The nature (and nurture) of children's perceptions of family chaos

Chaos in the home is a key environment in cognitive and behavioral development. However, we show that children's experience of home chaos is partly genetically mediated. We assessed children's perceptions of household chaos at ages 9 and 12 in 2337 pairs of twins. Using child-specific reports allowed us to use structural equation modeling to explore the genetic and environmental etiology of children's perceptions of chaos. We found that these perceptions are significantly heritable (22%), with the remainder explained by environmental influences. Finding that genes influence children's experience of chaotic environments has far-reaching implications for how we conceptualize the family home and its impact on cognitive and behavioral development.     

Technology and technological knowledge: a challenge for school curricula

In contrast to subjects such as mathematics and the sciences, it has been argued that technology education lacks a clear definition and a clearly defined knowledge base. This discursive article seeks to inform the debate by highlighting the matter of subject definition and in addition to examine the key issue of the knowledge which underpins technology education. The nature of the knowledge involved in technology education is explored by focusing on the types of knowledge (declarative/conceptual, procedural and conditional/strategic) that are required to secure full engagement with this subject. Drawing on extant literature on knowledge, the article takes technology as its focus and highlights the challenges this presents for teachers. A conceptual framework based on the presented evidence is included to show the relationships between knowledge and the skills, the problem‐solving and the values that are integral to technology education. This article concludes that to be effective, technology teaching must be based upon an appropriate subject definition indicating what it is endeavouring to achieve. In addition the existence of such a specialist subject knowledge base must be fully acknowledged, and at the same time there must be full recognition of the need to draw upon relevant knowledge from other subject areas in an appropriate manner in order to inform classroom teaching of the subject.     

Part of the main: a project for English

The teaching of English in England has been transformed over the last two decades by powerful, top‐down orthodoxies, that in turn relate to a European‐wide shift in education towards market‐orientated, neo‐liberal policy goals. One of the effects of this reshaping is that the openness of English to popular cultures has been lessened and its links to the interests of social movements attenuated. Yet, unlike its conservative predecessor, present‐day policy orthodoxy seeks not so much the obliteration of the cultural interests that sustained English than their translation into a new form, in which ideas of ‘creativity’, ‘personalisation’ and ‘innovation’ are reinterpreted in neo‐liberal terms. The article considers how, in such complex conditions, the principles of a new project for English can be developed.     

A Technical College Grow-Your-Own Leadership Program

ABSTRACT

The American Association of Community Colleges has determined over 40% of the population attending a post-secondary institution is enrolled in a two-year community college. The majority of this student population could be described as nontraditional, including first-generation students, underrepresented populations, and single parents working full or part-time jobs while attending classes. This student population is more likely to experience stress and anxiety, increasing their need for mental health services. Despite this demonstrated need, there has been little research conducted on two-year community college campuses relating to mental health services. The purpose of this article is to discuss the need for research on mental health needs and services at two-year community colleges.     

Scaffolding group explanation and feedback with handheld technology: impact on students’ mathematics learning

Based on strong research literatures, we conjectured that social processing of feedback by cooperating in a small group setting—with social incentives to ask questions, give explanations and discuss disagreements—would increase learning. We compared group and individual feedback, using two technologies: (1) Technology-mediated, Peer-Assisted Learning (TechPALS), which uses wireless handheld technology to structure feedback in small groups as they solve fractions problems and (2) a popular desktop product, which provides feedback to individual students as they solve fractions problems individually. Three elementary schools participated in a randomized controlled experiment conducted in the 2007–2008 school year. Students in the TechPALS condition learned more than did the control group students, with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.14 to d = 0.44. Analysis of observational data confirmed that students in the TechPALS condition participated socially in questioning, explaining, and discussing disagreements, whereas students in the individual condition did not. We conclude that an integration of technology, cooperative activity designs and broader educational practices can lead to impact on students’ mathematics learning.     

Motivational interviewing as a positive response to high‐school bullying

Intervention approaches to bullying are largely preventive in nature, and even these have been shown to be ineffective, if not iatrogenic, with adolescents. Responses to bullying are limited to traditional punitive approaches or “no‐blame” approaches aiming to restore the relationship between the targeted students. Neither of these approaches may effectively engage the perpetrator of bullying at a motivational level, and we propose motivational interviewing (MI) as a means of promoting meaningful behavioral change among youths who bully. We provide a narrative review of MI and map its core features onto the extant literature on self‐reported motivations for bullying, highlighting the ways that MI fits with bullying and could serve as a potent solution that could be deployed by school psychologists and other student support staff members. Qualitative preliminary feedback and initial competency in MI from trained practitioners are presented as preliminary data from a cluster‐randomized control trial, documenting school staff perspectives on the integration of MI into their approach to bullying with recommendations for integrating MI into school settings.     

Collaborative inquiry project-based learning: Effects on reading ability and interests

The academic performance of students has been shown to be associated with reading ability. Inquiry learning can potentially enhance the reading abilities and interests of students. This study verified this proposition by examining the effects of an inquiry approach to group projects on the reading abilities of primary school students. Using a case study design, an inquiry project-based learning (PBL) approach, with the collaboration between three types of teachers and the school librarian was implemented to support the development of reading abilities and interests of students in a primary school in Hong Kong. The participants included Primary 4 students, teachers, and parents. Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) tests were used to evaluate the students' reading abilities; survey questionnaire and interviews were used to examine the participants' perceptions of the inquiry PBL; and the PIRLS survey was used to measure the students' attitudes and self-perceptions. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses showed positive effects on the reading abilities and attitudes of the participating students. Students' attitudes and self-perceived abilities appeared to influence the improvements in reading abilities. Finally, improvements in the students' reading comprehension, reading speed, and vocabulary were perceived. These findings provide evidence and insights to support further implementation of inquiry PBL in primary schools.     

Medical instruments in museums: immediate impressions and historical meanings

This essay proposes that our understanding of medical instruments might benefit from adding a more forthright concern with their immediate presence to the current historical focus on simply decoding their meanings and context. This approach is applied to the intriguingly tricky question of what actually is meant by a "medical instrument." It is suggested that a pragmatic part of the answer might lie simply in reconsidering the holdings of medical museums, where the significance of the physical actuality of instruments comes readily to hand.