Demand for Stimulation in Young People with Different Levels of Creativity

The relevant literature indicates strong need for novelty, change and exploration in creative people. This study investigated the relationship between demand for stimulation in 100 high school students and their creativity in problem solving situations. A significant relationship was found between the demand for varied stimulation (adventure, novelty, risk) and cognitive flexibility and complexity, nonconformism and spontaneity, as well as tolerance for cognitive incompatibilities. The data help to explain the conditions that are particularly favourable for these people to function in their social environment.     

The impact of uncertainty and irreversibility on investments in online learning

Uncertainty and irreversibility are central to online learning projects, but have been neglected in the existing educational cost-benefit analysis literature. This paper builds some simple illustrative models of the impact of irreversibility and uncertainty, and shows how different types of cost and demand uncertainty can have substantial impacts on investment decisions. The techniques used are drawn from the financial option pricing literature. In some situations uncertainty should lead decision makers to delay projects which would be accepted under the usual rule "invest if the net present value (NPV) is positive," and in other situations it suggests that projects with negative NPVs should be undertaken. The application of one of these models will then be illustrated in relation to a new online course: the Master of Educational Technology offered by the University of British Columbia.     

The stimulus-response overshadowing phenomenon with VI versus FI schedules of reinforcement

Previous research has shown that response rates on a variable interval (VI) schedule of reinforcement decrease if a brief response-produced signal is given prior to reward. One explanation is that the signal overshadows the response because it is a better predictor of reinforcement. The S-R overshadowing effect does not occur with variable ratio (VR) schedules, however. Tarpy, Lea, and Midgley (1983) explained this fact by suggesting that the signal functions to enhance the salience of the temporal interval offset on the VI schedule (a characteristic not possessed by VR schedules), which then overshadows the response. In this experiment, the salience of the temporal interval was enhanced in another way: signaled or unsignaled reward was provided to rats responding on either a VI or fixed interval (FI) reward schedule. As predicted, rates were lowest for animals receiving signaled reinforcement on an FI schedule and highest for those receiving unsignaled reinforcement on a VI schedule.     

Early Childhood Education in Poland — Changes and Threats

The article presents:

• first, the most important characteristics of the totalitarian educational system which influence current situations in many fields of education, eg.: teacher education and training, philosophy and practice of education, management of the educational system, etc.

• first, the most important characteristics of the totalitarian educational system which influence current situations in many fields of education, eg.: teacher education and training, philosophy and practice of education, management of the educational system, etc.

• second, hopes and expectations towards various institutions connected with early childhood education in a new political and social situation and in the time of implementation of free market rules which caused unfavourable phenomena in early childhood education, eg. closures of settings and increase of fees paid by parents who take children away for financial reasons,

• finally, I present my own image of early childhood setting as an institution supporting parents in fulfilling their educational and care duties and involving them in the growth process of a child.

     

The role of law in protecting the child: A critique of the English system

We have undertaken a critical appraisal of the current English system of law regulating: (1) Provision of services designed to prevent children coming into care of local authorities, which are the authorised agencies for dealing with children who are abused or neglected. (2) Ways of receiving children into care and also ways of terminating care orders. We question whether, and under what circumstances, care orders are really necessary. (3) Periodic reviews of children in care. We are critical of the English system and look to models in the USA as guides towards the possible reform of English law. We take the same perspective when considering termination of parental rights. In our opinion good laws do not of themselves provide the care and love which a child requires, but they make the caring possible by loved and loving adults. We argue that the law must provide the best possible framework to allow adequate caring by members of the non-legal professions, such as social workers and foster parents. At the same time the law must ensure that the rights of parents and children are protected.     

The influence of values on school administrator practices

Reprinted from theJournal of Educational Administration and Foundations, 1989, volume 4, number 2. TheJournal is published by Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada P7B 5E1.     

Do universal social and emotional learning programs for secondary school students enhance the competencies they address? A systematic review

While universal school‐based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs claim to target various SEL competencies, earlier reviews have not provided a clear overview of the competencies in question. We therefore wished to identify the competencies targeted in SEL programs for secondary school students. We also aimed to examine the effects of these programs on SEL competencies and psychosocial health. The specific SEL competencies directly addressed in the programs' primary learning targets were identified based on the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework for SEL. Five bibliographic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Applied Science Premier (ASP), and Web of Science) were searched for relevant research papers published between 2014 and 2018. We included 40 studies that investigated 32 programs focusing on two or more SEL competencies. While most programs targeted four or five of the SEL competencies, many of the included studies did not measure the programs' effects on all the competencies targeted. Our results showed that the SEL programs had substantial effects on the SEL competencies they addressed and on psychosocial health. Although the programs focused predominantly on self‐management skills and relationship skills, the largest summary effects were found for self‐awareness and social awareness.     

Resilience in Context: A Brief and Culturally Grounded Measure for Syrian Refugee and Jordanian Host‐Community Adolescents

Validated measures are needed for assessing resilience in conflict settings. An Arabic version of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) was developed and tested in Jordan. Following qualitative work, surveys were implemented with male/female, refugee/nonrefugee samples (N = 603, 11–18 years). Confirmatory factor analyses tested three‐factor structures for 28‐ and 12‐item CYRMs and measurement equivalence across groups. CYRM‐12 showed measurement reliability and face, content, construct (comparative fit index = .92–.98), and convergent validity. Gender‐differentiated item loadings reflected resource access and social responsibilities. Resilience scores were inversely associated with mental health symptoms, and for Syrian refugees were unrelated to lifetime trauma exposure. In assessing individual, family, and community‐level dimensions of resilience, the CYRM is a useful measure for research and practice with refugee and host‐community youth.