‘Just be friends’: exposing the limits of educational bully discourses for understanding teen girls’ heterosexualized friendships and conflicts

The present paper explores the conceptual limitations of the bully discourses that ground UK anti‐bullying policy frameworks and psychological research literatures on school bullying, suggesting they largely ignore gender, (hetero)sexuality and the social, cultural and subjective dynamics of conflict and aggression among teen‐aged girls. To explore the limitations of bully discourses in practice, the paper draws on a pilot, interview‐based study of girls’ experiences of aggression and bullying, illustrating how friendships and conflicts among the girls are thoroughly heterosexualized, en‐cultured and classed. Drawing on girls and parent interview narratives, I also trace some of the effects of bully discourses set in motion in schools to intervene into conflicts among girls. I suggest these practices miss the complexity of the dynamics at play among girls and also neglect the power relations of parenting, ethnicity, class and school choice, which can inform how, why and when bullying discourses are mobilized.     

Emergent literacy profiles among prekindergarten children from low-SES backgrounds: Longitudinal considerations

This study represents a longitudinal follow-up to a prior investigation that identified five profiles of emergent literacy skills among children in the fall of their prekindergarten year. Here, we examined: (a) how profile patterns changed from fall to spring, (b) the extent to which children remained stable in their profile membership, and (c) possible factors that may explain children's movement in profile membership from fall to spring. Participants were 484 children enrolled in needs-based programs. Eight measures of emergent literacy, across oral language and code-related domains, were administered in both the fall and the spring of the prekindergarten year. Latent profile analysis was used to classify children into fall and spring profiles (N = 484, 369, respectively). Although there were fewer profiles identified in the spring, children's membership within the profiles was characterized by a degree of stability, especially in the extremes of performance. Among children who shifted membership from fall to spring (35%), movement to a more desirable profile was primarily associated with children's emergent literacy skills, particularly oral language, at the beginning of the prekindergarten year.     

Culturally Sustaining Practices in Content Area Instruction for CLD Students with Learning Disabilities

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students comprise a substantial population of students with learning disabilities, and are historically disproportionately represented in special education. To effectively teach CLD students with learning disabilities, teachers should integrate evidence‐based practices and culturally sustaining pedagogy in their practice. This article highlights several practical examples of culturally sustaining evidence‐based practices across the content areas of mathematics, reading, and writing. Suggestions for practice and future research are presented in the article.     

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.     

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.     

Stability of Attachment Style in Adolescence: An Empirical Test of Alternative Developmental Processes

Few studies have examined stability and change in attachment during adolescence. This 5‐year longitudinal study (a) examined whether prototype or revisionist developmental dynamics better characterized patterns of stability and change in adolescent attachment (at T1, N = 176; M_age = 14.0 years, SD = 0.9), (b) tested potential moderators of prototype‐like attachment stability, and (c) compared attachment stability in adolescence to stability in adulthood. The results supported the prototype model, which assumes that there is a stable, enduring factor underlying stability and change in attachment. Exploratory moderation analyses revealed that family conflict, parental separation or divorce, minority status, and male sex might undermine the prototype‐like stability of adolescent attachment. Stability of attachment was lower in adolescence relative to adulthood.     

Learning about sex and relationships among migrant and refugee young people in Sydney,Australia: ‘I never got the talk about the birds and the bees’

In a multicultural nation such as Australia, it is important for young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds to have access to quality relationships and sexuality education, as they are known to be less well engaged with mainstream services. A study was undertaken to explore the complexities and opportunities for engaging this group with sexual and reproductive health information and care in Sydney, Australia. Interviews were undertaken with 27 migrant and refugee young people (aged 16–24 years), and 34 expert informants. Relationships and sexuality education was a dominant theme throughout both data sets. Nearly all young people reported that they were unable to discuss sexuality or sexual health with their parents, and most identified secondary school as the place where they first learned about these issues. Other sources of information were identified as the Internet, friends, health professionals and pornography. Participants appeared to have limited awareness of the different services available to them. Schools, as well as other education settings such as universities, private colleges and intensive English centres, are well placed to deliver relationships and sexuality education, and for migrant and refugee young people these may be valuable settings in which to access information rarely discussed in family or community environments.