Advances in early years screening for dyslexia in the United Kingdom

In this article, we describe two United Kingdom (UK) screening tests for dyslexia: the Dyslexia Early Screening Test (DEST) and the Cognitive Profiling System (CoPS 1), both normed and designed to be administered by teachers to children four years and older. We first outline the political context in the UK, which for the first time, makes the use of such tests viable. We then outline the research programs behind and the components of each test; reliability and validity are also discussed. Information is presented on the tests in use. We conclude that tests such as these have the potential to identify children as at risk before they fail, halting the cycle of emotional and motivational problems traditionally associated with dyslexia. Both tests are appropriate for use in the United States, and initial reactions from the education sector have been favorable.     

Communication Forms as Predictors of Issue Knowledge in Presidential Campaigns: A Meta-Analytic Assessment

Theory and past research argue for the importance of understanding the effect of various campaign communication forms (e.g., newspapers, television news, radio, debates, candidate advertising, and personal discussions) on levels of issue knowledge (IK). This study used a meta-analytic approach to examine how well these forms predict IK. The aggregate analysis indicates that any of these forms can affect IK but that the different forms are not equally successful. Findings also indicate that the level of campaign interest moderates the effect of reading newspapers and watching television news and that those who watch debates in years with incumbents are less likely to learn. In addition, studies of newspapers are less likely to find significant effects in recent years, even though the issue content of newspapers has increased. The findings also suggest that television news is more likely to influence IK when levels of issue content are greater. These data indicate that measures of media use and IK can systematically influence the study results. Several conclusions are drawn from the research in the hopes of moving toward a theoretical model of communication forms and the attainment of IK.     

Motor and coordination difficulties in children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

To date, very few studies have explored the incidence of motor impairment amongst children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (social, emotional and mental health (SEMH); formerly SEBD in England). Following research that suggests an increase in motor difficulties in young children and adolescents with SEMH difficulties, this study compares profiles of motor ability using the Movement ABC-2 assessment in children attending a specialist SEMH primary school with a typically developing comparison group and children with a diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder. We report an increased prevalence of borderline or clinically significant motor impairment amongst children with SEMH difficulties compared to the comparison group, with 44% of the SEMH special school sample falling within these ranges. We suggest that bearing in mind the increased likelihood for motor impairment is important in SEMH education, as it has likely impact on classroom functioning and ability and motivation to take part in socially and academically relevant activities.     

Decision-making skills and deliberate practice in elite association football referees

We examined sport expertise as a function of role. In study 1, referees were better than players in a video-based decision-making task. This provides evidence that there are role-specific skills within one domain or sport. In study 2, we examined the training activities that could be influential in the development of skills in sports officials. Elite association football (soccer) referees retrospectively reported time spent in and perceptions of training activities for three periods: their first year of formal refereeing, 1998 (before formal training programmes were available), and the current year (2003). This allowed us to examine an area of skill with a limited culture of practice, where performance simulations with direct feedback are usually not feasible. The results showed that referees specialize early and, as they develop, they engage in greater volumes and types of training. Competitive match refereeing is considered a relevant activity for skill acquisition that does not fit Ericsson and colleagues' (1993) original definition of deliberate practice. Our findings indicate that actual performance is a significant activity for skill acquisition and refinement.     

Evaluation of a technology unit in a girls' primary school

Rapid advances in technology are changing the structure of the workforce. There are elite highly-paid hi-tech occupations and low status poorly-paid jobs. Women are unfortunately more likely to be found in the latter category. To allow them to qualify and compete for the higher-status positions, girls need to participate in the physical sciences and in technology studies. However, they are rarely attracted to them in secondary school, possibly because they are already alienated from them by the time they leave primary school. This paper reports some of the outcomes of a curriculum unit taught in two primary school classes in an independent school for girls. The unit was cross-curricular, involving technology, science and other fields of knowledge; it made extensive use of LEGO Technic materials. The evaluation of the unit, based on observations, a teacher journal and pupil questionnaires, focussed upon the issue of whether it assisted the girls to feel happier about working with unfamiliar technology and feel more capable of doing so. Implications for teaching technology are also discussed. M.Ed. St student, Monash University.Specializations: primary school science and technology for girls. Dr. Paul Gardner, Reader in Education, Monash University, 3168.Specializations: science and technology education, technology teacher education, educational evaluation, measurement of attitudes and interests.     

WHAT GOOD IS GRATITUDE IN YOUTH AND SCHOOLS? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META‐ANALYSIS OF CORRELATES AND INTERVENTION OUTCOMES

The development of gratitude in youth has received increasing attention during the past several years, and gratitude‐based interventions have often been recommended for use in schools. Yet, the empirical status of the correlates of gratitude and the effects of gratitude‐based interventions on youths’ outcomes remains unclear. The present study addressed this ambiguity by systematically reviewing and meta‐analyzing original empirical journal articles investigating gratitude in youth through September 2014 (N = 20). Findings from the meta‐analysis of correlates indicate small‐to‐moderate convergent and discriminant evidence for gratitude as a subjective well‐being indicator in youth, yet other results indicate that gratitude measures have relatively poor test–retest reliability and/or predictive validity and that they have questionable concurrent validity with other gratitude measures. Moreover, findings from the meta‐analysis of intervention outcomes indicate that gratitude‐based interventions are, as a whole, generally ineffective and that much more intervention research is warranted. Implications of these findings for theory, future research, and the practice of school psychology are discussed.     

The Shift from Teaching to Learning: Staff Recruitment and Careers Development Policies for the Universities of the Twenty‐First Century

This article examines some of the contextual factors underlying the move from teaching to learning in universities over the next two decades. It considers the major characteristics of and elements in emerging learning processes. It assesses the likely impact of the above on personnel policy and practice in universities and suggests some broader organizational issues for universities as a consequence of the analysis. The article draws on research conducted by the author for two recent international studies, sponsored by the Association of European Universities and UNESCO, and on perspectives derived from various strategic evaluation exercises undertaken under the auspices of CRE.     

Delinking rhetorics of neoliberalism: An analysis of South American leftist presidents’ speeches

We analyze the so-called Socialism of the twenty-first century in which nine South American governments turned to the left over the last 15 years. This South American socialist turn is seen as a delinking from the logics of dependency and pure neoliberalism. To explore the rhetorics that underlie this delinking process, we conducted both a macroanalysis and an intradiscursive rhetorical analysis of the inauguration and most significant speeches of all of the leftist South American presidents elected after 1999. We claim that a common critique of neoliberalism underlies the South American presidents’ speeches, which manifests through specific rhetorics concerning participatory democracy, social inclusion, and environmental protection. When they became transnational, these delinking rhetorics crafted a decolonial critique that calls for more indigenous models of development.