The effect of preschool dialogic reading on vocabulary among rural Bangladeshi children

The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of a 4-week dialogic reading intervention with rural Bangladeshi preschoolers with the intention of increasing their expressive vocabulary. Eighty preschoolers randomly selected from five preschools participated in the 4-week program. Their expressive vocabulary, measured in terms of definitions, was tested on 170 challenging words before and after the program and compared with that of control children who participated in the regular language program. Both groups were read in Bangla eight children's storybooks with illustrations, but the dialogic reading teacher was given a set of “wh” and definitional questions to enhance children's verbal participation. The mean vocabulary scores of dialogic program children increased from 26% to 54% whereas the control children remained at the same level. Results are discussed in terms of the successful application of dialogic reading to low-resource preschools.     

Partnership Programs in U.S. Schools: Their Development and Relationship to Family Involvement Outcomes

This study examined data from over 300 U.S. schools on their efforts to develop high quality programs of school, family, and community partnerships. Analyses show that elementary schools, schools with greater support from parents, teachers, and the community; and schools that evaluated progress reported higher quality partnership programs over time. Higher quality programs were associated with wider implementation of parent-child interactive homework, higher levels of parent volunteering, and more parents on school decision-making committees. Results identify factors that could help schools develop quality partnership programs and suggest that these programs translate into higher levels of family involvement in students’ learning.     

Growing the Profession: Mentoring Undergraduates for Librarianship

Since 2007, Brigham Young University Library has provided a paid internship program for undergraduates that allows them to work with a librarian in an academic setting to help them decide if they wish to pursue a master's degree in Library Science. This article describes the internship program and provides results of surveys given to both interns and library mentors regarding their expectations and outcomes. In a new addition to the program, interns now meet with multiple librarians to gain a broad understanding of library work and how different library areas function together.     

Reach Out! Highlighting Collections and Expanding Outreach to Non-Traditional Communities across Academia

As the number of reference questions continues to decline across academic libraries, innovative models have been developed to highlight collections and reach underserved communities. This article describes four outreach models at the University of New Mexico University Libraries, including satellite outreach services, pop-up book trucks and events, and relationship building at various locations on and off campus. The authors describe innovative approaches including curated browsing experiences and relationship marketing to underserved communities. Lessons learned, future approaches, and the benefits of each model will also be explored.     

Towards shaping the field: theorising the knowledge in a formal course for academic developers

In recent years there have been calls both for building the knowledge base of academic development (AD) and for systematic induction of newcomers to the field if AD is to advance as a professional and an academic field. Despite the importance and complexity of AD, induction of novice academic developers remains mostly informal and predominantly focuses on the practices of the field. We argue that more-experienced academic developers have an obligation to provide formal and systematic routes into the field and its knowledge base than is currently the case. One way of doing this is through offering a formal course for growing the next generation of academic developers. Such a course could equip newcomers with a more solid and shared knowledge base, thus contributing to shaping the epistemic spine of AD. In this paper, using Maton's Legitimation Code Theory, we offer an analysis of an existing course aimed at equipping novices with the theoretical and practical knowledge to enable them to solve some of the problems in higher education. From this analysis have emerged general principles that could inform the selection, sequencing and pacing of knowledge in a formal course for academic developers.     

Creating pretence and sharing friendship: modal expressions in children's play

Friendships and play provide children with opportunities for mutual engagement, which both require and facilitate children's language use. Modality is a semantic system in the language associated with children's learning. One way in which modality is realised is through linguistic expressions which allow speakers to moderate the degree of certainty about the truth of propositions (expressions of possibility) and the degree of necessity with respect to proposals (expressions of obligation). No research has explored the relationship between friendship and children's use of modality. This paper reports on the use of both types of modal expression during play between five- and six-year-old children in two friendship contexts. Results showed that possibility expressions occurred at similar rates in both contexts while obligation expressions occurred significantly more often in play in high-level friendships than in low-level friendships. Findings suggest that in high-level friendships modality was used cohesively to create and extend pretend play, whereas in low-level friendships it was used to regulate behaviour. Because modal expressions are important resources for managing interpersonal relationships, for talking about ideas and situations beyond the here and now and for writing for a non-present audience, our findings provide valuable insights for educators of young children.