Education for Epiphany: The Case of Plato's Lysis

While a great deal has been written on Plato's Lysis in philosophy and philology journals over the last thirty years, nothing has been published on Lysis in the major Anglo‐American philosophy of education journals during that time. Nevertheless, this dialogue deserves attention from educators. In this essay, Mark Jonas argues that Lysis can serve as a model for educators who want to move their students beyond mere aporia, but also do not want to dictate answers to students. Although the dialogue ends in Socrates's affirmation of aporia, his affirmation is actually meant to persuade his interlocutors to reflect on an epiphany they had previously experienced. In what follows, Jonas offers a close reading of relevant passages of Lysis, demonstrating the way that Socrates leads his interlocutors to an epiphany without forcing his answers upon them.     

Individual Differences in Childhood Behavior Disorders Associated With Epigenetic Modulation of the Cortisol Receptor Gene

Behavioral/emotional difficulties in children are the first sign of mental health problems. These problems are however, heterogeneous. A domain that may identify homogenous subgroups is hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal function. This study tested whether epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor gene could explain the co‐occurrence of anxiety problems in children with behavior problems. Four‐ to 16‐year‐old clinically referred children (N = 241) were measured for psychiatric symptoms, methylation of target CpG sites in blood or saliva, and morning cortisol levels in those who gave blood. Increased methylation of promoter 1F CpG sites was associated with higher vulnerability to co‐occurring internalizing symptoms and morning cortisol. The results support increasing optimism that epigenetic regulation of key neuroendocrine systems might help explain hitherto unfathomable individual differences in susceptibility to psychiatric symptom profiles.     

SPECIFIC COGNITIVE PREDICTORS OF EARLY MATH PROBLEM SOLVING

Development of early math skill depends on a prerequisite level of cognitive development. Identification of specific cognitive skills that are important for math development may not only inform instructional approaches but also inform assessment approaches to identifying children with specific learning problems in math. This study investigated the specific cognitive correlates of math problem solving across early grade levels (1–4) while controlling for basic calculation skills. As expected, basic calculation skill was a significant predictor of math problem solving across the entire sample. However, the addition of cognitive measures almost doubled the variance explained (R² = .61). Additionally, only select cognitive variables contributed to the prediction of math problem solving, and these variables change in importance as children develop higher‐level math skills. Results are discussed within a developmental model, which emphasizes the increasing importance of abstract code representations required in higher levels of math performance.     

Examining the Rule of Thumb of Not Using Multilevel Modeling: The “Design Effect Smaller Than Two” Rule

Educational researchers commonly use the rule of thumb of “design effect smaller than 2” as the justification of not accounting for the multilevel or clustered structure in their data. The rule, however, has not yet been systematically studied in previous research. In the present study, we generated data from three different models (which differ in the location of the clustering effect). With a 3 (design effect) × 5 (cluster size) × 4 (number of clusters) Monte Carlo simulation study we found that the rule should not be applied when researchers: (a) are interested in the effects of higher-level predictors, or (b) have a cluster size less than 10. Implications of the findings and limitations of the study are discussed.     

The Student Perception of Wellbeing Questionnaire: Preliminary Investigation into its Psychometric Properties

An estimated 20% of all adolescents will experience a depressive disorder by the age of 18, with schools being at the forefront of initiatives to promote resilience and well-being. This study reports on the development of the 24-item Student Perception of Wellbeing Questionnaire (SPWQ), created as a measure of well-being in three areas: exercise, explanatory style, and conflict resolution. The SPWQ was administered to 235 male school students from Years 6–8 and 251 female students from Years 7–9, and a principal components analysis with varimax rotation was performed on the data obtained. A three-factor solution was identified dealing with explanatory style, conflict resolution, and exercise, which explained 31% of the total variance. The scale was found to have strong internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of α = 0.80 for the male students and α = 0.84 for the female students.