Reading Lessons from the Eighteenth Century

The extraordinary nursery library produced by Jane Johnson (circa 1742–1747), entirely in the private domain with no thought of publication, holds pride of place in the Lilly Library's collection of early children's books at the University of Indiana, USA. It has already been celebrated in an exhibition and international conference held at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Homerton College respectively in Cambridge, UK, in 1995. One outcome of the interest aroused in Jane's educational materials by scholars from a wide range of disciplines was the publication of Opening the Nursery Door in 1997, which included two essays devoted to her enterprise by Shirley Brice Heath and Victor Watson. Since then, the Bodleian Library in Oxford has acquired and published in facsimile form a story written by Jane in 1744, alongside a fascinating assortment of family letters and other papers. In Opening the Nursery Door, Watson explored the sources for Jane's story, while Brice Heath considered the materials from a linguistic and anthropological point of view, but no one has yet examined them as reading materials. This is the focus the present authors have taken, based on their research into her life and work, alongside their exploration of the historical and educational context in which a mother might have taught her children to read in the eighteenth century. This article is devoted to examining Jane's nursery library, the philosophical and pedagogical influences on her approach, and the methodologies she used to teach reading, thus throwing a spotlight on domestic literacy and providing insights into the culture of Georgian family life.     

The effect of reading recovery® on special education referrals and placements

This study examined the effect of Reading Recovery®, an early intervention program for first‐grade children, on the rates of referral and placement in special education in New York City. Study participants consisted of students who had a complete Reading Recovery (RR) program (RR‐discontinued and RR‐recommended) and a comparison group composed of children with literacy difficulties, who were initially performing at a slightly higher level than the Reading Recovery children. The results showed that children who received the Reading Recovery program were referred for testing and placed in special education at a statistically significant lower rate. Reading Recovery is associated with a 5% reduction in estimated referral rate and a 3% decrease in placement rate. Additionally, an examination of the classification labels of children placed in special education revealed that RR‐discontinued children were less likely to be classified as learning disabled than those in both the comparison group and the RR‐recommended group. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 39: 635–646, 2002.     

Sport experiences of Division I collegiate athletes and their perceptions of the importance of specialization

The purpose of the current study was to investigate Division I athletes’ prior sport participation and athletes’ perceptions regarding sport specialization. Athletes (N = 1041) completed self-report surveys and indicated that participation in their collegiate sport began around nine years of age (M = 9.10, SD = 3.83). Athletes played a large number of sports in elementary and middle school with participation decreasing during high school. For those athletes who specialized in one sport, specialization occurred typically at 12.5 years of age. In addition, athletes past sport background and perceptions of specialization differed depending on their college sport with some sports (i.e., gymnastics) starting participation and specializing earlier than others (i.e., football, cross country, and track and field). Interestingly, no differences existed in past sport experiences or perceptions of specialization dependent on scholarship status or expected playing status. This study supports prior research that early specialization is not a requirement for elite level performance.     

The professional development needs of special needs assistants in Irish post-primary schools

According to government policy in Ireland, special needs assistants (SNAs) may be employed in post-primary schools to support students deemed to have chronic and serious care needs. There is currently no national policy regarding the continuing professional development (CPD) of SNAs, to meet the requirements of their role. This study investigated the CPD needs of SNAs, working in post-primary schools, in the Border, Midland and Western region of Ireland. Findings from a survey of SNAs and principals revealed that while the majority agreed CPD for SNAs should be compulsory, an ad hoc approach to provision of CPD prevailed, and barriers to CPD were identified. Findings also indicated that CPD in supporting students with Emotional and Behaviour Disorders was a key requirement identified by principals and SNAs. Supporting students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and promoting student independence were also identified as areas for CPD. The need for a national policy with regard to CPD for SNAs is highlighted.     

‘Teaching Is Still a Good Job for a Woman’: the influence of gender on career and life choices

This article reports on an investigation of primary and early‐childhood teacher‐education students’ understandings and beliefs about the influence of gender on their careers and life choices. The research was undertaken by a collaborative team from three Victorian universities. We took as our premiss that if teacher‐education students are to be effective in promoting gender inclusiveness throughout the schooling culture, they must first reflect on the operation of the sex/gender system in their own lives. A range of viewpoints are included about the gendered understandings commonly held by the tertiary students surveyed. The resulting insights enabled us to suggest more effective strategies for fostering gender awareness in teacher education.     

Multicultural Personality and Multicultural Counseling Competency in Counselor Trainees

The authors hypothesized that multicultural personality and ethnic identity would significantly predict variance in multicultural counseling competencies in counselor trainees, beyond the variance predicted by demographics, multicultural training, openness, and cognitive racial attitudes. Results showed multicultural personality predicted multicultural counseling competency, but ethnic identity did not. Results and implications are discussed.