Sociodemographic and Environmental Correlates of Racial Socialization by Black Parents

The present study focused on the content and practice of racial socialization by black parents. Sociodemographic correlates of patterns of racial socialization were examined using data from a national probability sample of 2,107 respondents (National Study of Black Americans). Multivariate analysis revealed that gender, age, marital status, region, and racial composition of neighborhood predicted whether or not black parents imparted racial socialization messages to their children. Black parents envision racial socialization as involving several components, including messages regarding their experience as minority group members, themes emphasizing individual character and goals, and information related to black cultural heritage. The findings highlighted the critical importance of sociodemographic and environmental influences on the socialization process. Implications for future research on racial socialization are discussed.     

How a Dummy Replaces a Student's Test and Gets an F (Or,How Regression Substitutes for t tests and ANOVA)

Using dummy variables, this note offers a convenient illustration to demonstrate that regression can replace both the one‐factor analysis of variance and the two‐population t test with independent random samples. The exercise also helps to develop students’ intuition regarding regression coefficients.     

Interface between Culture and Disability in the Tanzanian Context: Part I

Schooling for children and young people with disabilities in Tanzania was introduced in 1950. Yet, despite the persistently high annual population growth rate of over 3% and not‐so‐developed health services, after 30 years the few recognised school places available to them are not being filled. Interviews with elderly people representing different educational zones and observation carried out in two schools showed that the communities where the special schools and units are located were not involved in the establishment and running of the educational centres. The interviews with elderly people and proverbs surveyed from local literature showed that the characteristics of major disabilities, except mild to moderate intellectual disability, were clearly known and the general attitudes towards their disabled children were positive. In this article it is argued that the success of special education and any other form of rehabilitation depends on a thorough assessment of the community's folk belief system, customs and values, capitalising on progressive elements within the culture and on instilling a sense of ownership through the involvement of parents, people with disabilities and the community at large in decision‐making and actual intervention activities.     

Predicting Middle School Profiles of Algebra Performance Using Fraction Knowledge

Fraction knowledge and algebraic skill are closely linked. Algebra is a gatekeeper for advanced courses (Booth & Newton, 2012; Brown & Quinn, 2007). This study uses the person-centered approach of latent profile analysis to examine individual differences in middle schoolers’ (N = 350) algebra performance at the end of the year (EOY). The relative importance of a range of fraction skills is considered in predicting the likelihood of displaying a particular profile of EOY algebra knowledge, measured by feature knowledge, equation encoding, equation solving, and word-problem skills. Notably, fraction number line estimation did not predict algebra performance on any of the four measures. Fraction arithmetic at the beginning of the year is most predictive of displaying the highest performing EOY algebra profile.     

A Gestalt Approach to Group Supervision

The authors define and then describe the practice of group supervision. The role of creative experiment in assisting supervisees who perceive themselves as confused, moving in circles, or immobilized is described. Fictional case examples illustrate these issues in supervision. The authors posit the “good fit” of Gestalt theory and techniques with supervision groups.     

Rediscovering Development in Infancy

This commentary endorses J. Kagan’s (2008) conclusion that many of the most dramatic findings on early perceptual, cognitive, and social competencies are ambiguous. It supports his call for converging research operations to disambiguate findings from single paradigms and single response indices. The commentary also argues that early competencies must be placed into a longitudinal framework, thereby allowing researchers to (a) identify whether regressive phenomena play a role in skill development, (b) understand what functions (if any) given skills play in their precocious manifestations and whether these functions are comparable in later instantiations of skills, and (c) avoid rich interpretations by identifying how robust a suspected competency is across contexts.     

Improving interpersonal relations in the college classroom: An empirical investigation

The effect of small interpersonal discussion groups on student interpersonal relations was examined. A Group Psychology class with small interpersonal groups was compared to two other similar-level psychology classes with more traditional formats. One of these controls (a placebo group) had small, academically oriented discussion groups, and the other (a standard control group) was a medium-sized lecture class. TotalN was 258. The quality of within-class interpersonal relations for the experimental group exceeded that of the controls on all dependent variables. These effects, however, did not extend to behavior outside the class. This finding was supported by the results of a two-year follow-up (N=74).     

The administrative control of principals in effective school districts: The supervision and evaluation functions

In this article we examine the nature of administrative control of school principals in 12 especially effective districts in California. We combined two lines of inquiry, knowledge regarding control in organizations and information from the teacher effects and school effectiveness research, to examine types and patterns of control mechanisms in these districts. Although the work reported herein is exploratory in nature, we see evidence that, contrary to the norm, supervision and evaluation of site level administrators were rational and meaningful processes in these effective districts. We report further that the supervision and evaluation functions appeared to form important linkage mechanisms between schools and districts. In addition, we note that supervision and evaluation provide a strong base for the development of other important linkage functions, especially goal setting. Finally, we report that the superintendents often appear to be the key figures in the supervision and evaluation functions in these effective school districts.