Information processing: a review of implications of Johnstone’s model for science education

The current review is concerned with an information processing model used in science education. The purpose is to summarise the current theoretical understanding, in published research, of a number of factors that are known to influence learning and achievement. These include field independence, working memory, long‐term memory, and the use of long‐term memory strategies. The implications of research for educational practice are discussed. It is recommended that educators consider models of information processing and adjust teaching practices accordingly.     

A U‐Shaped Relation Between Sitting Ability and Upright Face Processing in Infants

A growing body of research indicates connections exist between action, perception, and cognition in infants. In this study, associated changes between sitting ability and upright face processing were tested in 111 infants. Using the visual habituation “switch” task (C. H. Cashon & L. B. Cohen, 2004; L. B. Cohen & C. H. Cashon, 2001), holistic processing of faces was assessed in same‐aged non‐ and near sitters (22–25 weeks) and same‐aged new and expert sitters (27–32 weeks). U‐shaped relation was found between sitting stage and holistic face processing such that only nonsitters and expert sitters processed faces holistically. It is posited that the results are due to a reorganization of the upright face‐processing system resulting from infants' learning to sit independently and trying to incorporate the meaning of upright faces.     

Child‐Care Subsidies and School Readiness in Kindergarten

The federal child‐care subsidy program represents one of the government's largest investments in early care and education. Using data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort, this study examines associations, among subsidy‐eligible families, between child‐care subsidy receipt when children are 4 years old and a range of school readiness outcomes in kindergarten (sample n ≈ 1,400). Findings suggest that subsidy receipt in preschool is not directly linked to subsequent reading or social‐emotional skills. However, subsidy receipt predicted lower math scores among children attending community‐based centers. Supplementary analyses revealed that subsidies predicted greater use of center care, but this association did not appear to affect school readiness.     

A Longitudinal Study of Emotion Regulation,Emotion Lability‐Negativity,and Internalizing Symptomatology in Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children

The longitudinal contributions of emotion regulation and emotion lability‐negativity to internalizing symptomatology were examined in a low‐income sample (171 maltreated and 151 nonmaltreated children, from age 7 to 10 years). Latent difference score models indicated that for both maltreated and nonmaltreated children, emotion regulation was a mediator between emotion lability‐negativity and internalizing symptomatology, whereas emotion lability‐negativity was not a mediator between emotion regulation and internalizing symptomatology. Early maltreatment was associated with high emotion lability‐negativity (age 7) that contributed to poor emotion regulation (age 8), which in turn was predictive of increases in internalizing symptomatology (from age 8 to 9). The results imply important roles of emotion regulation in the development of internalizing symptomatology, especially for children with high emotion lability‐negativity.     

Multilevel Mediation: Cumulative Contextual Risk,Maternal Differential Treatment,and Children's Behavior Within Families

This study tests the hypothesis that links between contextual risk and children's outcomes are partially explained by differential parenting. Using multi‐informant measurement and including up to four children per family (M_age = 3.51, SD = 2.38) in a sample of 397 families, indirect effects (through maternal differential parenting: self‐reported and observed) of cumulative contextual risk on four child outcomes were investigated. Cumulative risk was associated with higher levels of differential parenting and, in turn, with higher levels of behavioral problems. Indirect effects were strongest for attentional and social problems but also evident for aggression. The link between differential parenting and outcome was moderated by favoritism, but this was only evident for maternal report and strongest for aggression.     

Rigidity in Gender‐Typed Behaviors in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Study of Ethnic Minority Children

A key prediction of cognitive theories of gender development concerns developmental trajectories in the relative strength or rigidity of gender typing. To examine these trajectories in early childhood, 229 children (African American, Mexican American, and Dominican American) were followed annually from age 3 to 5 years, and gender‐stereotypical appearance, dress‐up play, toy play, and sex segregation were examined. High gender‐typing was found across ethnic groups, and most behaviors increased in rigidity, especially from age 3 to 4 years. In addressing controversy surrounding the stability and structure of gender‐typing it was found that from year to year, most behaviors showed moderately stable individual differences. Behaviors were uncorrelated within age but showed more concordance in change across time, suggesting that aspects of gender‐typing are multidimensional, but still show coherence.