Depressive Stories for Children

While stories with a depressing message are now common for teenagers, resistance to them remains where smaller children are concerned. But is this more a case of the publishers and providers concerned protecting their own particular image of childhood? This article looks at the case for books that also convey a sense of sadness to infants, starting with the stories of Hans Andersen and ending with some of the challenging picture books published more recently.     

The physical activity levels of preschool-aged children: A systematic review

This systematic review presents research on the physical activity levels of preschool-aged children (aged 2–6 years). Thirty-nine primary studies (published 1986–2007) representing a total of 10,316 participants (5236 male and 5080 female), from seven countries are described and the physical activity behaviors of this population are considered in accordance with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) physical activity guidelines for preschoolers. Upon review of the evidence, it is apparent that nearly half of preschool-aged children do not engage in sufficient physical activity. Current recommendations suggest a minimum of 60 min of physical activity per day; only 54% of participants throughout the studies achieved this. Furthermore, as with other age groups, boys participate in considerably more physical activity than girls. It is clear from this systematic review that nearly half of children studied are not meeting the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Therefore, effective interventions that promote and foster physical activity in children are necessary, especially in females. However, a more objective physical activity guideline for preschoolers is necessary; measurement of activity needs to become more unified to compare and track activity more effectively.     

School Art — What's in it?

In 2003/4 NFER undertook a study of the content of the art curriculum in secondary schools in England on behalf of the Arts Council England (ACE) and Tate Galleries [1]. In 18 schools, eight of which were identified as engaged with contemporary art practice (referred to throughout the article as the CAP schools), 54 art teachers were asked to describe the content of their most recently completed art module. ‘Content’ was taken as: the media and materials in which pupils worked; the artistic and cultural references used to support the teaching; the skills taught; and the thinking processes used. They were also questioned about the factors that influenced their choice of curriculum content and the aims that guided their choice of content. Most of the teachers (excluding the heads of department) were asked which of a set of six art images they would include in their teaching, and the reasons for their decisions. Teachers in the CAP schools were also asked to explain why they chose to include contemporary art. The findings revealed substantial differences between the two cohorts of schools, not all of which were related to the inclusion of contemporary art practice. A preoccupation with the teaching of skills was more apparent in the randomly selected schools, which also drew very heavily on the early twentieth century for their artistic references. Unsurprisingly, the CAP schools drew heavily on contemporary references, but included many from other periods, cited twice as many references overall, and had a generally more eclectic view of the purposes of teaching art.     

Resource reallocation in higher education in Britain

During recent years the Higher Education (HE) sector in Britain has come under government pressure to reduce the scale of its operations and change the nature of its product. Much of the justification for this change has been provided by new right economists [1] who have concluded, on economic grounds, firstly that state supply of HE should be limited to investment in human capital and secondly that additional state finance is justified only to the extent of the value of the external benefits bestowed upon society.It is the purpose of this article to review the conventional economic assessment of HE and examine the policy implications of the economists' analysis. In particular it is suggested that resource redirection within HE is difficult because of the bureaucratic properties of educational institutions. The article concludes that what is required is a methodology to evaluate quality of output and a uniform method of calculating course costs within and between institutions.We are grateful to Professor C. K. Rowley, Dr. R. S. Thompson and P. Lee for helpful comments on an earlier draft. The usual disclaimer applies.     

The sexual abuse of young people with disabilities: Treatment considerations

Research has indicated that sexual abuse of individuals with disabilities is frequently repeated and chronic, and often results in significant harm to the victim. Furthermore, while abusers are most often family members or acquaintances, many offenses are committed by paid service providers and occur in disability service settings. Findings indicate that victims with disabilities often experience difficulty in obtaining treatment services that are accessible and appropriately adapted to their needs. Based on the necessity of appropriate treatment, considerations and strategies are discussed for therapy adaptations to meet the special needs of sexually abused young people with developmental disabilities.     

Family Context and Gender Role Socialization in Middle Childhood: Comparing Girls to Boys and Sisters to Brothers

We studied the extent of sex-typing across different areas of child functioning (personality, interests, activities) in middle childhood as a function of the traditionality of parents' gender role attitudes and the sex composition of the sibling dyad. Participants included 200 firstborn children ( mean = 10.4 years old), their secondborn siblings ( mean = 7.7 years old) and their mothers and fathers. Family members were interviewed in their homes about their attitudes and personal characteristics and completed a series of seven evening telephone interviews about their daily activities. We measured children's attitudes, personality characteristics, and interests in sex-typed leisure activities (e.g., sports, handicrafts) as well as time spent in sex-typed leisure activities and household tasks (e.g., washing dishes, home repairs) and with same and opposite sex companions (i.e., parents, peers). Analyses revealed that sex-typing was most evident in children's interests and activities. Further, comparisons of girls versus boys and sisters versus brothers revealed that differences in children's sex-typing as a function of fathers' attitudes and sibling sex constellation were most apparent for children's activities. A notable exception was sex-typed peer involvement; time spent with same versus opposite sex peers was impervious to context effects. Analyses focused on children's sex-typing as a function of mothers' attitudes generally were nonsignificant.