Mothers’ Knowledge of What Reduces Distress in Their Adolescents: Impact on the Development of Adolescent Approach Coping

Objective. This longitudinal study assessed the role of mothers’ knowledge of what is comforting to their adolescents when they are distressed. The authors proposed that the adolescents of mothers who were knowledgeable but dissatisfied with their adolescent would have adolescents who coped better than those whose mothers were less dissatisfied; dissatisfied mothers would be more likely to draw on their knowledge to engage in “not-too-nice” parenting, thereby allowing their adolescents to find their own means of self-comfort. Design. Participants were 111 early adolescents and their mothers. At the first time-point adolescents were assessed for approach coping and asked to rate what they would find comforting when they were upset; mothers were asked to predict those ratings and assessed for the extent of their dissatisfaction with their adolescent’s behavior. Adolescents were assessed again for approach coping 2 years later. Results. Mothers’ knowledge positively predicted adolescent approach coping, but only when mothers were high in dissatisfaction. Conclusions. The findings underscore the importance of parents’ knowledge of their adolescents in promoting coping, as well as the role that maternal dissatisfaction plays in adolescents’ ability to cope on their own.     

Teachers’ Literal and Inferential Talk in Early Childhood and Special Education Classrooms

Research Findings: This study examined preschool teachers’ literal talk (LT) and inferential talk (IT) during shared book readings in early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms. We aimed to characterize and compare teachers’ LT and IT in these 2 classroom contexts and determine whether differences in LT and IT are predicted by classroom type, teachers’ educational background, or children’s average language skills. We examined the shared book reading activities of 52 teachers (26 ECE classrooms, 26 ECSE classrooms). Results revealed that ECSE teachers used significantly more LT and showed more variability in their LT and IT than ECE teachers. ECSE classroom type predicted teachers’ use of LT when we controlled for teacher education and children’s language skills, whereas teacher education predicted teachers’ use of IT when we controlled for classroom type and children’s language skills. Practice or Policy: These findings have implications for best practice guidelines and policies, particularly for ECSE environments.     

A Domain-Referenced Approach to Diagnostic Testing Using Generalizability Theory

This paper describes a four-step approach to constructing diagnostic test profiles that provide precise but practical information on students' instructional needs. The approach is based on the specification and analysis of a domain and uses generalizability theory to determine which skills within the domain need to be assessed to diagnose gaps in students' skills and to estimate score profiles. A 64-item test of pronoun use was constructed to represent 32 categories of usage defined by different combinations of five factors in the domain. Generalizability analyses were conducted to determine the optimal number of categories to be included in students' profiles and the number of items needed for each category, and to produce univariate and multivariate estimates of students' universe scores. Multivariate profiles of universe scores were the most accurate and differed substantially from observed score and univariate universe score profiles.     

Testing to Destruction: A problem in a small state

This paper presents a review of assessment procedures in the small state of Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China under the 'one country two systems' policy. The situation of Macau is used as a critical case study of some questionable educational practices that can occur when testing runs without restraint. The paper presents quantitative and qualitative data from two empirical studies to argue that testing--largely, in this case, the testing of students' ability to repeat book knowledge and facts--if left unchecked, becomes part of a dependency culture, a hermetically sealed system in which curricula and testing mutually reinforce each other in producing a low-level, facts-driven curriculum, dangerously didactic pedagogy, rote learning, poor student motivation, and a powerful controlling mechanism on teachers and students. What is disturbing is that this is the very system which many participants in education in Macau seem to want.     

Guise and Guile: Children's Understanding of Narratives in Which the Purpose of Pretense Is Deception

This study examined children's understanding of pretense and deception in folktales in which a villam deceives his victim by pretending to be someone else. In Experiment 1, the 3-year-olds distinguished the real from the pretend persona, but neither understood the victim's false belief nor predicted that the villain would perpetrate the unwelcome act. In Experiment 2, revealing the villainous action facilitated 3-year-olds' predictions of this action during a retelling of the stories, but did not improve subjects' understanding of the victim's false belief. In Experiment 3, although the tasks were further refined to reduce the possibility of misinterpretation, 3-year-olds again did not follow the deception. The results are discussed in relation to 3-year-olds' difficulties with deceptive appearances and their understanding of acting-as-if in pretense.     

A longitudinal study of pupils’ understanding of dynamics: Relationship between cognitive development and performance on dynamics items

In this article we describe a longitudinal study with secondary school pupils which focuses on the relationship between pupils’ cognitive development and understanding dynamics. Two classes of pupils the first between 12–14 and the second between 14 and 16, together with a sub-sample from each of these classes were followed for three years. The main sample completed two tests composed of standard dynamics items and a Piagetian cognitive task. The subsample were interviewed on some of the dynamics items tested and carried out additional cognitive tasks. The results showed that the majority of younger pupils, and the sub-sample reflect the tendency, make very little or no cognitive progress during the three years whereas the older pupils of the main sample and sub-sample make reasonable propgress mainly in the fourth year. The study showed that the relationship between cognitive scores and results on dynamics items is variable with both samples and sub-samples. Further different domains within dynamics related in different ways to cognitive development. An analysis of dynamics concepts suggested that some are more accessible to pupils than others. Three different types of relations are proposed between pupils’ understanding of dynamics concepts and the use of these in the real world.     

A Gifted Programme in Iceland and its Effects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the NER (Namsefnisradgjofin) gifted enrichment programme in Iceland (1985-96). Of the 200 teacher-selected children (aged 6-16), 138 took part and 62 refused. In 2000, the outcomes for participants ( n = 111) and equally suitable non-participants ( n = 63) were compared by postal questionnaire designed by Freeman, previously used in Britain and Finland (Freeman, 2001; Ojanen & Freeman, 1994). The NER programme was successful in that participants did better than non-participants at school. However, participants were already in a better educational position because of superior home backgrounds and higher motivation to succeed. Unfortunately, teachers did not always pick up on these improved achievements, so beneficial effects too often dissipated. Suggestions are made for close cooperation between schools and both programme and home to obtain the best results for the gifted.     

Rural young people’s work/study priorities and aspirations: The influence of family social capital

The transition from school to secure work has become more difficult as young people bear the brunt of the restructuring of the Australian labour market. Young people raised in a rural community are over-represented in the most disadvantaged labour market group- those who have not participated in post-school training and who have experienced long periods of unemployment. Rural labour markets feature lower paid, less secure jobs than their urban counterparts. Education is a proven way of accessing the ‘better’ jobs offered by national labour markets. Why then do young people from disadvantaged rural areas not take up education and training opportunities to the same extent as their urban counterparts? The research discussed in this paper investigated ways in which family and school/community social capital influence young people’s work/study values and priorities with regard to post-school pathways. Family networks and information that are limited and concentrated in rural areas tend to be associated with a desire to find a job before completing school, preferably located near to home. Incomplete understanding and lack of trust of educational institutions and labour markets in urban centres based on local experience may be transmitted through advice of family and friends and influence young people toward current work rather than the longer term goal of post-compulsory education. The implications for regional and national programs of educational and community development are discussed.     

Child sexual and physical abuse among college students in Singapore and the United States

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to explore differences in rates and characteristics of child sexual and physical abuse experiences among women in Singapore and the US. METHOD: Participants (N=153) completed an anonymous questionnaire which assessed experiences of childhood sexual and physical abuse, abuse characteristics (e.g., victimization age, severity), and behavioral and subjective reactions to such experiences (e.g., labeling of experiences as abuse, psychological symptomatology). Exposure to other forms of traumatic life events was also assessed. RESULTS: In comparison to Singaporean women, US women were more likely to report a history of child sexual abuse, and to report experiencing more severe forms of sexual abuse. Women in Singapore were more likely than women in the US to report a history of child physical abuse, to report experiencing injury as a result of the abuse, and to disclose the abuse. Singaporean women with a history of child sexual abuse reported elevated psychological symptom levels relative to their nonabused peers and to US women with a history of child sexual abuse, even after controlling for exposure to other types of traumatic events. No significant differences in symptomatology with regard to child physical abuse were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Although preliminary in nature, the present findings are among the first to demonstrate differences in psychological adjustment between sexually abused and nonabused Asian women living in Asia. This study also provides some of the first support for cross-national differences in the psychological adjustment of child sexual abuse survivors.