlights the role local policy actors occupy within this system, as the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic moves SEND partnerships towards a ‘new normal’ and there is heightened concern about missed opportunities for reform and renewal. Previously published findings from an online questionnaire (n = 100) undertaken by the Special Educational Needs Policy Research Forum provided insight into how school staff had been supported in the teaching of pupils with SEND during periods of school closures and what lessons had been learned. The present article offers a thematic analysis of the narrative responses provided in addition to the closed survey questions. The analysis generated six statements that can be understood as lessons learned from the pandemic for partnership working, drawing on the experiences of parents, school staff, and advising professionals working in local authorities.     

Decreased sympathetic cardiovascular influences and hormone-physiological changes in response to Covid-19-related adaptations under different learning environments

To examine the implications of the transition from face-to-face to online learning from a psychobiological perspective, this study investigated potential differences in physiological stress parameters of students engaged in online or face-to-face learning and determined whether these can be identified as possible mediators between learning experience and achievement emotions. In a randomized experimental field study, medical students (n = 82) attended either regular face-to-face classes of the microscopic anatomy course or the same practical course online using Zoom videoconferencing platform. The present study investigated Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol concentration as stress correlates, within the contexts of online and face-to-face learning and compared these parameters with a control group that was measured at rest. Additionally, participants completed a standardized questionnaire about their experienced emotions in relation to task achievement and subjective stress levels. A significant reduction in HRV was found in face-to-face learning, suggesting stronger stress responses in the face-to-face learning environment (η² = 0.421, P < 0.001). Furthermore, participants engaged in face-to-face learning showed significantly higher cortisol concentrations (η² = 0.115, P = 0.032). Additionally, increased sympathetic activation correlated with the discrete positive emotion of enjoyment exclusively within the face-to-face condition (r = 0.365, P = 0.043). These results indicate that the transfer of a face-to-face practical course in microscopic anatomy to an online learning environment is associated with decreased sympathetic and enhanced vagal cardiovascular influences, together with lower cortisol concentrations in healthy medical students.     

Peer Problems and Hyperactivity–Impulsivity Among Norwegian and American Children: The Role of 5‐HTTLPR

Peer problems are linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and the serotonin system is thought to be involved in ADHD‐related behavior. Hence, from a Gene × Environment perspective, the serotonin transporter 5‐HTTLPR may play a moderating role. In two large community samples, the moderating role of 5‐HTTLPR was examined related to more hyperactivity–impulsivity symptoms (HI symptoms) predicted by more peer problems. In Study 1, involving 642 Norwegian children, results indicated that for s‐allele carriers only, caregiver‐reported peer problems at age 4 predicted more parent‐reported HI symptoms at age 6. In Study 2, similar results emerged involving 482 American children. Discussion focuses on differential sensitivity to the adverse effects of poor peer relations.