Transforming the early years in England

The goal of this paper is to explore the design and implementation of early years educational policy in England in the period 1997–2004. First to be described are the innovations in policy (i.e. the promise), followed by the ‘evidence base’ for new policy (i.e. the research), the delivery of new services (i.e. the achievement), and finally the tensions and gaps which remain (i.e. the shortfall). The paper will focus on evidence concerning expansion of services and on the benefit of early years education on children’s development. It is argued that early years education in England has been transformed through the following: integration of education and care at local and national level, the introduction of the Foundation Stage Curriculum 3–6 years and its birth–3 years supplement, and the firm focus on families as well as children in the delivery of services. There are, however, gaps and tensions to be resolved before the overall vision can be achieved.     

Crime & Elder Abuse: An Integrated Perspective by Brian K. Payne

The problem of reducing withdrawal and enhancing the lives of nursing home patients and other elderly members of society becomes more serious as the number of aged increases. Declines in the ability of elderly may be attributable, in certain cases, to disuse of intellectual capacities. Social reinforcement through reading activities has been proposed as a means of enhancing the performance of the aged and relieving the pain of social deprivation. In order to investigate this hypothesis, two reading groups were formed in a 100‐bed convalescent home; each group met for 6 weeks for 45 minutes. Short stories of high interest were read and discussed. Patients appeared to appreciate and enjoy the sessions. Problems of conducting similar programs were discussed and further research suggested.     

Classroom management of situated group learning: A research study of two teaching strategies

Although peer-based work is encouraged by theories in developmental psychology and although classroom interventions suggest it is effective, there are grounds for recognising that young pupils find collaborative learning hard to sustain. Discontinuities in collaborative skill during development have been suggested as one interpretation. Theory and research have neglected situational continuities that the teacher may provide in management of formal and informal collaborations. This experimental study, with the collaboration of the science faculty in one urban secondary college, investigated the effect of two role attribution strategies on communication in peer groups of different gender composition in three parallel Year 8 science classes. The group were set a problem that required them to design an experiment to compare the thermal insulating properties of two different materials. This presents the data collected and key findings, and reviews the findings from previous parallel studies that have employed the same research design in different school settings. The results confirm the effectiveness of social role attribution strategies in teacher management of communication in peer-based work.     

Expert and Novice Performance: Implications for Clinical Training

Studies of advanced expertise development in a number of areas are reviewed in order to provide general suggestions about the elements of clinical training that might enhance counseling and educational psychology expertise. The emphasis of the discussion is on the connections between classroom instruction and practicum or internship experiences. Recommendations include changes in the sequencing, context, knowledge content, practice conditions, and motivational support provided to students.     

The Effect of Guided Inquiry-Based Instruction on Middle School Students’ Understanding of Lunar Concepts

This study investigated the effect of non-traditional guided inquiry instruction on middle school students’ conceptual understandings of lunar concepts. Multiple data sources were used to describe participants’ conceptions of lunar phases and their cause, including drawings, interviews, and a lunar shapes card sort. The data were analyzed via a constant comparative method to produce profiles of each participant’s conceptual understandings and nonparametric tests also were used. Results revealed very positive performance for observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as the cause of moon phases. Results indicated that significantly more participants shifted from drawing nonscientific shapes on the pretest to drawing scientific shapes on the post-test. Results for the drawings of moon phase sequences were similar in that significantly more participants shifted from drawing alternative waxing and waning sequences on the pretest to drawing scientific sequences on the post-test. Also, significantly more participants shifted from alternative understanding of the cause of the moon phases on the pretest to scientific understanding on the post-test. Implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are provided.     

Antecedents and concomitants of parenting stress in adolescent mothers in foster care

OBJECTIVE: This study's aim was to examine variables associated with different short-term trajectories in multiply disadvantaged adolescent mothers by investigating antecedents and concomitants of parenting stress. METHOD: We followed 49 adolescent mothers (ages 14-18 at study outset) who were wards in Illinois foster care using a longitudinal correlational design. We examined whether parenting variables (childrearing beliefs, quality of parent-child interactions, and child abuse risk) and personal adjustment variables (emotional distress and social support) at initial assessment predicted parenting stress measured at follow-up (a mean of 22.5 months later). We also examined concurrent relationships between parenting stress and mothers' adaptive functioning in educational, social support, and childbirth areas at follow-up. RESULTS: We found that parenting variables, but not personal adjustment variables, predicted later parenting stress. Results also showed that current adaptive functioning was significantly related to parenting stress. Specifically, educational status and social support predicted concurrent parenting stress, whereas number of childbirths did not. CONCLUSIONS: These findings extend the small literature on the link between parenting difficulties and parenting stress to adolescent mothers in foster care. Parenting challenges, particularly as reflected in unrealistic childrearing expectations, appear to be markers for later parenting stress. Considering the longitudinal relationships observed, early and periodic assessment of adolescent mothers' parenting knowledge, skills, and interactions is recommended. Also, given that this study found concurrent social support and educational status to covary with current parental stress, these variables, and others for which they may serve as proxy, are implicated for careful monitoring.     

Volume contents

Volume Contents

Volume contents     

The classroom practices inventory: An observation instrument based on NAEYC's guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices for 4- and 5-year-old children

The controversy over what is an appropriate early childhood curriculum has created a need for research instruments designed to measure classroom practices. This article reports on the development of a new observational measure based on the Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practices of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The Classroom Practices Inventory (CPI) is a 26-item rating scale tapping the curricular emphasis and emotional climate of programs for 4- and 5-year-old children. The scale demonstrated a high degree of internal consistency. Over half the measure's variance was accounted for by a factor tapping encouragement of curiosity, creativity, and provision of concrete materials. In a study of 10 preschool programs, CPI scores correlated significantly with teachers' and parents' educational attitudes. Modest relationships were found between the CPI scores of children's preschools and measures of academic skills, creativity, and anxiety. The CPI appears to be a promising measure for critically examining the concept of developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education.     

Development of the Efficacy Beliefs for Conceptual Change Learning Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess college students’ efficacy beliefs for conceptual change and to examine the psychometric properties of the instrument. Participants were 692 students. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized single factor structure of Efficacy Beliefs for Conceptual Change Learning Questionnaire providing evidence for the construct validity. Evidence for concurrent validity also is provided. On the basis of the evidence provided in this study, the questionnaire appears to produce valid and reliable scores for college students. With the use of the questionnaire, conceptual change researchers might be able to better assess the relationship between students’ efficacy beliefs and the change in their conceptual understandings of various science concepts.