Culture and Politics

Although the advances in technology since the start of this century have produced a communications revolution, they have also led to very serious problems of environmental degradation and resource depletion. The slow stabilization of the rate of population growth is a partial solution to these problems, but many other problems remain. The best chance for solving the latter will come through the successful harnessing of communications and education, a process that is well underway. Distance education vectored by the new information technologies are powerful supplements to traditional methods of education and will propagate world‐wide the synthesis of leadership and liberal education for participatory democracy.     

Diversity Competencies within Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Innovative Practices and Future Directions

With classrooms becoming increasingly diverse due to children’s various cultural backgrounds and varying abilities, early childhood teacher education programs face the challenge of how best to prepare the workforce. Various initiatives have been implemented in teacher preparation programs to prepare early childhood educators to become competent in relating to all children and families. Infusing components of diversity into all courses and field experiences and engaging in community–university partnerships, as well as unifying early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE) program components, are promising practices for the field. An examination and evaluation of these initiatives are discussed in this article, as well as future directions for research and practice.     

The Elusive Search for Teacher Collaboration

Collaboration is a well-used term in the field of education, identified as promising practice for student learning and teaching learning alike. However, collaboration comes in different shapes and sizes, leading to radically different ends. The authors examine teachers’ own understandings and practices of collaboration with teacher colleagues within their school contexts and within a professional development model designed to allow for collaborative conversation between teachers. Implications for teacher education are then considered.     

Mastering course content and learner satisfaction in early childhood education: A comparison of regular classroom instruction with three variations of internet delivery*

Abstract

In the spring semester 2000, a Penn State course, ECE 479 (The Young Child's Play as Educative Process), was taught by the same instructor in four delivery formats. One group consisted of a regular classroom, held on campus. A second group, also on campus, was taught in a computer lab via the Internet; and there were opportunities for interaction with peers and the instructor. A third group took the course on the Internet as part of a local distance education group; hence, there were some limited opportunities for face‐to‐face interaction with peers and the instructor. The fourth group took the course on the Internet, as part of a statewide distance education group, where there were no opportunities for face‐to‐face interaction. Twenty students who enrolled in the course (5 per group) completed questionnaires and phone interviews. Information was gathered on professional backgrounds, computer experience, and initial level of content knowledge on the topic of the ECE Internet course. Sixteen students who completed the course were interviewed again to evaluate satisfaction with the course and to estimate learning outcomes. Across the four conditions general satisfaction was expressed with the content, activities, and course requirements and with the teacher. However, students in the three computer groups expressed dissatisfaction over technical problems (all four who did not complete the course came from these computer groups). Significant gains in content knowledge occurred for the classroom group, while the learning in the three Internet‐based instruction groups did not show the same gains. Concern was expressed related to the lack of face‐to‐face interaction, making the learning environment less desirable. Although Internet technology provides a great deal of promise, these results suggest that improvements are needed to make this delivery modality more effective for in‐service distance learning. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

     

Synopsis of ACES Executive Council Meeting Minutes

ACES and Regional Officers in attendance: Stephen Feit, ACES President; Donna Henderson, ACES President‐Elect and ACA Governing Council Representative; Harriet Glosoff, ACES Secretary; David Zimpfer, Treasurer; Kimberly Vess, NCACES President; Judith Durham, NARACES President‐Elect; Victoria Foster, SACES President‐Elect; Patricia Kerstner, WACES President‐Elect     

Immigrants Families and Childcare Preferences: Do Immigrants’ Cultures Influence Their Childcare Decisions?

The author examines childcare preferences of African immigrant parents living in the United States. Based on interviews with eighteen parents with preschool-aged children and working within Bryman, Lewis-Beck, and Liao’s (2004) narrative inquiry, the author demonstrates that although many of the African immigrants surveyed for the study preferred family members to take care of their children in their own homes to instill African cultural identity in their children, the majority of their children were in childcare centers. The author demonstrates further that although putting children in childcare centers is not their topmost choice, in spite of their precarious financial situation, and despite the high cost of putting children in childcare centers, the immigrants were still happy to put their children in childcare centers because of their busy schedules. The immigrants’ collective nature of child upbringing contributed to their choice. The author recommends that centers must take the immigrants’ culture into consideration during their operations.     

Does Inattention and Hyperactivity Moderate the Relation Between Speed of Processing and Language Skills?

The causal role of speed of processing (SOP) in developmental language disorder (DLD) is unclear given that SOP has been implicated in other neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. This study investigated associations between SOP, language, and inattention/hyperactivity in a U.K. epidemiological cohort (N = 528). Monolingual children from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds were assessed longitudinally; at ages 5–6 (2012/2013) and 7–8 years (2014/2015). Persistent weaknesses in SOP characterized children with DLD but did not predict language longitudinally. Ratings of inattention/hyperactivity moderated the association between SOP and language, indicating that SOP deficits are particularly detrimental for language when coupled with poor attention/hyperactivity. SOP may be a shared risk factor for DLD and inattention/hyperactivity or a general marker of neurodevelopmental disorder.     

Focus Group Effects on Field Practicum Preferences

ABSTRACT

During the coming years the need for professionals to work with the nation's elders will increase several fold. This will place a great responsibility on university educational programs to prepare enough qualified future professionals to work in the greatly expanding field of gerontology. Prior research has identified several nonacademic and academic experiences that influence a student's decision to become gerontological professionals. One area that has been omitted from this work concerns focus groups. This article reports on the impact that observing a relatively simple and inexpensive focus group of professional geriatric practitioners can have on field practicum preferences among advanced undergraduate social work students at a large Texas state university. Findings indicate that observing a focus group significantly influences students' practicum preferences for working with elders, thereby setting them on a trajectory for a career in geriatrics.     

The contribution of childhood emotional abuse to teen dating violence among child protective services-involved youth

ObjectiveFor child protective services (CPS) youth who may have experienced more than one form of maltreatment, the unique contribution of emotional abuse may be over-looked when other forms are more salient and more clearly outside of accepted social norms for parenting. This study considers the unique predictive value of childhood emotional abuse for understanding adolescent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology and dating violence. Further, PTSD symptomatology is assessed as an explanatory bridge in the emotional abuse—teen dating violence link.MethodsA random sample of 402 youth from the active caseload of a large urban CPS catchment area participated as part of a larger longitudinal study on adolescent health behaviors. Mid-adolescent youth across types of CPS status were targeted. CPS youth reported on lifetime maltreatment experiences, PTSD symptomatology, and past year dating experiences, using published scales.ResultsOver 85% of CPS youth had begun dating. For dating youth, some level of dating violence was common: over half of females (63–67%) and nearly half of males (44–49%). Taking into account other forms of maltreatment, emotional abuse emerged as a significant predictor of both PTSD symptomatology and dating violence among males and females. PTSD symptomatology was a significant mediator of the male emotional abuse-perpetration and the female emotional/physical abuse-victimization links, indicating a gendered patterning to findings.ConclusionsThese results indicate that: (1) CPS youth are a high priority group for dating violence and PTSD-linked intervention; and (2) CPS youth continue to experience the unique negative impact of childhood emotional abuse in their adolescent adjustment. All CPS children should be evaluated for emotional abuse incurred, and appropriate intervention attention be given as to how it specifically impacts on the child's approach to relating to themselves and to others.Practice implicationsThe present study directs practice implications in regards to: (1) the problem of teen dating violence, (2) the salience of childhood emotional abuse; and (3) the importance of targeting PTSD symptomatolgy among CPS youth. A substantial number of CPS youth report early engagement in violent romantic relationships and require support towards attaining the non-coercive relationship experiences of their non-CPS-involved age mates. The topic of dating, healthy dating relationships, and dating violence may need to be part of the regular casework, with a view towards supporting youths’ conceptualization of and skill set for healthy, close relationships. Further, this knowledge needs to be translated to foster parents and group home staff. With regard to the impact of childhood emotional abuse, CPS workers need to be sensitive to its potential for long-term, unique impact impairing relationship development. Emotional abuse is (a) unique among genders (i.e., for females, it clusters with physical abuse) and (b) uniquely predictive of PTSD symptoms and dating violence. Finally, as is consistent with theory and biopsychosocial evidence, PTSD symptomatology is a key causal candidate for understanding maltreatment-related impairment. Attention to targeting PTSD symptoms may be preventative for dating violence; attention to targeting emotional abuse experiences may be preventative for PTSD symptoms. CPS youth are an important population to involve in research, as their inclusion adds to the evidence-base to achieve evidence-informed practice and policy within child welfare.