Family-Peer Connections: The Roles of Emotional Expressiveness within the Family and Children''s Understanding of Emotions

The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of parent and child emotional expressiveness within the family context, to examine links between these patterns and children's peer relations, and to examine whether these links might be mediated by children's understanding of emotions. Subjects were 61 kindergarten and first-grade white, middle-class children and their parents. Parent and child expressiveness were assessed in a laboratory ring-toss game designed to elicit a range of emotional responses. Parent expressiveness in the home was also assessed with Halberstadt's Family Expressiveness Questionnaire. The questionnaire, completed by both mother and father, assesses a range of emotions in a variety of settings typical of many families, and consists of items tapping both positive and negative expressiveness. Children were interviewed about their understanding of emotions across a broad range of areas. Results indicated that maternal expressiveness (home) and paternal expressiveness (home and laboratory) but not children's expressiveness with parents were associated with children's peer relations. Although children's understanding of emotions was generally not associated with family expressiveness, understanding predicted children's peer relations. In addition, children's understanding influenced the links between maternal expressiveness in the home and peer relations and between paternal expressiveness in the laboratory and peer relations. This pattern of results underscores the importance of the emotional climate of the family for the development of children's social relations with peers.     

Entertainment We Watch and Entertainment We Appreciate: Patterns of Motion Picture Consumption and Acclaim Over Three Decades

An analysis of 582 film titles spanning the years from 1980 to 2010 was conducted to examine the attributes and characteristics that predicted both viewership (e.g., box-office revenues) and critical acclaim (e.g., awards, audience ratings). Overall, viewership was highest for action/adventure films and lowest for dramas. In contrast, acclaim was highest for more dramatic fare, and for films that featured dark, contemplative, and emotional themes. The results are discussed in terms of the entertainment gratifications reflecting both enjoyment and appreciation.     

Same Language,Different Histories: Developing a “Critical” English Teacher Identity

ABSTRACT

Our paper contends that growing awareness of the historicity of English lies at the heart of the process by which English language teachers develop “critical” identities. We compare novice teachers in three different contexts of English teaching: urban Guatemala, rural Nicaragua, and a Tibetan refugee community in India. Collectively, these ethnographic case studies illustrate the complexity of English teacher identity formation in contemporary global society, as our participants developed new understandings of their positions in history, their relationships with English learners, and the local meanings around English as symbolic capital.     

Outdoor adventure instructors’ perceptions of nature and their work: a phenomenological study

This phenomenological study explored outdoor recreation instructors’ subjective experiences of the natural world. Participants (N = 21) from two outdoor adventure centres participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences and perceptions of nature. Thematic analysis revealed eight central themes: (1) Childhood Experiences with Nature; (2) Personal Connection with Nature; (3) Solitude and Connection with Others; (4) Nature as Part of Their Lifestyle; (5) Accessibility to Nature; (6) Awareness of Self, Behaviours and Values; (7) Personal Impacts on Others’ Values of Nature, with two sub-themes Rewards of the Job and Goals of the Job; and (8) Had Another Career Idea. Participants recognized the health-related benefits of nature exposure and enjoyed mediating others’ relationships with nature through their work. Outdoor adventure instructors play a crucial role as conduits to facilitating others’ relationships with nature and associated physical and mental health benefits.     

Universal Instructional Design and Critical (Communication) Pedagogy: Strategies for Voice,Inclusion, and Social Justice/Change

Abstract

The multiracial people's movement in the United States has expanded significantly in the last 10 years (Douglass, 2003 Douglass, R. E. 2003. “The evolution of the multiracial movement”. In Multiracial child resource book: Living complex identities, Edited by: Root, M. P. P. and Kelley, M. pp. 13–17. Seattle, WA: Mavin Foundation.  [Google Scholar]). Historically, community-based education programs have supported social movements in the United States (Collins &; Yeskel, 2000 Collins, C. and Yeskel, F. 2000. Economic apartheid in America: A primer on economic inequality &; insecurity, New York: The New Press.  [Google Scholar]; Sarachild, 1974 Sarachild, K. 1974/1978. “Consciousness-raising: A radical weapon”. In Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, Feminist revolution, pp. 144–150. New York: Random House.  [Google Scholar]/1978), yet little has been written about how educational programs might serve the social and political movements of mixed-race people. This case study describes two community-based multiracial education programs by and for mixed-race people and suggests ways that each supports multiracial community organizing. The conclusion offers recommendations for shaping future multiracial education programs for multiracial people.     

Evaluating a Modeling Curriculum by Using Heuristics for Productive Disciplinary Engagement

The BIO2010 report provided a compelling argument for the need to create learning experiences for undergraduate biology students that are more authentic to modern science. The report acknowledged the need for research that could help practitioners successfully create and reform biology curricula with this goal in mind. Our objective in this article was to explore how a set of six design heuristics could be used to evaluate the potential of curricula to support productive learning experiences for science students. We drew on data collected during a long-term study of an undergraduate traineeship that introduced students to mathematical modeling in the context of modern biological problems. We present illustrative examples from this curriculum that highlight the ways in which three heuristics—instructor role-modeling, holding students to scientific norms, and providing students with opportunities to practice these norms—consistently supported learning across the curriculum. We present a more detailed comparison of two different curricular modules and explain how differences in student authority, problem structure, and access to resources contributed to differences in productive engagement by students in these modules. We hope that our analysis will help practitioners think in more concrete terms about how to achieve the goals set forth by BIO2010.     

Fostering the Profession of Law: The Lifetime Achievements of Harry Bitner

This article describes the life of Harry Bitner, one of the giants of academic law librarianship. His career serves as a model for professionalism and service to the academy. This article was the winner of the annual Earl Borgeson Award at the University of Washington's Information School, a writing competition for students in the law librarianship program.     

Predictors of quality and child outcomes in family child care settings

Few studies have examined correlates of quality ratings in family child care arrangements. This study analyzes data from a multi-state sample of family child care providers actively seeking professional development for two purposes. First, we examine predictors of observed quality ratings focusing on characteristics of child care providers, the most proximal influences of quality in family child care. Second, we explore associations between three targets of professional development (providers’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices) and the pre-academic and social–emotional skills of preschool-aged children. Provider characteristics indicative of personal and professional resources and stress, as well as providers’ professional attitudes and beliefs, are predictive of observed quality measures. Observed quality and providers’ child-centered beliefs and perceptions of job demands are related to children's developmental outcomes. Implications for future research, policies, and practices are discussed.     

Validity Evidence Supporting Use of Anchoring Vignettes to Measure Teaching Practice

High-quality measures of instructional practice are essential for research and evaluation of innovative instructional policies and programs. However, existing measures have generally proven inadequate because of cost and validity issues. This paper addresses two potential drawbacks of survey self-report measures: variation in teachers’ interpretation of response scales and their interpretation of survey questions. To address these drawbacks, researchers tested out use of “anchoring vignettes“ in teacher surveys to capture information about teaching practice, and they gathered validity evidence in regard to their use as a tool for adjusting teachers’ survey self-reports about their instructional practices for research purposes, or potentially to inform professional development. Data from 65 teachers in grades 4-9 responding to our survey suggested that vignette adjustments were reliable and valid for some instructional practices more than others. For some instructional practices, researchers found significant and high correlations between teachers’ adjusted survey self-rating, through use of anchoring vignettes, and previous observation ratings of teachers’ instruction, including ratings from several widely-used observation rubrics. These results suggest that anchoring vignettes may provide an efficient, cost-effective method for gathering data on teachers’ instruction.