Modeling the development of written language

Alternative models of the structure of individual and developmental differences of written composition and handwriting fluency were tested using confirmatory factor analysis of writing samples provided by first- and fourth-grade students. For both groups, a five-factor model provided the best fit to the data. Four of the factors represented aspects of written composition: macro-organization (use of top sentence and number and ordering of ideas), productivity (number and diversity of words used), complexity (mean length of T-unit and syntactic density), and spelling and punctuation. The fifth factor represented handwriting fluency. Handwriting fluency was correlated with written composition factors at both grades. The magnitude of developmental differences between first grade and fourth grade expressed as effect sizes varied for variables representing the five constructs: large effect sizes were found for productivity and handwriting fluency variables; moderate effect sizes were found for complexity and macro-organization variables; and minimal effect sizes were found for spelling and punctuation variables.     

Student practices in copyright culture: accessing learning resources

Using Schatzki’s practices framework as a lens, this paper reports on the practices of university students accessing learning resources at a research-intensive university in South Africa. Using a mixed-methods approach, 1001 survey responses and 6 focus groups were analysed to explore how students in three professional disciplines access learning resources, with the focus on digitally mediated piracy practices. The findings suggest a blurring between the legal and the illegal and indicate the normalcy of piracy practices, with nuanced distinctions and understandings manifest.     

Working With Grandparent-Headed Families in Schools: School Professionals' Perspectives

This qualitative study explores the experiences of school professionals working with grandparent-headed families. Twenty individual interviews with an array of professional school staff were conducted. Thematic analysis was utilized, and 3 key themes emerged: (a) compassion for grandparent-headed families' unique challenges; (b) lack of adequate knowledge about grandparent-headed families; and (c) strategies for engaging grandparents raising their grandchildren. Implications address the importance of understanding the unique needs of grandparent-headed families and ways to maximize the success of these marginalized families through active family engagement and school-linked services.     

An Assessment of the HIV Prevention Needs of Young Minority Women

This study tested the reliability of nine scales assessing psychosocial mediators of HIV-risk and protective behaviors of young minority women in New York City. Sixty-nine age-eligible women were approached during clinical sessions, 90% (n = 62) agreed to participate, and 83% (n = 57) completed a web-based survey. With one exception, scale measures were reliable. The exception was the scale assessing frequency of sexual communication with partners. This scale did not demonstrate adequate interitem reliability for Black women. Findings provide program planners with a reliable set of measures that may be useful for preintervention needs assessments of young minority women at-risk of acquiring HIV.     

Standardized Effect Size Measures for Mediation Analysis in Cluster-Randomized Trials

This article presents 3 standardized effect size measures to use when sharing results of an analysis of mediation of treatment effects for cluster-randomized trials. The authors discuss 3 examples of mediation analysis (upper-level mediation, cross-level mediation, and cross-level mediation with a contextual effect) with demonstration of the calculation and interpretation of the effect size measures using a simulated dataset and an empirical dataset from a cluster-randomized trial of peer tutoring. SAS syntax is provided for parametric percentile bootstrapped confidence intervals of the effect sizes. The use of any of the 3 standardized effect size measures depends on the nature of the inference the researcher wishes to make within a single site, across the broad population, or at the site level.     

Solving problems through circles

Several problem-solving interventions that utilise a “circle” approach have been applied within the field of educational psychology, for example, Circle Time, Circle of Friends, Sharing Circles, Circle of Adults and Solution Circles. This research explored two interventions, Solution Circles and Circle of Adults, and used thematic analysis of questionnaire data to investigate the views of school staff that had taken part in these interventions. 62 participants were involved in a Solution Circle and 31 participants were involved in a Circle of Adults. Findings highlighted key features of these circle interventions which corresponded to those identified from relevant literature. Participants who had taken part in a Solution Circle described the applicability of solutions to other aspects of their work and a greater amount of strategies and solutions generated as a result of the group process. Participants who had been involved in a Circle of Adults session described having a greater understanding of a problem situation and empathy towards the focus pupil and the role of the educational psychologists in facilitating the process. Recommendations were made for educational psychology practice and for further research in this area.     

Competitive comparison and PISA bragging rights: sub-national uses of the OECD's PISA in Canada and the USA

Participation in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has continuously expanded: from 43 systems in 2000 to 65 systems in the 2012 cycle, with 71 signed up for PISA 2015. There also has been a growth in sub-national participation, expanding PISA's reach beyond the nation-state. This paper explores sub-national PISA participation in Canada and the USA, asking how PISA is being used within sub-national education policy spaces. We draw on analysis of documents and data from interviews with officials at sub-national, national, and international levels. Findings illustrate some of the diverse motivations and uses of PISA, providing insights into the effects of PISA at the sub-national scale. As such, we argue that competitive comparison in education has deepened through the enhanced granularity of international large-scale assessment data to new scales beyond the nation-state.