Investigation of Poor Academic Achievement in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder that presents with progressive muscular weakness. It is caused by a mutation in a gene that results in the absence of specific products that normally localize to muscle cells and the central nervous system (CNS). The majority of affected individuals have IQs within the normal range, generally with lower verbal than performance IQ scores. Prior work has demonstrated selective deficits on tests of verbal span and immediate memory. For the current study, 26 boys with DMD (and normal intellectual function) and their unaffected siblings were evaluated. Paired comparisons demonstrated that the children with DMD had significantly poorer academic achievement scores than their siblings, even though their vocabulary levels and home and educational environments were comparable. Children with DMD also had more behavioral concerns, physical disabilities, and poorer verbal memory spans. Linear regression indicated that behavioral concerns, executive function, and physical disability did not contribute substantially to academic performance, whereas performance on verbal span did. DMD presents with a selective developmental aberration in verbal span that has wide‐ranging consequences on learning skills.     

冠军由基因决定吗?

本文要点: ◆遗传型是机体全部遗传基因的总和,代表了个体的遗传潜力.在决定个体的解剖、生化、生理、行为等特性或遗传表型(如褐色的眼睛、75kg的体重、50 ml/kg/min的最大摄氧量等)上起主导作用.     

The new social studies,textbooks, and reform in social studies

The New Social Studies curriculum development movement was short-lived, in part because project staff were not sensitive to the realities of the educational context within which their materials and methods would be used. Although textbook-based recitation persists in social studies classrooms, textbooks are not a ready mechanism for reform. Among the reasons are the institutional constraints on publishers and the difficulty in effecting curricular change without appropriate teacher preparation and modifications in the educational environment. James P. Shaver id professor of secondary education, associate dean for research, College of Education, and acting dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Utah State University, Logan. He has been president of the National Council for the Social Studies and has received NCSS’s Citation for Exemplary Research. His numerous books and articles include materials for students, research reports, and discussion of educational rationale-building, rationales for social studies education, and research philosophy.     

Research in Clinical Supervision: Revitalizing a Scientific Agenda

The purpose of this article was to revitalize and disentangle common misconceptions about a scientific agenda for clinical supervision.