Discussion Paper--Concerns about the Identification and Diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders

The present discussion paper is the result of a talk reflecting on the author's work as an educational psychologist with a specialist post for autism and working as part of a multidisciplinary pre-school assessment team involved in the diagnosis of autism. The article considers developments in diagnosis over the past 30 years and airs concerns with the widening of the spectrum of disorders; the medicalisation of personality and the paucity of thorough assessment across time and in a range of settings. The consequences of a cursory diagnosis are examined.     

Study experiences and the post-study intentions of female international undergraduate students

The number of female international students is increasing exponentially, and whilst international study may engender many benefits and challenges, little is known about their intentions once they complete their studies. This article reviews the literature on female international students with specific focus on exploring post-study intentions. A scoping review of four electronic databases was completed. After applying criteria to determine suitability, 30 publications were included in the final review. Analysis revealed three key foci: (1) the rationale for studying internationally; (2) the study experience; and (3) post-study intentions. The literature illustrates that an international study experience has the potential to be a powerful transformative opportunity if positive experiences outweigh the negatives. The findings also indicate that the post-study intentions of female international students are under-researched. The article contends that attention should be given to supporting the needs of this group, with a view to maximizing post-study opportunities.     

Equality of educational access reconsidered: The postsecondary case in Ontario

This paper is divided into four sections. The first discusses a recent report of the Department of University Affairs, which suggests that, in terms of combined family income, economic differentials in access to postsecondary education have been greatly reduced in the past few years. The second section reviews some recent studies concerned with equality of access and suggests that variables other than income or financial need may well be equally relevant in any definition of what constitutes equality of access. The third section analyzes an existing pool of data to test and evaluate hypotheses set forward in the second section. The last section develops final conclusions from the findings and develops the authors' point of view.

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Résumé La présente communication se divise en quatre sections. Le premier traite d'un rapport récent du Ministère des affaires universitaires. D'après ce rapport, il semble que, au cours des dernières années et enfonction du revenu familial combiné, il y a eu une forte réduction dans les disparités économiques qui affectent l'accès à l'enseignement post-secondaire. Le deuxième section passe en revue certaines études récentes consacrées à l'égalité d'accès à ce niveau d'enseignement. Les auteurs estiment que des variables autres que le revenu ou le besoin financier pourraient être tout aussi valables lorsqu'il s'agit de définir ce qu'on entend par égalité d'accès. Quant au troisième section, il comprend une analyse de l'actuel pool des données destinées à vérifier et à évaluer les hypothèses éconcées au deuxième section. Le dernier section est consacré aux conclusions définitives tirées des observations recueillies et à l'exposé du point de vue des auteurs.

     

An ecological exploration of young children’s digital play: framing children’s social experiences with technologies in early childhood

Abstract

This article outlines an ecological framework for describing children’s social experiences during digital play. It presents evidence from a study that explored how 3- to 5-year-old children negotiated their social experiences as they used technologies in preschool. Utilising a systematic and iterative cycle of data collection and analysis, children’s interactions with 24 technological resources were examined over a nine-month period and across three phases. Findings reveal that children played in clusters, exhibiting a multitude of social behaviours and interactions and varied degrees of social participation, and assumed various social status roles and technological positions. These behaviours formed part of a Digital Play System, which in turn was influenced by the Preschool System, which comprises children and practitioners as active agents, technological affordances, and the cultural systems, routines and practices of the early childhood setting. Ultimately, children’s social experiences during digital play cannot be determined by any single element of the ecological system.     

Comprehension monitoring in students with reading difficulties

Two studies are reported in this paper. In the first study, 32 fifth and sixth grade poor readers and 32 average third graders matched with the poor readers on reading age were randomly assigned to either a general or a specific instruction condition. In both treatments subjects were shown how to monitor text for internal inconsistency. In addition, the specific instruction condition provided explicit instruction in how to use a cross-referencing technique to evaluate the internal consistency of a given text. Results indicated significant Subject-group x Instruction Condition interaction on all three dependent measures: detection and identification of inconsistency and comprehension competence. Whereas the poor readers were found to be inferior to the RA-matched controls in the general instruction condition, in the specific instruction condition the poor readers’ performance was superior to that of the RA-matched controls. It was suggested that the significant discrepancy in performance between the poor readers and the younger RA-matched controls in the specific instruction condition may be related to differences in maturity and experience. The validity of this interpretation was examined in the second study by including a third group of average fifth graders matched with the poor readers on chronological age. Further, a second evaluative standard, namely, violation of prior knowledge, was also included. Data from the second study in general confirmed the findings of the first study.     

Secondary students’ ideas about scientific concepts underlying climate change

Abstract

We present ideas about concepts underlying climate change, held by students in years 9 and 10. Misconceptions about climate change are common among students, and may be due to misconceptions about underlying concepts. To investigate this, we developed the Climate Change Concept Inventory (CCCI), and trialed it with 229 students; corroborating findings through focus group interviews. Our interview method and data analysis methods are described. Findings included overestimation of human contributions to atmospheric carbon inputs, ultra violet radiation in sunlight, and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Students were unaware that CO₂ dissolves in water, and of the role of oceans in the carbon cycle. Greenhouse gases other than CO₂ were rarely known. Earth’s energy balance and black body radiation were not well understood. There were misconceptions about interactions between electromagnetic radiation and atmospheric gases; and limited understanding of carbon chemistry. The CCCI is available from the corresponding author.     

Creating and using knowledge: an analysis of the differentiated nature of workplace learning environments

This paper argues that contemporary workplaces give rise to many different forms of knowledge creation and use, and, as a consequence to different forms of learning and pedagogical approaches. Some of these are utilised to the benefit of the organisation and employees (though not, necessarily, in a reciprocal manner), but others are buried within everyday workplace activity. The discussion builds on earlier work where it was argued that organisations differ in the way they create and manage themselves as learning environments, with some conceptualised as ‘expansive’ in the sense that their employees experience diverse forms of participation and, hence, are more likely to foster learning at work. By studying the way in which work is organised (including the organisation of physical and virtual spaces), this research is suggesting that it is possible to expose some of this learning activity as well as to identify examples where new (or refined) knowledge has been created. In this regard, it is argued that it is important to break down conceptual hierarchies that presuppose that learning is restricted to certain types of employee and/or parts of an organisation and to re‐examine knowledge as applied to the workplace. The conclusion focuses on how such an approach, and in particular the use of a productive system analysis, is strengthening the concept of expansive and restrictive learning environments.     

The Home Literacy Environment as a Predictor of the Early Literacy Development of Children at Family-Risk of Dyslexia

The home literacy environment (HLE) predicts language and reading development in typically developing children; relatively little is known about its association with literacy development in children at family-risk of dyslexia. We assessed the HLE at age 4 years, precursor literacy skills at age 5, and literacy outcomes at age 6, in a sample of children at family-risk of dyslexia (n = 116) and children with no known risk (n = 72). Developmental relationships between the HLE and literacy were comparable between the groups; an additional effect of storybook exposure on phoneme awareness was observed in the family-risk group only. The effects of socioeconomic status on literacy were partially mediated by variations in the HLE; in turn, effects of the HLE on literacy were mediated by precursor skills (oral language, phoneme awareness, and emergent decoding) in both groups. Findings are discussed in terms of possible gene–environment correlation mechanisms underpinning atypical literacy development.     

Combined strategy and attributional training for seventh grade average and poor readers

This paper reports on a study examining the effects of combined strategy and attributional training through small-group intervention in a specific reading task context. The training aims to provide instruction in the use of reading strategies while at the same time to convince students that their reading performance is attributable to their use of effective strategies, which is under their personal control. Four grade 7 (13 year old) classes, consisting of 40 poor readers and 56 average readers, participated in the study. Students were randomly allocated to one of four instruction conditions involving different combinations of strategy instruction and attributional training. Instruction was provided in small groups of 6 to 8 students over nine one-hour sessions. Results indicated that teaching poor readers use of effective reading strategies, while convincing them that reading successes and failures were attributable to use of effective or ineffective strategies, not only improved their comprehension performance and increased use of reading strategies, but also reduced their perceptions of learned helplessness.