Investigation of Poor Academic Achievement in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder that presents with progressive muscular weakness. It is caused by a mutation in a gene that results in the absence of specific products that normally localize to muscle cells and the central nervous system (CNS). The majority of affected individuals have IQs within the normal range, generally with lower verbal than performance IQ scores. Prior work has demonstrated selective deficits on tests of verbal span and immediate memory. For the current study, 26 boys with DMD (and normal intellectual function) and their unaffected siblings were evaluated. Paired comparisons demonstrated that the children with DMD had significantly poorer academic achievement scores than their siblings, even though their vocabulary levels and home and educational environments were comparable. Children with DMD also had more behavioral concerns, physical disabilities, and poorer verbal memory spans. Linear regression indicated that behavioral concerns, executive function, and physical disability did not contribute substantially to academic performance, whereas performance on verbal span did. DMD presents with a selective developmental aberration in verbal span that has wide‐ranging consequences on learning skills.     

The Development of Measures of Individual Differences in Self-Regulatory Control and Their Relationship to Academic Performance

Two studies are reported describing the development and validation of the Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire (SFQ): a self-report instrument aimed at eliciting students’ beliefs about the need for, and conditional nature of, self-regulatory control over learning. In Study 1, 281 first-year university education students completed a 40-item pilot questionnaire. Factor analysis of responses revealed a 21-item instrument indicating three types of control beliefs: adaptive executive control, inflexible executive control, and irresolute executive control. In Study 2, the predictive validity of these conceptions was tested against the academic performance of 105 third-year university education students. Results indicated that students reporting adaptive executive control beliefs were more successful academically, while those students reporting inflexible or irresolute control beliefs were significantly less successful academically.     

论体育教育专业改革的职业需求适应性

体育教育专业在培养中小学体育师资方面起着重要的作用,因而,体育教育专业的培养目标和教学模式必须适应现代社会的需求,适应中小学体育教学.21世纪中小学体育必将进行一系列的改革.分析了中小学体育的教学目标、教学方法和课程设置,同时对体育教育专业改革的若干方面进行了探讨.     

National Testing or Political Testing: I s There a Difference?

Are two national reports on standardized testing realistic or simplistic? What is the difference between “political” testing and conventional testing? What are some likely consequences of politicizing school testing?     

Evaluer pour mieux comprendre les enfants et ameliorer sa pratique

Une grande majorité des écoles primaires néerlandaises utilise le suivi des élèves développé par le Citogroep pour signaler le progrès des élèves entre 6 et 12 ans et gérer leurs apprentissages à partir de données empiriques. Ce suivi fonctionne dans ce sens comme un outil de pilotage de l’enseignement données et de l’amélioration des pratiques d’adaptation dans les classes et au niveau de l’école. Une telle évaluation formative etautorégulatrice centrée sur la gestion de longs processus exige un ensemble complexe de connaissances et d’aptitudes. Cela explique bon nombre de problémes auxquels se heurtent les professeurs dans leur pratique, en particulier dans le cadre du soutien des éléves les plus en retard. Ces problémes nous ont poussés à développer une panoplie d’outils adaptés à leurs besoins ainsi que des activités de formation ’sur le tas’, ancrées dans l’évaluation formative pratiquée à l’école. Nous présentons dans cet article la structure, les principes et les outils de cette gestion de (l’amélioration de) l’enseignement différentié, exposons les problémes structurels qui émergent dans la pratique et développons par-là les idées clés de notre approche expérimentale de formation.. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Pastoral Care Teacher's Theory of Action, Interactive Thinking and Effective Teaching Practice

Through the employment of a hybrid research model blending concept mapping and stimulated recall methodologies, this study explored the nature of a Pastoral Care Teacher's theory of action; the relationship between those beliefs and ideals and interactive thinking; and specific actions in effectively teaching a Pastoral Care issue. In undertaking the research a group of Year Eight boys at the Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) provided the context. The study shows that: (i) the teacher possessed a broad knowledge and understanding of the nature of Pastoral Care at Churchie; and (ii) the lessons undertaken, the pedagogy employed, and the knowledge elicited closely resembled the teacher's philosophies and thinking.