Personality development and the college experience

Studies of freshman-senior data on undergraduates show that, despite major differences among institutions and students, the direction of net change was basically the same in several diverse colleges. Institutional freshmen means spanned a wide range, yet students became more autonomous, more aware, more integrated, more aesthetically sensitive, more tolerant, more liberal in religious views, and less concerned about material possessions. Although all students tended to change in the same direction at all colleges, they did not become more similar; diversity increased for the total group and, more often than not, diversity increased within each college.When sub-groups of similar students were examined within institutions, different patterns of change appeared, and were systematically related to such factors as college climate, student characteristics, teaching practices and study activities, and student-faculty relationships. Thus, differential change occurred as a function of institutional fit. When there is a close fit change proceeds along lines indicated by cultural and genetic forces and is consistent among diverse colleges. Where there is a misfit — students who have not developed to the general level at which a college operates, or whose development has gone beyond the operating level of a college — significant changes occur which are strongly associated with varied college characteristics and educational practices.The research reported here was supported by NIMH Grant #MH14780-05     

Impact of Sensory Processing on School Performance Outcomes in High Functioning Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Difficulty processing sensory information may impede progress in school for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We explore the relationship between sensory processing and school performance in 26 high‐functioning youths with ASD and 26 controls (age 8–14) using measures of sensory, social, cognitive, and academic functioning. In the ASD group, bivariate Pearson correlations indicated a significant positive relationship between intelligence quotient (IQ) and the School Competence Scale (SCS) of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and a significant negative relationship between Dunn's Sensory Processing Framework and SCS scores. Final hierarchical multiple linear regression model accounting for SCS scores in ASD included IQ, ADHD symptoms, and sensory features. An interaction between increased sensory sensitivity with reduced sensory avoidance behaviors explained the greatest amount of variance in SCS, meaning school performance is lowest for children with greater hypersensitivity and fewer avoidance behaviors. Results indicate a strong impact of sensory processing on school performance in ASD.     

The instructional design portfolio:

Conclusion In order to make PIHnet forum more usable and useful, we recently redesigned the forum tool based on findings from a survey, interviews and observations of user posting patterns. We also developed a journal tool to assist teachers with their personal reflection. Interviews with four users showed that the new forum was easy to use and effectively helped them communicate with other members. We are still developing the journal tool, so user experiences with the new journal tool have not been investigated yet. We will continue to improve the tools based on critical feedback from actual users.     

The Parent Threat Inventory: development, reliability, and validity

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to develop a retrospective inventory of parental threatening behavior to facilitate a better understanding of such behavior's role in the etiology of psychological distress. METHOD: Inventory items were developed based on theory and 135 students' responses to a question eliciting examples of threatening parental behavior. Following item development, two additional student samples (n = 200 and n = 603) completed batteries of self-report measures. Responses were used to eliminate unstable or redundant items from the inventory and to examine the inventory's psychometric properties. RESULTS: Factor analysis of the inventory revealed three factors, accounting for 66.2% of variance; this factor structure is compatible with theory, and consistent across maternal behavior scores, paternal behavior scores, and combined maternal and paternal scores. Cronbach's coefficient alphas indicated acceptable internal consistency; Pearson correlation coefficients indicated acceptable 4-week test-retest reliability. Moderate intercorrelations with two retrospective measures of childhood experiences suggested construct validity. Regression analyses demonstrated the ability of the inventory to predict both anxious and depressive symptomatology and lifetime symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder. Normative data on combined parent scores, maternal scores, and paternal scores are also presented. CONCLUSIONS: Initial psychometric testing of the Parent Threat Inventory (PTI) suggests it is a reliable and valid tool for investigating the developmental antecedents of adult psychological distress. Further research should focus on addressing two limitations: (1) lack of normative and psychometric data on men and women suffering from clinical disorders, and (2) lack of validation by parental reporting.     

Carlos' Task: Pictures of language and English teaching

A student's memory of a Caribbean childhood prompts a discussion of English teachers' responsibilities to get clear about first principles. This discussion hinges on a 'politics of recognition' that is at the core of contemporary debates around multicultural education. The demand for recognition is traced back to the European Enlightenment. Rights over recognition are linked to a modern, secular principle of equal dignity. This principle is used to explain why it has been important to establish that communities everywhere possess cultures of their own. These themes are taken up and discussed in relation to contrasting pictures of language in history in the work of two Caribbean writers, Edward Brathwaite and Derek Walcott. It is argued that a picture of language in the English syllabus that makes adequate sense of students' experience--one that affords them recognition--needs to connect with communities' social and cultural histories.