An alternative to social learning theory: Discussion of papers by Whitehurst,Zimmerman, and Brody

Social learning theory, in explaining cognitive development, fails to account for rule invariance in the face of capricious and informationally impoverished experience, offers no explanatory mechanism for the process by which systems of abstract rules are acquired, and offers less flexibility than alternative explanations based on operations and reflective abstraction.     

A Critique and Response to Multicultural Visions of Globalization

The paper by White in this issue of Interchange contains an interesting model for a global educational perspective based on the writings of Aurobindo and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. White proposes a foundation for this new perspective based on the synthesis of Aurobindo’s and de Chardin’s theories of global, social, and conscious evolution. In our response we critique the author’s proposal from the perspective of the current challenges to social justice within the educational community. In particular the writings of Charles Darwin, Paolo Freire, Karl Marx, and Vivekananda (Aurobindo’s peer) are examined to present evolutionary and philosophical viewpoints on the origins and causes of inequity. We contend that no global multicultural perspective on education is possible unless we first address the fundamental inequities present within the socio-economic and educational structures that characterize the world today. Thus any attempt to introduce a “global educational agenda” within an educational institutional structure is bound to be problematic.     

The Child Abuse Potential Inventory and pregnancy outcome in expectant adolescent mothers.

OBJECTIVE: The study explores the prenatal Child Abuse Potential (pCAP) scores derived from the Child Abuse Potential Inventory administered to expectant adolescent mothers. The aim of the study was to assess the association of the pCAP scores with maternal negative prenatal behaviors, and evaluate the contribution of the pCAP scores to neonatal morbidity. METHOD: The pCAP scores, demographic data, and self-report on prenatal behaviors were obtained during the second half of the pregnancy in a sample of 45 poor single adolescent mothers. A pediatrician blind to the prenatal data reviewed the neonatal records to assess neonatal morbidity. Maternal prenatal records were reviewed for obstetric risk assessment by an obstetrician who was blind to the rest of the data. The relations among the pCAP scores, prenatal behaviors, and neonatal morbidity were analyzed. RESULTS: In the prenatal period, the pCAP scores were positively correlated with self-reported prenatal smoking and substance use. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the pCAP scores significantly contributed to neonatal morbidity independently of obstetric risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The Child Abuse Potential scores obtained during pregnancy in poor single adolescent mothers reflect domains of maternal functioning that are associated with negative prenatal behaviors and appear to be important for predicting neonatal morbidity. Further studies are warranted to validate the prenatal use of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory.     

National technology gaps and trade - an empirical study of the influence of globalisation

This paper examines the hypothesis that economic internationalisation is acting to reduce the importance of national technology ‘gaps’ as determinants of trade patterns and performance. The cross-country analysis uses two approaches to assess the dynamic nature of the relationship between national investment in technological capability (proxied by both R&D activity and human capital) and technology-intensive (TI) trade performance. Natural resource endowment and the changing impact of physical capital formation are also investigated. The study includes approximately 48 nations and is based on data from the mid-1970s to 1990. The empirical evidence from one approach undertaken does not support the globalisation hypothesis as national investment in technology and human capital is shown to have maintained its link to international trade success in TI manufactures over the study period. However, the findings of the alternative approach are ambiguous. A positive association between technology investment catch-up and ongoing TI manufacturing trade performance is evident for the newly industrialised economies (NICs), but the results suggest that an inverse relationship may apply for many of the ‘mature’ Western economies.     

FACULTY ATTITUDES TOWARD EVALUATION OF TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO

This report summarizes the results of a survey of faculty member attitudes towards the evaluation of teaching at the University of Western Ontario. Although the existing system of evaluation is perceived as narrow in focus, ineffective in improving teaching and inflexible, faculty members still optimistically expect that a satisfactory system is possible.     

Accuracy of a screening instrument to identify potential child abuse in emergency departments

Although screening for child abuse at emergency departments (EDs) increases the detection rate of potential child abuse, an accurate instrument is lacking. This study was designed to measure the accuracy of a screening instrument for detection of potential child abuse used in EDs. In a prospective cohort study at three Dutch EDs, a 6-item screening instrument for child abuse, Escape, was completed for each child visiting the ED. The data from the completed Escape instrument was used to calculate sensitivity, specificity, and the positive/negative predictive value per item. The clinical notes and conclusions of the screen instruments of all potentially abused children reported to the hospitals’ Child Abuse Teams were collected and reviewed by an expert panel. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the predictors of potential abuse. Completed Escape instruments were available for 18,275 ED visits. Forty-four of the 420 children with a positive screening result, and 11 of the 17,855 children with a negative result were identified as potentially abused. Sensitivity of the Escape instrument was 0.80 and specificity was 0.98. Univariate logistic regression showed that potentially abused children were significantly more likely to have had an aberrant answer to at least one of the items, OR = 189.8, 95% CI [97.3, 370.4]. Most of the children at high risk for child abuse were detected through screening. The Escape instrument is a useful tool for ED staff to support the identification of those at high risk for child abuse.