Mother–Child Attachment From Infancy to the Preschool Years: Predicting Security and Stability

Relations between maternal mind‐mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind‐related comments), children's age‐2 perspective‐taking abilities, and attachment security at 44 (n = 165) and 51 (n = 128) months were investigated. Nonattuned comments predicted insecure preschool attachment, via insecure 15‐month attachment security (44‐month attachment) and poorer age‐2 perspective‐taking abilities (51‐month attachment). With regard to attachment stability, higher perspective‐taking abilities distinguished the stable secure groups from (a) the stable insecure groups and (b) children who changed from secure to insecure (at trend level). These effects were independent of child gender, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status (SES). The contribution of these findings to our understanding of stability and change in attachment security from infancy to the preschool years is discussed.     

Using critical literacy to explore genetics and its ethical, legal, and social issues with in-service secondary teachers

The described interdisciplinary course helped a mixed population of in-service secondary English and biology teacher-participants increase their genetics content knowledge and awareness of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) that arose from discoveries and practices associated with the Human Genome Project. This was accomplished by applying a critical literacy approach that allows people develop cognitive skills such that they are able to "read the world" (Wink, 2004). The approach is one that permits readers to go beyond the literal text to examine what is present as well as what is missing as it relates to issues of equity and fairness. Becoming critically literate enabled these teacher-participants to challenge the subtle attitudes, values, and beliefs conveyed by a range of written and oral texts. The teacher-participants in this course improved their critical literacy skills by actively reading, critically writing about, and using evidence to support their conclusions about issues arising from advances in human genetics. A biologist, a linguist, and an educator collaboratively designed and taught the course. The personalized focus on the integration of thoughtful reading and writing in this class enhanced the teacher-participants' (n = 16) professional and intellectual development and will potentially improve learning in their biology and English classrooms in the future.     

Meeting health,mental health,and housing needs of older adults: A case review of the congregational social work education initiative

This article presents results from an innovative social work field education program, which prepares BSW and MSW students to work in interdisciplinary teams with congregational nurses as they serve persons age 55+ or older. The Congregational Social Work Education Initiative is a field education project based on an applied interdisciplinary model, whereby social work students at the graduate and undergraduate level partner with congregational nurses to serve at-risk members of congregations and religious affiliated organizations (RAOs). Students and nurses provide free health, mental health, and wellness services to address individual, family, group, and community health, mental health, and housing issues. Funded by community health foundations, it trains BSW and MSW students for professional practice in congregational and community religious affiliated settings through interdisciplinary and collaborative methods. Information on the development of the model and case illustrations are provided so other social work educational programs and congregational nurse programs might duplicate its success.     

From students to teachers: using surveys to build a culture of evidence and inquiry

In an effort to make decisions about teacher education policy and practice that were informed by research and evidence, participants in Boston College's ‘Teachers for a New Era’ Evidence Team (http://www.teachersforanewera.org) designed a portfolio of assessments and studies. This article describes one project in the portfolio – a series of surveys that trace teacher candidates' experiences over time and track shifts in these experiences as respondents progress from students during the pre‐service period to teachers in the first few years of work in the profession. The article illustrates how various constituencies in the teacher education programme and the larger university used survey data to guide practice, shape policies, and raise new questions about the curriculum, relationships with schools, and the performance of teachers and their pupils. The article argues that these surveys helped to create a new ‘culture of evidence and inquiry’ within which decisions about local policy and practice were made in the teacher preparation programme and the larger university.     

The role of phonological and syntactic awareness in second-language reading: The case of Spanish-speaking learners of French

Spanish-speaking learners of French, aged 9 to 11 years old, were tested after approximately 7months of French instruction to explore the contribution of phonological and syntactic awareness in L2 in 4 components of L2 reading, taking oral competence in L2 andreading in L1 into account. Phonological tasksin L2 better explain decoding. Word recognitionthrough the visual route is best explained bythe corresponding ability in L1. Sentencecomprehension is best explained by oralcompetence in L2, although it is stronglycorrelated with syntactic awareness. Finally,text comprehension is explained by thecorresponding ability in L1, althoughcorrelations with syntactic awareness and oralcompetence are strong. Theoretical implicationsare derived from these findings, and questionsrelative to the subjects' age and level ofbilingualism as well as methodological issuesare discussed.     

Neonatal Stress Reactivity: Predictions to Later Emotional Temperament

To investigate the relations among popular measures of neonatal stress and their link to subsequent temperament, 50 full-term newborns from a normal care nursery were examined responding to a heelstick blood draw. Baseline and heelstick measures of behavioral state, heart period, vagal tone, and salivary cortisol were obtained. Recovery measures of behavioral and cardiac activity were also analyzed. Mothers completed Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire when their infants reached 6 months of age. Baseline vagal tone predicted cortisol in response to the heelstick, suggesting that baseline vagal tone reflects the infants' ability to react to stressors. Greater reactivity to the heelstick (more crying, shorter heart periods, lower vagal tone, and higher cortisol) was associated with lower scores on "Distress-to-Limitations" temperament at 6 months. This finding was consistent with the expectation that the capacity to react strongly to an aversive stimulus would reflect better neurobehavioral organization in the newborn. Recovery measures of cardiac activity approximated and were correlated with baseline measures indicating the strong self-righting properties of the healthy newborn. Finally, vagal tone and salivary cortisol measures were not significantly related, suggesting the importance of assessing both systems in studies of the ontogeny of stress-temperament relations.     

Main trends in graduate study in basic sciences in Turkish universities: a quantitative overview

This paper seeks to trace the development of graduate studies in basic sciences in Turkish universities from origins to the present day. The study includes a sketch of the historical background of higher education from its start in medieval madrasahs and Istanbul Darulfunun (The House of Sciences), to the transition into present-day university education, i.e., to the beginnings of modern graduate study and the emergence of new universities. Empirical statistics are given to substantiate the rapid growth of graduate study and of the number of degrees produced since the 1980s. The mean number of Ph.D. Degrees per year has increased from a few in a single university in the 1930s to nearly a hundred in today's twenty seven universities in Turkey in the 1980s. Finally, a quantitative overview of the growth trends in graduate study in basic sciences as well as an assessment of the present degree productivity of Turkish universities are presented.     

Stairway to employment? Internships in higher education

This article aims to shed light on the current debate regarding the role of internships in higher education in graduates’ employability. In specific, it analyses empirical data on a large-scale study of Portuguese first-cycle study programmes, in order to explore indicators of the professional value of internships in the employability of higher education graduates. Results demonstrate that study programmes that include internships tend to significantly enhance graduates’ employability, particularly within the universe of polytechnic and public higher education institutions. Besides the instrumental value of internships, the impact of the nature and structure of the internship on the percentage of unemployed graduates are also discussed. Mandatory internships and the inclusion of multiple, shorter internships throughout the degree are negatively associated with unemployment levels. Results indicate work-based learning can be used as a successful strategy to bridge theoretical knowledge and practice and enhance graduate employability. These findings provide important insights for the evaluation and/or the design of internship programmes in higher education.     

A small-scale pilot study into language difficulties in children who offend

This small-scale pilot research project investigates the prevalence of Speech Language and Communication Difficulties in a sample of children attending a Youth Offending Service in the UK. Using the CELF-4, approximately 90% of the sample displayed some form of language difficulty and, overall, this population displayed mild to moderate difficulties in this area. Youth Offending Team staff questionnaires were also analysed and it was found that staff have little understanding of the difficulties presented by the children on their caseloads, despite reporting that they felt confident in this area. Implications for practice and potential roles for educational psychologists are discussed.