Child maltreatment among U.S. East Coast migrant farm workers

This paper reports findings from a study that was conducted in 1983 to determine the incidence and patterns of child maltreatment among migrant farm worker families who reside in or travel through the Atlantic coastal region known as the Eastern Stream. These results are based on responses to a multipurpose mailed questionnaire that was administered to a sample of 2,207 migrant educators. Educational personnel from 14 of the 22 Eastern Stream states participated in this survey, which was designed to elicit information on the incidence of maltreatment in this population. The survey considered 13 different indicators of child abuse and neglect and six maltreatment forms. Another segment of the instrumentation secured information on the migrant population with which the respondents had direct contact so that an incidence rate could be formulated. The study conclusively established that the incidence of child maltreatment rate among migrant farm worker families, as perceived by migrant educators, was substantially higher than the rate observed for the population as a whole or even for families with approximately the same socioeconomic status. Comparative data are presented to place this primary research result in perspective and a more precise overall incidence estimate is derived. Differential rates of abuse and neglect within the migrant population and the factors that contribute to them are also considered.     

School psychologists' perceptions of physically aggressive student behavior as a referral concern in nonurban districts

This survey questioned practicing school psychologists in the state of Wisconsin regarding their experience with the number of behavioral referrals for which physically aggressive behavior was the principal concern. Increases of at least a moderate degree were perceived by school psychologists across grade levels. Survey items further investigated school psychologists' perceptions regarding the stability of teacher-assault incidences and weapons violations over the past 10 years. Implications for an expanded role for the school psychologist in prevention and intervention procedures are discussed.     

ICT-use, educational policy and changes in pedagogical paradigms in compulsory education in Denmark: From a lifelong learning paradigm to a traditional paradigm?

For years, increased use of ICT in education and training has been part of the Danish education policy, and the number of computers in schools and the actual use of ICT have grown. At the same time, school leaders’ and teachers’ pedagogical paradigm in primary and lower secondary schools seems to be changing from a lifelong learning paradigm (focussed on student-centred, active, and autonomous leaning) to a more traditional paradigm (focussed on curriculum-centred teaching and instructions). The aim of this paper is to describe this development in relation to the way ICT is used as well as to changes in educational policy. Beck and Beck-Gerrnsheim (2002) theory about ‘institutionalized individualization’ as characteristic of the reflexive society serves as a theoretical framework for better understanding the observed changes.     

Emotional development in adolescence: what can be learned from a high school theater program?

Grounded-theory analyses were used to formulate propositions regarding the processes of adolescent emotional development. Progress in understanding this difficult topic requires close examination of emotional experience in context, and to do this the authors drew on qualitative data collected over the course of a high school theater production. Participants' (ages 14-17) accounts of experiences in this setting demonstrated their capacity to actively extract emotional knowledge and to develop strategies for managing emotions. These accounts suggested that youth's repeated "hot" experience of unfolding emotional episodes in the setting provided material for this active process of learning. Youth also learned by drawing on and internalizing the emotion culture of the setting, which provided concepts, strategies, and tools for managing emotional episodes.     

Is there a common linkage among reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing?

The authors examined the relationships between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing in 42 Grade 7 students. The goal was to quantify the sensitivity of visual attention and magnocellular visual processing as concomitants of poor reading comprehension in the absence of either vision therapy or cognitive intervention. Nineteen good readers (M = grade equivalent of 11.2) and 23 poor readers (M = grade equivalent of 3.5) were identified. Participants were tested for visual attention skills (Cognitive Assessment System: CAS) and magnocellular integrity (Coherent Motion Threshold: CM). Individual and combined correlations of dependent variables with reading were significant at the 0.01 level. When combined, the two tests (CAS + CM) accounted for 61% of the variance in reading comprehension. Logistic regression analysis measured sensitivity of the two diagnostic tests. Attention tests correctly classified 95.7% of poor readers, and coherent motion correctly classified 78.3% of poor readers. When the data were combined, 91.3% of poor readers were correctly classified. The research reinforces the notion that a common linkage exists between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing. Diagnostic test batteries for students who have been identified as reading disabled should include magnocellular and visual attention tests. Procedures to diagnose and ameliorate these disabilities are discussed.     

Private foundation funding of applied communication research

Communication researchers increasingly have a primed and attentive audience in private foundations. Yet most foundations are quite dissimilar to the types of organizations that we as communication scholars know and understand. Here we discuss private foundation funding for applied communication research, including how funding priorities are set, and how potential grantees may position themselves for foundation funds. In doing so, we focus on five norms that characterize American private foundations and their program staff: (1) social betterment, (2) organizational interdependency, (3) personal commitment, (4) future orientation, and (5) external generalizability. How well you and your proposal match up with these norms will affect your success with private foundations.