Healthy Families New York (HFNY) randomized trial: effects on early child abuse and neglect

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a home visiting program modeled after Healthy Families America on parenting behaviors in the first 2 years of life. METHODS: A sample of 1173 families at risk for child abuse and neglect who met the criteria for Healthy Families New York (HFNY) was randomly assigned to either an intervention group that was offered HFNY or a control group that was given information and referrals to other services. Data were collected through a review of CPS records, and maternal interviews at baseline and the child's first birthday (90% re-interviewed) and second birthday (85% re-interviewed). RESULTS: HFNY mothers reported committing one-quarter as many acts of serious abuse at age 2 as control mothers (.01 versus .04, p<.05). Two sets of interactions were tested and found to have significant effects (p<.05). At age 2, young, first-time mothers in the HFNY group who were randomly assigned at 30 weeks of pregnancy or less were less likely than counterparts in the control group to engage in minor physical aggression in the past year (51% versus 70%) and harsh parenting in the past week (41% versus 62%). Among women who were "psychologically vulnerable," HFNY mothers were one-quarter as likely to report engaging in serious abuse and neglect as control mothers (5% versus 19%) at age 2. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that who is offered home visitation may be an important factor in explaining the differential effectiveness of home visitation programs. Improved effects may be realized by prioritizing the populations served or by enhancing the model to meet program objectives for hard-to-serve families.     

Visual and auditory temporal processing, cross-modal transfer, and reading

The present study reexamined the relevance of auditory and visual cross-modal matching to reading ability, an issue first addressed in a seminal study by Birch and Belmont (1964). By presenting all patterns to be matched as temporal sequences of tones and lights, including intramodal as well as cross-modal conditions, and covarying memory, three problems with the Birch and Belmont design were corrected. Results showed that poor readers had difficulty in perceiving temporal patterns generally: They did worse than good readers not only on cross-modal conditions but also on intramodal ones. These results were replicated in two tasks. Nonetheless, hierarchical regressions provided some indication that cross-modal abilities themselves are relevant to reading. For one of the two tasks, cross-modal performance contributed to the prediction of reading ability over and above intramodal performance. Poor readers also showed slower response times--a factor that contributed marginally to the prediction of reading independent of temporal processing.     

I found purple

Johnny was fingerpainting, relishing the thick paint. With blue fists and fingers, he swished and swirled, around and around, over and over. His paper was a triumph of color and movement.Rose C. Merenda is an Assistant Professor and a Kindergarten Teacher at the Henry Barnard Lab School, Rhode Island College, in Providence.     

Exploring the dimensionality of self-perceived performance assessment literacy (PAL)

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Performance assessments attempt to provide a practical and authentic demonstration of students’ learning. Despite growing investments...     

The ‘Golden Egg’

We examine a geometrical construction of a “perfect” egg shape, comparing it with students' conceptions of the ideal shape. Dimensions of birds' eggs are investigated, to find out how egg shapes are related to natural circumstances.     

Theory and application of preproduction testing

Summary and Conclusion A showing, to a small audience, before production has begun, may be useful to give a film maker advance information about the reactions of an audience to his film. Such tests are most useful when used early in the process of production, but not before the material available for showing to the test audience bears a systematic resemblance to the finished film. In most cases, the story board is the earliest stage at which a film may be tested, although exceptions are found to this rule. Testing cannot be utilized unless the producer's intent and the target audience are specified, and is most apt to be profitable when the content is very complex or when the production unit has had no experience with a topic or technique. Useful information may be obtained by any alert producer, but if the target audience is heterogeneous or has not been clearly specified, or if precise and careful predictions are needed, the services of poll and survey specialists or a phsychological test constructor should be sought. The production of a motion picture, as anyone who has attempted it knows, involves a series of decisions. Preproduction testing may be viewed as a sort of “decision insurance” which, although it does not guarantee the desired outcomes, increases the probability of their occurrence. In the preceding article, Hoban pointed out the need for prerelease evaluation of educational communications. This paper presents a theory and a technique for the application of such evaluation. Nicholas Rose is chief clinical psychologist, Wadsworth Hospital, Veterans' Administration Center, Los Angeles. He was formerly research director at the Department of Cinema, University of Southern California. Charles Van Horn is research associate, Department of Cinema, University of Southern California.     

Video as a tool for focusing teacher self-reflection: supporting and provoking teacher learning

This article describes the research landscape related to the use of video for promoting teacher learning, drawing on a variety of research studies to illustrate the breadth of approaches that have been employed. One particular research study is reported in some detail since, it is argued, this represents a new level of devolution of agency to teachers to play a self-scaffolding role in their own professional education. The study involved the investigation of an approach to the provision of feedback to teachers about their practice that involved stimulating teacher self-reflection and juxtaposed structure and agency. An observation framework grounded in classroom practice research was developed, and teachers selected elements of that framework to serve as the focus for examining their practice and seeking feedback about that practice. Teachers and researchers examined video-recorded lessons focusing on the teachers’ selected observation elements, and then engaged in feedback conversations about their observations and analyses, and the implications of these for future practice. The approach identified the video record as an artefact of the teacher’s own practice and one which demanded a professional response from the teacher. The balance between structure and agency realised in the study, in combination with the use of video for observation and analysis of practice, facilitated teacher self-reflection and functioned to both support and provoke teacher learning.     

The day care and early education curriculum planning guide for May,June, and July

With custodial care the nemesis of parents, educators, and funding sources, a prime concern of child-care and early education people, and that includes teachers and family day care providers as well as other caregivers and administrators, is finding ways to provide the high-quality developmental care that all of us want for our children. This is the second in a series of four month-by-month curriculum planning guides to daily activities for preschoolers designed to keep you and your children busy for quite a while. And though it might not be obvious, virtually every activity has readiness of some kind built right in. So go ahead—enjoy! They're good for you, and the children too.Our thanks to Macmillan, Inc., publishers of Teacher magazine, for permission to adapt for this series some of the material by Ms. Blue that appeared in their Early Education Guide between September 1975 and May/June 1976.Rose Blue is an early childhood educator, an editor, and the author of over ten books for children and young adults. Correspondence can be addressed to her at 1320 51st Street, Brooklyn, New York 11219.     

Majoring in computer science: Causal models for women and men

Data taken from a questionnaire completed by 305 undergraduate students were used to test a causal model for predicting intent to major in computer science. The model, derived from an expectation × value theory framework, provided an acceptable fit to the data for both female and male samples. However, when the model was tested independently for males and females, there were some quantitative differences in the strength and significance of the causal paths. Attitudes toward mathematics appeared to play a more complex and stronger role in men's than in women's plans to major in computer science, while experience with computer science played a stronger, more positive role in women's than in men's plans.     

Infant Information Processing in Relation to Six-Year Cognitive Outcomes

As part of a longitudinal follow-up of full-terms and preterms, infant measures of information processing obtained at 7 months and 1 year were related to various 6-year outcomes: general intelligence, language proficiency, early reading and quantitative skills, and several facets of perceptual organization (N = 91). 7-month Visual recognition memory (VRM) was associated with 6-year performance in all domains, and 3 1-year measures--VRM, cross-modal transfer (CMT), and object permanence--were related to IQ and/or one or more specific outcomes (r's = .20 to .47). Many of the infant-childhood relations remain significant even with IQ partialed. Additionally, 7-month VRM and 1-year CMT scores were lower for infants who, at 6 years, were considered at risk for learning disabilities. Overall, measures from the first year of life predicted both specific cognitive abilities and IQ at 6 years; to some extent, the specific abilities were predicted independently of IQ.