Concurrent validity of new and revised conceptual language measures

This study examined the concurrent validity of several new and revised conceptual language measures. The Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS), Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-Preschool Version (Boehm-PV) or Boehm-Revised (Boehm-R), and PPVT-R were administered to 99 preschool children (mean age = 5–2). The K-ABC Achievement Scale Composite (K-ABC ACH) was utilized as a criterion measure of achievement. The BBCS correlated significantly with the PPVT-R, and both correlated significantly and comparably with the Boehm-PV and Boehm-R. The BBCS, Boehm-R, and PPVT-R correlated significantly with K-ABC ACH. The BBCS proved significantly more difficult for children than did the Boehm-R, and the authors suggested variables that may have contributed to the discrepancy. The BBCS appears to be a valuable new measure of basic concept acquisition and would seem to hold a distinct advantage of allowing for repeated measurement with the same instrument across the preschool-early elementary school years.     

The end-state comfort effect in young children

The end-state comfort effect has been observed in recent studies of grip selection in adults. The present study investigated whether young children also exhibit sensitivity to end-state comfort. The task was to pick up an overturned cup from a table, turn the cup right side up, and pour water into it. Two age groups (N = 20 per group) were studied: preschool children (2-3 years old), and kindergarten students (5-6 years old). Each child performed three videotaped trials of the task. Only 11 of the 40 children exhibited the end-state comfort effect, and there were no differences between age groups. Results revealed the emergence of five different performance patterns, none of which were consistent with sensitivity to end-state comfort. The findings have implications for the advance planning of manual control in young children.     

You Gotta Represent¡ Ethnic Identity Development among Hispanic Adolescents

Hispanic students' awareness of cultural, linguistic, and sociopolitical issues are influenced by their experiences in schools and affect their sense of identity. An examination of student discourse between bilingual gifted and bilingual general education students in an urban middle school is presented, with particular attention given to how participating bilingual students relate to each other, peers (in general and gifted education), teachers, administrators, families, and communities, and how they perceive themselves. A discussion of the core issues that emerged, including students' reawakening to their ethnic identity, differing rationales for using native language, and observed differences in self-perceptions between the gifted and general education bilingual Hispanic students is provided, along with results and implications for future research.     

Towards a Global Citizenship Education for Caribbean Canadian Youth

The number of people living in Canada of Caribbean heritage has increased substantially over the past forty years. This paper examines aspects of Caribbean culture and Caribbean education culture to explore if Caribbean Canadians can claim a Caribbean education philosophy. The research claims there is one. The article suggests that this philosophy should be recognized and considered in the education of Caribbean Canadian youth to prepare them for national and global citizenship. In all its analyses and observations, the paper consistently sees relevant education, especially one that takes people’s socio-cultural background into account, as important for human well-being.     

Supply and demand of doctorates in economics

Little is known about the changes in supply and demand for economists. American universities and colleges report the awarding of 12,513 doctoral degrees in economics between 1969 and 1984, with the number randomly varying by over 500 per year. New job listings give an indication that market demand for economists between 1975 and 1984 led the supply and was far more volatile than the number of doctoral degrees awarded. Although the graduate economic specialties over the last 16 years have been relatively stable and the specialties ranked by employers have remained relatively constant, they show no comparative agreement. Graduate students may not be choosing fields of specialization that reflect the market, and institutions may not be responding to market changes.