Kindergarten Adjustment Difficulty: The Contribution of Children's Effortful Control and Parental Control

Research Findings: This paper examines the extent to which children's effortful control and early family experiences predict difficulty in kindergarten adjustment. One hundred and eighty-two children from 31 kindergarten classrooms in rural elementary schools in the Southeast participated. Teachers reported on children's difficulty with kindergarten adjustment, and parents completed measures assessing children's effortful control (inhibitory control and attentional focus) and types of parental control (i.e., lax, firm, and harsh). A hierarchical regression analysis was performed to address three research questions: First, how does effortful control (inhibitory control and attentional focus) contribute to children's difficulty with kindergarten adjustment? Second, how does parental control predict children's difficulty with kindergarten adjustment? Third, to what extent does parental control moderate the relation between effortful control and difficulty with kindergarten adjustment? Practice or Policy: Children lower on inhibitory control showed greater difficulty with kindergarten adjustment than children with higher inhibitory control. Furthermore, lax parental control, but not firm or harsh parental control, predicted children's adjustment problems. Lax parental control moderated the relation between children's inhibitory control and difficulty with kindergarten adjustment; specifically, higher levels of lax parental control coupled with lower levels of inhibitory control predicted more difficulty with the adjustment to kindergarten.     

Perceptions of Science and Technology: A Comparison of Criminal Justice and Traditional Science and Technology Majors

Due to the increased demands for science and technology (S&T) in criminal justice (CJ) occupational preparation and in response to the growing interest of students in forensics, this study explores the attitudes of CJ majors towards S&T. Despite the acknowledgment that S&T skills are helpful in gaining employment, CJ majors reported less favorable attitudes than S&T majors, reporting: less interest in gaining S&T knowledge, fewer social benefits of S&T, and greater concerns that S&T are dangerous to society than traditional forensic science majors. While these findings raise some fundamental questions about the suitability of increased representation of S&T courses within CJ curriculum, authors argue that CJ curricular goals must continue to evolve to foster innovative students who are academically prepared to meet the twenty-first century challenges of their future careers.     

预期之痛

几天前,因为活组织切片检查结果显示为"重度非典型",我得去做一个胎痣切除手术。由于两颗痣都长在背上,所以我俯卧着让医生助理用利多卡因为我进行局部麻醉。他不停地问我:"你还好吗?"我也不停地回答说:"我很好!"因为确实不是很疼,所以当他说"哇,你真勇敢!"时,我着实吃了一     

Impact of Early Alert on Community College Student Persistence in Virginia

ABSTRACT

Early alert systems have promised to be an integral component of a student success solution. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the use of the early alert system and persistence for students taking developmental education courses and students taking college-level courses in the Virginia Community College System. A quasi-experimental, nonrandomized research design with matched-control groups was used to evaluate impact on student persistence. Data analysis was conducted using multiple binary logistic regressions. The results indicated the early alert system had a substantial and positive impact on developmental mathematics students, with minimal to no impact on developmental English and college-level students. Students enrolled in developmental English courses, experienced a positive, but much more modest impact. Finally, students in college-level courses experienced a very mild impact, in some instances positive and others negative.     

2 + 2 = BSW: An Innovative Approach to the Community College-University Continuum in Social Work Education

This article is a case study of a 2 + 2 undergraduate social work degree program developed by a regional urban community college and a social work program at a midwestern university. This program brings the undergraduate social work degree program from the university's main campus to the community college campus, using university instructors to deliver the same upper-level courses in the major in a venue, structure, and schedule that accommodates the needs of lower-income, nontraditional, first generation, and racial and ethnic minority community college students. By reviewing the process of developing and implementing this 2 + 2 degree completion program, the article will assist university and community college faculty and administrators who would like to develop similar community college-based, bachelor degree programs. Challenges faced in this specific case study are delineated, and suggestions are offered for successfully developing this kind of 2 + 2 degree program.     

Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool: An Innovative Way to Test Food Safety Skills among Individuals with Special Needs

Abstract: This article describes an innovative assessment tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety skills curriculum for learners receiving special education services. As schools respond to the increased demand for training students with special needs about food safety, the need for effective curricula and tools is also increasing. A Food Safety Education for High School and Transition Special Needs Students curriculum served as the basis upon which our assessment tool was developed. The project was a collaborative effort by food safety and education professionals in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This USDA‐funded initiative emerged from teacher‐generated data that identified critical gaps in food safety knowledge and skills among students with disabilities (SWD) receiving special education services. As an adjunct to this curriculum, a Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool was developed to: 1) conduct observations of students as they demonstrate food safety practices, and 2) use this information to design classroom‐based learning activities that are aligned with students’ Individual Education Plans (IEP). Pilot data suggest that the tool is valid and reliable for use in a kitchen‐based setting. This is the first known tool of its kind to test food safety skills of individuals with special needs in a real‐world environment. Further testing is needed to determine the usefulness of the tool for broader audiences.     

A person-oriented approach to understanding dimensions of parenting in low-income mothers

The purpose of this study was to examine parenting types in a low-income sample from a person-oriented approach. Data were used from a public use data set from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) along with new extant ratings of parenting behavior from the EHSREP archive of videotaped parent–child observations. Parenting behavior indicators were examined using latent class analysis as a grouping strategy across three time points to characterize this sample of 2631 Early Head Start mothers. Three latent classes of mothers were identified at 14, 24, and 36 months: developmentally supportive (the largest group in this sample), unsupportive, and negative. Predictors of parenting types were also examined and parenting types were linked to child outcomes. The results of these analyses show common characteristics of these distinct types of parents likely to be in Early Head Start programs and may help programs identify which families would most benefit from services to help them increase behaviors to promote their young children's early development.     

A CLASSICAL MNEMONIC FOR OLDER LEARNERS: A TRIP THAT WORKS!

ABSTRACT

This study investigated age preferences for 11 different service providers and the age at which workers in these occupational roles were considered to be “too old” by three age groups: young (18–24), middle-aged (35–55), and older adults (65 +). Results indicate that in comparison to middle-aged and older adults, young adults continue to have unrealistic age preferences and, at a time when the workforce is becoming increasingly older, feel that many workers are too old. The hypothesis of a positive relationship between age group and age preference was not supported; there were few significant differences between the middle-age and older adults.     

An Empowerment Approach for Elders Living With Diabetes: A Pilot Study of a Community-Based Self-Help Group—The Diabetes Club

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a disabling, deadly disease, affecting one in five of adults over 65. Unfortunately, for the few elders that receive diabetes self-care training it is often taught using traditional didactic methods that are insensitive to their unique needs and immersed in the traditional medical paradigm. Integrating diabetes self-care into daily living demands more than knowledge acquisition and skill mastery; it requires acceptance of the disease, motivation for change, instrumental and emotional support, general problem-solving skills, and control over one's life – empowerment. This project sought to develop and pilot-test a peer-led, community-based, self-help intervention for elders with diabetes—the Diabetes Club. The intervention targeted diabetes self-efficacy, seeking to empower elders then increase diabetes self-care behavior targets, resulting in improved glycemic control. Club members and social workers collectively developed, implemented, tested intervention protocols, detailed in this paper with additional materials available on a dedicated website. Albeit over a short time period, findings showed significant improvements in diabetes self-efficacy, self-care behaviors, and reduction of glycosolated hemoglobin (A1C). The results are promising, demonstrating the benefits of social-work involvement in diabetes and the potential of elders helping themselves and each other.