A Dual Identity Approach for Conceptualizing and Measuring Children's Gender Identity

The goal was to test a new dual identity perspective on gender identity by asking children (n = 467) in three grades (M_age = 5.7, 7.6, 9.5) to consider the relation of the self to both boys and girls. This change shifted the conceptualization of gender identity from one to two dimensions, provided insights into the meaning and measurement of gender identity, and allowed for revisiting ideas about the roles of gender identity in adjustment. Using a graphical measure to allow assessment of identity in young children and cluster analyses to determine types of identity, it was found that individual and developmental differences in how similar children feel to both genders, and these variations matter for many important personal and social outcomes.     

当"雪球"融化时

我们常常会为那些动人的爱情故事感动得落泪,也常常会感慨生活的造化弄人。其实爱情,不仅仅只限于人类,天鹅从一而终的绝唱的令人唏嘘。本文的两只可爱的小鸟,也向我们展示了爱情美好而动人的一面。     

Childhood Ideology in the United States: A Comparative Cultural View

Childhood ideology functions in each nation as a complex of ideas about what children are like and how best to teach and socialise them. One important domain of childhood ideology concerns ideas and practices related to children's development and behaviour management. Drawing from an analysis of popular childrearing magazines and early childhood education materials in the United States, this cultural study describes contemporary American mainstream beliefs concerning children's early emotional and behavioural development. In particular, the paper explores themes of emotional expression, autonomy, individuality, power, and consumerism. Some comparisons with Japanese views on child development and emotional/behavioural socialisation are also made. The paper suggests that popular ideas and techniques of emotional and behavioural management in the United States in both families and early childcare environments reflect a dominant ideology of children that has potentially negative consequences for children's welfare. Furthermore, childhood ideologies, while retaining culturally specific values and ideas neither remain static nor exist in isolation from one another. The paper questions the global diffusion of a Western-style professionalised discourse of child psychology that may not be applicable to all nations and their children.     

Field research methodology for the study of Latin American ministries of education

In Third World countries a key to the course of nation-building is the modernization of the organizational and administrative infrastructures which drive the development process. Increasing the operational capabilities, effectiveness, and efficiency of the ministry of education, and hence the quality and quantity of school outcomes, is typically a high priority item in the development plans of a nation. In order to promote the modernization of management activities in ministries, however, it is first essential to understand their existing patterns of operation. Toward this objective, the paper presents a methodological framework for a field study approach to the examination of the working of a ministry of education in Latin America. Several issues are introduced which influence the process of inquiry, such as: (1) examining the impact of historical traditions on contemporary management procedures; (2) exploring concerns for ethics and academic colonialism; (3) distinguishing between anthropological and sociological participant-observation field methods; (4) gathering and analyzing data on complex ministries; and (5) exploring the task of Third World theory building.

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Zusammenfassung Einen Schlüssel zum Verlauf des nationalen Aufbaus in der dritten Welt liefert die Modernisierung der organisatorischen und administrativen Infrastrukturen, die den Entwicklungsprozess vorantreiben. Im allgemeinen wird der Verbesserung der Handels-Fähigkeiten, der Wirksamkeit und Effizienz des Bildungsministeriums eine hohe Priorität in den Entwicklungsplänen eines Landes beigemessen. Um jedoch die Modernisierung der Führungsarbeit von Ministerien beschleunigen zu können, müssen zunächst ihre jetzigen Operationsweisen untersucht werden. Zu diesem Zweck wird in diesem Artikel ein methodologischer Rahmen für einen Feldstudienansatz zur Prüfung der Arbeit eines Bildungsministeriums in einem lateinamerikanischen Staat vorgelegt. Verschiedene Fragen, die den Untersuchungsprozeß beeinflussen, werden erörtert, zum Beispiel; (1) die Auswirkung historischer Traditionen auf derzeitige Leitungsverfahren; (2) Grad der Beachtung von Ethik und akademischem Kolonialismus; (3) Unterschied zwischen anthropologischen und soziologischen Methoden zur Beobachtung von Beteiligten in der Praxis; (4) Sammlung und Analyse von Daten über komplexe Ministerien; und (5) die Aufgabe, in der dritten Welt eine Theorie aufzubauen.

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Résumé L'un des éléments essentiels de la course à l'intégration nationale, dans les pays du Tiers Monde, est la modernisation des infrastructures administratives et organiques qui guident le processus du développement. L'une des premières priorités à respecter est typiquement le développement des moyens d'action, de la compétence et de l'efficacité du ministère de l'éducation, et par voie de conséquence, la qualité et l'importance des résultats scolaires. Toutefois, afin de moderniser judicieusement les activités du management dans les ministères de l'éducation, il est primordial de comprendre leur mode actuel de travail. Ayant cet objectif en vue, l'auteur de cet article propose un cadre méthodologique permettant d'aborder sur le terrain l'examen du fonctionnement d'un ministère de l'éducation en Amérique Latine. Il expose plusieurs démarches qui influent sur le processus de l'enquête: (1) examiner l'impact des traditions historiques sur les procédés contemporains du management; (2) déterminer les préoccupations relatives à l'éthique et au colonialisme académique; (3) faire la distinction entre les méthodes anthropologiques et sociologiques de l'observation participante sur le terrain; (4) rassembler et analyser les données concernant les ministères complexes; et (5) explorer la tâche de l'élaboration de théories relatives au Tiers Monde.

     

Child care in Kenya

Kenya—East African nation of big game, tourism, thorn trees, and white sand beaches—is facing a new challenge in preschool education. With nearly 20 percent of the children under five in some type of child care situation, it is possible that everyday preschool experiences may be leading children either closer to, or away from, the values of their parents. The test for this relatively new nation is to find the proper balance between the goals of the preschool and the values of both traditional and modernized parents. It is a topic of equal importance in any nation where a great many preschoolers are cared for by persons other than their parents.     

Scaffolding Narrative Skills: A Meta-Analysis of Instruction in Early Childhood Settings

Research Findings: Children’s ability to tell stories and to understand the stories of others typically emerges in early childhood, supported by primary caregivers and educators. This article reviews instruction designed to foster children’s narrative skills in preschool and kindergarten settings and examines the effects using meta-analysis. The review covers more than 3 decades (1980–2013) of experimental research (k = 15 studies, 28 effects). The findings showed that verbal scaffolding, alone or in combination with other strategies, was the predominant teaching approach. The meta-analysis revealed average effects (weighted for sample size) for narrative expression (.50) and a slightly larger effect for comprehension (.58). These effects were unrelated to the duration of instruction. However, when verbal strategies were combined with nonverbal ones, such as engaging children in enacting stories or in telling stories with props, the effects for expression increased (i.e., children’s storytelling improved more from pretest to posttest). Practice or Policy: The review indicates promising strategies for supporting narrative skills. Furthermore, the studies identified can serve as a resource for practitioners by suggesting diverse kinds of verbal scaffolds, complementary nonverbal approaches, and storybooks that have been used effectively to foster narrative competencies among young children.     

Using Family Backpacks as a Tool to Involve Families in Teaching Young Children About Healthy Eating

Children’s obesity rates have increased substantially over the past several decades, due in part to unhealthy eating habits. About 75% of preschool-aged children consume fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended for health. Because children begin developing eating habits during early childhood, obesity prevention programs are increasingly targeting young children in early childhood education (ECE) settings and are involving their families in teaching about healthy eating. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the effectiveness of a family involvement activity known as the family backpack in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among 4- and 5-year-old children and their parents through hands-on activities that encourage them to explore and discuss fruits and vegetables at home. Forty-two families (22 experimental, 20 control) participated in the study. Families received a family backpack from their child’s ECE teacher and completed activities with their child at home during a specific week. Experimental-group backpacks contained a children’s book and three activities to encourage parent–child discussion about fruits and vegetables; control-group backpacks contained an unrelated book and activities. Children’s and parents’ fruit and vegetable consumption and frequency of serving fruits and vegetables at home were assessed using parent self-report surveys before and after completing backpack activities. Parents in the experimental group, but not the control group, reported increases in their own and their children’s fruit and vegetable consumption after completing family backpack activities. Family backpacks show promise as a tool for early childhood educators to help families reinforce and expand children’s learning and encourage healthy eating habits at home.     

Career Counseling for Longevity: Self-Care and Burnout Prevention Strategies for Counselor Resilience

Balancing self-care and other-care is often a struggle for career counselors and others in the helping professions. The process of caring is made up of a constant series of empathic attachments, active involvements, and felt separations. The ability to continually engage in the caring cycle is important for success. However, the constant need to re-create the cycle of caring can lead to counselor depletion and burnout. This article provides a developmental framework for assisting career counselors to avoid depleted caring while prolonging their professional longevity. The model of self-care includes recognizing the hazards of high touch work, such as limited resources and constant one-way caring. Also addressed are specific means of professional and personal sustenance, such as maximizing experiences of professional success and balancing personal wellness throughout one's career.