Severe developmental language disorder — Reading and spelling

Linguistic awareness i.e. the ability to identify phonemes, to segment words into syllables and to rhyme is highly correlated with reading/spelling proficiency. Children with severe developmental language disorders DLD (syntagmatic type) have been shown to specifically lack linguistic awareness. Two non-identical twin boys with severe, specific DLD were studied longitudinally with respect to their linguistic, neurolinguistic and pragmatic development. In spite of poor linguistic awareness, the boys acquired normal reading/spelling skills. This might be due to the early and massive language training they were given. However, the boys differ considerably in some aspects of reading and spelling performance. These findings are discussed with reference to their different neurolinguistic and pragmatic profiles.     

Specification of the stimulus-reinforcer relation in multiple schedules: Delay and probability of reinforcement

Control of pigeons’ keypecking by a stimulus-reinforcer contingency was investigated in the context of a four-component multiple schedule. In each of three experiments, pigeons were exposed to a schedule consisting of two two-component sequences. Discriminative stimuli identifying each sequence were present only in Component 1, which was 4, 6, or 8 sec in duration, while reinforcers could be earned only in Component 2 (30 sec in duration). Control by a stimulus-reinforcer contingency was sought during Component 1 by arranging a differential relation between Component 1 cues and schedule of reinforcement in Component 2. In Experiment 1, rate of keypecking during Component 1 varied with the presence and absence of a stimulus-reinforcer contingency. When a contingency was introduced, rate of keypecking increased during the Component 1 cue associated with the availability of reinforcement in Component 2. In Experiment 2, the stimulus-reinforcer contingency was manipulated parametrically by varying the correlation between Component 1 cues and Component 2 schedules of reinforcement. Responding in Component 1 varied as a function of strength of the stimulus-reinforcer contingency. The relatively high rates of Component 1 responding observed in Experiments 1 and 2 pose difficulties for conceptions of stimulus-reinforcer control based on probability of reinforcement. In these two experiments, the stimulus-associated probabilities of reinforcement in Component 1 were invariant at zero. An alternate dimension of stimulus-reinforcer control was explored in Experiment 3, in which Component 1 cues were differentially associated with delay to reinforcement in Component 2, while probability of reinforcement was held constant across components. When the stimulus-reinforcer contingency was in force, rate of responding in Component 1 varied inversely with delay to reinforcement in Component 2. In a quantitative analysis of data from Experiments 2 and 3, relative rate of responding during Component 1 was strongly correlated with two measures of relative delay to reinforcement.     

Influences of Family Involvement in Kindergarten Transition Activities on Children’s Early School Adjustment

Transition to kindergarten can be a pivotal experience for children because of its potential long-term impact on school performance. As the importance of relationships among contextual factors surrounding a child has been recognized, many schools have made efforts to establish strong ties with families in order to make kindergarten transition experiences as seamless as possible. Our current understanding of the role of family involvement in kindergarten transitions and the specific outcomes, however, is still somewhat limited. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, this study investigated the impact of family involvement in kindergarten transition activities on children’s transition to kindergarten and their early school adjustment. Although quantitative results revealed that family involvement is not a significant predictor of children’s early school adjustment, qualitative evidence suggests that families believe their involvement in kindergarten transition has a positive influence. In addition, qualitative results provide information concerning barriers, which interfered with family involvement in the transition process. Based on these findings suggestions for schools and families of young children are provided.     

Adolescents' perceptions of attachments to their mothers and fathers in families with histories of domestic violence: a longitudinal perspective

OBJECTIVE: The effects of both childhood and teenage experiences of domestic violence on adolescent-parent attachments were examined. METHOD: Israeli adolescents (M = 15.9 years) who were either victims of physical abuse, witnesses of physical spouse abuse, victims and witnesses of abuse, or neither victims nor witnesses of abuse were questioned about attachments to their parents using the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment [IPPA; Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427-454]. FINDINGS: Abuse status 5 years earlier was unrelated to the adolescents' current perceptions of their attachments whereas current abuse status predicted the adolescents' perceptions of attachment to their mothers. Adolescents who were victims of physical abuse reported weaker attachments to their parents than adolescents who were not abused or who had solely witnessed interparental physical abuse. Attachments to mothers were weaker whether or not mothers were the perpetrators of abuse. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that victimization adversely affects children's perceptions of relationships with their parents, but that changes in the exposure to family violence are associated with changes in relationships with parents. These findings suggest that intervention can have positive effects on parent-child relationships despite violent histories.     

Addressing the challenge of legitimate international comparisons of classroom practice

In this article, we address the choice of suitable instructional units that might serve as the basis for cross-cultural analyses of classroom practice. Our argument draws on analyses undertaken as part of the Learner's Perspective Study (LPS). The database comprised a three-camera video record of sequences of 10 consecutive lessons in each classroom, supplemented by post-lesson video-stimulated interviews with teachers and students: a total of over 180 videotaped lessons, over 50 teacher interviews and almost 400 student interviews. The results of these analyses challenge the suitability of the lesson as the unit of comparative analysis. In particular, the location of the lesson in the topic sequence is seen to be a key influence on the lesson's structure, critically affecting the teacher's deployment of the constituent activities that we have called ‘lesson events.’ The lesson event is proposed as an alternative unit of international comparative analysis of classroom practice.     

Issues in the assessment of literacy‐related difficulties across language backgrounds: a cross‐linguistic comparison

This paper focused on the assessment of phonological skills amongst children with developmental dyslexia. Findings from assessments of English and Hungarian monolingual children with and without literacy deficits and bilingual Filipino children with and without literacy deficits in English indicated that performance on phonological‐based tasks often used in dyslexia assessment batteries was influenced by the language background. Monolingual English children with poor literacy skills showed characteristic deficits in most areas of phonological ability, whereas Hungarian counterparts showed little evidence of such difficulties. Bilingual Filipino children with poor English literacy skills showed equivalent profiles to their monolingual counterparts only when assessments in both English and Filipino were considered. The paper discusses difficulties of generalising assessment procedures from one language context to another.     

Cultural Beliefs about Autism in Indonesia

Cultural beliefs about parenting have an important influence on parenting behaviours, including considerations about appropriate ways to parent children with autism. Although Indonesia has one of the largest and most ethnically diverse populations in the world, little is known about cultural beliefs regarding children with autism within Indonesian cultures. The goal of the present study was to investigate how Indonesian mothers from a range of backgrounds and without a child with autism understood autism and the most appropriate ways to parent such a child. The study was a qualitative investigation using semi-structured interviews with nine Indonesian mothers. Five aspects were investigated: understanding about autism, beliefs about causes of autism, possible reactions to having a child with autism, perceptions of parenting a child with autism, and perceptions of parent-child relationships. The interviews revealed five related themes about autism, including traditional cultural beliefs about appropriate behaviour during pregnancy, karma, and God’s plan, that are not usually reported in the literature from western countries.     

The Power of Language,Learning and Socialization: Romani and Ebonics

This article draws attention to the role one’s language plays in socialization and explains the misunderstandings and conflicts over integration of the Roma in the Czech Republic. Recognizing the role of home language leads to successful socialization. By not demanding that schools account for home language in the process of teaching, the Roma have implicitly agreed that Czech is the natural way through which children of diverse cultural backgrounds access education and adapt. Children of minorities and namely, the Roma, have been disadvantaged by cultural assumptions enabling teachers, curricula, and textbooks to construct the profile of a Czech student in a way that precludes his or her multicultural origin. To compare, the study provides insight into the conflict between Standard American English and Afro-American English and highlights its factors, legal resolutions, and contemporary situation. The article also reviews research on bilingual classrooms and learning in the United States and suggests that it is relevant to the contentious interrelationship of standard Czech and Romani at schools.     

Learning in higher education – how cognitive and learning styles matter

The cognitive and learning styles research domain is a highly complex one which has recently been the focus of rigour–relevance debates (Coffield et al. 2004; Evans and Sadler-Smith 2006; Rayner 2006). There is considerable support for the existence and value of style as a construct (Sternberg 1996) even though further work is needed to evidence greater impact on practice. This paper shares the work and experiences of one international research community – the European Learning Styles Information Network (ELSIN) and its attempts to advance understanding of the theory and application of cognitive and learning styles in higher education and other contexts. In so doing it highlights the principles around the development, collation and integration of research as exemplified by the ELSIN experience and considered by other research domains in higher education. Future directions for cognitive and learning styles research within the context of higher education are outlined along with the role of ELSIN in highlighting and leading on these.