Novel Approaches to Examine Passage,Student, and Question Effects on Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is influenced by sources of variance associated with the reader and the task. To gain insight into the complex interplay of multiple sources of influence, we employed crossed random‐effects item response models. These models allowed us to simultaneously examine the degree to which variables related to the type of passage and student characteristics influenced students’ (n = 94; mean age = 11.97 years) performance on two indicators of reading comprehension: different types of comprehension questions and passage fluency. We found that variables related to word recognition, language, and executive function were influential across various types of passages and comprehension questions and also predicted a reader's passage fluency. Further, an exploratory analysis of two‐way interaction effects was conducted. Results suggest that understanding the relative influence of passage, question, and student variables has implications for identifying struggling readers and designing interventions to address their individual needs.     

Rethinking Nature and Nurture in Education

This paper evaluates how our understanding of natural talent affects questions of educational justice. We argue that education debates currently suffer from a naïve understanding of ‘nature versus nurture’ and present a more rigorous approach that allows us to see what is required for fair treatment of students. As it stands, there is controversy over the extent to which a student's achievements are a result of their natural talent, as opposed to the quality of their education. For those on the nature side of the debate, students who are performing poorly just are not cut out for academic life, and redoubling efforts at furthering their education is both a waste of resources for society and pointless torture for the student. For those on the nurture side, failing students are a sign of a failing education system. To make progress on educational justice, we must move away from attempts to simply assign proportional influence to natural talent and education, respectively, and instead look at the broader landscape of individual reactions to a range of educational environments.     

Implementing Research‐Based Instruction to Prevent Reading Problems Among Low‐Income Students: Is Earlier Better?

It is currently considered imperative to introduce reading instruction as early as possible. This proposition was tested by assigning groups of kindergarteners (N = 256) to two conditions differing in their emphasis on prevention. In the first, teacher‐implemented research‐based interventions were implemented during kindergarten and first grade. In the second, only the first‐grade intervention was implemented. Analyses were conducted separately for students not at risk, at low risk, and at high risk of reading problems. In the short term, the kindergarten intervention was highly effective for both low‐risk and high‐risk students, but it is only for the latter group that early gains translated into better reading skills at the end of first grade. Not‐at‐risk students did not benefit from the early introduction of reading instruction.     

Distributive Justice in Education and Conflicting Interests: Not (Remotely) as Bad as you Think

The importance of education and its profound effect on people's life make it a central issue in discussions of distributive justice. However, promoting distributive justice in education comes at a price: prioritising the education of some, as is often entailed by the principles of justice, inevitably has negative effects on the education of others. As a result, all theories of distributive justice in education face the challenge of balancing their requirements with conflicting interests. This article aims to contribute to developing an account of conflicting interests by identifying a category of conflicting interests—non‐positional conflicting interests—the realisation of which does not necessarily disrupt distributive justice. Non‐positional conflicting interests include, for example, the interest in realising one's full potential and parents’ interest in familial relations. The article argues that the core dimensions of non‐positional conflicting interests can usually be realised without upsetting distributive justice, and that actions that do upset distributive justice tend to be peripheral to these interests. Either way, there is no severe friction between distributive justice and non‐positional conflicting interests: in the former cases, both are realised simultaneously. In the latter, tension exists; however, because the infringement on the conflicting interest is of relatively little weight, it is often justified, all things considered, in order to promote distributive justice. The conclusion is that while there are indeed cases in which distributive justice must retreat in the face of other interests, the friction between distributive justice and other interests is actually weaker than meets the eye.     

EXTENDING THE VALIDITY OF THE FAMILY INVOLVEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE–SHORT FORM FOR CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE FAMILIES FROM LOW‐INCOME BACKGROUNDS

The construct validity of the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Short Form (FIQ‐SF) was examined in an independent sample of ethnically and linguistically diverse low‐income families (N = 498) enrolled in an urban Head Start program in the Southeast. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses replicated the three‐factor structure identified in initial validation studies with Northeast samples: home‐school conferencing, home‐based involvement, and school‐based involvement. Findings from multiple group confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence that the three‐factor structure was invariant across family ethnicity. multivariate analyses of variance also confirmed hypothesized mean differences on FIQ‐SF dimension scores across family demographic variables such as caregiver ethnicity, primary home language, caregiver education, employment, and marital status. Findings replicate and extend prior construct validity evidence to support the use of the FIQ‐SF by early childhood education programs such as Head Start serving diverse families from low‐income backgrounds. Implications for future research, practice, and policy applications in early childhood are discussed.