Undergraduates' Evaluations of Developmental Claims and Their Identification of Information Sources

Students in a large human development course rated the accuracy of 50 developmental claims. Half of the claims were specifically embedded in the course content, but the remaining claims were not addressed in the course. Students also identified the major information source for each developmental claim rated. From the beginning to the end of the course, students (especially high performers) improved in evaluating the accuracy of course-related developmental claims and increasingly attributed their ratings of these claims to professional information sources. Our study underscores the importance of sensitizing students to the role of research evidence in judging the credibility of claims in general education courses.Sherry K. Bain is an Associate Professor in Educational Psychology and Counseling at the University of Tennessee and a member of the school psychology graduate faculty, Her research has included investigations of common beliefs in areas such as giftedness and educational psychology and their relationship to data-based evidence. Robert L. Williams is a Professor in Educational Psychology and Counseling at the University of Tennessee. His current research focuses on the role of critical thinking in a large human development course. Rachael Isaacs and Ashley Williams are doctoral students in the School Psychology Program at the University of Tennessee. Susan Stockdale is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and Middle Grades Education at Kennesaw State University. Her recent research has related to critical thinking and cooperative learning in higher education     

Prospective relations among victimization, rejection, friendlessness, and children's self- and peer-perceptions

This study investigated the prospective links between three forms of peer adversities (i.e., victimization, rejection, and lack of reciprocated friendships) and children's perceptions of themselves and of their peers. The sample consisted of 212 children (107 boys and 105 girls, 11-13 years) recruited from four primary schools and followed up for a period of one year. The results showed that a negative self-perception was a risk factor for the development of all forms of peer adversities. Of the three forms of peer adversities assessed, victimization and rejection had an influence on children's peer perceptions. None of the peer adversities predicted changes in self-perceptions. The results partially support a transactional model between children and their environments.     

Beyond turnaround: a synthesis of relevant frameworks for leaders of sustained improvement in previously low-performing schools

We understand very little about what is special that leaders do to facilitate improvement that is both transformational and lasting in previously persistently failing schools in the United States. Relatively little is understood about change not just during the initial turnaround stage, but that endures on the larger journey as the school becomes a healthy organisation for adults and students. This lack of understanding is likely due to the lack of data sources because schools struggle to attain turnaround, let alone maintain the improvement and continue to grow. We conducted a literature review of frameworks implicated in leading a sustained school turnaround. This study synthesises existing frameworks relevant to implicated constructs of (1) school turnaround, (2) effective educational leadership, (3) turnaround external to education, and (4) sustained improvement external to education through developing a cohesive set of practices to inform the work of researchers and practitioners. We end by suggesting that this framework be tested and refined through examination of principal data so that it more robustly represents the work that leaders of sustained improvement undertake.     

中美两国确认不侵犯知识产权诉讼的法律与实践

美国以一个诉讼多的国度而闻名于世。但在美国法院提起确认不侵犯知识产权之诉却决非易事。原告必须满足美国《宪法》"案例和争议"要求才可起诉。美国《确认不侵权法案》的标准并未明确规定处理Medlmmune(医学免疫公司)诉