Response to intervention as a vehicle for distinguishing between children with and without reading disabilities: Evidence for the role of kindergarten and first-grade interventions

Children at risk for early reading difficulties were identified on entry into kindergarten, and half of these children received small-group intervention two to three times a week during their kindergarten year. The other half received whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools. These children were again assessed at the beginning of first grade, and those who continued to have difficulties in reading received either one-to-one daily tutoring offered by project teachers from the beginning to the end of first grade or whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools over the same time period. All target children were periodically assessed through the end of third grade. Results suggest that either kindergarten intervention alone or kindergarten intervention combined with first-grade intervention are both useful vehicles for preventing early and long-term reading difficulties in most at-risk children.     

Human cancer genetics

Cancer is a genetic disorder.Although heredi-tary cancers account for only a small fraction of all tumors,most cancers are caused by a variable mix of heredity and environment that leads to accumulations of genetic alterations and then uncontrolled cell pro-liferations(Kops et al.,2005).In addition,genetic alteration is one of the a few most important bio-logical factors that determine the diagnosis and prognosis of different cancers and dictate the treat-ment strategies for cancer patients.Fu…     

Thinking through practice: exploring ways of knowing,understanding and representing the complexity of teaching

In recent times there has been a cross-disciplinary amplification of interest in the concept of practice. In this context, there is a growing body of research considering how teaching and teacher education might be viewed using the conceptual lens of practice. In this article, I explore practice theories to identify common themes and principles that constitute a conceptual framework for the investigation of the lived experience of teaching. From this foundation, a methodological framework based on collaborative inquiry and postmodern emergence is derived. Examples are offered of the way the conceptual framework and methodological approach have been activated through the first stage of a research programme that collaboratively engages the dual voices of academic researcher and classroom practitioners as co-researchers. Analysis of qualitative data reveals the potential and limitations of this practice-based foundation as a way to know, understand and represent the complexity of teaching. In conclusion, the article develops a number of propositions as the basis for further research.     

Do emotional and behavioural difficulties in primary school predict adolescent victimisation trajectories?

Chronic victimisation in adolescence is a traumatic experience with potential negative long-term health consequences. Given that victimisation has been shown to increase over the transition from primary to secondary school, longitudinal data from 1810 students transitioning from primary to secondary school were used to identify victimisation trajectory groups; classified as low-increasing, low-stable, medium-stable and not-bullied. Males with emotional and behavioural difficulties (both internalising and externalising behaviours) and females with externalising behaviours were more likely to be in the increasing and stable victimised groups than the not-bullied group. The results of this study suggest whole-school bullying intervention programmes need to occur before students reach secondary school, and that transition programmes need to emphasise and support social interaction between peers to reduce victimisation and the harms caused by long-term exposure to bullying.     

Making Ends Meet: Bringing Bilingual Education and Mainstream Students Together in Preservice Teacher Education

In some institutions offering certification for bilingual education and ESL teachers, the corresponding mainstream programs do little to ready their students to work effectively with language minority children. Yet today's mainstream classrooms are linguistically and culturally diverse, and all teachers must appreciate the role of language and culture in teaching and learning. This study describes one effort to consciously combine preservice bilingual and mainstream education teachers in a bilingual education methods cohort. Students reported promising gains in cross-cultural understanding and in cross-program appreciation. Some losses took place as well, however, and further innovation and research are needed in order to ensure that such efforts to combine programs strengthen, but not weaken, each program.