What does it look like and what can it do? Category structure influences how infants categorize

Despite a large body of research demonstrating the kinds of categories to which infants respond, few studies have directly assessed how infants' categorization unfolds over time. Four experiments used a visual familiarization task to evaluate 10-month-old infants' (N = 98) learning of exemplars characterized by commonalities in appearance or function. When learning exemplars with a common function, infants initially responded to the common feature, apparently forming a category, and only learned the individual features with more extensive familiarization. When learning exemplars with a common appearance, infants initially learned the individual features and apparently only formed a category with more extensive familiarization. The results are discussed in terms of models of category learning.     

The impact of a dialogic reading program on deaf and hard-of-hearing kindergarten and early primary school-aged students in Hong Kong

The present study investigated the effects of a special interactive dialogic reading method developed by Whitehurst et al. (1988) on deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Hong Kong. Twenty-eight deaf and hard-of-hearing children in kindergarten, first, or second grade were pretested on a receptive vocabulary test and assigned to one of three conditions, dialogic reading, typical reading, and control, with age and degree of hearing loss matched. After an 8-week intervention, the children were re-tested. The dialogic reading group had a significantly greater improvement in vocabulary scores than did the other two groups. Parent-child interactions of high quality and the use of pictorial materials are likely the key successful factors in the program. The educational value of this intervention is discussed.     

Managerialism and equalities: tensions within widening access policy and practice for disabled students in UK universities

This paper draws on a four-year longitudinal ESRC funded project examining learning experiences of disabled students in higher education in four universities. The focus here is on institutional responses to the demands of audit culture and legislation in relation to making reasonable adjustments for students with impairments. The data comes from institutional documents and face-to-face interviews with key informants within the institutions. The findings indicate that quality assurance regimes and legislation have had some positive effect on improving access for disabled students; however, local factors and type of institution also have a major impact on the way that national policies are expressed in particular contexts.     

Private speech in children with ADHD and their typically developing peers during problem-solving and inhibition tasks

This study compared private speech of children with ADHD and normal controls during problem solving and inhibition tasks. Thirty-two children (16 children with ADHD and 16 matched controls) aged 6–11 years participated. Consistent with previous studies, children with ADHD produced more task-irrelevant and task-relevant external private speech than control children during problem-solving tasks, but did not differ in their use of task-relevant internal private speech. During the inhibition/attention task (Continuous Performance Test-II), children with ADHD produced more task-relevant external and more task-relevant internal private speech, suggesting that they may have employed a less mature strategy to aid in self-regulation. The educational implications of the current study are that there should be an increased awareness of the developmental nature and functional significance of private speech and how private speech usage may differ in children with ADHD.     

Building Relationships through Communities of Practice: Museums and Indigenous People

Abstract This paper explores the theory of “communities of practice” and how the ideas contained in it could be applied to museums, by demonstrating how a key stakeholder group, Indigenous people, have been involved with and engaged in the work of the Australian Museum, Sydney, over the past 30 years. It is suggested that the processes museums have developed in building relationships with Indigenous people, particularly at the practitioner level, could form a template for how museums make themselves relevant to broader communities through active engagement with multiple communities of practice.     

A comparison of verbal output and receptivity in relation to attraction and communication satisfaction in interpersonal relationships

This study tested relationships among verbal output, behavioral receptivity, attraction, and communication satisfaction in a variety of longer and shorter term relationships of differing levels of liking. Two behaviorally referenced reports on others were developed to measure perceived behavioral output and perceived behavioral receptivity. The study tested hypotheses within the attraction paradigm. Results generally supported the notion of an important reinforcement value of high behavioral receptivity and moderate verbal output. Substantial proportions of highly verbal people appeared to be below average in receptivity.     

From Early Relationships to Preacademic Knowledge: A Sociocognitive Developmental Cascade to School Readiness

This study aimed to test a four-wave sequential mediation model linking mother–child attachment to children's school readiness through child executive functioning (EF) and prosociality in toddlerhood and the preschool years. Mother–child attachment security was assessed when children (N = 255) were aged 15 months and 2 years, child EF at age 2, prosocial behavior at age 4, and finally cognitive school readiness in kindergarten (age 6). The results revealed three indirect pathways linking attachment to school readiness: one through EF only, one through prosocial behavior only, and a last pathway involving both EF and prosocial behavior serially. These findings suggest that secure attachment may equip children with both cognitive and social skills that are instrumental to their preparedness for school.