Parent involvement and views of school success: The role of parents' Latino and White American cultural orientations

We examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non‐Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual‐language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and White American cultural orientations, importance of children's academic and social success, and self‐ and significant other involvement in children's education. Results indicated that Latino (and other ethnic minority) parents valued academic and social success equally and more strongly than did Whites and that Whites valued social success more strongly than academic success. Latinos also reported greater involvement of significant others. These differences were largely accounted for by cultural orientations. Educational practices that take into account differences in cultural orientations and the involvement of significant others thus seem more likely to improve academic outcomes than do efforts intended to promote the valuing of education. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A ‘Multimodal Ecology of Text’ in Advanced Level English Language examinations? The incorporation of graphology and ‘embodied’ facsimile texts in unit test papers and their assessment since 2001

In this paper we compare the representation of texts in a sample of Advanced Level English Language examination papers set over the past decade in order to explore the changes in ‘what constitutes English and its assessment’. Prior to the year 2000, texts used in most A Level Language examination papers were usually typeset in a word processed format stripped of original font, layout, accompanying images, and colour, and devoid of the material marks of the texts' ‘history’ and materiality. From 2001, the texts for AQA B examination papers¹ have been reproduced in facsimile form to include the original graphology used. This shift in production in the materiality of embodiment has led to a corresponding shift in assessment in the codes of recognition of what constitutes English text, and what counts as English response. The sample of texts that we discuss present an ‘ecology of text’ and an ‘ecology of texts and literacy practices’ on a ‘continuum of multimodality’: from the heavily edited, word processed, linguistically circumscribed texts of the 1990s examination papers, through to the more visually‐dependent texts of 2004 with their manner of writing, typographic detail, colour, and sometimes even complete with creases and stains. Taking a multimodal approach to these texts, we discuss the implications of this change for what is being required of students analysing texts for examination assessment and more broadly for the subject ‘English’ ‐ ‘what English is’. We also consider how this shift problematizes the English work of students, teachers, examiners, and the institutions in which these agents operate.     

Telefacsimile from a user perspective

A study conducted at Montana State University compared telefacsimile service with mail delivery. Recipients of telefax materials who answered questions about the purpose, timeliness, and quality of the materials were generally well pleased. Telefacsimile was found to be a cost-effective and efficient method of document delivery over long distances.     

Footedness in world soccer: an analysis of France '98.

Most football players and coaches agree that players are capable of learning to use both feet with equal frequency and efficiency--that is, become 'two-footed'. There is also some consensus that two-footed play is associated with skill in individual players. If these assumptions are true, then the world's elite football players should be substantially less 'one-footed' than the rest of the population. To examine this issue, we quantified the pattern of foot use in a sample of 236 players from 16 teams in the 1998 World Cup (France '98). Our findings indicate that World Cup players are as right-footed as the general population (approximately 79%). The remaining players were largely left-footed and as biased towards the use of their preferred foot as their right-footed counterparts. Very few players used each foot with equal frequency. Remarkably, both left- and right-footed players were as skilled, on average, with their non-preferred foot as they were with their preferred foot, on the rare occasions when they used it. Therefore, it is unlikely that infrequent use of one foot compared to the other foot can be accounted for by skill differences between the feet. Players were most asymmetrical for set pieces; nevertheless, first touches, passes, dribbles and tackles were rarely performed with the non-preferred foot as well. Our results support a biological model of foot preference and performance, as well as demonstrating the usefulness of soccer for studies of lateral asymmetries.     

Teaching for Wisdom in an Intergenerational High-School-English Class

Although the psychological benefits of intergenerational learning environments have been well documented, no study has yet investigated wisdom as an outcome of intergenerational classroom engagement. In this study, Elders between the age 60–89 were recruited to participate in a high-school English classroom. We hypothesized that participating in an intergenerational high-school classroom would benefit both Elders and Students by fostering the conditions for both groups to develop greater psychological wisdom. Our findings indicate that both Elders and Students actively engaged the five dimensions of wisdom identified by Webster (2003 Webster, J. D. (2003). An exploratory analysis of a self-assessed wisdom scale. Journal of Adult Development, 10(1), 13–22.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2007 Webster, J. D. (2007). Measuring the character strength of wisdom. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 65(2), 163–183.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) during their time in the intergenerational class. Further, we find that while Students and Elders both demonstrated aspects of wisdom, they understood the concept of wisdom in strikingly different ways.     

Formative Evaluation of Eccomi Pronto [‘Here I Am Ready’]: a School Counselor-Led,Research-Based,Preventative Curriculum For Italian Primary Schools

Eccomi Pronto is a school counselor-led, story-based curriculum that is designed to promote simultaneously the development of early elementary school students’ self-direction, active engagement in school, and pre-literacy skill development. This article reports the results of the first evaluation of a large-scale implementation of Eccomi Pronto in Italian elementary schools. The evaluation employed a mixed methods approach involving qualitative analyses of interviews and observations supported by quantitative analyses of student self-reports and teacher ratings (with a single group pre-test post-test design). Observations and interviews with parents and teachers suggested that Eccomi Pronto was associated with a number of improvements in students’ academic behavior, including engagement, involvement, reading interest, reading comprehension, work conscientiousness, inquisitiveness, and social support of classmates. Quantitative findings confirmed these qualitative findings, indicating that implementation of the curriculum was associated with improvements in classroom climate and student engagement. Limitations of the evaluation are discussed along with suggestions for necessary follow-up assessments.     

Examining relational engagement across the transition to high schools in three US high schools reformed to improve relationship quality

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in students’ relational engagement across the transition to high school in three schools reformed to improve the quality of student–teacher relationships. In order to analyze this data we employed latent growth curve (LGC) modeling techniques (n = 637). We ran three LGC models on three indicators of relational engagement: perceived teacher press (Middleton and Midgley in Contemp Educat Psychol 27:373–391, 2002), perceived teacher support (Goodenow in Psychol Sch 30:79–90, 1993a), and perceived school belonging (Goodenow in J Early Adolesc 13, 21–43, 1993b). For each model we estimated the latent means of the observed variables, the intercept, and the slope. Our hypothesized model for each of the variables included estimates for the contribution of team status (no team, cross-team, pure teamed), total absences in 8th grade, race (white/non-white), gender, gifted status, and socio-economic status. Alternate models were run dropping non-significant exogenous variables from the model one at a time. In each case, the hypothesized models, including five exogenous predictors, evidenced poor fit. However, alternate models including fewer exogenous predictors evidenced better fit, allowed for the estimation of intercept differences and rate of change, and accounted for significant amounts of variance in relational engagement. Findings are situated within the context of school reform designed to improve relational engagement.     

Performance architecture: The art and science of improving organizations

Performance Architecture: The Art and Science of Improving Organizations is a hands‐on guide to real‐world techniques for improving performance within the workplace. This important book explores the Human Performance Technology Landscape model that was presented in the best‐selling book Handbook of Human Performance Technology (3rd ed.). Framed by the Landscape model and supported by other proven models and tools, the book provides effective structures for anyone who needs to develop their performance improvement skills and knowledge and achieve results. Performance Architecture: The Art and Science of Improving Organizations (ISBN: 978‐0‐470‐19568‐0) is published by John Wiley & Sons and the International Society for Performance Improvement.