Sibling Differences in Problem Behavior and Parental Treatment in Nondivorced and Remarried Families

This article examines within-family differences in parenting and problem behavior in nondivorced and remarried families, with a specific focus on whether sibling differences are magnified and whether the links between differential treatment and sibling adjustment are stronger in remarried families. Multimethod assessments of parenting and problem behavior were done on 516 families with 2 same-sex adolescent siblings. The remarried families included those in which one or neither sibling was the mother's stepchild and one or both siblings were the father's stepchildren. Within-family differences in parenting and problem behavior were greatest in remarried families where siblings did not share the same biological parent. Differential treatment was also more strongly related to problem behavior in this family context, with the mother's biological child and father's stepchild at greater risk. Results are discussed in terms of the differing experiences of biological children and stepchildren in remarried households.     

Commentary on “Implementing New York's Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program: An Exploratory Study of Systemic Impacts”

The Morrissey, Lekies, and Cochran (this issue) article is a welcome addition to the literature focusing on whether state-funded preschool education negatively impacts child care. Yet, although the study is a step in the right direction, it does not provide the data needed to answer the question at hand or inform state preschool and child care policy. Furthermore, while there is merit to research that begins with the premise that publicly funded preschool initiatives may contribute to instability in the child care market, the present commentary offers an alternative perspective on such an outcome. More specifically, the commentary argues that such initiatives may be the best thing that ever happened to children, their families, and those who work in the field. The commentary concludes with a recommendation for additional studies that combine concern for an adequate supply of child care with robust data and an overall focus on improving children's outcomes.     

Student Perceptions of a Mathematics Major for Prospective Elementary Teachers with an Inquiry‐Based Philosophy

Abstract

In this paper we present data from one-on-one interviews conducted with students who have taken intermediate and advanced inquiry-based mathematics courses in a program that prepares future preK-8 teachers. Many of these students entered college with a fear of math, but then gained confidence from a required introductory math course and chose to pursue a major in Mathematics for Teaching. These interviews help explain their choice to pursue this major and their general experiences in IBL math classes. These insights were used to improve our program and may also help other mathematics instructors and programs that hope to implement an inquiry-based approach in their departments.     

Intergroup Attitudes among Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Causal Model

To examine the influence of ethnic idenilty and intergroup contact on adolescents' attitudes toward other ethnic groups, we studied eighth and eleventh graders from 2 predominantly non-white school districts. Surveys completed by 547 adolescents from 3 ethnic groups (133 African Americans, 219 Latinos, and 195 Asian Americans) assessed in-group and out-group attitudes, out-group interaction, out-group contact, and ethnic identity. A causal model suggested 2 pathways leading to positive out-group attitudes. In one pathway, ethnic identity increased with age and predicted positive in-group attitudes; these attitudes contributed to positive out-group attitudes. In a separate pathway, ethnic diversity outside of schcool led to more out-group interaction in school, which in turn predicted positive out-group attitudes. The results support developmental and multiculturalism views of intergroup relations.     

School Counselors' Perceptions of Career Counseling and Career Testing: Preferences, Priorities, and Predictors

Limited information on the actual and preferred career counseling and career testing activities of school counselors exists. An analysis of a statewide school counselors' survey revealed career counseling and testing preferences, priorities and predictors. Results revealed counselors preferred trait/factor approaches to career counseling, including Holland's RIASEC theory, Person-Environment-Correspondence theory and Cognitive Information Processing theory, respectively. With respect to career counseling and career testing priorities, means comparisons indicated that elementary, middle, and high school counselors' actual time performing career counseling duties is minimal; however, they desire to spend significantly more time on career counseling and testing. Multiple regressions revealed important predictor variables for actual and ideal time spent on career counseling and career testing. Limitations and recommendations for further research are discussed.     

Cracking with affect: relationality in young people’s movements in and out of mainstream schooling

This paper focusses on the schooling stories of two young women who moved from mainstream schooling into alternative learning program set up for Indigenous students and back into mainstream schooling to complete their Year 12 education. The manner in which these young women narrated their stories is understood through the prism of Indigenous notions of relatedness and affect theory and is as revealing as the actual reporting of the events and rationales in these young women’s schooling trajectories. Young people’s insights into the challenges of mainstream pedagogies and promises of relational pedagogies invite us to consider what could be different in structures and processes which aim to deliver educational equity. We argue there is a need for more research which offers rich accounts of the emotional and relational fields which underpin student subjectivities and engagement.     

Seeing things differently: teachers' constructions of underachievement

The identity of the underachiever has become synonymous with the stereotypical identity of boys. Teachers know what underachievement looks like: it looks like a boy who is bright, but bored. Evidence from a research study reported here demonstrates that teachers are more likely to select boys as underachievers than girls and that teachers construct underachievement differentially by gender. The consequence is that underachievement in girls is often overlooked or rendered invisible. Underachievement is concerned with potential not lack of ability, while high and low achievement are concerned with performance. It becomes a matter of concern if teachers perceive boys as the vessel of potential and of latent ability, while the high achievements of girls are seen to be about performance, not ability.     

Expressions of concern and their uses

The rights and responsibilities of journal editors, when allegations of research misconduct are made, are still evolving. One of the issues that editors must consider is whether and how to communicate with their readership after notice that an allegation of research misconduct has been made about a published article. On receiving such notice, some editors have issued an ‘expression of concern’ to inform their readers of a potential problem. This article provides an analysis of the 16 expressions of concern that have been issued, how and when they were issued, and what happened next. Although this tool is relatively new, editors should consider it as part of their armament for ensuring the integrity of the research record during the sometimes lengthy period that misconduct investigations can take, and should develop policies regarding its use.     

Teachers' Knowledge of Children's Mathematics after Implementing a Student-Centered Curriculum

Our study investigated the knowledge 13elementary teachers gained implementing astudent-centered curriculum in the context ofdistrict-wide reform. Participants comprisedall the teachers in grades three, four and fiveat a single elementary school. We believed thatinvestigating teachers' responses to fictionalpedagogical scenarios involving nonstandardalgorithms would yield insights into criticalcomponents of their knowledge base. We lookedin particular at teachers' knowledge of children's mathematics. We found that teacherswere in the midst of creating a knowledge basefocused on children's mathematics and groundedin knowledge about alternative conceptualtrajectories through the elementary curriculum.Teachers' knowledge of nonstandard strategiessupported by the curriculum materials wasstronger and more coherent than their knowledgeof students' novel nonstandard strategies.Strong mathematical knowledge was notnecessarily associated with strong knowledge ofchildren's mathematics. Teachers' thinkingvaried by a topic's treatment in the writtencurriculum materials used, suggestingimplementation of the curriculum as a source oflearning.