Are mathematics disabilities due to a domain-general or a domain-specific working memory deficit?

The relationship between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical computation skill was examined in children and adults with and without disabilities in mathematics. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, when partialing for the influence of reading ability, age, and gender, mathematical computation was better predicted by verbal than by visual-spatial working memory. Furthermore, the results showed that the relationship between mathematics ability and working memory were not significantly moderated by age but were stable across a broad age span. We concluded that, regardless of age, deficits in mathematics are mediated by both a domain-general and a domain-specific working memory system.     

A Whole-School Approach to Guidance: A Hong Kong Experience

As in England, approaches to guidance/pastoral care in Hong Kong have in recent years become more proactive and less exclusively reactive. This paper presents an example of this, focusing on a secondary school in Hong Kong which has sought to implement a whole-school approach through developmental guidance programmes. The writers' evaluation of this suggests that the integration of guidance/PSE into the whole-school curriculum was feasible, with a favourable outcome perceived by the school community. The findings also identified a number of important factors which facilitated the implementation and development of the policy.     

Peer interaction in a structured communication task: comparisons of normal and hyperactive boys and of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and placebo effects.

Peer communication patterns were assessed as school-aged boys participated in a dyadic referential communication task. The responses of comparison boys were compared to those of hyperactive boys on methylphenidate (Ritalin) and on placebo in a double-blind crossover design. 2 separate systems for assessing communication were developed, a qualitative system designed to capture the "flavor" of interaction and a quantitative system focused on specific types of communicative content. Task products and completion times were also scored. The results suggest that hyperactive children, regardless of medication status, are less likely than comparison peers to (a) modulate ongoing or habitual behavior patterns in response to externally imposed shifts in role-appropriate behaviors; (b) maintain consistent, uninterrupted goal orientation; and (c) respond to subtle social learning opportunities. In this situation, methylphenidate appeared to have a greater impact on behavioral style than on competence, decreasing perceived intensity without influencing efficiency. A mild medication-induced dysphoria was also documented. Directions for future research and the need for caution in clinical interpretation are discussed.     

Teleconferencing in student teacher supervision

Demands for accountability, tighter fiscal policies and political pressures required many post-secondary institutions in the early 1980s to seek new strategies for improving their cost efficiency. Advances in communication technology were perceived by some institutions as a means of maintaining and even diversifying services at minimal cost. Although positive economic returns often appeared attractive, educational benefits were frequently less than anticipated. Misunderstanding, poor communication and insufficient information, as well as professional conservatism, resistance to change and support for traditional practices, tended to prevent contemporary communication systems from being applied extensively in higher education.     

College choice in the church-affiliated sector of higher education: The influence of congregational cultural orientation

The relationship between a Midwest church-affiliated institution and its supporting congregations provides an opportunity to investigate part of the sociological environment within which a college-choice decision is made for students of a strong denominational orientation. Applying the local-cosmopolitan dichotomy used by previous researchers, this study hypothesized that the cultural orientation of local congregational leaders reflects norms that are aligned to congregational enrollment support or nonsupport for the denominational university. The findings demonstrate that the concepts of cultural, social, and ecclesiological localism-cosmopolitanism are helpful in explaining an individual's support for the denominational university. Also, differing cultural orientations among congregational leaders are related to the degree to which the congregation supports the university with the enrollment of youth.     

Relational identities and intergenerational learning in an undergraduate critical food studies course

Abstract

Environmental education (EE) scholars view intergenerational learning as a means to influence adult understandings of and relationships with the environment. Yet EE researchers have studied intergenerational learning in a limited fashion, with no emphasis on its role in higher education. The purpose of this article is to use feminist posthumanist theories to broadly explore intergenerational learning in critical food studies courses taught at the university level. We rely primarily on student coursework and post-course interviews as data sources that convey student perceptions of interactions with their families and the natural world, demonstrating how students develop relational identities shaped by personal experience as well as experiences in the course. To conclude, we discuss both the limitations and implications of this research for the field of EE.     

Influences on teacher education student attitudes toward youth who are HIV+

The expectations, attributions, and reactions toward children and youth who have contracted HIV/AIDS warrant close attention from parents, teachers, related service personnel, and others who will interact with these students in the schools. Those who are misinformed or unaware of their beliefs may inadvertently discriminate against children and youth with the disease. This study examined factors that influence judgments about children and youth with HIV/AIDS in a sample of teacher education students. Course of infection of HIV accounted for significant differences in the participants' judgments about responsibility and blame for contracting the disease and also fearfulness and attitudes reflecting isolation for these youth. Educational professionals should be aware of the many negative attributions placed on adolescents who are diagnosed as HIV⁺ and be prepared to act as facilitators when designing appropriate interventions to assist these students. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 211–219, 2004.