An Evaluative Review of Approaches to Behaviour Problems in the Secondary School

The traditional approach to behaviour problems in secondary schools has been reactive and largely negative. The introduction in recent years of a systems perspective was due to general dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of the traditional problem‐focused model and to a recognition of the benefits that preventive practices might bring. The reports of whole‐school innovations, which are available, are encouraging. However, to date only certain types of systems interventions have been thoroughly evaluated and there is a need for more empirical data. This review also considers the practical implications for educational psychologists in introducing new approaches to secondary schools.     

Predictors of Handwriting in Adolescents and Adults with Down Syndrome

Handwriting is a skill that is constantly used in schools and in the workplace – two environments that are targeted in French legislation passed in 2005 on the integration of people with disabilities. The aim of the present study was to determine the predictive factors for handwriting speed and quality in adolescents and adults with Down syndrome (DS), looking at chronological and developmental age, pen grasp and perceptual-motor processing, which are known to contribute to both the speed and quality of handwriting. Results yielded by simple linear and curvilinear analyses revealed that handwriting speed and quality are related to chronological age, developmental age and perceptual-motor processing. Moreover, multiple linear regressions showed that handwriting quality can be predicted by fine motor coordination. We discuss the influence of different factors on handwriting acquisition in individuals with DS, and the implications in terms of intervention programmes.     

What can ‘social practice’ theory and ‘socio-cultural’ theory contribute to our understanding of the processes of module design?

This article discusses the data obtained from an online survey of academic staff who are involved in module design and who are employed within one university. The survey was used as a baselining tool to explore the nature of current module design practice within the survey sample. Do academics consistently employ the pragmatic approaches recommended by educational developers and theorists or is module and curriculum development a more informally constructed process? By comparing the initial findings of this project with survey and interview data produced by evidence-based projects, this article suggests that module design practice is not set in stone and that we need a deeper analysis of the process of module and curriculum design in terms of social practice and socio-cultural theory in order to gain a deeper understanding of it.     

The Development of Message Evaluation Skills in Young Children

The goal of this research was to learn if young children overestimate message quality because they evaluate their knowledge or assumptions about the intended meaning of the message, rather than its literal meaning. 2 experiments were conducted with preschoolers (4 years) and kindergartners (5-6 years). Second graders (8 years) also participated in the first experiment. Children evaluated the communicative quality of informative, ambiguous, and ineffective picture messages in a simple communication game. In the first experiment, children knew the intended referent when they evaluated the message. The results showed that younger children overestimated the informativeness of the ambiguous and ineffective messages, while older children evaluated message quality accurately, even though they knew the intended meaning. In the second experiment, younger children detected more of the message ambiguities when they did not know the target referent than when they were informed of the intended interpretation. The results suggest that young children overestimate message quality because they evaluate their interpretation of the message rather than its literal meaning.     

Meaning Making and “The Learning Paradigm”: A Provocative Idea in Practice

Amidst the considerable literature published on institutional change in undergraduate teaching and learning, an article co-authored by Robert Barr and John Tagg in 1995 stands out. The authors offered a vision and —perhaps most importantly—gave it a memorable name, the Learning Paradigm. From Teaching to Learning—A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education is the most frequently cited article in the history of Change. In this article, Barr blended his voice with colleagues who helped initiate Learning Paradigm programs at a public university and in a liberal arts college setting. Through multiple forms of inquiry, including discourse and metaphor analysis, they interpreted the shift from teaching to learning and speculate about its future.     

Developing curriculum evaluation research in higher education: Process, politics and practicalities

Demands for greater accountability, globalcompetition, and concern about standards have allcontributed to the increasing interest in evaluationin universities in the UK. At the same time, bothpedagogic research and teacher development in highereducation are gaining prominence.This paper describes the initial development of aprogramme of systematic curriculum evaluation researchwithin a `new' university. The focus of the research is a newundergraduate curriculum which emphasises graduateoutcomes and incorporates the development of core`capabilities' within the subject context. Our taskhas been to develop a longitudinal programme ofresearch that will combine both a summative evaluationof educational outcomes with formative evaluation oflearning processes to inform continued curriculumdevelopment.Questions of performance indicators, measurement, andeducational outcomes all come under scrutiny in acontext of multiple purposes and stakeholders, themicropolitics of the university and wider debatesabout the purpose and effectiveness of undergraduateeducation. This paper explores these issues and theirimplications for the development of a curriculumevaluation strategy, describing the initial stages ofthe multi-level longitudinal design that is emerging.     

The Effect of Early Intervention Services on Maternal Well-Being

In this investigation we examine the relation between intensity, duration, and comprehensiveness of early intervention (EI) services and changes in three aspects of maternal well-being: parenting stress, social support, and family cohesion. Data on the hours, length, and types of services received by a sample of 133 children and families from EI programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were gathered from the point of entry into EI to the point of discharge around the child's third birthday. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine which measure of EI service intervention contributed significantly to the explained variance in changes in maternal well-being, over and above aspects of the child's functioning and prior levels of maternal well-being. Results indicated that, although greater service intensity was associated with improved family cohesion overall, mothers of children without motor impairment reported greater increases than mothers of children with motor impairment. Service intensity and comprehensiveness predicted significant increases in social support levels. EI services did not have a significant impact on parenting stress. Three practice and policy implications are discussed: building flexibility into EI service provision to be responsive to individual family needs; attending to the accommodations required of families raising a child with a motor impairment; and incorporating other aspects of family functioning into future studies of EI effectiveness.     

Introducing Iranian Primary Children to Atoms and Molecules

Research in Science Education - In common with many other countries, the Iranian science curriculum does not introduce primary children to atoms and molecules but instead leaves the teaching of...