Books for Babies means books for parents too: the benefits of situating the earliest stages of literacy in the framework of the wider community

This paper describes some findings from the Books for Babies project, a central strand of Derbyshire’s county‐wide literacy initiative, Read On – Write Away! (ROWA!). The original project, initiated by the Derbyshire Libraries and Heritage Service in 1995 was extended through ROWA! by being incorporated into wider ranging community literacy provision. This paper describes preliminary evidence that indicates that there are additional benefits for other family group members when a Book Start project includes follow‐up activities and is connected to wider ranging community literacy initiatives.     

The relationship between the Differential Ability Scales (DAS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition (WISC-III) for students with learning disabilities

As part of a mandated three-year reevaluation, the Differential Ability Scales (DAS) was administered to 53 children identified as having a learning disability approximately 3 years after each had been administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Third Edition (WISC-III). The DAS's General Conceptual Ability score (GCA), and Verbal and Spatial Cluster scores were nonsignificantly different from the WISC-III's Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance scores. The Nonverbal Reasoning score of the DAS (a measure of Fluid intelligence not assessed by the WISC-III) was significantly different from both the Verbal and Performance scores. High correlations were found between the similar constructs on the two tests. Approximately 96% of the students obtaining a certain classification from the WISC-III obtained a comparable classification from the DAS. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The academic researcher: Socialisation in settings previously dominated by teaching

Qualitative case studies of two multidisciplinary health science departments from different universities in Australia were undertaken to identify the experiences which beginning and early career researchers perceived had facilitated or inhibited their development as researchers during the first five years post amalgamation into university settings. Results were viewed using modernist and post modernist interpretations of organisational socialisation. A modernist interpretation indicated that the production of a successful academic researcher was linked to the creative intersection of person, department and institution, where individual motivation, a supportive, stable and adequately resourced environment, accessible skills and the opportunity for collaborative research were clearly of importance. A postmodernist interpretation, which celebrates diversity and creativity and values dynamism revealed the ambiguity and resistance which was present in the two settings but had the capacity to interpret this in a positive manner.     

Supporting the career development of gifted students: New role and function for school psychologists

The American ethos that you can be whatever you want to be has not always been a helpful adage for gifted students. Gifted students require career counseling to understand the world of work, and to identify their interests and values in addition to their already-identified talents. Academic planning and career development for gifted students is an important and complex process that requires thoughtful consideration. School psychologists have the skills and abilities to provide valuable career development services to gifted students. The authors explore the unique challenges and career development needs of gifted students and provide suggestions for interventions.     

Effect of graded competition on student opportunities for participation and success rates during a season of Sport Education

Background: A guiding principle of Sport Education is that all students get equal opportunity to play, which is expedited through the use of small-sided contests. One element included within the philosophy of Sport Education is that of ‘graded competition.’ In graded competition, leagues are arranged that match students of similar skill level against one another, and in some cases, even the game forms are different across the competition levels. To date, there are no studies that have examined the utility of graded competition as promoting either student engagement or learning. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that using graded competition would increase opportunities for game involvement and success rates of both higher and lower skill level students. Participants and setting: The participants in this study were 106 fourth-grade students (51 boys and 55 girls, aged 10–11) from two physical education classes within an elementary school in the southeastern United States. The content was an 18-lesson season of mini-handball taught following the principles of Sport Education. While the overall season format for both classes was the same, the composition of teams varied between the two. In the first class, all teams were heterogeneous with a mix of higher and lower skilled players. These students were able to divide into their sub-teams in any combination they wished. In the second class, two homogeneous leagues were formed; one consisting of teams with all higher skilled students and the other with teams of all lower skilled students. There was no inter-league play. Rather, there were two parallel competitions and two championships. Methods: Digital video records were made of 76 games played during the seasons. Each time a player (a) made contact with the ball (a pass, catch, or interception), (b) was the target of a pass but did not receive it (overthrow or interception), or (c) was involved with a shot on goal (as shooter or goalkeeper), that activity was recorded. A 2 (skill: high/low)?×?2 (sex)?×?3 (grouping: all low/all high/mixed) full factorial mixed analysis of variance was conducted on the following dependent variables: (a) percent success, (b) ball engagement rate, and (c) efficiency, with the game being the unit of analysis. Findings: The key finding from this study was that in terms of success rates, engagement rates and playing efficiency, lower skilled students seemed to be at a disadvantage when they participated alongside higher skilled classmates. While less severe, there were also decrements in higher skilled student success rates and efficiency in these mixed-skill conditions. By consequence, while higher skilled boys could thrive in either homogenous or mixed level competitions, many girls and all students with lower skill levels benefitted from playing against students of similar skill levels. Conclusions: The grouping of students in terms of skill level has implications for their in-game behaviors, for the extent to which they can develop improved game performance, and potentially for their motivation to persist during play.     

Examining multidimensional sport-confidence in athletes and non-athlete sport performers

Sport-confidence is considered a critical success factor for sport performers at all levels. Researchers have suggested that sport-confidence is a multidimensional rather than a unidimensional construct, and the sport-confidence model identified three types of sport-confidence (i.e., physical skills and training, cognitive efficiency, and resilience) that are important for success in sport. However, such multidimensionality of sport-confidence and its measurement have not been fully examined. On a large sample of sport performers with varied skill levels and characteristics, the purpose of the present study was to examine the three-factor model of sport-confidence. We tested the measurement invariance of the Sport-Confidence Inventory across 512 athletes and 1170 non-athlete sport performers. Results from the multiple group model analysis showed that the three-factor model of sport-confidence fit better for the athlete sample than for the non-athlete sample. The results implicate that the three-factor model of sport-confidence model is suitable to athletes, though sport-confidence may appear more unidimensional for non-athletes. The use of the Sport-Confidence Inventory for non-athlete sport performers demands further consideration; however, the findings implicate that it could be a useful tool to assess sport-confidence of sport performers at any levels.     

The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates

This article discusses the development and validation of a measure of adolescent students' perceived belonging or psychological membership in the school environment. An initial set of items was administered to early adolescent students in one suburban middle school (N = 454) and two multi-ethnic urban junior high schools (N = 301). Items with low variability and items detracting from scale reliability were dropped, resulting in a final 18-item Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale, which had good internal consistency reliability with both urban and suburban students and in both English and Spanish versions. Significant findings of several hypothesized subgroup differences in psychological school membership supported scale construct validity. The quality of psychological membership in school was found to be substantially correlated with self-reported school motivation, and to a lesser degree with grades and with teacher-rated effort in the cross-sectional scale development studies and in a subsequent longitudinal project. Implications for research and for educational practice, especially with at-risk students, are discussed.     

Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Gordon Diagnostic System: A preliminary study

The discriminant and concurrent validity of the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) was investigated in 29 youngsters categorized into “normals” or “ADHDs” based on teacher ratings. The results failed to demonstrate the discriminant validity of any GDS score regardless of the behavior rating used. The Vigilance Correct and Vigilance Omission scores were significantly correlated with ADHD Rating Scale scores completed by teachers. The sample size in the study demands cautious interpretation of these results; however, the authors suggest the continued use of multiple behavior ratings by teachers as the “gold standard” for the classification of youngsters with a suspected Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.     

Assessment Theory and Research for Classrooms: From Taxonomies to Constructing Meaning in Context

Why should we take a broader view of assessment theory and research when constructing measures of school achievement? How might we incorporate a learner's awareness of his or her own learning strategies into the assessment process? How could an assessment developer combine the use of psychological constructs and varying contexts for learning in the assessment of competence in mathematics?