Simultaneous Delivery of a Face-to-Face Course to On-Campus and Remote Off-Campus Students

The purpose of this case study was to determine the feasibility of delivering a course on-campus and in real time, simultaneously transmitting it to students who were remotely accessing the same course. In future years, it is anticipated that universities will have inadequate physical facilities to meet the demands of an increasing student population. Additionally, with warnings of impending pandemics, universities need to be prepared to deliver courses in alternative ways to ensure continuity of instruction. Thus, this pilot project was designed to deliver a course to a large section of students while also allowing off-campus students access to the course in real time. The planning and delivery of the course is described, including the technology used, the support provided by the university and technology support staff, the course that was used for the pilot project, and how students were selected to participate as the off-campus students. The perspectives of the instructor, teaching assistant, students (both on- and off-campus), and technology support personnel are summarized.     

Young children’s classification,stereotyping and play behaviour for gender neutral and ambiguous toys

Developmental intergroup theory would predict that children develop fewer or weaker stereotypes about toys that have less distinguishable gender attributes than those that are clearly associated with a gender. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of neutral and ambiguous toys in 31 three‐ to five‐year‐old children’s play behaviour and understanding about gender. Overall, children did not categorise more perceptually salient (ambiguous) toys than less distinguishable (neutral) toys to their own gender. Colour was the most frequently used reason for the toys’ gender assignment. The findings also showed that with age, girls’ play complexity increased linearly, whereas boys’ scores did not. A play substitution scale measuring play creativity or maturity showed no gender differences. The discussion highlights the role of perceptual salience in sex‐dimorphic toy preferences and behaviour and their application to educational issues.     

Normative cruelties and gender deviants: The performative effects of bully discourses for girls and boys in school

Since the 1990s the educational community has witnessed a proliferation of ‘bullying’ discourses, primarily within the field of educational developmental social psychology. Drawing on ethnographic and qualitative interview data of primary and secondary school girls and boys, this article argues that the discourse ‘bullying’ operates to simplify and individualise complex gendered/classed/sexualised/racialised power relations embedded in children's school‐based cultures. Using a feminist post‐structural approach, this article critically traces the discursive production of how the signifiers ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ are implicated in the ‘normative cruelties’ of performing and policing ‘intelligible’ heteronormative masculinities and femininities. It shows how these everyday gender performances are frequently passed over by staff and pupils as ‘natural’. The analysis also illustrates how bully discourses operate in complex racialised and classed ways that mark children out as either gender deviants, or as not adequately performing normative ideals of masculinity and femininity. In conclusion, it is argued that bully discourses offer few symbolic resources and/or practical tools for addressing and coping with everyday school‐based gender violence, and some new research directions are suggested.     

Learning from the lived experiences of new language arts teachers working in diverse urban schools

This ethnographic interview study examines the factors, challenges, people and events that impacted the teaching lives of new language arts teachers. Participants taught in urban, diverse, and underserved schools. We examine our findings related to the reputation of the school, the role of the school leaders, the role of other new teachers, teacher identity, and the impact of teacher preparation programs, which emerged as clear patterns from their interviews. Data on the school culture and personnel also revealed important information on the obstacles these teachers face and supports that sustain them. This study leads to potential future research to broaden our understanding of how to attract, support, and retain new teachers in the field of language arts education.     

Non-STEM Undergraduates Become Enthusiastic Phage-Hunters

To increase science literacy and appreciation among nonscience majors, we offered a course in which 20 non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) undergraduates participated in a unique, two-semester research experience. Each student isolated and characterized his or her own bacteriophage from soil samples. One bacteriophage was selected for sequencing and together, the class annotated the genome of the newly sequenced bacteriophage. The class produced a group poster and gave PowerPoint presentations, and one student presented the joint work at a science symposium.     

Factor Structure of the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale

The current study utilized exercise self-efficacy ratings from undergraduate students to assess the factor structure of the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Exercise Scale (Bandura, 1997, 2006). An exploratory factor analysis (n = 759) indicated a two-factor model solution and three separate confirmatory factor analyses (n = 1,798) supported this assertion. However, a bifactor analysis simultaneously estimating factor loadings on a general factor and two subfactors (Emotional Issues and External Influences) indicated that the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Exercise Scale is best interpreted using the general factor and subfactors together. Additionally, structural equation models (n = 2,294) relating exercise self-efficacy and completed exercise support the assertion that a bifactor model provides the most accurate information. This study is the first to assess the factor structure of the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Exercise Scale using common factor analysis and bifactor techniques and provides evidence for the use of general factor and subfactors.     

The predictive validity of kindergarten readiness judgments: Lessons from one state

Recent federal investments in early childhood assessment systems are the result of a national need for developmentally appropriate, psychometrically sound instruments to monitor young children and evaluate the effectiveness of their learning programs. In this paper, we examined the association between teachers’ perceptions of their students at the start of kindergarten and academic achievement in Grade 3 with hierarchical linear modeling using state-level data from nearly 30,000 students. The analyses showed that such an association exists even after accounting for student-level and school-level demographic variables and is moderated by the percentage of free-lunch-eligible students in a given school. Implications of these findings related screening and assessment at kindergarten entry are discussed.     

Web Sites that Address Prematurity

Families of preterm infants need a tremendous amount of support. This resource column highlights several Web sites that may be useful to health care providers and childbirth educators, as well as to parents of premature infants and their families.     

Economic stress, parenting, and child adjustment in Mexican American and European American families

To assess the impact of economic hardship on 111 European American and 167 Mexican American families and their 5th-grade (M age=11.4 years) children, a family stress model was evaluated. Structural equation analyses revealed that economic hardship was linked to indexes of economic pressure that were related to depressive symptoms for mothers and fathers of both ethnicities. Depressive symptoms were linked to marital problems and hostile parenting. Paternal hostile parenting was related to child adjustment problems for European Americans, whereas marital problems were linked to child adjustment problems for Mexican Americans. Maternal acculturation was associated with both higher marital problems and lower hostile parenting. The utility of the model for describing the effects of economic hardship in Mexican Americans is noted.     

Working with childhood sexual abuse: a survey of mental health professionals

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to establish the views of a group of mental health professionals from various disciplines working in mental health service in a British hospital about the needs of clients who had experienced childhood sexual abuse. METHOD: Staff members were asked to complete an anonymous survey which asked questions relating to knowledge of sexual abuse and its effects, and the needs of clients and staff in working with this client group. A total of 54 people responded to the survey, 42 were female, 11 male. Most (72%) reported having over 10 years experience working in mental health, working in both in-patient and out-patient settings. RESULTS: While respondents were reasonably knowledgeable about childhood sexual abuse, they were not very comfortable, competent or supported in their work with this client group. There were no differences in responses according to the age or gender of respondents, but less experienced staff were more likely to feel supported. Those that had received training and/or supervision felt significantly more capable in working with this client group. CONCLUSIONS: The study offers some support for the development of specialist training, consultancy and supervision programs for mental health staff in the area of child sexual abuse.