An Intergenerational E-mail Pal Project on Attitudes of College Students Toward Older Adults

Intergenerational interactions have demonstrated some success at improving attitudes of college students toward older adults. This quasiexperimental study involved undergraduate college students paired with older adults for a six-week e-mail exchange. Student attitudes toward older adults were measured pre- and posttest with Polizzi's revised version of the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD). Students were assigned to an intervention group (n = 23) or a control group (n = 20). The intervention group demonstrated significant improvement in attitude toward older adults as compared to the control group (F 14.694, p < .05). This educational approach holds promise for using readily accessible technology to connect the generations.     

Do Stability of Care and Teacher–Child Interaction Quality Predict Child Outcomes in Early Head Start?

Research Findings: This study examined whether children’s outcomes at age 3 were predicted by their experiences in Early Head Start (EHS), focusing on 2 key features of infant and toddler care: (a) stability of care and (b) teacher–child interactions. This study further explored potential interaction effects between stability of care and teacher–child interactions in predicting child outcomes. Three main results were found from secondary analyses of the recently released EHS longitudinal data set the EHS Family and Child Experiences Study (Vogel & Boller, 2009–2012). First, children who had stability of care (no teacher change) were rated as having fewer behavior problems and higher social competence. Second, children were rated as demonstrating better orientation/engagement and emotional regulation when they were in EHS classrooms observed to have higher emotional and behavioral support. Third, teacher–child interactions that are emotionally and behaviorally supportive may mitigate the potential drawbacks of experiencing instability of care on early social-emotional development. Study implications are discussed. Practice or Policy: Both stability and quality teacher–child interactions are important in center-based infant and toddler care, and ensuring quality teacher–child interactions is particularly important for children who experience teacher changes during their infant and toddler years.     

Predicting college grades: the value of achievement goals in supplementing ability measures

Achievement goal theory is an important theoretical framework for understanding achievement motivation. In previous studies, a mastery orientation has been shown to be related to students’ interest, while a performance orientation has been found to be predictive of academic performance outcomes such as course grades. In this study, the two mastery sub‐scores from the Multiple Goals Theory Measure (MGTM) of academic motivation, which was developed specifically from achievement goal theory, was found to be predictive of college grades for a sample of 257 undergraduates at a public university in the north‐eastern United States. Additionally, the results support a trichotomous model of achievement orientations comprising mastery approach, performance approach, and avoidance. The MGTM appears to hold promise as a diagnostic tool, but additional research is required on its resistance to faking and other threats to validity.     

The Unification of Post-Compulsory Education: Towards a Conceptual Framework

The drive to 'unify'post-compulsory education and training systems is one of the most important current developments in education policy. However the concept of 'unification' lacks clarity, is not widely recognised, and is pursued through different measures in different countries. In this paper we propose a conceptual framework with which to analyse the different meanings of and debates about unification. Using England and Scotland as examples, we show how the framework may be used to analyse existing systems, reform strategies, and processes and pressures for change. The framework is exploratory and will need to be tested and developed in relation to a wider variety of education systems.     

The effect of self-regulated learning strategies on performance in learner controlled computer-based instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of self-regulated learning strategies (SRLS) on performance in a learner-controlled and a program-controlled computer-based instruction (CBI). SRLS was measured using a self-regulated learning strategies questionnaire. Seventh-grade subjects were divided into high and low levels of SRLS and then randomly assigned to one of two versions of a CBI lesson: one allowing learner control over the sequence and content of the instruction and the other having the learners follow a linear instructional sequence. Results revealed that the performance differences between learners with high SRLS and those with low SRLS were greater under learner control than under program control (p<.05). Poor performance by subjects with low SRLS under learner control indicates a strong need for learners to possess self-regulatory learning strategies to achieve success under learner control. Program control, however, seems to minimize the performance differences between low and high levels of SRLS.     

OCCUPATIONAL/CAREER INDECISION FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF HIGH INTELLECTUAL ABILITY: A MIXED‐METHODS COGNITIVE PROCESS MODEL

A mixed‐methods design was employed to identify the cognitive processes that lead to occupational/career indecision for economically disadvantaged adolescents of high intellectual ability. In the first phase, interview data collected from 26 economically disadvantaged intellectually gifted Australian adolescents were analyzed using grounded theory to develop two alternative models of cognitive processes that lead to occupational/career indecision. In the second phase, these models were quantitatively tested and refined using structural equation modeling of survey data collected from 917 economically disadvantaged intellectually gifted Australian adolescents. The finally accepted model, identified using a competing models strategy, suggested that valuing the thoughts of family on general matters is positively predictive of a desire to live up to one's potential and the experience of amotivation about the occupational decision. In turn, occupational amotivation appears to be positively associated with occupational indecision, but negatively associated with multipotentiality and a desire to fulfill one's potential.     

Disability in higher education: a position paper

Leadership in education, particularly special education, implies both knowledge and application of professional behaviors, decisions, and ethics within the field. University students look for best practices in education to be modeled by faculty; this, in turn, underscores a fundamental belief in inclusionary principles. Such modeling is important on every level in teacher education programs, particularly special education programs. The higher a student's level (i.e., undergraduate vs. doctoral), the more notice that student will take of disparities between rhetoric and actions. While reflective practices are explicitly taught in teacher preparation programs to enable professionals to reflect on their own personal and professional practices, teacher education faculty need to employ the same strategy to ensure that they are indeed modeling the practices they teach. This position paper documents the impressions of a doctoral cohort in special education in terms of inclusionary practices demonstrated in a real-life context.