Attachment over time

Continuity in attachment classification from infancy to late adolescence was examined and related to autobiographical memories of childhood, divorce, and maladjustment. Eighty-four White middle-class children (48 girls) were seen in a modified Strange Situation at 12 months and given the Adult Attachment Interview at 18 years. In addition, data were collected on 13-year-olds' childhood recollections as well as adolescent, mother, and teacher ratings of maladjustment at 13 and 18 years of age. Divorce status of parents also was obtained. Results indicated no continuity in attachment classification from 1 to 18 years of age and no relation between infant attachment status and adolescent maladjustment. Divorce was related to 13-year-olds' childhood recollections as well as to insecure attachment status at 18 years. Eighteen-year-olds with insecure attachment classification were more likely to rate themselves as maladjusted. The results support the idea of attachment as an evolving representation dependent upon the nature of the family environment as indexed by divorce.     

Sleep and Academic Performance in U.S. Military Training and Education Programs

ABSTRACT— This review examines the effects of military training regimes, which might include some degree of sleep deprivation, on sleep–wake schedules. We report a 4-year longitudinal study of sleep patterns of cadets at the United States Military Academy and the consequences of an extension of sleep from 6 to 8 hr per night at the United States Navy's Recruit Training Command. These studies provide an opportunity to observe sleep in a college-age population and also to record sleep patterns over an entire 4-year college experience, adding to our understanding of the changes in sleep patterns over the life span.     

Parent–youth discordance about youth-witnessed violence: Associations with trauma symptoms and service use in an at-risk sample

ObjectiveStudies have consistently demonstrated a lack of agreement between youth and parent reports regarding youth-witnessed violence. However, little is known about whether disagreement is associated with poorer outcomes and less utilization of mental health services. The purpose of the current study was to examine disagreement among youth and parents about youth witnessed violence, and determine whether concordance predicted trauma symptoms and recognition of need and receipt of counseling services.MethodsConcordance about youth-witnessed violence was examined in 766 dyads from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Youth participants self-reported trauma symptoms, caregivers indicated youth need for and receipt of services. Both youth and parents provided information about youth-witnessed violence exposure in the last year.ResultsResults showed youth and caregivers differed significantly about youth-witnessed violence. Specifically, 42% of youth reported youth-witnessed violence, compared to only 15% of parents. For those parents who reported youth-witnessed violence, only 29% reported an identified need for services and only 17% reported the youth had received any mental health services. Concordance between parent–youth dyads was associated with greater identified need for services but was not associated with the use of counseling services or trauma symptoms.ConclusionsYouth who reported witnessing violence reported more frequent trauma symptoms regardless of concordance. Parents from dyads in which both informants reported youth-witnessed violence were more likely to endorse need for, but not receipt of counseling services. Given this association between youth-witnessed violence and mental health problems, more work is needed to identify barriers to concordance as well as service utilization.     

Investigating teachers’ explanations for aggressive classroom discipline strategies in China and Australia

Student misbehaviour can provoke aggressive teacher management (e.g. yelling in anger), adversely effecting students’ learning and attitudes toward school. To investigate this phenomenon, data were obtained from 75 Chinese (typically Eastern) and 192 Victorian (typically Western) secondary teachers who self-reported aggressive management. Results: 49% of Chinese and 59% of Australian teachers adopt aggressive behaviours rarely to sometimes; and, 9% of Chinese and 13% of Australian teachers sometimes or more frequently. The teachers were assessed for levels of support for Attribution, Attachment or Efficacy theory as explanations. The only significant differences were found for Attachment theory with Chinese teachers reporting significantly more support. National setting explained 29% of the variance independent of gender, levels of aggression and years of experience.     

Student Evaluation of Instruction: In the New Paradigm of Distance Education

Distance education has experienced soaring development over the last decade. With millions of students in higher education enrolling in distance education, it becomes critically important to understand student learning and experiences with online education. Based on a large sample of 11,351 students taught by 1,522 instructors from 29 colleges and universities, this study investigates the factors that impact student evaluation of instruction in distance education, using a two-level hierarchical model. Key findings reveal that in a distance education setting, gender and class size are no longer significant predictors of quality of instruction. However, factors such as reasons for taking the course, student class status and instructor’s academic rank have a significant impact on student evaluation of learning and instruction. Findings from this study offer important implications for institutional administrators on utilizing the evaluation results and on developing strategies to help faculty become effective online instructors.     

It’s a Profane Life: Giorgio Agamben on the freedom of im-potentiality in education

Abstract

In this article, I explore the importance of Giorgio Agamben’s theory of potentiality for rethinking education. While potentiality has been a long-standing concern for educational practitioners and theorists, Agamben’s work is unique in that it emphasizes how potentiality can only be thought of in relation to impotentiality. This moment of indistinction—what I refer to as im-potential—has important implications. First, I argue that if potentiality and impotentiality are separated from one another, the result is a stratified educational system where some students are commanded to actualize their potentiality in the form of standardized tests while others are abandoned by the system. Second, thinking im-potentiality enables us to move beyond problematic formulations of learning and rediscover the uniqueness of studying. Here, I offer a brief example of study through an analysis of ‘Tinkering Schools’, an alternative program founded by Gever Tulley in San Francisco. And finally, without a concept of im-potentiality, the discourse of the ‘child genius’ becomes commodified as a power to be harnessed and actualized in the name of neoliberal entrepreneurialism. Only through a return to im-potentiality can we reclaim Genius and its relationship to the question of educational freedom.     

“Happier Than Ever to be Exactly What He Was”: Reflections on Shrek,Fiona and the Magic Mirrors of Commodity Culture

This article compares the models of subjectivity and identity in William Steig’s 1990 picture book Shrek! and in DreamWorks’ Shrek films. Steig presented his ogre hero as a model of the crises of subjectivity all children must face, and then reassured readers by showing how even a hideous figure such as Shrek can find resolution and be “happier than ever to be exactly what he was.” DreamWorks’ Shrek films, on the other hand, offer up models of identity based on consumption and rooted in commodity culture, tales which seek to transform their viewers into consumers and even into commodities themselves. As texts of commodity culture, the films must create, not resolve, anxiety and self-doubt. Has DreamWorks’ adaptation of Steig’s book merely replaced a self-confident ogre with an anxiety-ridden consumer? Or, can the films’ humor and absurdity, their parody of familiar commodities and corporate landscapes, and their introduction of boundary-crossing characters such as Fiona offer an alternative critique of commodity culture? This article demonstrates how the films work to uphold and reinforce commodity culture, but also examines how they might also provide moments of potential subversion and critique.     

Literacy Teachers Engage in Service-Learning via Community Organization Involvement

Service-learning provides community service as well as authentic, curriculum-driven learning experiences (Furco &; Root, 2010 Furco, A. and Root, S. 2010. Research demonstrates the value of service-learning. Kappan, 91(5): 16–23. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and has been an effective component of teacher education courses (García, Arias, Murri, &; Surna, 2010 García, E., Arias, M. B., Murri, N. J. H. and Serna, C. 2010. Developing responsive teachers: A challenge for a demographic reality. Journal of Teacher Education, 61: 132–142. doi:10.1177/002248710934787[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Mitton-Kukner, Nelson, &; Descrochers, 2010 Mitton-Kukner, J., Nelson, C. and Desrochers, C. 2010. Narrative inquiry in service-learning contexts: Possibilities for learning about diversity in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26: 1162–1169. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2010.01.001[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Spencer, Cox-Petersen, &; Crawford, 2005 Spencer, B. H., Cox-Petersen, A. M. and Crawford, T. 2005. Assessing the impact of service-learning on preservice teachers in an after-school program. Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(4): 119–135.  [Google Scholar]). With these authentic experiences, teachers construct conceptions of literacy learning as broader than classroom teaching and learning. This study investigates how 54 preservice elementary teachers (hereafter called teachers) learned about literacy development and cultural responsivity by engaging in a service-learning experience.     

Elements of medieval horror tragedy in the Duchess of Malfi

Evaluation of modern plays becomes more precise as we gain insights into the great plays of the past. John Webster wrote two plays, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, in which the elements of horror contribute to the greatness of the play. Only by relating these elements to the preceding Medieval period can we fully appreciate the skill of his compositions. This paper deals directly with The Duchess of Malfi.     

Speech teacher certification: Communication and self reception: An editorial

Professor Andrew T. Weaver has a remarkable record of leadership in Speech for the last fifty years. His contributions as a writer, as a teacher and as an officer in the Speech Association of America can well serve as an example and an inspiration to people interested in teaching Speech.