Adjustment outcomes of developmental placement: A longitudinal study

Over the years, educators and psychologists have recommended delaying school entry and have developed alternative interventions for young children identified as unready for school. These developmental placement interventions, including readiness kindergartens and pre‐first classes, were developed to avoid both academic and social‐emotional problems in schools. However, the efficacy of these programs has not been proven. This study examined school adjustment outcomes and emotional and learning difficulties, both short‐term and longitudinally, for students who participated in readiness kindergartens and pre‐first classes, as well as for control groups of students. Significant differences were noted in retention rates, dropout rates, and special education placement rates. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Scientific Modeling for Inquiring Teachers Network (SMIT’N): The Influence on Elementary Teachers’ Views of Nature of Science, Inquiry, and Modeling

This paper summarizes the findings from a K-6 professional development program that emphasized scientific inquiry and nature of science within the theme of scientific modeling. During the 2-week summer workshop and follow up school year workshops, the instruction modeled a 5-E learning cycle approach. Pre and posttesting measured teachers’ views of nature of science, inquiry, and scientific modeling. Teachers improved their views of nature of science (NOS) and inquiry by including scientific modeling in their definitions of how scientists work, the empirical nature of science, and the role of observations and inferences in science. Their definitions of science expanded from a knowledge-based orientation to a process-based orientation. Teachers added the use of mathematical formulas to their views of scientific modeling. Using scientific modeling as the central theme was effective in providing positive influence on teachers’ views of inquiry and NOS.     

Correlates of psychosocial adjustment in deaf adolescents with and without cochlear implants: a preliminary investigation

The number of children who have received cochlear implants (CIs) has increased dramatically in the past two decades. In view of potential concerns about their psychosocial adjustment, our aim was to assess the effect of implants on the adolescents' psychosocial functioning among a group of 57 deaf adolescents with and without CIs, using published and validated measures completed by the adolescents themselves, their parents, and teachers. Adolescents with CI tended to be more hearing acculturated, whereas those without CI tended to be more Deaf acculturated. Despite some differences in background characteristics between the two groups, there were no differences between them on the psychosocial variables assessed in this study, regardless of the reporting sources. Rather than having a direct effect on the psychosocial outcomes assessed in this study, it is through the mediating effect of acculturation and school setting that CI status exerts an influence over many of this study's outcomes. Recommendations for future research are made in light of our findings.     

The relative effects of university success courses and individualized interventions for students with learning disabilities

Little is known about the relative effects of post‐secondary learning services for students with learning disabilities. We compared outcomes for students with learning disabilities who selected to: (1) take an academic learning success course (course‐intervention), (2) have regular individual interventions (high‐intervention) or (3) use services only as needed (low‐intervention). Pre‐ and post‐test comparisons revealed improvements in academic self‐efficacy and academic resourcefulness for students in the course‐ and high‐intervention groups. The course‐intervention group also showed decreases in their failure attributions to bad luck and increases in their general repertoire of learned resourcefulness skills in comparison to the high‐intervention group and had significantly higher year‐end GPAs in comparison to the low‐intervention group. Here we find positive outcomes for students with learning disabilities taking a course that teaches post‐secondary learning and academic skills.     

Grade retention: Current decision‐making practices and involvement of school psychologists working in public schools

Research examining student outcomes (e.g., achievement, adjustment) after grade retention reveals that it does not result in long‐term improvements for students; however, grade retention continues to be used as an intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine retention decision‐making practices, as well as school psychologists' knowledge, beliefs, and opinions regarding retention. Actual and ideal roles of school psychologists in grade retention decisions were also examined. Participants included 250 school psychologists randomly selected from the membership of the National Association of School Psychologists. Results revealed that the decision to retain is a subjective one, typically made by a team. Responding school psychologists did not support retention and found the research moderately applicable to practice. However, most school psychologists indicated that they were not centrally involved in decision making. Findings also revealed a desire among school psychologists for increased involvement in developing and/or implementing programs aimed at improving performance and consulting on the effects of retention. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Strategies and Intervening Factors Influencing Student Social Interaction and Experiential Learning in an Interdisciplinary Research Team

Faculty have long incorporated students into interdisciplinary research projects to meet increasingly common demands for collaborative research by federal funding agencies. Despite the critical role of experiential learning in building student research skills and capacity, few have explored social interaction mechanisms used to facilitate student experiential learning in an interdisciplinary research team. Drawing upon the New Rural Economy project as a case study, interviews with 13 students from eight Canadian universities were conducted to explore these social interaction mechanisms. While findings revealed an array of social interaction mechanisms used to develop student learning networks, the quality of these mechanisms were mixed; thereby influencing the utilization of these networks for guidance and feedback. As faculty organize social interaction mechanisms, they should consider factors such as previous experience, student and faculty relationships, finances, language, gender, ethnicity, and other issues, that will have an impact on student engagement with experiential learning.

Class-wide Positive Behavior Support in Preschool: Improving Teacher Implementation Through Consultation

As the number of young children displaying challenging behavior in early childhood grows, so too does the need to implement evidence-based practices that prevent challenging behavior. Positive Behavior Support (PBS) provides a framework of tiered interventions focused on promoting social-emotional development and preventing challenging behavior. This study investigated the effects of consultation on teachers’ implementation of universal PBS practices and children’s academic engagement. A multiple-baseline design was applied across four preschool classrooms serving children from 33 to 63 months of age. A strong relationship was documented between consultation and teachers’ implementation of PBS skills. High levels of academic engagement were maintained following consultation. Implications of the results are provided for applications of universal PBS practices in early childhood settings.     

From rhetoric to reality: The problematic nature and assessment of children and young people's social and emotional learning

There is little doubt of the educational and social merits of developing children and young people's social and emotional capabilities. But there lacks consensus on what these capabilities are; what should be assessed or shown to have developed over time; and the most appropriate methods for doing this. Through the conceptual framework of ‘social and emotional dispositions and skills’ (SEDS), and based on research in Wales, we present the argument for an alternative assessment methodology designed to challenge dominant discourses in the field and present a ‘minoritarian’ perspective of children and young people's social and emotional learning. The intention of this paper is to present a rationale for the co‐construction of an understanding of the concept of SEDS and engage in critical debate with researchers and practitioners from a wide range of services for children and young people.     

Young children's near and far transfer of the basic theory of natural selection: An analogical storybook intervention

Misconceptions about adaptation by natural selection are widespread among adults and likely stem, in part, from cognitive biases and intuitive theories observable in early childhood. Current educational guidelines that recommend delaying comprehensive instruction on the topic of adaptation until adolescence, therefore, raise concerns because children's scientifically inaccurate theories about species may be left unchallenged for many years, allowing them to entrench and become difficult to overcome. In consequence, this investigation sought to explore whether classrooms of kindergartners and second graders could acquire a basic but comprehensive understanding of adaptation from an intervention constructed around two picture storybooks that mechanistically explain natural selection. Learning was assessed in near and far transfer contexts both immediately and a month later. Kindergartners and second graders demonstrated substantial learning of biological information; however, second graders showed pronounced abilities to near and far generalize, immediately and over time. Results suggest that causally cohesive interventions with an emphasis on mechanistic explanation facilitate children's classroom learning of complex counterintuitive scientific ideas.