Comics or Stories? Differences in the Reading Attitudes and Habits of Girls and Boys in years 2, 4 and 6

A random sample of six schools within the primary schools of one local education authority (LEA) was chosen comprising 216 Year 2 children (109 boys, 107 girls), 189 Year 4 children (99 boys, 90 girls) and 206 Year 6 children (104 boys, 102 girls). A self‐report questionnaire was administered to explore each cohort's attitudes to reading, the source and type of their reading materials and the places at home where they read. Results indicated that while there were several significant differences between the boys and girls in the younger age range, these became progressively fewer as the age group increased. The only item which showed a significant sex difference across all three year groups was the content of favourite reading material. The implications of these findings for reading policy and practice in the primary school are discussed.     

The Effects of Pre‐School Experience on Reading Attainment: a four year cross‐sectional study

This paper examines the reading attainments of a sample of Year 2 children who had one of three types of preschool experience. The results of a 4‐year cross‐sectional study of a sample of all Year 2 children (n = 834) from six randomly selected primary schools within one Local Education Authority (LEA) are presented. The children had attended nursery or playgroup or experienced no preschool provision outside the home: they were not matched for social background. Pupils’ scores on The Primary Reading Test (PRT) [France, N. (1981) The Primary Reading Test (Windsor, NFER/Nelson] are compared over the 4 years, as are the reading Standardised Assessment Task (SAT) scores of the last two cohorts. Results are not clear cut. For 3 of the 4 years, the group with no‐preschool experience performed significantly less well than at least one of the other two groups with some type of preschool experience on the PRT. The SAT levels of nursery children were significantly higher than those of the other two groups. Conclusions, based on such a small study, are tentative. It appears that preschool provision has an effect on children's reading attainments and that this is still significant in Year 2. The validity of the SAT is considered as a factor in the relative reading attainments of the three groups.     

‘We want to be seen as partners,not vultures of the world:’ perspectives of Canadian stakeholders on migration of international students studying in health professions in Canada

ABSTRACT

According to UNESCO, the number of international students worldwide will reach 7 million by 2020. This pilot study examined the Canadian stakeholders’ perspectives on migration and integration of international students enrolled in health professions’ studies in Canada. Qualitative interviews with representatives of migration, education, and health sector communities revealed that international students are a desirable group of immigrants, but their ‘non-immigrant’ status creates a unique set of disadvantages for those intending to stay in Canada. In conclusion, we discuss the role of institutional policy in migration and professional integration of international students in Canada and globally.     

Identifying the costs and benefits of educational psychology: a preliminary exploration in two local authorities

This article provides an account of a small-scale pilot study of the cost and perceived benefits of the educational psychology services in two comparably small local authorities in England. This study is preparatory to a more detailed examination of the costs and likely benefits of state provision of educational psychology services in England. The work is contextualised by acknowledgement of the growing pressure on local authority services to trade and for schools to directly commission the services of educational psychologists. Provisional findings indicate significant differences between the impact of the two services that participated. The authors offer speculation on the effects for local authorities and schools, and ways in which the study might be developed to provide more satisfactory answers to the questions of “what is the value of educational psychology in practice” and “how best to deploy educational psychology services?”     

Self‐esteem and National Tests in Years 2 and 6: a 4‐year longitudinal study

ABSTRACT This 4‐year longitudinal study measured the self‐esteem, reading and mathematical attainments of four cohorts of children on two occasions‐‐in Year 2 and again in Year 6. All Year 2 children(N = 842) in five randomly selected primary schools within one Local Education Authority (LEA) comprised the sample, of which 588 were present in Year 6. The Lawseq questionnaire (Lawrence, 1982), Mathematics 7 and 11 (NFER, 1987a, b) and the Primary Reading Test Levels 1 and 2 (France, 1981) were administered to this sample. Results showed that Cohorts 3 and 4 had the lowest self‐esteem scores in Year 2 and the highest in Year 6 (significant at the 0.1% level). Attainments in mathematics were stable over the 4 years, but reading comprehension means were significantly higher in Year 6 than Year 2 (at the 0.1% level). Discussion centres on the age effects of self‐esteem responses as well as the effects of context and domain specific factors on self‐esteem.     

Effects of mobile apps for nursing students: learning motivation,social interaction and study performance

Abstract

This study examined the effects of mobile apps on the learning motivation, social interaction and study performance of nursing students. A total of 20 students participated in focus group interviews to collect feedback on their use of mobile apps for learning and communicative activities. Two consecutive cohorts of students in a nursing programme, each with about 200 students, were recruited for assessing their learning motivation through a survey and study performance by two tests. The results showed that the students actively used the mobile apps for studying supplementary materials as well as participating in in-class activities and clinical assessments. The students had a relatively high level of motivation for performing and learned well, but relatively low perceived satisfaction and self-efficacy with mobile learning. They showed better study performance after practising mobile learning. The results also suggest that students’ perceived intrinsic value with mobile learning has to be enhanced for improving study performance.     

Supporting Diverse Young Adolescents: Cooperative Grouping in Inclusive Middle-level Settings

The middle level classroom presents unique challenges to educators who strive to provide opportunities that acknowledge learner diversity in terms of social, cognitive, physical, and emotional development. This is confounded even further within inclusive middle-school classrooms where the responsibility to differentiate instruction is even more critical. One way to meet the needs of all students is through cooperative grouping. Through cooperative grouping, middle-level educators can differentiate instruction and promote active learning by leveraging the naturally social nature of young adolescents. In this article, the authors present research on cooperative grouping as well as several considerations for effectively designing and implementing cooperative grouping for middle-level learners in an inclusive setting. Suggestions and examples with regard to group size, membership, group structure and roles, and classroom management and clear expectations are provided. Additionally, the four-clue group strategy is presented as a specific instructional method to support effective group learning experiences in the inclusive middle-level classroom.     

Chinese Newspaper Ownership,Corporate Strategies,and Business Models in a Globalizing World

This study takes Beijing Youth Daily (BYD), Beijing's largest newspaper in terms of advertising revenue and second largest in terms of circulation, as a case study to examine and analyze how globalization influences the ownership, corporate strategies, and business models of local newspaper organizations in China; and, thus, accelerates Chinese-style capitalism and media convergence. Declining advertising revenue and the loss of readers due to the digital revolution and the availability of multimedia news channels are global challenges that face newspapers around the world. BYD is no exception. In response, BYD has shifted from an exclusively state ownership model to a split or dual-track management model that has allowed foreign capital into the business operations while the party/state still retains ideological control over the news content. BYD has reoriented its corporate strategies and carried out structural reforms, building a media conglomerate via new titles, acquisitions, concentrations, and convergences; and developed its business models with advertising as a major revenue source. All these measures are market-oriented and intended to maximize newspaper profits by pursuing economies of scale and scope.     

A Comparative Study of Black South African Children from Three Different Contexts

This study compares family characteristics and developmental outcomes of black children (N = 300) from 3 rural contexts in South Africa: the homeland, the resettlement, and the white-owned farms. Parents in the homeland were more likely to be married and had more education, less household crowding, and lower mobility than parents in the other 2 areas, and higher occupational status than parents from the farms. Child outcomes paralleled these differences in material resources and family stability. Children from the homeland scored higher than children from the resettlement or farms on head circumference, vocabulary, quantitative skill, and self-concept, with no significant differences between the latter 2 areas on these outcome variables. Children from the homeland also scored higher than resettlement children on weight, copying skill, and height, with children from the farms measuring lowest on height. Child outcomes were highly intercorrelated in all 3 residence areas, but correlations among family variables, and between family and child variables, showed different patterns across areas. Parent education, occupation, and crowding were the most consistent predictors of physical development, cognitive development, and self-concept. Family mobility and marital status, however, showed different relationships to other family variables and to child outcomes across the 3 environments. These results highlight the importance of studying children in multiple environmental contexts, because family characteristics are not associated uniformly across residence areas.