Assessment of Autism Symptoms From 6 to 18 Months of Age Using the Autism Observation Scale for Infants in a Prospective High-Risk Cohort

The objectives were to characterize behavioral signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in younger siblings of diagnosed children (high-risk; HR) and examine classification features of the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). Participants (501 HR and 180 low-risk [LR]) were assessed between 6 and 18 months using the AOSI and at age 3 for ASD diagnoses. Total AOSI scores differentiated HR infants later diagnosed with ASD starting at 12 months. ROC analyses identified 12- and 18-month cutoff scores associated with 0.52 sensitivity and 0.74 specificity and 0.73 sensitivity and 0.65 specificity, respectively. Although classification accuracy does not support use as a standalone screen, the AOSI identifies features associated with ASD starting at 6 months and differentiates HR infants with ASD by 12 months.     

Self-regulation advantage for high-IQ children: Findings from a research study

Current approaches in intelligence research indicate the need for a more extensive determination of characteristics of children with possible giftedness, not only at an intellectual level, but also at the level of self-regulation and motivation. The present study compares self-regulation efficiency between high-IQ and average-ability children aged 6 to 11 years using a computerized task: The ‘Self-regulation and concentration test for children’ [SRTC, Kuhl, J. & Kraska, K. (1993). Self-regulation: Psychometric properties of a computer-aided instrument. The German Journal of Psychology, 17, 11–24]. Results show that high-IQ children have better self-regulatory abilities than a comparable group of average-ability children. In addition, self-regulation efficiency is related to working memory and action orientation (i.e., self-motivation). It is concluded that the assessment of self-regulation is important both for the research and practice related to children with high intellectual ability.     

Racial Mismatch among Minoritized Students and White Teachers: Implications and Recommendations for Moving Forward

ABSTRACT

The student population in American public schools has become increasingly diverse; however, the teacher workforce remains primarily White (80%). The purpose of the current paper was to examine the relationship between student-teacher racial composition and perceptions of school climate and the impact of Whiteness on the educational outcomes of minoritized students and their counterparts. Findings from the study indicate that more than 90 percent of the minoritized students in the sample are being educated by a majority White teaching staff. White students’ perceptions of cultural acceptance and connectedness increased as the number of White teachers increased. However, there was no effect for minoritized students. For minoritized students, perceptions of school climate did increase as the number of minoritized students increased. Recommendations for addressing ways to create more equitable learning environments for minoritized students and address and reduce teacher bias are discussed.     

Learning paths in synthesis writing: Which learning path contributes most to which learning outcome?

Instructional Science - This paper presents a secondary analysis of data collected during an intervention study in which students learnt to synthesise pairs of texts presenting opposite views on...     

ICT teacher training: Evaluation of the curriculum and training approach in Flanders

A policy-evaluation study was set up of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) teacher training in Flanders, focusing on the following questions: (a) What is the validity of the content and format of the teacher training, and (b) to what extent is the ICT teacher training linked to policies of schools? In-depth interviews were organised with respondents of primary, secondary, and adult education schools. The results indicate that ICT school policies are not well developed and reveal a partial match between policies, needs, and the actual in-service training. Innovative applications of ICT are not promoted. The supply-driven approach, the school-based nature, and follow-up activities are questioned.     

The influence of flow on learning outcomes: An empirical study on the use of clickers

Flow is a state of total absorption and concentration in an activity that is desirable for students, as it enhances the learning experience. Due to the importance of flow for learning, this research investigates the influence of three flow preconditions—namely balance of skill and challenge, feedback and goal clarity—on students' flow, operationalized as heightened concentration, sense of control and autotelic experience, while using clickers—a type of polling device. The study also explores the impact of concentration, sense of control and autotelic experience on students' perceived learning and satisfaction. Based on a survey of 204 undergraduate students who use clickers in the classroom, the findings show that balance of skill and challenge has a positive influence on students' concentration, sense of control and autotelic experience. Both feedback provided by clickers and goal clarity have a positive influence on concentration and sense of control, but do not influence the autotelic experience. Findings also corroborate the positive impact of concentration and sense of control experienced by students on perceived learning. Finally, autotelic experience predicts both perceived learning and satisfaction.     

Children and adolescents as political actors: Collective visions of politics and citizenship

This article presents a case study on the political thought and citizenship conceptions of children and adolescents. Considering children and adolescents as reflexive citizens and partners in community development processes, it is our purpose to understand the development of political thought, and particularly how children conceive the exercise of citizenship and participation. Participants were 97 children of a primary and middle secondary (basic) school, aged 5 to 14?years, organized into age groups of 12 children each. Focus group discussions were used as participatory research methodology which involves children as active collaborators, a method that appears to be a good alternative to the traditional individual interviews used in previous research. Results point to the existence of a developmental process of political thought that begins before the start of formal schooling, and a parallel evolution of the conception of social organization and the concepts of citizenship and participation.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FRIENDS FOR LIFE PROGRAM IN PORTUGUESE SCHOOLS: STUDY WITH A SAMPLE OF HIGHLY ANXIOUS CHILDREN

The FRIENDS for Life program is a cognitive–behavioral group program that targets anxiety in children. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the Portuguese version of the FRIENDS for Life Program, which was implemented in schools to reduce anxiety problems in a group of highly anxious children. The study used a quasi‐experimental research design with two groups of children, an intervention (n = 17) and a wait‐list control group (n = 21), aged 8 to 12 years old. The impact of the program in reducing anxiety symptoms as assessed by children and mothers was analyzed through the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders‐Revised (SCARED‐R). The results show a statistically significant post intervention effect on anxiety symptoms evaluated by the child, but not by the mother. The implications of these results for the prevention of anxiety disorders in Portuguese schools are discussed.     

The Bologna Process and higher education in Mercosur: regionalization or Europeanization?

Over the past two decades regional agreements have become more significant in educational and training. This paper situates and analyses the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Strategy and explores their influence on the integration of higher education systems in Mercosur (the Southern Common Market of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela). Mercosur is still a customs union, and the project of integrating higher education is at an early stage. Lacking organically established regional bodies, coordination of integration in Mercosur has focused on summits and meetings of officials. However, in a context of unequal maturity in regional integration, there is emerging evidence that the EHEA project is influencing the reforms of national systems of higher education and even Mercosur’s model for a regional area of higher education. A nascent Europeanization of higher education systems in the Mercosur region is emerging, by-passing Mercosur’s regional structures. The formulation of policies has been permeated by policy transfer from Europe to national territories within Mercosur.     

A study of emerging teacher practices in internet-based lesson plan development

In this paper we describe two aspects of an Internet-based lesson plan development project called Science On-Line-Earth and Space Science for the Classroom. First, we discuss the design of the Science On-Line (SOL) Project, which focuses on building a community of practice, appropriate task and setting, and contact with the scientific workplace. Second, we examine strategies teachers used as they approached the task of creating Internet-based science lesson plans for the World Wide Web. Based on the analysis of data gathered during the various project phases, results show that the teacher-developed strategies have varying degrees of effectiveness in facilitating Internet-based lesson plan design, information-gathering, and organization. We describe how the strategies began to evolve into formulated practices for Internet-based lesson development within the SOL teacher community. The SOL investigation develops a case study of the strategies and emerging practices in the context of the creation and pilot-testing of Internet-based lesson plans. This case study may serve as an exemplar of tested Internet-based lesson development strategies and practices for the educational community.