Intelligence, parental depression, and behavior adaptability in deaf children being considered for cochlear implantation

Cognitive ability and behavioral adaptability are distinct, yet related, constructs that can impact childhood development. Both are often reduced in deaf children of hearing parents who do not provide sufficient language and communication access. Additionally, parental depression is commonly observed due to parent-child communication difficulties that can lead to parents' feelings of inadequacy and frustration. We sought to assess whether adaptive behavior in deaf children was associated with nonverbal intelligence and parental depression. Parents of precochlear implant patients seen for neuropsychological assessment were administered the Parenting Stress Index and Vineland Behavior Adaptive Scales to obtain measures of parental distress and child's behavioral adaptability. Precochlear implant patients' cognitive functioning was assessed via the Mullen Scales of Early Learning or the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised, depending on the child's age at the time of testing. Regardless of age or neurological status, the deaf child's adaptive behavior consistently showed a strong relationship with intelligence. Moderate correlation between parental depression and the child's adaptive behavior was observed only in the younger group. The relationship between parental depression and communication subscale was moderated by intelligence for deaf children without neurological complications. The findings provide important implications for promoting family-centered interventions with early communication and language development.     

Zur Bedeutung von „Raum“ in Organisationen Allgemeiner Erwachsenenbildung – Ergebnisse einer qualitativ-rekonstruktiven Studie

Against the background of discourses concerning regional educational landscapes and the increasing interest in theoretical constructs of “space” in educational theory, this article addresses the question of how educational spaces are collectively understood in adult education organizations. This question is examined through a qualitative reconstructive study. Data sources for the study include group discussions and interviews from nine general adult education organizations chosen through theoretical sampling. The data analysis was conducted using a documentary interpretation method. The results indicate that the organizations studied reveal perspectives of educational spaces that differ along lines of territorial and experiential understanding. The concluding discussion provides hypotheses concerning possible connections between socio-economic structures and a territorial understanding of space and between the organizational or subject matter constitution of organizations and an experiential understanding of space.     

Parents' Use of Inductive Discipline: Relations to Children's Empathy and Prosocial Behavior

Relations between parents' discipline, children's empathic responses, and children's prosocial behavior were examined in order to evaluate Martin Hoffman's claim that children's empathy and empathy-based guilt mediate the socialization of children's prosocial behavior. 78 sixth and seventh graders (138–172 months in age), their mothers, and teachers completed multiple measures of Hoffman's constructs. Results were largely consistent with theory. Parents' use of inductive as opposed to power-assertive discipline was related to children's prosocial behavior. Children of inductive parents were more empathic; and more empathic children were more prosocial. Moreover, children's empathy was found to mediate the relation between parents' discipline and children's prosocial behavior. Few relations were obtained for children's guilt indices, but post hoc analyses yielded theoretically consistent results. Contrary to expectations, parents' use of statements of disappointment was the component of the inductive discipline score which was most strongly related to children's prosocial behavior.     

Cross-cultural counseling: A systematic approach to understanding the issues

Counseling theory and practice tend to be dominated by a European-American orientation. Cross-cultural counseling is advanced as an approach that transcends European dominance while focusing on the specific needs of African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American cultures. This paper reviews the major conceptual models, described by social scientists, and advances a more culturally sensitive, cross-cultural approach to conceptualizing counseling theory and practice when counseling members of large minority groups living in the United States.     

The Trouble with Higher Education: A critical examination of our universities

This study examined and compared the legal inputs, structural settings and implementation process of lifelong learning policy in Thailand and Japan focusing on street-level agents. The findings demonstrated that while both countries had legal frameworks that provided a legislative platform to promote lifelong learning among the elderly based on a bottom-up implementation of policies, three major differences existed that equated with different outcomes of lifelong learning among the elderly in both countries. First, the promotion of lifelong learning for the elderly in Thailand mirrored complex administrative structures of several host organizations and multiple legal frameworks; whilst Japan’s lifelong learning policy had been promoted based on the Social Education Act under a single ministry. Second, while Thailand based its policy implementation on government agents at the regional and local level in policy delivery, Japan developed a community-based multilayered platform that promoted the policy with active involvement from various local players. Finally, lifelong learning policy for the elderly in Thailand reflected the personal initiatives of policy promotion by government agents at the local level; whereas, lifelong learning policy for the elderly in Japan was pursued based on the interests of the elderly and the community in which they lived.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Experiential education can be taught most effectively in the outdoors when linked to the psychological foundations of teaching and learning. These include communication, perception, arousal, and motivation. Differences are explained for both teaching and learning styles.

Experiential education is distinguished from experiential learning, and salient educational strategies are integrated into the education cycle. These include focusing, feedback and support, self-responsibility, and reflecting. The importance of debriefing or processing is stressed, and an experiential method is included enabling symbolic communication through “active reviewing.” The environment is a critical factor in this form of education. A major goal is to stimulate curiosity and self-motivation. Structuring traditional and experiential methods, “grasshopper teaching,” and individual and cooperative learning draw the foundations of teaching and learning together.