A Longitudinal Investigation of Conflict and Delay Inhibitory Control in Toddlers and Preschoolers

Research Findings: A total of 81 children participated in a longitudinal investigation of inhibitory control (IC) from 2 to 4 years of age. Child IC was measured via maternal report and laboratory measures under conditions of conflict and delay. Performance on delay IC tasks at 3 years was related to performance on these same tasks at 2 and 4 years, but performance on conflict IC tasks was not related over time. Delay IC task performance was concurrently related to conflict IC task performance in 3- and 4-year-olds but was not related in 2-year-olds. Measures of IC varied in their associations with measures of verbal ability and maternal-report IC. Such findings highlight important similarities and distinctions between conflict and delay IC abilities in their relation to one another and to temperament and language over time. Practice or Policy: Studies of IC and related concepts reveal that children who are regulated enjoy school more and have higher school competence, particularly in mathematics and reading achievement. Because conflict IC and delay IC show unique patterns of development over time, educators can expect classroom behaviors drawing on the state-like conflict IC to show more fluctuation over time than those drawing on the trait-like delay IC.     

Climate change, flooding and the media in Britain

The weather is a preoccupation of the British public, and flooding has become a salient feature of their experience. Climate science also has important things to say about the prevalence, distribution and dangers of rainfall and flooding, and what we should expect from global warming. This paper looks at British press coverage of flooding, and at the connections made between this theme and climate change. It aims to expose longitudinal patterning, and assess how common the connection is. From here the analysis moves to specific cases of high profile flooding events for a detailed exploration of the tone and tenor, and discursive contours of reports. The results suggest the media's contribution to genuine debate is mixed, that the connection between common forms of reportage and our scientific understanding of the phenomena is often tenuous. The paper explores the implications for the way the politics of climate change plays out.     

Connectedness to Campus and Likelihood of Help-Seeking for Suicidality among College Women

The goal of the present study was to examine the link between connectedness to campus and the likelihood of help-seeking from a mental health professional/school counselor for thoughts of suicide among college women. An online survey was administered to college students to assess perceived likelihood of seeking help, feelings of connectedness to campus, sense of togetherness with peers, and presence of a supportive group of friends on campus. Findings indicated that feeling connected to campus was positively associated with perceived likelihood of help-seeking for suicidal ideation. Furthermore, this association was stronger among participants reporting either a sense of togetherness with peers or a supportive group of friends. Efforts to increase students’ sense of connection to the larger campus community and build peer relationships may promote help-seeking for suicidal ideation among college women.     

Changing Teacher–Child Dyadic Interactions to Improve Preschool Children's Externalizing Behaviors

A randomized controlled trial was used to examine the impact of an attachment‐based, teacher–child, dyadic intervention (Banking Time) to improve children's externalizing behavior. Participants included 183 teachers and 470 preschool children (3–4 years of age). Classrooms were randomly assigned to Banking Time, child time, or business as usual (BAU). Sparse evidence was found for main effects on child behavior. Teachers in Banking Time demonstrated lower negativity and fewer positive interactions with children compared to BAU teachers at post assessment. The impacts of Banking Time and child time on reductions of parent‐ and teacher‐reported externalizing behavior were greater when teachers evidenced higher‐quality, classroom‐level, teacher–child interactions at baseline. An opposite moderating effect was found for children's positive engagement with teachers.     

Effects of Montessori Education on the Academic,Cognitive, and Social Development of Disadvantaged Preschoolers: A Randomized Controlled Study in the French Public-School System

Previous research on Montessori preschool education is inconsistent and prone to analytic flexibility. In this preregistered study, disadvantaged preschoolers in a French public school were randomly assigned to either conventional or Montessori classrooms, with the latter being adapted to French public education. Adaptations included fewer materials, shorter work periods, and relatively limited Montessori teacher training. Cross-sectional analyses in kindergarten (N = 176; M_age = 5–6) and longitudinal analyses over the 3 years of preschool (N = 70; M_age = 3–6) showed that the adapted Montessori curriculum was associated with outcomes comparable to the conventional curriculum on math, executive functions, and social skills. However, disadvantaged kindergarteners from Montessori classrooms outperformed their peers on reading (d = 0.68). This performance was comparable to that of advantaged children from an accredited Montessori preschool.     

Here for You: Attachment and the Growth of Empathic Support for Friends in Adolescence

Attachment was examined as a predictor of teens’ empathic support for friends in a multimethod longitudinal study of 184 U.S. adolescents (58% Caucasian, 29% African American, 13% other) followed from ages 14 to 18. Adolescents’ secure state of mind regarding attachment at 14 predicted teens’ greater capacity to provide empathic support during observed interactions with friends across ages 16–18 (B_average = .39). Teens’ empathic support was generally stable during this period, and less secure teens were slower to develop these skills. Further, teens’ attachment security predicted the degree to which friends called for their support (B_average = .29), which was associated with teens’ responsiveness to such calls. The findings suggest that secure attachment predicts teens’ ability to provide empathic support in close friendships.     

Lessons learned from an evolving DEI programme within a global publisher

• Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is at the core of Springer Nature's mission. Prioritizing DEI helps us become the business we aim to be: one that enables millions of people to access, trust and make sense of the latest insights, to improve and enrich both our lives and the planet.
• We are committed to championing DEI across our content, communities and organization—and also across the whole set of businesses that make up Springer Nature Group—education, health, professional and research.
• Working across our business to harness the varied reach, business capabilities and resources of all our colleagues has been important in this journey, but so too is accountability and the collective efforts of pan-publisher initiatives.
• From editorial guidance to internal mentoring programmes and sustainable development curriculum programmes, our DEI work has been varied and successful, but we have learnt lessons along the way—and still have a way to go. This piece looks at what we have done so far, and our priorities for progress moving forward.

     

Contextualizing privacy with wearable data in higher education

This conceptual study uses dynamic systems theory (DST) and phenomenology as lenses to examine data privacy implications surrounding wearable devices that incorporate stakeholder, contextual and technical factors. Wearable devices can impact people's behaviour and sense of self, and DST and phenomenology provide complementary approaches for emphasizing the subjective experiences of individuals that occur with the use of wearable data. Privacy is approached through phenomenology as an individual's lived bodily experience and DST emphasizes the self-regulation and feedback loops of individuals and their uses of wearable data. The data collection, analysis and communication of wearable data to support learning systems alongside privacy implications for each are examined. The IoT, cloud computing, metadata and algorithms are discussed as they relate to wearable data, pointing out privacy risks and strategies to minimize harm.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Data privacy is a complex topic and is approached through different perspectives, influencing the degree of an individual's data autonomy.
• Wearable technology is increasing in the consumer market and offers great potential to learning environments.

What this paper adds

• Extends extant literature on dynamic systems theory and phenomenology, contributing these perspectives to educational research in the context of student data privacy and wearable technologies.
• Provides a framework to understand the complex and contingent ways that privacy can be understood in the collection, analysis, and communication of wearable data to support learning.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Higher education faculty and educational policymakers should consider various interactions in systems and among systems of how wearable data collection may be analysed, communicated and stored, potentially exposing students to privacy harms.
• Multiple actors in learning systems must engage in continuous and evolving feedback loops around data security, consent, ownership and control to determine who has access to student data, how it is used and for what purposes.
• The EU's General Data Protection and Regulation offers one of the most comprehensive frameworks for higher education institutions and faculty around the world to follow for protecting student data privacy.