COMBINING SELF‐MONITORING AND AN INTERDEPENDENT GROUP CONTINGENCY TO IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR OF SIXTH GRADERS WITH EBD

A withdrawal design was used to examine the influence of a self‐monitoring procedure on the overall effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency intervention implemented in a sixth‐grade classroom in an alternative school serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Dependent variables included student on‐task, off‐task, and disruptive behaviors exhibited during language arts. Following baseline, the classroom teacher implemented an interdependent group contingency using randomized criteria for reinforcement and randomized reinforcers. Next, a self‐monitoring intervention procedure was added to the existing interdependent group contingency intervention. The self‐monitoring procedure was then withdrawn and reinstated. Results indicated that though there were improvements in behavior from baseline upon intervention implementation, the self‐monitoring procedure did not increase the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency intervention. Limitations and suggestions for future research investigating the influence of self‐monitoring on group contingency interventions are discussed.     

Influences of Family Involvement in Kindergarten Transition Activities on Children’s Early School Adjustment

Transition to kindergarten can be a pivotal experience for children because of its potential long-term impact on school performance. As the importance of relationships among contextual factors surrounding a child has been recognized, many schools have made efforts to establish strong ties with families in order to make kindergarten transition experiences as seamless as possible. Our current understanding of the role of family involvement in kindergarten transitions and the specific outcomes, however, is still somewhat limited. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, this study investigated the impact of family involvement in kindergarten transition activities on children’s transition to kindergarten and their early school adjustment. Although quantitative results revealed that family involvement is not a significant predictor of children’s early school adjustment, qualitative evidence suggests that families believe their involvement in kindergarten transition has a positive influence. In addition, qualitative results provide information concerning barriers, which interfered with family involvement in the transition process. Based on these findings suggestions for schools and families of young children are provided.     

The Contemporary Art of Collaboration

Predetermined assessment criteria and target levels threaten to constrain and limit teachers’ desire to provide a balanced and innovative curriculum for their pupils. Through the collaborative production of annual installations, the fine art department at Trinity Catholic School has attempted to confound the effects of a comprehensive school's limitations. These installations allow hundreds of participants of all ages to collaborate in a partnership ethos exploring contemporary issues and modes of practice and enable both pupils and teachers to engage with art as a creative process. The installation is used as a gallery resource centre both in‐house and by the local community. The recent installation entitled ‘Laboratories’, analysing links between art and science, becomes a case study to examine the avoidance of limitations imposed by exam‐driven targets. Instead an environment was fostered that actively promoted a ‘learning for all’ philosophy including teachers and mature students.     

Effects of Dialect on American and British Children's Spelling

Two experiments were carried out to compare the spelling of children who speak General American English and children who speak Southern British English. The first dialect is rhotic (/r/may occur after a vowel in a syllable), and the second is nonrhotic (/r/may not occur in this context). Young children's spelling errors reflected the characteristics of their dialect. For example, American children with spelling ages of about 6–7½ often misspelled hurt as "hrt" whereas British children of similar spelling levels were more likely to misspell it as "hut." Such errors were uncommon by spelling ages of greater than 7½. Even at these spelling ages, however, the British children made overgeneralization errors that reflected their dialect. For example, they sometimes spelled bath as "barth" based on the fact that bath contains the same vowel sound as card in their dialect. The results show that phonology plays an important role in children's spelling development.     

An Examination of Pace's Model of Student Development and College Impress

ABSTRACT

For 8 years Washington State has operated a performance funding policy, the Student Achievement Initiative (SAI). The policy allocates appropriations to the state’s 34 community and technical colleges based on points earned through student achievement of college-readiness, retention, and completion milestones. Grounded in a conceptual framework of principal-agent theory, this study explored one community college case to examine knowledge of, perspectives on, and responses to the SAI. Through semi-structured interviews with seven faculty, administrators, and staff, combined with document analysis, five themes emerged: information transmission, initiating the initiative, the point of the point, consequences of imperfect data, and faculty skepticism. This study concludes with implications and recommendations for practice and policy.     

Teaching Education about Sexuality: a Scottish Regional Case Study

This article examines the efficacy of policy and practice, within one Scottish region, of education about sexuality in secondary schools. The primary focus is on teaching sexuality to pupils with recorded learning difficulties, with a particular emphasis on the concepts of inclusion, normalisation and integration. The authors are Sheila Watt, Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Dundee; Elizabeth Horn, a teacher of pupils with special educational needs; and Cassie Higgins, a research assistant also based in the School of Education at the University of Dundee.