Association between receipt of school-based HIV education and contraceptive use among sexually active high school students — United States, 2011–2013

Sexual health education, including HIV prevention information, can help prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. National Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 2011 and 2013 were used to determine HIV education prevalence among 9,825 currently sexually active students in grades 9–12. Associations between HIV education and contraceptive methods used at last sexual intercourse were examined for: (1) condom use; (2) any contraceptive method; (3) dual use of a condom and either birth control pills; IUD or implant; or shot, patch, or birth control ring; and (4) primary contraceptive method. Primary contraceptive method options were (1) no method; (2) birth control pills; (3) condoms; (4) IUD or implant; (5) shot, patch, or birth control ring; (6) withdrawal or some other method; and (7) not sure. Logistic regression (prevalence ratios [PRs] and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) and Chi-squares were used for testing. Students who received HIV education were more likely than students who did not to use a condom (PR:1.09;CI:1.01,1.18) and any contraceptive method (PR:1.08;CI:1.04,1.12); there was no significant association with dual use. Primary contraceptive method varied significantly by receipt of HIV education (p < .001). School-based HIV education may be important for promotion of adolescent condom and contraceptive use.     

Using Microcomputers in the Classroom

Drawing upon their practical experience as teachers and as teacher trainers, the authors describe development work done in a school for children with severe learning handicap. The project in question focused upon the communication and learning needs of a boy with athetoid cerebral palsy. Over a period of time, both the computer hardware (mainly communication devices) and software programmes were developed which have made an incalculable contribution to the boy's contact with his teachers and his fellow‐pupils. The work done has already been adapted and made available for other pupils.     

Search Strategies and Inference in the Exploration of Scientific Diagrams

The salience assigned to information in a diagrammatic display may vary according to the goals and background of the viewer. As well as being a function of the characteristics of the diagrammatic material presented, the way in which an individual extracts and acts upon information from such displays will be a function of the characteristics of the individual's particular mental representation of that display type. The strategies used by professional meteorologists to explore a meteorological chart were compared with those used by non‐meteorologists. Differences found between the groups involved both the patterns of exploration used and the way inference was used as a basis for decision‐making. These differences were interpreted as reflecting differences in underlying mental representation. The findings raise a number of questions concerning ways in which diagrammatic material is treated during instruction in subjects such as science.     

Effects of Early and Recent Maternal Employment on Children from Low-Income Families

The effects of early maternal employment (employment during the child's first 3 years) and recent maternal employment (employment during the previous 3 years) on 189 second-grade children from low-income families were examined. Maternal employment was related to a number of selection factors. In comparison to mothers who were not employed, employed mothers scored higher on a mental aptitude test and were more highly educated. Both early and recent maternal employment were also associated with measures of the current family functioning: there was less poverty and higher HOME environment scores when mothers were employed. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that children's math achievement was positively predicted by early maternal employment and children's reading achievement was positively predicted by recent maternal employment, even after controlling for selection effects and current family environment. These results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms by which maternal employment may affect children's development.     

Using Stakeholder Input to Guide Cultural and Contextual Adaptations for a Universal School-Based Intervention

The Urban Review - Strong student–teacher relationships foster students’ social, emotional, and academic development, particularly for students from marginalized racial/ethnic groups....     

Diagram prediction and higher order structures in mental representation

Predictions of the patterns likely to appear on a weather map diagram one day later than those shown on a given map were drawn by meteorologists and non-meteorologists. Differences in secondary structures of the predicted patterns with respect to the spacing and alignment of graphic elements were consistent with the existence of fundamental differences in mental representation between the subject groups. Lack of expertise in the subject domain of the diagram was associated with the production of patterns containing meteorologically-arbitrary arrangements of graphic elements. It is suggested that science instruction should include explicit consideration of the higher order structures present in diagrams. Specializations: mental representation and processing of scientific diagrams, characteristics of explanatory illustrations, drawing and cognition, instructional design.     

The challenge of altering elementary school teachers' beliefs and practices regarding linguistic and cultural diversity in science instruction

This study examined the impact of a professional development intervention aimed at helping elementary teachers incorporate elements of students' home language and culture into science instruction. The intervention consisted of instructional units and materials and teacher workshops. The research involved 43 third‐ and fourth‐grade teachers at six elementary schools in a large urban school district. These teachers participated in the intervention for 2 consecutive years. The study was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods based on focus group interviews, a questionnaire, and classroom observations. The results indicate that as teachers began their participation in the intervention, they rarely incorporated students' home language or culture into science instruction. During the 2‐year period of the intervention, teachers' beliefs and practices remained relatively stable and did not show significant change. Possible explanations for the limited effectiveness of the intervention are addressed, and implications for professional development efforts are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1269–1291, 2007     

Seriation, Conservation, and Theory of Mind Abilities in Individuals with Autism, Individuals with Mental Retardation, and Normally Developing Children

Seriation, conservation, and theory of mind abilities were examined in individuals with autism ( N = 16), mental retardation ( N = 16), and in normally developing children ( N = 16). Seriation tasks included seriation of tubes, blocks, and flat squares. Conservation tasks included conservation of area, number, substance, quantity, and weight. Theory of mind tasks involved predicting false belief and understanding value and fact beliefs. Participants with autism performed better than participants with mental retardation on seriation, while no differences emerged between these groups on conservation and false belief. Individuals with autism performed less well than individuals with mental retardation on the value and fact belief tasks; however, when verbal ability was held as a covariant, the difference was no longer significant. Normally developing children performed better than the other two groups on all tasks. These results suggest that autism does not involve a specific impairment in theory of mind and that theory of mind deficits are not unique to autism.     

Voices of educational administration internship mentors

Within the field of leadership preparation, there is agreement by both scholars and practitioners of the need to engage aspiring leaders in authentic field-based learning experiences that tightly align to coursework (Perez, Uline, Johnson, James-Ward, & Basom, 2011). An integrated approach including mentoring is critical to the success of the internship activities and therefore the overall experience. Using data gathered from interns, as well as issues emerging in existent literature, the researchers developed and administered a survey to mentors to assess the activities, level of engagement, and general feedback on the internship experience for those they supervised, as well as their own development during the interaction. We subsequently conducted interviews of five mentors who had responded to the survey to allow for further exploration of the emergent themes.     

Still keen and committed: piloting an instrument for identifying positive veteran teachers

ABSTRACT

Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic. Much research has focused on early-career teachers and is often reported from deficit positions, i.e. why they leave the profession. However, career trajectory studies have described a small cohort of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching. This article reports on the creation and piloting of an instrument designed to test whether this positive cohort can be empirically identified within a wider teaching population. Four constructs (experimentation, challenge, comfort and leadership) drawn from Huberman (1993), and Day and Gu (2007) formed the basis for an online pilot survey completed by 145 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported three of the four factors (experimentation, comfort, leadership), with challenge loading strongly with experimentation. Initial findings suggest the potential of the instrument in helping identifying positive veteran teachers within systems, as well as the voracity of the research approach. Examining and articulating how these veteran teachers maintain their positive outlook may prove valuable as many countries confront an ageing teaching workforce, increasing student numbers and difficulties in retaining experienced teachers, meaning those who remain will be expected to sustain their commitment for longer.