The effects of cognitive style and course content on classroom social behavior

This study of the effects of course content and cognitive style on students' classroom social behavior utilized 29 boys experiencing academic difficulties. After completing the Embedded Figures Test, each subject was assigned to either field-dependent (FD) or field-independent (FI) groups. Systematic observations of the two groups' classroom behaviors in French and mathematics classes were compared using ANOVA techniques. Results showed that the social behavior profiles of the two groups were the same on 18 behavioral categories. However, consistent with previous findings, FI subjects were more disruptive than FD subjects. Variance in social behavior was due principally to course content. The interactive effects of cognitive and task characteristics on social behavior are discussed within a cognitive-behavioral perspective.     

Collaboration in a culturally responsive literacy pedagogy: educating teachers and Latino children

This article is an analysis of collaboration in a community center’s summer literacy tutoring program for 6–8 year old children, the majority of whom were Puerto Rican, Spanish–English bilinguals. The goal of the program was to increase the children’s motivation to read through engaging literacy activities with high quality, culturally relevant children’s literature. Reflecting a sociocultural perspective, the activities built on the children’s experiences at home with literacy as a collaborative practice. The program as a whole provided for multiple levels of collaboration among the participating adults and between the children and tutors, university students in a teacher preparation program. The focus of the article is on the ways the tutors collaborated and the benefits and challenges of that process. Implications for teacher education are shared, emphasizing the need for explicitly including collaboration as one important element of a literacy pedagogy for teachers of linguistically and culturally diverse children.     

Using the Sociology of Associations to Rethink STEM Education

Using three constructs taken from Latour's 2005 book, Reassembling the Social, we consider our work in 2 contexts that were part of a project to support science teachers working with English learners: an 8th-grade physical science class in a summer science enrichment academy, and a 6th-grade Earth science class in a public middle school. We utilize Latour's constructs of (a) group formation, (b) mediators and intermediaries, and (c) traces of intentionality to interpret the interactions that occur in these spaces. We analyze these interactions to make a broader argument about the limitations of improvement science perspectives that are increasingly influential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education research in the U.S. context.     

Examining the Relation of Parenting to Children's Coping with Everyday Stress

The relation between parenting and the coping styles of children in response to everyday stress was investigated. 60 children, 9–10 years old, and their mothers participated. Children and mothers described how they responded to stressful episodes the child had experienced within the past 2 months. Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed a variety of parenting dimensions (e.g., nurturance, directiveness, organization). Results indicated that ( a ) the aspects of child coping studied (e.g., perceived effectiveness, variety of coping strategies) were relatively independent, ( b ) children from families with high levels of maternal support and relatively low levels of family structure used the greatest variety of coping strategies, ( c ) children of supportive mothers used the greatest number of avoidant strategies (but only in uncontrollable situations), and ( d ) children from families with high levels of parental structure used fewer aggressive coping strategies.     

Using Wordless Picture Books to Support Emergent Literacy

Wordless books—picture books that rely entirely on illustrations to tell a story—are an excellent resource for educators of young children. This article provides a research-based rationale for using wordless books, offers a developmental sequence for introducing children to stories told through pictures, suggests a general strategy and wide array of early literacy activities based on books without texts, and recommends ways of communicating with parents/families about the value of wordless books. Outstanding wordless books and examples of children's responses to this growing genre of children's literature are also included.     

解开“弥赛亚小提琴”之谜

“弥赛亚小提琴”是世界上最昂贵的小提琴，但有人声称它是一件赝品。名的树木检测专家亨利博士接手了这一案件。     

Spanish and English Early Literacy Profiles of Preschool Latino English Language Learner Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine within-group individual differences in the code-related and oral language abilities of an economically stressed Spanish-speaking English language learner (ELL) preschool sample and to evaluate the predictive relationship of these differences to later listening comprehension. Latent class analysis was used to identify similarities in both the latent and outcome variables to form classes of students with similar profiles on the measured variables. Our 1st finding confirmed the existence of 4 distinct psychometrically validated profiles: (a) Low English Language, Average Spanish Language, Mixed Spanish Code-Related (prevalence 19.4%); (b) Average English Language, Strengths in Spanish Language and Spanish Code-Related (24.2%); (c) Mixed English and Spanish Language, Low Spanish Code-Related (prevalence 34%); and (d) High English Language, Average Spanish Language, Mixed Spanish Code-Related (prevalence 22%). The resulting profiles demonstrated that English and Spanish code- and language-related domains of emergent literacy developed unevenly across the Spanish-speaking ELL preschoolers. Relative strengths and weaknesses in code- and language-related skills were also found to be meaningfully related to end-of-year listening comprehension—a precursor to reading comprehension. Finally, profiles yielded meaningful variability along sociodemographic variables. Practice or Policy: Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Drug use,the transition from school to work and occupational achievement in the United States

To determine the effects of drug use on entry into the labor force and subsequent socioeconomic achievement, we estimated duration models of the time elapsed since first leaving school to the first fulltime civilian job and jobs held at ages 24–25 and 28–29. The duration models show inconsistent drug effects: women who use illicit drugs other than marijuana delay entry into the labor force while men who use alcohol daily experience a somewhat more rapid entry. Blacks and those with a lower level of educational attainment enter the labor force more slowly than non-blacks and those with higher educational levels. The more important determinants of occupational outcomes at entry and later points in the work career are the human capital variables, i.e. educational attainment and experience. Duration of time since leaving school to first job has a statistically significant and negative impact on earnings, which increases over time for men but not for women. Being black is consistently associated with higher earnings among women. Holding constant other determinants of socioeconomic achievement, such as family background factors, marital status, race, and participation in different activities and roles during high school, effects of drug use among men and women and across earnings and prestige of the job are weak and inconsistent. The only statistically significant effect is the positive impact of marijuana use on males’ earnings at age 29. The findings lead us to conclude that drug use has only minor impact on occupational achievement in early adulthood.