A meta-ethnographic understanding of children and young people's experiences of extended school non-attendance

The views of the children and young people experiencing Extended School Non-Attendance difficulties are scarcely represented in the literature. This systematic literature review provides a much needed overview of the existing research evidence through a detailed synthesis of the lived experiences of persistently non-attending young people, using a meta-ethnographic approach. Ten qualitative, UK-based papers were selected and analysed, each of which focused specifically on the direct views of school non-attenders. Using Noblit and Hare's seven-step approach, the analysis generated seven themes: (1) difficult relationships with peer group; (2) inconsistent relationships with and support from adults; (3) negative experiences of school transition; (4) negative experiences of learning in school; (5) emotional wellbeing and mental health needs; (6) others' negative perceptions of the individual's needs; (7) personal beliefs about attendance. Through reciprocal translation of these themes, the overarching higher-order concept was developed relating to the impact of a sense of school belonging. The implications of this review include an enhanced emphasis on the need to gather young people's views early and to use their preferred terminology when discussing their difficulties. While outside the scope of this paper, further research should look to the translation into policy and practice in this area.     

Cultural Socialization and Ethnic Pride Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescents During the Transition to Middle School

The relation between cultural socialization and ethnic pride during the transition to middle school was examined for 674 fifth‐grade students (50% boys; M_age = 10.4 years) of Mexican origin. The theoretical model guiding the study proposes that parent–child relationship quality is a resource in the transmission of cultural values from parent to child and that parental warmth promotes the child's positive response to cultural socialization. Results showed that mother and father cultural socialization predicted youth ethnic pride and that this relation was stronger when parents were high in warmth. The findings highlight the positive role parent cultural socialization may play in the development of adolescent ethnic pride. Furthermore, findings reveal the role of parent–child relationship quality in this process.     

Young Children's Interpretation of Multidigit Number Names: From Emerging Competence to Mastery

This study assessed whether a sample of two hundred seven 3‐ to 7‐year‐olds could interpret multidigit numerals using simple identification and comparison tasks. Contrary to the view that young children do not understand place value, even 3‐year‐olds demonstrated some competence on these tasks. Ceiling was reached by first grade. When training was provided, there were significant gains, suggesting that children can improve their partial understandings with input. Findings add to what is known about the processes of symbolic development and the incidental learning that occurs prior to schooling, as well as specifying more precisely what place value misconceptions remain as children enter the educational system.     

Limited Fine Motor and Grasping Skills in 6‐Month‐Old Infants at High Risk for Autism

Atypical motor behaviors are common among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, little is known about onset and functional implications of differences in early motor development among infants later diagnosed with ASD. Two prospective experiments were conducted to investigate motor skills among 6‐month‐olds at increased risk (high risk) for ASD (N₁ = 129; N₂ = 46). Infants were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and during toy play. Across both experiments, high‐risk infants exhibited less mature object manipulation in a highly structured (MSEL) context and reduced grasping activity in an unstructured (free‐play) context than infants with no family history of ASD. Longitudinal assessments suggest that between 6 and 10 months, grasping activity increases in high‐risk infants.     

Counseling Students' Transformative Learning Through a Study Abroad Curriculum

Research on the impact of study abroad curricula on student learning is limited. In this study, data were collected from students the last day abroad and 2 weeks and 6 to 9 months after returning home from a study abroad program. Eight codes conceptualized a grounded theory of student learning during and after completion of the study abroad curriculum. Transformative learning and practical implications for curriculum design are discussed.     

Integrating direct and inquiry-based instruction in the teaching of critical thinking: an intervention study

Critical thinking is a unifying goal of modern education. While past research has mostly examined the efficacy of a single instructional approach to teaching critical thinking, recent literature has begun discussing mixed teaching approaches. The present study examines three modes of instruction, featuring the direct instruction approach and the inquiry-based approach in different sequences and proportions, in enhancing Chinese secondary student’s critical thinking performance. A total of 651 Grade 12 students participated in an 18-hour intervention with pre- and post-intervention measures on critical thinking performance and critical thinking dispositions. Specifically, critical thinking assessments utilizing different response format were used. Those who received training showed greater improvement on at least one of the critical thinking assessments compared to those who received no training. Participants’ performances with regards to different critical thinking assessments are discussed. Benefits of adopting more than one instructional approach to teaching critical thinking are highlighted.     

Comparing teacher roles in Denmark and England

This article reports the findings of a comparative study of teaching in Denmark and England. Its broader aim is to help develop an approach for comparing pedagogy. Lesson observations and interviews identified the range of goals towards which teachers in each country worked and the actions these prompted. These were clustered using the lens of Bernstein’s pedagogic discourse to construct teacher roles, which provided a view of pedagogy. Through this approach we have begun to identify variations in pedagogy across two countries. All teachers in this study adopted a variety of roles. Of significance was the ease with which competent English teachers moved between roles. The English teachers observed adopted roles consistent with a wider techno-rationalist discourse. There was a greater subject emphasis by Danish teachers, whose work was set predominantly within a democratic humanist discourse, whilst the English teachers placed a greater emphasis on applied skills.