Cognitive Difficulties in Struggling Comprehenders and Their Relation to Reading Comprehension: A Comparison of Group Selection and Regression-Based Models

ABSTRACT

Difficulties suppressing previously encountered but currently irrelevant information from working memory characterize less skilled comprehenders in studies in which they are matched to skilled comprehenders on word decoding and nonverbal IQ. These “extreme” group designs are associated with several methodological issues. When sample size permits, regression approaches permit a more accurate estimation of effects. Using data for students in Grades 6 through 12 (n = 766), regression techniques assessed the significance and size of the relation of suppression to reading comprehension across the distribution of comprehension skill. After accounting for decoding efficiency and nonverbal IQ, suppression, measured by performance on a verbal proactive interference task, accounted for a small amount of significant unique variance in comprehension (less than 1%). A comparison of suppression in less skilled comprehenders matched to more skilled comprehenders (48 per group) on age, word reading efficiency, and nonverbal IQ did not show significant group differences in suppression. The implications of the findings for theories of reading comprehension and for informing comprehension assessment and intervention are discussed.     

Examining the relationship between perceptions of teaching self-efficacy,school support and teacher and paraeducator burnout in a residential school setting

Despite teacher self-efficacy and burnout’s influence on student outcomes, little research has been conducted on teacher self-efficacy and burnout in residential treatment schools. This study attempts to fill this need by examining the self-efficacy and burnout of teachers and paraeducators in a residential treatment school in the United States. We explore the relationships between educators’ perceptions of school supports and educators’ sense of self-efficacy and burnout Our results revealed that while educators’ perceptions of school supports were not related to educators’ sense of efficacy, there was a significant relationship between educators’ perceptions of school supports and reported levels of burnout. Educators who reported lower levels of school supports had high levels of burnout. We discuss implications for larger studies on this topic and for supporting educator well-being in residential treatment schools.     

Autism in a Family in China: An investigation and ethical consideration of sibling issues

Having a child with autism in China raises challenges for families. Some are similar to those of families in western countries, but others are unique. This study sought to understand one aspect—the dilemmas of having a second child in a country where having only one child is the norm, and where social welfare services are not developed. This study examined the experiences of one family from the time when the family were considering having a second child through to the time when the younger child was a teenager. The most salient issues were the changing perspectives on the sibling’s role, and the responsibility and future burden of the sibling due to this responsibility. We use three ethical theories as a framework for analysis. The data suggested several benefits of having a second child and the possibilities for promoting opportunities and well-being, and not just responsibility and worry, in the second child. Areas of future research to expand this study are considered.     

Using Decision Tree Analysis to Understand Foundation Science Student Performance. Insight Gained at One South African University

The Foundation Programme of the Centre for Science Access at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa provides access to tertiary science studies to educationally disadvantaged students who do not meet formal faculty entrance requirements. The low number of students proceeding from the programme into mainstream is of concern, particularly given the national imperative to increase participation and levels of performance in tertiary-level science. An attempt was made to understand foundation student performance in a campus of this university, with the view to identifying challenges and opportunities for remediation in the curriculum and processes of selection into the programme. A classification and regression tree analysis was used to identify which variables best described student performance. The explanatory variables included biographical and school-history data, performance in selection tests, and socio-economic data pertaining to their year in the programme. The results illustrate the prognostic reliability of the model used to select students, raise concerns about the inefficiency of school performance indicators as a measure of students' academic potential in the Foundation Programme, and highlight the importance of accommodation arrangements and financial support for student success in their access year.     

Acknowledgements

We sought to examine empirically the prevailing assumption that changing assessment can leverage curricular reform. This assumption has been significantly confirmed by our research for the case of mandated high-stakes assessment. Two studies were conducted in the two most populous Australian states, New South Wales and Victoria. In the final two years of secondary school in both states, courses of study and assessment arrangements are mandated for all schools, including the private sector, by the state's Board of Studies. Congruence between mandated assessment and schoolwide instructional practice was found in two states whose high-stakes assessment embodied quite contrasting values.