Young children's beliefs about the relationship between gender and aggressive behavior

Young children's beliefs about the relationship between gender and aggression were examined across 3 studies (N=121). In Study 1, preschoolers (ages 3 to 5) described relational aggression as the most common form of aggression among girls and physical aggression as the most common form among boys. In Study 2, preschoolers and a comparison group of 7- to 8-year-olds were likely to infer that relationally aggressive characters are female and physically aggressive characters are male. Study 3 revealed that preschoolers show systematic memory distortions when recalling stories that conflict with these gender schemas. These findings suggest that even before children reach school age, they have organized patterns of beliefs about gender that affect the way they process social information.     

The Pedagogical Experiences and Practices of Family Child Care Providers

The work in family child care is becoming increasingly more professional, moving from an image of ‘mothering’ toward one of educare. The growing demand for expertise and competence in family child care providers can be examined in light of their pedagogical experiences and the ways in which children engage in learning in providers’ homes. This article is based on a phenomenological study conducted with four certified family child care providers, each with 10 or more years of experience with a wide age range of children. Data revealed that providers foster a pedagogical relationship with children along five dimensions of learning: children’s skills for learning, essential opportunities for learning, two forums for learning, socio-emotional learning, and meaningful learning. The authors conclude with implications for further research.     

Extreme food behavior in abusive families

The availability of food can provide a positive tool in the treatment of abusive and neglectful families. This concept evolves from the belief that inadequate parents are most often people who have been deprived of an adequate “parenting” experience in their own lives. Deprivation creates a void of security which may result in many extremes of behavior. Many of these extremes, as they are related to food habits, have been defined here.Gorging is identified as the first extreme, and differentiation is made between the dynamics of the discriminate gorger who can be helped specifically and the indiscriminate gorger who needs infinite abundance to feel secure. Secondly, the physical and emotional insecurities which result in a need to hoard food are examined, and some insight is offered into understanding the obese patient and the steps necessary before anticipating any effective regulation of the obese person's eating habits. The last personal extreme discussed is despised-food intake which is an easily recognizable symptom of deprivation.The extremes of interaction between peers and spouses at group meals have been addressed, and it is noted that group meals which are traditionally instruments of socialization can be extremely stressful for groups of insecure members.Finally, the extremes of parent-child interaction are outlined, and it is shown how these extremes can reduce the family's mealtime to a devastating emotional battleground. The characteristics of overfeeding and withholding are defined, and it is shown how this chain of extremes results in a complete breakdown of the “parenting” process in which all members fail. Based on the clinical observations made at The National Center for the Pre- vention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect in Denver, it is suggested that feeding can be used as a therapeutic tool not only to attract and hold patient attendance, but also to facilitate progress in therapy through the reduction of physical anxiety.     

Gender differences in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms

Thirty physical science and 30 chemistry classes, which contained a total of 1332 students, were observed using the Brophy-Good Teacher-Child Dyadic Interaction System. Classroom interactions were examined for gender differences that may contribute to the underrepresentation of women in physics and engineering courses and subsequent careers. The Brophy-Good coding process allows for examination of patterns of interactions for individuals and groups of pupils. An analysis of variance of the data yielded a significant main effect for teacher praise, call outs, procedural questions, and behavioral warnings based on the sex of the student and a significant teacher-sex main effect for direct questions. Significant two-way interactions were found for the behavioral warning variable for teacher sex and subject by student sex. Female teachers warned male students significantly more than female students. Male teachers warned both genders with similar frequency. Male students also received significantly more behavioral warnings in physical science classes than female students. In chemistry classes, both male and female students received approximately the same number of behavioral warnings.     

Using computer simulations to assesss hands-on science learning

Two methods of assessing student learning of a hands-on instructional unit are compared. One method involves manipulation of concrete materials, and the other method involves manipulation of icons on a computer to solve an electric circuits problem. Sixth-grade students in an inquiry-based science program completed both assessments separated by three weeks. Results indicated that although mean performance was the same for each method, individual student performance varied considerably. Implications for use of computer simulations as an alternative to hands-on assessment are discussed.This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Office of the Vice President, University of Michigan. Opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the supporting agencies.     

The role of submicroscopic and symbolic representations in chemical explanations

Chemistry is commonly portrayed at three different levels of representation – macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic – that combine to enrich the explanations of chemical concepts. In this article, we examine the use of submicroscopic and symbolic representations in chemical explanations and ascertain how they provide meaning. Of specific interest is the development of students' levels of understanding, conceived as instrumental (knowing how) and relational (knowing why) understanding, as a result of regular Grade 11 chemistry lessons using analogical, anthropomorphic, relational, problem‐based, and model‐based explanations. Examples of both teachers' and students' dialogue are used to illustrate how submicroscopic and symbolic representations are manifested in their explanations of observed chemical phenomena. The data in this research indicated that effective learning at a relational level of understanding requires simultaneous use of submicroscopic and symbolic representations in chemical explanations. Representations are used to help the learner learn; however, the research findings showed that students do not always understand the role of the representation that is assumed by the teacher.