Conflict Resolution Patterns of Preschool Children With and Without Developmental Delays in Heterogeneous Playgroups

The conflict resolution patterns of preschool-age mildly developmentally delayed children were compared to those of older and younger groups of typically developing children matched on the basis of chronological age or developmental level. Children participated in short-term heterogeneous playgroups consisting of representatives from all three developmental status groups. Naturally occurring conflicts with peers in the form of extended directive episodes were assessed in terms of their frequency, purpose, strategies, and the way conflicts were resolved. Results revealed that mildly delayed children exhibit a more negative and less adaptive interaction style, even in comparison to typically developing children similar in developmental level. Special problems were apparent when younger typically developing and mildly delayed children engaged in conflict episodes, whereas typically developing older children were able to adjust and interact appropriately irrespective of their companions' developmental status. In addition, typically developing older children elicited a pattern in which other children were less demanding and negative, but more responsive, positive, and adaptive. The implications of developmental differences between younger and older typically developing children and the unique problems in conflict situations were discussed.     

Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education: Evidence From Three Domains and Recommendations for Moving Forward

It is essential that a solid research base be established to provide a foundation that will enable the field of early childhood teacher education to examine whether, for whom, and in what ways teacher education matters. The purpose of this article is to review several important domains in early childhood teacher education to illustrate the characteristics, key features, and significant gaps in current research, and to identify the kinds of research that are most needed to enhance the impact of early childhood teacher education. We conclude by identifying five crosscutting research priorities and describing what is needed to create a supportive environment that produces—and implements—early childhood teacher education research.     

Turnover in Kindergarten Classroom Membership in a National Sample

Information was obtained from a large national sample of kindergarten teachers on changes in classroom membership for the 1995-1996 school year. On average, 26% of kindergarten classroom membership changed over the school year with frequency increasing as schools were more urban, in higher poverty districts, or with higher minority representation among students. School district policy allowing children to remain in the same classroom when they moved was related to slightly higher frequencies of new student enrollment and relatively higher class size. Teachers in classrooms with high turnover believed a high percentage of entering children had many adjustment problems, problems in communicating, following directions, academic skills, little formal preschool experience, and came from disorganized homes. These data provide teacher-reported national estimates for kindergarten classroom enrollments indicating substantial change over the course of the year and associated teacher beliefs.     

The body donation program at the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre: A successful experience in Brazil

The use of dissection to study human anatomy is the foundation for educational excellence among future health professionals, as it offers an ideal opportunity to learn the body's morphology in three dimensions while also providing students with a more humanistic education. The shortage of bodies for dissection, combined with the Brazilian population's lack of knowledge concerning the possibility of voluntarily donating their own bodies, led to the creation of the Body Donation Programs for Education and Research in Anatomy at the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA). The program is based on three pillars: Informing the general public about the program, donor registration, and donation itself. Since the creation of the donor program in 2008, there has been an increase in both the number of donations made during donor's lifetime and the number of bodies received by the university. There has also been a shift in relation to the origin of these bodies, as before the creation of the program most bodies were unclaimed cadavers, while today most of the bodies are sourced from voluntary donations. The initial results regarding the public's acceptance of the possibility of making body donations have been encouraging, as shown by the annual growth in donor registrations. Consequently, the quality and quantity of the material available for educational purposes have greatly improved. Anat Sci Educ. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Measuring teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction

This article describes the development of an instrument to measure teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction, the Teacher Knowledge of Vocabulary Survey (TKVS). This type of knowledge has become increasingly important as all classroom teachers are expected to help students meet language and literacy standards that include vocabulary acquisition. While a few studies have measured teacher knowledge of reading, there are no known instruments for measuring teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction. However, vocabulary is a crucial determinant of reading comprehension and content area knowledge, particularly for English learners (Graves, August, & Mancilla-Martinez, 2013). Statements about vocabulary development and instruction were gathered from foundational texts, reviewed by subject matter experts, and researched in cognitive labs for possible inclusion as items in the TKVS. The survey’s 52 statements comprise 6 categories, including one section on vocabulary development, four sections on instruction, and one section on instruction specifically for English learners. Ratings of item difficulty by subject matter experts were then used to distinguish three levels of teacher knowledge of vocabulary: emergent, intermediate, and expert. Fifty teachers completed the TKVS, and their performance was found to correlate with the experts’ predicted difficulties of the items. Initial analyses provide evidence for the content and construct validity of the TKVS as a measure of teacher knowledge of vocabulary development and effective instruction. The discussion considers implications for the use of the instrument, including as a needs assessment or guide for professional development for both preservice and inservice teachers.     

Making it work for their children: white middle-class parents and working-class schools

The white middle-class parents who chose to send their children to urban comprehensives largely rejected engaging in the usual competitiveness for educational success. Nevertheless the parents in our study still found themselves wittingly or otherwise captured by that same discourse. Their children are high achievers and are regarded as a valuable resource for their comprehensive schools generating high volume capital. However, in spite of this, the parents do not leave such success to chance. Drawing on an ESRC-funded research project (Educational Choices and the White Urban Middle-Classes RES-148-25-0023) we analyse how middle-class parental involvement is part of the age old process of social reproduction and the transmission of parents’ middle-class privilege to their children, almost regardless of their intentions. Not only are the parents interventionist in their children’s schooling, they draw on and dispose their own privileged capitals to prepare and position their children for educational success.     

Our moral condition in cyberspace

Some kinds of technological change not only trigger new ethical problems, but also give rise to questions about those very approaches to addressing ethical problems that have been relied upon in the past. Writing in the aftermath of World War II, Hans Jonas called for a new ``ethics of responsibility,'' based on the reasoning that modern technology dramatically divorces our moral condition from the assumptions under which standard ethical theories were first conceived. Can a similar claim be made about the technologies of cyberspace? Do online information technologies so alter our moral condition that standard ethical theories become ineffective in helping us address the moral problems they create? I approach this question from two angles. First, I look at the impact of online information technologies on our powers of causal efficacy. I then go on to consider their impact on self-identity. We have good reasons, I suggest, to be skeptical of any claim that there is a need for a new, cyberspace ethics to address the moral dilemmas arising from these technologies. I conclude by giving a brief sketch of why this suggestion does not imply there is nothing philosophically interesting about the ethical challenges associated with cyberspace.     

Aging Education: A National Imperative

ABSTRACT

Americans are living longer than ever before. However, many are not prepared for the long life ahead of them. Although lifespan-aging education has been endorsed since the first White House Conference on Aging in 1961, little is happening with aging education in our homes, schools and communities. Americans often reach old age with little or no formal education on aging or anticipatory guidance about aging. This article looks at what is happening in aging education, addresses why we need to teach about aging, presents a conceptual framework for aging education, discusses aging education resources, and gives some easily implemented aging education activities.     

Community college students’ views on learning mathematics in terms of their epistemological beliefs: a Q method study

The purpose of this study was to explore the views of students enrolled at a small United States Midwestern community college toward learning mathematics, and to examine the relationship between student beliefs about mathematic learning and educational experiences with mathematics using Q methodology and open-ended response prompts. Schommer’s (Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 495–504, 1990) multidimensional theory of personal epistemology provided the structural framework for the development of 36 domain specific Q sort statements. Analysis of the data revealed three distinct but related views of learning mathematic which were labeled Active Learners, Skeptical Learners, and Confident Learners. Chi-square tests of independence revealed no significant differences based on gender. Additionally, there was no evidence for differences based on level of mathematics completed, age, or college hours accumulated. Student’s previous experiences in instructional environments, however, were closely associated with beliefs. Results are discussed in view of the implications for establishing learning environments and considerations in implementing Standards-based curricula in higher education.