Trajectories of perinatal depressive symptoms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

This study sought to advance understanding of the potential long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for child development by characterizing trajectories of maternal perinatal depression, a common and significant risk factor for adverse child outcomes. Data came from 393 women (86% White, 8% Latina; mean age = 33.51 years) recruited during pregnancy (n = 247; mean gestational age = 22.94 weeks) or during the first year postpartum (n = 146; mean child age = 4.50 months; 55% female). Rates of depression appear elevated, relative to published reports and to a pre-pandemic comparison group (N = 155). This study also provides evidence for subgroups of individuals who differ in their depressive symptom trajectories over the perinatal period. Subgroup membership was related to differences in maternal social support, but not to child birth outcomes.     

Silence at school: Uses and experiences of silence in pedagogy at a secondary school

Silence infuses all aspects of our daily communications: what we say and what remains unspoken; those to whom we speak, and those we ignore; those we trust and respect, and those we do not. In the school environment, interactions between students and teachers lie at the heart of pedagogy. This relationship is also marked by its silences, and the concept of ‘student voice’ arose out of these silences on matters that affect students. However, the role of silence in such interactions has yet to receive comprehensive attention. This article presents the findings of a study on the uses and experiences of silence in the classroom with secondary school students aged 14–15 years and their teachers. Drawing on nine group discussions and 33 interviews with 20 teachers and 35 students, respectively, I argue that an oversight of silence in the student voice discipline has obscured the power dimensions of student voice, and the injustices that become visible when different forms of silence are illuminated. I argue that there are two core ideas which emerge from the findings: firstly, that silent practices manifest in two distinct paradigms of productivity and listening which function as expectations of teaching and learning; secondly, that the conflation of the listening paradigm with respect demonstrates the capacity of silent practices to reinforce the division between teaching and learning to become mediums of injustice. I conclude that this dichotomous relationship between pedagogy and student voice requires a pedagogy based on a critical examination of respect.     

Understanding the dynamics of motivation in socially shared learning

The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the dynamics of motivation in socially shared learning from both individual and group perspectives. Higher education students’ motivation was analysed in the context of collaborative learning tasks, applying quantitative and qualitative methods. The research questions were: (1) what kind of motivations and task-specific goals do individual students have and (2) how do they combine their motivations as a group in socially shared learning? Three- to five-member groups of university students (n = 99) were observed as they worked with three different collaborative learning tasks in an educational psychology class. The experiment included differently organised conditions for collaboration, ranging from face-to-face situations to virtual collaboration situations which were perceived as motivationally and emotionally challenging. Self-reports and video-tapings were collected. The results show that the students who studied in face-to-face settings reported significantly more learning goals and fewer performance goals during the collaborative tasks than the students in the virtual group. Therefore, the collaborative process of volunteer face-to-face groups was analysed qualitatively and an attempt was made, by observing their shared motivation, to uncover the reasons why they achieved their learning goals.     

What is implied when researchers claim to use a theory?

The focus of this article is on the use of theories and on what we imply when we in research claim to use a theory. In this article, diverse uses of one theory will be illustrated with reference to 10 different studies. The aim is not to evaluate or judge how the theory is used in these studies, but to discuss how the diverse uses of one and the same theory may infer very different things in research. Questions are raised about what happens with the hierarchy and the coherence of an argument and what conclusions can be drawn when only some parts of a theory are used.     

Predicting writing skill development with word recognition and preschool readiness skills

In this longitudinal study, the writing skill development of154 Finnish-speaking children was followed from preschool to thethird grade. The focus was on predictive associations betweenpreschool writing readiness skills and later mechanics ofwriting, as well as between word recognition skill, mechanics ofwriting, and composition coherence. In addition, comparisons weremade between boys and girls to see to what extent writing skilldevelopment is gender-specific. Multi-group structural equationmodeling was used for statistical analysis. The results indicatedthat both mechanics of writing and composition coherence could bepredicted from performance on the same skill at an earlier pointin time. Preschool measures of phonological and visual-motorskills predicted later mechanics of writing. Word recognitionworked as a predictor of later mechanics of writing andcomposition coherence, but only starting from second grade, whenthe development of the word recognition skill had becomestabilized at a high enough level. Furthermore, first grademechanics of writing predicted second grade compositioncoherence, but only at this early stage of productive writingwhen there were still difficulties in the mechanics of writing.Girls were better at tasks measuring mechanics of writing andwrote more coherent stories than boys. The gender difference inthe mechanics of writing at the first grade level was explainedby the presented model. Educational implications were discussed.     

Student teachers’ feelings of anxiety and exhaustion: can self-regulated learning skills function as an antidote?

This study examines first-year student teachers’ (N?=?310) self-evaluated, study-related anxiety and exhaustion, and self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. Our presumption is that feelings of anxiety and exhaustion can be reduced with cognitive and motivational SRL skills. The association of cognitive and motivational SRL skills with feelings of anxiety and exhaustion were analysed with multiple multivariate regression analysis. The results indicate that high time- and study-environment management strategies and high self-efficacy beliefs reduced experienced feelings of anxiety and exhaustion. In addition, effort regulation had a reducing effect for anxiety. However, high extrinsic goal orientation predicted higher levels of anxiety and exhaustion and high task value predicted higher anxiety among student teachers. Particularly, female students had a stronger tendency to experience anxiety and exhaustion. The implications of the results for higher education and for teacher education are discussed.     

Mathematically and practically-based explanations: individual preferences and sociomathematical norms

This paper is an initial investigation of teachers’ and students’ preferences for mathematically-based (MB) and practically-based (PB) explanations and the relationship between those preferences and sociomathematical norms. The study focuses on one fifth grade teacher and two of her students and discusses three issues. The first issue concerns students’ abilities to understand and accept MB explanations. The second issue concerns the choices teachers make regarding the types of explanations they introduce to their classes and the basis for these choices. The third issue concerns the place of the individuals’ preferences within the sociomathematical norms of the class. The findings indicate that elementary school students are capable of understanding MB explanations and some might even prefer them. We also found that although a teacher might personally prefer MB explanations, this preference may be set aside for didactical considerations. Finally, we discuss the complex relationship between individual preferences for MB and PB explanations and sociomathematical norms.     

Group differences in test-taking behaviour: an example from a high-stakes testing program

This study investigated whether different groups of test-takers vary in their reported test-taking behaviour in a high-stakes test situation. A between-group design (N = 1129) was used to examine whether high and low achievers, as well as females and males, differ in their use of test-taking strategies, and in level of reported test anxiety and motivation. The results showed differences between high and low achievers on a number of test-taking strategies, where high achievers reported using successful strategies to a higher extent. There were also gender differences: females, for example, reported using random guessing to a higher extent than males. Further, low achievers, especially females, reported significantly higher levels of test anxiety than high achievers, and high achievers reported slightly higher levels of motivation when compared to low achievers. To conclude, test-taking behaviour might bring additional variance to test scores, whether or not this is irrelevant variance is discussed.     

Does athletic training in volleyball modulate the components of visual evoked potentials? A preliminary investigation

Abstract

This longitudinal study investigated visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in 11 young female volleyball players who participated in extensive training for 2 years. The control group consisted of 7 age-matched female students who were not involved in any regular sports activity. Recordings of VEPs were performed twice: baseline recording (i.e., before training began) and after 2 years of systematic, volleyball-specific athletic training. The effect of athletic training on visual signal conductivity was assessed by recording the latency of N75, P100 and N135 components of the VEPs waveform. Extensive experience with volleyball training reduced signal conductivity time through visual pathway. Specifically, the latency of P100 was reduced on average by 2.2 ms during binocular viewing. Moreover, athletes had reduced N75 latency (difference of 3.3 ms) for visual stimuli that generated greater response from peripheral retina. These results indicate that sport training can affect very early sensory processing in athletes.