Socioeconomic disparities in the comprehension of lexical categories. A study with Spanish-speaking Argentinian toddlers

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study documents the effects of social inequality on different dimensions of lexical comprehension in Spanish-speaking Argentinian toddlers, a...     

Behavioral self-management of academic test performances in elementary classrooms

The effects of two types of self-determined reinforcement contingencies on children's test performances were investigated and compared to each other and to externally determined contingencies. In Experiment I, fourth-grade children's test performances were measured for three baseline sessions utilizing self-assessment and self-recording and three contingency sessions. Three contingency conditions resulted in significant and comparable increases in total test performances over a noncontingent reinforcement control: externally determined contingencies set in advance of performance, self-determined contingencies set in advance of performance when children were trained in contingency selection, and self-determined contingent points that children awarded themselves after performance. In a condition in which children self-determined contingencies but had no training in how to set contingencies, the results were not significantly greater than the control. In Experiment II, contingencies were introduced for a longer period of time to two fifth-grade classes. The comparable increases in test performance through externally determined and self-determined contingencies set in advance of performance when children were trained in contingency selection persisted over the three weeks. It was suggested that self-management that includes self-determined contingencies of reinforcement procedures may provide useful and cost effective techniques that educational consultants may recommend for classroom implementation.     

Shared beliefs, conflict, and a retreat from reform: the story of a professional community of high school mathematics teachers

This article describes the case of a professional community of high school Pre-algebra teachers who began and later abandoned a collective effort at reform. The community's retreat from reform appears to have been influenced by their beliefs about students and their closely related beliefs about appropriate content and pedagogy for those students. Both sets of beliefs were characterized by conflict and internal inconsistency. Yet, the community avoided addressing the conflicting nature of their beliefs. Both the nature of the community's beliefs and their avoidance of the inherent inconsistencies appear to have shaped the response to reform in this case.