Solitary and Collaborative Pretense Play in Early Childhood: Sources of Individual Variation in the Development of Representational Competence

This study evaluates sources of individual variation in child pretense play as an expression of emerging mental representation. Family sociodemographic characteristics, maternal personological characteristics, and maternal affective and cognitive play behaviors, as well as children's gender, language competence, and play, were examined simultaneously. Naturalistic child solitary play and child collaborative play with mother were videorecorded in 141 20–month-olds. Child solitary play, child-initiated and mother-initiated collaborative play with mother, and maternal demonstrations and solicitations of play were then coded into nonsymbolic and symbolic acts. Zero-order relations obtained between child play and, respectively, child gender and language, family SES, and maternal verbal intelligence, personality, physical affection, and play demonstrations and solicitations. Structural equation modeling supported the following unique predictive relations: Child language and mothers' symbolic play positively influenced child collaborative play, and child gender and mothers' verbal intelligence predicted child solitary play. Child gender and mothers' verbal intelligence and physical affection influenced mothers' play and so influenced child collaborative play indirectly. The cognitive advantages of child play and maternal influences on child play are placed in an adaptive parenting framework.     

Emotional Determinants of Infant-Mother Attachment

The present study examined the assumption that emotion-related characteristics of mothers and infants contribute to the development of infant-mother attachment in the first year of life. Mothers' emotion and personality characteristics were assessed with expressive-behavior ratings and self-report scales. Infant characteristics were measured by emotion and temperament questionnaires (mother report) and objective coding of facial expressions of emotions. Attachment classifications were determined by means of the Strange Situation procedure, and a continuous-variable index of attachment security was derived by a discriminant function procedure. Mothers' emotion experiences, expressive behaviors, and personality traits were significant predictors of the level of security of the infant-mother attachment. Infants' expressive and temperamental characteristics as rated by their mothers were also significant predictors of attachment security.     

Assessing learning: How can classroom-based teachers assess students’ competencies in numeracy?

This paper examines a procedure measuring student competencies in numeracy using school-based assessments, and demonstrates how the procedure informs the school system on quality improvement. The sample consisted of 7648 students, attending three different types of urban schools including government, formal private and low cost private in poor informal settlements in Kenya. The numeracy tool measures six curriculum outcome areas. Each outcome area is defined by 2–11 measured items based on the emphasis given to an area in the curriculum. Within each of the outcome areas, items are also hypothesised to measure categories of the cognitive domain of learning. Using the Rasch, we examine the item difficulties, person location and differential item functioning. The paper provides important implications to provision of evidence to inform teaching in poor urban informal settlements in Kenya and this can also be replicated in other sub-Saharan African countries.

Abbreviations: APHRC: African Population and Health Research Center; CTT: Classical Test Theory; DIF: Differential Item Functioning; ICC: Item Characteristics Curve; INMS: Infit Mean Square; IRT: Item Response Theory; PASEC: Programme d’Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la Confemen/ The Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems; QUEST: The interactive test analysis system (software); RUMM: Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Models (software); SACMEQ: Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality; SSA: Sub-Saharan Africa     

The relationship between locus of control and academic level and sex of secondary school students

The relationships among locus of control, academic program, and sex of grade 9 secondary school students were investigated. Two hundred sixty-seven high school students from advanced, general, and basic level programs were administered the modified forms of the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children and the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire. As hypothesized, students in the advanced level program were more internally controlled than either general or basic level students. As well, advanced level students were more internally responsible for their intellectual-academic failures than general level students. Sex differences as they relate to specific expectancies in intellectual achievement situations are also discussed.     

Global development of the two-year college concept

This paper defines the two-year college as an institution offering tertiary education for any of a broad range of needs terminating in a sub-baccalaureate degree with perhaps various certificates as well for completion of still shorter programs. A global overview of developments outside of the United States is followed by an intensive discussion of two-year college developments in Japan and in Canada. In the final section of the paper, some of the chief areas of concern in this phase of higher education are noted. The number of two-year colleges outside of the United States is growing steadily and will soon exceed the number within that country. The private junior college, vocationally oriented, is the principal type to be found in Japan. In Canada, three types are noted, the Western colleges fitting quite well the definition adopted here, the heavily career-oriented schools, and the unique CEGEP's of Quebec province. Other nations offer still more variations on the basic theme. Access to higher education and the generally lower prestige of the two-year college are the two chief issues in the university parallel curriculum. Economic development of nations is brought to bear upon career curricula. Student services and community services are fields not yet widely ventured upon. The questions of support, control, and development are complex ones, concerning which each nation may learn much from the experiences of others.