A factorial analysis of timed and untimed measures of mathematics and reading abilities in school aged twins

The present study examined the phenotypic and genetic relationship between fluency and non-fluency-based measures of reading and mathematics performance. Participants were drawn from the Western Reserve Reading and Math Project, an ongoing longitudinal twin project of same-sex MZ and DZ twins from Ohio. The present analyses are based on tester-administered measures available from 228 twin pairs (age M = 9.86 years). Measurement models suggested that four factors represent the data, namely Decoding, Fluency, Comprehension, and Math. Subsequent quantitative genetic analyses of these latent factors suggested that a single genetic factor accounted for the covariance among these four latent factors. However, there were also unique genetic effects on Fluency and Math, independent from the common genetic factor. Thus, although there is a significant genetic overlap among different reading and math skills, there may be independent genetic sources of variation related to measures of decoding fluency and mathematics.     

INTERACT: building a virtual community of practice to enhance teachers’ intercultural professional development

This project focuses on the design and implementation of an online professional development platform tailored to teachers’ needs to improve and promote their intercultural knowledge. Drawing upon the framework of virtual communities of practice, the project escapes from traditional professional development programmes. Although a total of 103 teachers participated in the project, in the implementation phase we carried out observations and interviews with a sub-sample of 40 teachers. Research findings indicate the generation of new knowledge regarding new pedagogical practices with respect to intercultural education as well as an increased collaboration among all involved stakeholders. Through the active involvement in the INTERACT platform, teachers became reflective practitioners by having opportunities to raise their voice and share views on their intercultural practices.     

Smooth Transition for Advancement to Graduate Education (STAGE) for Underrepresented Groups in the Mathematical Sciences Pilot Project: Broadening Participation through Mentoring

The Smooth Transition for Advancement to Graduate Education (STAGE) project was a three-year pilot project designed to mentor undergraduate students primarily from under-represented groups in the mathematical sciences. The STAGE pilot project focused on mentoring students as they transitioned from undergraduate education to either graduate school or a career in the STEM workforce. We discuss the various mentoring structures, the STAGE pilot utilized, and how those structures affected programmatic outcomes. In addition, we discuss challenges we faced in mentoring undergraduates and special considerations we made when mentoring students from under-represented groups.     

Trial and Error: How Student Affairs Staff in Community Colleges Learn to Supervise

Supervisory skills play an important role in individual staff development and the achievement of organizational objectives. These skills are vital to professionals in community college student affairs, who support a diverse student population and a wide array of programming. This study was conducted to describe the kind of supervisory training experience student affairs professionals received. Through interviews with community college student affairs professionals, we found that many experienced a lack of formal training and acquired supervisory skills over time on the job, through trial and error, and from workshops.     

The relationship between physical activity and self-efficacy in children with disabilities

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether self-efficacy in children with disabilities could be strengthened through targeted and adapted physical activities led by specially educated leaders. Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile (CY-PSPP) scale were used. The study includes 45 children of 8–14 years of age with different types of impairments. The children participated in training sessions twice a week and tried out 13 different physical activities during eight months. The median in this study of total self-efficacy was 104 points, which can be compared to median points varying between 100 and 107 in previous studies based on children without disabilities. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase of the means in four out of six different domains of self-efficacy before and after the study was carried out. Key findings indicated that this model is successful in strengthening the children’s self-efficacy and that their perceived self-efficacy was equal to that of children without disabilities.     

Developmental patterns of children's shyness: Relations with physiological,emotional, and regulatory responses to being treated unfairly

The dysregulation of social fear has been widely studied in children's shyness, but we know little about how shy children regulate during unfair treatment. We first characterized developmental patterns of children's shyness (N = 304, n_girls = 153; 74% White, 26% Other) across 2 (M_age = 2.07), 3 (M_age = 3.08), 4 (M_age = 4.08), and 6 (M_age = 6.58) years of age. Data collection occurred from 2007 to 2014. At age 6, the high stable group had higher cardiac vagal withdrawal and lower expressed sadness and approach-related regulatory strategy than the low stable group when being treated unfairly. Although shy children may be more physiologically impacted by being treated unfairly, they may mask their sadness to signal appeasement.     

Infant-directed speech does not always involve exaggerated vowel distinctions: Evidence from Danish

This study compared the acoustic properties of 26 (100% female, 100% monolingual) Danish caregivers' spontaneous speech addressed to their 11- to 24-month-old infants (infant-directed speech, IDS) and an adult experimenter (adult-directed speech, ADS). The data were collected between 2016 and 2018 in Aarhus, Denmark. Prosodic properties of Danish IDS conformed to cross-linguistic patterns, with a higher pitch, greater pitch variability, and slower articulation rate than ADS. However, an acoustic analysis of vocalic properties revealed that Danish IDS had a reduced or similar vowel space, higher within-vowel variability, raised formants, and lower degree of vowel discriminability compared to ADS. None of the measures, except articulation rate, showed age-related differences. These results push for future research to conduct theory-driven comparisons across languages with distinct phonological systems.     

Correction to: Expanding the interpretive functions of framing for understanding marginalized students’ participation in collaboration and learning

Cultural Studies of Science Education -     

Adapting an anti-bullying programme for UK special schools

Bullying is a public health priority but to date, there is a lack of evidence-based anti-bullying programmes or interventions designed for use in special schools. KiVa is a successful anti-bullying programme for mainstream schools currently used in 23 countries. This brief paper outlines the co-development and adaptation of two KiVa lessons into KiVa-SEND lessons and their implementation in two special schools in the UK. One school supports pupils with a primary need of Autism, the other supports pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities. Engagement with the lessons was high from both pupils and staff; the content was perceived as acceptable by staff, complementing the curriculum and perceived as suitable for their pupils. Minor adjustments need to be made to ensure all pupils can comprehend and access the concepts. Further development of the KiVa-SEND programme and testing its potential effectiveness to reduce bullying and associated negative outcomes in special schools is now warranted.

Key Points

• There is a lack of evidence-based anti-bullying programmes for use in special schools. This paper details the piloting of an adaptation of KiVa (a successful, evidence-based anti-bullying programme for mainstream schools) for use in special schools.
• The adaption (KiVa-SEND) was a co-design between a couple of special school teachers, and educational and psychological researchers to ensure the materials and approach were in line with school requirements and teaching practices.
• The KiVa-SEND lesson engagement was excellent from the 12 staff and 62 learners involved and the materials were deemed acceptable via direct feedback and researcher observations. Suggestions were provided on how to make the materials even more suitable for diverse learning needs.
• KiVa-SEND has the potential to be embedded within the special school curriculum and then be tested for its effectiveness at reducing bullying and associated negative outcomes of bullying amongst the special school population.