Relational Aggression, Gender, and Social-Psychological Adjustment

Prior studies of childhood aggression have demonstrated that, as a group, boys are more aggressive than girls. We hypothesized that this finding reflects a lack of research on forms of aggression that are relevant to young females rather than an actual gender difference in levels of overall aggressiveness. In the present study, a form of aggression hypothesized to be typical of girls, relational aggression, was assessed with a peer nomination instrument for a sample of 491 third- through sixth-grade children. Overt aggression (i.e., physical and verbal aggression as assessed in past research) and social-psychological adjustment were also assessed. Results provide evidence for the validity and distinctiveness of relational aggression. Further, they indicated that, as predicted, girls were significantly more relationally aggressive than were boys. Results also indicated that relationally aggressive children may be at risk for serious adjustment difficulties (e.g., they were significantly more rejected and reported significantly higher levels of loneliness, depression, and isolation relative to their nonrelationally aggressive peers).     

Off with a theme: Emergent curriculum in action

Early childhood teachers can plan developmentally appropriate classrooms through a fusion of thematic and emergent curriculum approaches. Ernie, a preschool teacher/university professor working in a campus laboratory setting, designed and implemented a space theme which was relevant to young children, allowed them many opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills and expand upon them in significant ways, and incorporated a variety of materials and resources. Overall, the use of this theme reflected the initial and emergent interests of both the teachers and children, as they interacted in the social environment.     

A cogenerative inquiry using postcolonial theory to envisage culturally inclusive science education

This forum constitutes a cogenerative inquiry using postcolonial theory drawn from the review paper by Zembylas and Avraamidou. Three teacher educators from African, Asian and Caribbean countries reflect on problems confronting their professional practices and consider the prospects of creating culturally inclusive science education. We learn that in Mozambique, Nepal and the Caribbean scientism patrols the borders of science education serving to exclude local epistemological beliefs and discourses and negating culturally contextualized teaching and learning. Despite the diverse cultural hybridities of these countries, science education is disconnected from the daily lives of the majority of their populations, serving inequitably the academic Western-oriented aspirations of an elite group who are “living hybridity but talking scientism.” The discussants explore their autobiographies to reveal core cultural values and beliefs grounded in their non-Western traditions and worldviews but which are in conflict with the Western Modern Worldview (WMW) and thus have no legitimate role in the standard school/college science classroom. They reflect on their hybrid cultural identities and reveal the interplay of multiple selves grounded in both the WMW and non-WMWs and existing in a dialectical tension of managed contradiction in a Third Space. They argue for dialectical logic to illuminate a Third Space wherein students of science education may be empowered to challenge hegemonies of cultural reproduction and examine reflexively their own identities, coming to recognize and reconcile their core cultural beliefs with those of Western modern science, thereby dissipating otherwise strongly delineated cultural borders.

Doctoral Students' Experiences with Pedagogies of the Home,Pedagogies of Love,and Mentoring in the Academy

In this article, a group of nontraditional and/or doctoral students of color and our advisor discuss how the advisor-advisee mentoring relationship has positively affected our experiences within academia. The mentoring relationship, cultivated within a group mentoring model, was integral to our acclimation of the hidden culture of our doctoral programs. We elaborate on the history and mentoring model of the group of which we are a part, and follow with a review of the literature on mentoring practices and a discussion of methodology. Finally, through autoethnographic vignettes, each author discusses his/her experience as a non-traditional and/or student of color and how our relationship with the group has provided us with the logistical, emotional, and psychological support needed to progress in and complete our programs.     

An Outreach Support Group for International Students

International students often face challenges in adjusting to their new environment without the use of local supports such as counseling. This article suggests how universities can form an outreach support group that encourages the participation of international students by minimizing the stigma associated with using mental health services and by addressing relevant practical and emotional issues that international students face.     

Children's beliefs about everyday reasoning

Two studies investigated children's metacognition about everyday reasoning, assessing how they distinguish reasoning from nonreasoning and "good" reasoning from "bad." In Study 1, 80 1st graders (6-7 years), 3rd graders (8-9 years), 5th graders (10-11 years), and adults (18+ years) evaluated scenarios where people (a) used reasoning, (b) solved problems with nonreasoning approaches, or (c) reacted appropriately but automatically to events. All age groups distinguished reasoning from type (b) nonreasoning cases, but age-related improvement occurred for type (c) cases. Study 2 tested 160 1st, 3rd, 5th graders' and adults' evaluation of good and bad reasoning processes, finding 2 developmental changes: initial improvement in discriminating thinking processes by 3rd grade, and emergence of an adult-like, process-focused (vs. outcome-focused) concept of thinking quality by 5th grade.