Odds that don't add up!

This artical presents examples of situations where a lack of understanding of probability leads to erroneous expectations.     

The validity of discrepancy-based definitions of reading disabilities.

This study addressed the validity of distinguishing children with reading disabilities according to the presence or absence of discrepancies between intelligence test scores and academic achievement. Three definitions of reading disability were used to provide criteria for five groups of children who (a) met a discrepancy-based definition uncorrected for the correlation of IQ and achievement; (b) met a discrepancy-based definition correcting for the correlation of IQ and achievement; (c) met a low achievement definition with no IQ discrepancy; (d) met criteria a and b; and (e) met none of the criteria and had no reading disability. Comparison of these five groups on a set of 10 neuropsychological tests corrected for correlations with IQ showed that group differences were small and accounted for little of the variability among groups. These results question the validity of segregating children with reading deficiencies according to discrepancies with IQ scores.     

Are A-not-B errors caused by a belief about object location?

Eight- to 12-month-olds might make A-not-B errors, knowing the object is in B but searching at A because of ancillary (attention, inhibitory, or motor memory) deficits, or they might genuinely believe the object is in A (conceptual deficit). This study examined how diligently infants searched for a hidden object they never found. An object was placed in A twice, and then in B. In a different task the object was placed beside A twice, and then in B. Infants made more A-not-B errors in the former task, and perseverating infants searched diligently in A rather than in B. Infants seemed to believe the object was in A, suggesting that both a conceptual deficit and ancillary deficits account for A-not-B errors.     

Leading change in reading for young adolescents: what is happening in New Zealand?

Effective school leadership in supporting outcomes for all students is critical. This study focuses on six New Zealand principals as they endeavour to make a difference to reading outcomes for 11 to 13 year-old students. In New Zealand, there are approximately 20% of students who are underachieving in reading. Once they reach the final years of primary schooling, this is the final opportunity to rectify this underachievement before these at-risk students enter secondary schooling. Interviews were conducted with the six principals at six case study schools, which represented a range of schools. Findings showed that there was widespread use of standardized testing results in reading to provide accountability for the New Zealand National Standards requirement, and also to inform next teaching steps. However, principals differed in the manner that they led the schools-wide analyses of the data. There was a stark diversity in the implementation of sustained and focused professional development in reading. The use of teacher aides to support our most vulnerable students, low-progress readers and English Speakers of Second Language was widespread, with only two schools providing in-school support and training of these paraprofessionals.     

‘I haven’t lost hope of reaching out … ’: exposing racism in sport by elevating counternarratives

ABSTRACT

This paper tells the ‘back story’ to the development of a local soccer hub, which focuses on the experiences of a predominantly South Sudanese team called the Western Tigers. We use a counter-story telling approach anchored in critical race theory, to develop a composite story that brings together biographical and autobiographical accounts gathered during an ethnographic study. These accounts are narrated from the vantage point of David, a player/coach, whose experiences expose everyday racism and its effects, while also illuminating responses to racism in the context of sport. This composite story challenges dominant narratives about sport in Australian society particularly those that position sport as the great equaliser and a pathway to ‘integration’ and belonging. Our analysis sheds light onto how the dynamics of racialisation and exclusion take the form of a slow violence for young people of refugee background, shaping their experiences and trajectories on and off the field. We discuss the paradoxical role of settings such as the Western Tigers and the Community Soccer Hub as important ‘public homeplaces’, that can also be understood as marginalised and marginalising for young people of refugee background.