Is Skill Type the Key to the PreK Fadeout Puzzle? Differential Associations Between Enrollment in PreK and Constrained and Unconstrained Skills Across Kindergarten

This study examines whether associations between enrollment in public and non-public PreK and children’s (N = 508; M_age = 5.60 years in fall of kindergarten) math and language and literacy outcomes were more likely to be sustained through the spring of kindergarten for unconstrained versus constrained skills. Associations between public PreK and language, literacy, and math outcomes were more strongly sustained through the spring of kindergarten for unconstrained skills, relative to constrained skills. Only associations between non-public PreK and unconstrained language skills were sustained through the spring of kindergarten. Associations in the fall of kindergarten differed by family income and dual language learner (DLL) status but there was no subgroup variation by the spring of kindergarten. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Managing the Process: The Intradepartmental Networks of Early-Career Academics

This article relies on data from surveys and interviews to explore the networking behaviors and strategies of early-career faculty members within the contexts of their academic departments. Findings suggest that faculty members’ approaches to interactions and relationships with colleagues may be conceptualized according to a continuum of behavior, based on their political awareness of interactions and their strategic engagement in them, interactions as a means of impression management, the cultivation of relationships for symbolic inclusion in networks, and the presence of functional patterns in network. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.     

Chronicling a crisis: media framing of human trafficking in India,Thailand, and the USA

Despite the vast research on human trafficking, little is known about mass media coverage of the issue. This study, a quantitative content analysis of English-language news coverage of human trafficking in the USA, India, and Thailand, analyzes human trafficking coverage before and after the launch of a large-scale international anti-trafficking treaty to determine whether the treaty had an impact on the amount and framing of media coverage on the issue. Findings reveal that while coverage of the issue increased after the treaty, was more localized, and suggested causes and remedies more frequently, it also placed less blame for the problem occurring, focused primarily on crime and policy sides of human trafficking rather than human rights or public health, and lacked the voices of victims. How the news media, and in turn the public, deal with mediating such an issue is a significant and meaningful question, and this paper suggests that United Nations policy-makers need to take proactive steps in order for policy information to be more thoroughly disseminated via the news media.     

‘If you’re wrong for the place you just don’t survive’: examining the work of early career teachers in context

ABSTRACT

This article presents evidence from across the segregated secondary school system in NSW, Australia, through the close analysis of three cases of teachers’ work in contrasting schooling contexts. Through this comparative approach, the relationship between school context and the work of the early career teacher is foregrounded, troubling views of teaching as reflecting a certain kind of life cycle in which early career teachers in particular are seen to be subject to pressures such as stress and burnout. In contrast, I argue that specificities of context, exacerbated by a market-based policy approach which has driven greater levels of differentiation between schools, have particular consequences for teachers, both in the nature and scale of the challenges with which they are faced. In demonstrating how teachers’ work is affected by context, I also speak back against recent, often ill-defined discourses of ‘classroom readiness’ and ‘teacher quality’, which emphasise the roles of teachers and teacher educators rather the systems within which they work.     

Peer victimization in children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

This study explored peer victimization in 9‐ to 14‐year‐old children with and without Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The sample comprised 104 children, 52 of whom had a previous ADHD diagnosis. Children with ADHD had higher overall rates of self‐reported victimization by peers and parent‐ and teacher‐reported bullying behavior than did children without ADHD. The rates of victimization were especially high for girls with ADHD. Furthermore, children with ADHD reported higher frequencies of verbal, physical, and relational victimization than did children without ADHD. When data were pooled from children, parents, and teachers, children with ADHD were categorized as victims, bullies, and bully/victims significantly more often than were children without ADHD. Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms predicted self‐reported victimization by peers. Neither parent‐rated anxious‐shy behaviors nor parent‐ and teacher‐rated social skills predicted victimization by peers over and above ADHD symptoms. Parent ratings of oppositional behavior mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and parent‐ and teacher‐rated bullying. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Janusian Leadership: Two Profiles of Power in a Community of Practice

This article investigates how informal positions of power emerge within a community of practice and how positions of power influence communication and understanding about key issues. Findings from a study of one community of practice reveal Janusian leadership within the group and the effects of emergent, informal power roles on group goals, adding to theoretical knowledge about small groups, academic peer groups, and communities of practice.     

Conflicting conceptions of care and teaching and pre-service teacher attrition

I present a two-year case study of one pre-service teacher (PST), Johnny, as he moved through his education-based coursework at a large, public university in the US Southeast. In his final year of college, Johnny chose to forego the remainder of student teaching and not to receive a teaching certificate. To better understand Johnny’s choice to leave teaching, as well as the tension between Johnny’s developing conceptions of care and teaching and those of his Mentor Teacher, I draw on sociocultural approaches to teacher identity development and literature on care in teaching. Findings from this study could inform the ways that school-based experiences preceding and during teacher education are structured to encourage PSTs to develop identities as caring teachers and to become members of communities of practice.     

Mediating the “Two-Worlds” Pitfall Through Critical,Project-Based Clinical Experiences

This article looks across two teacher education programs to review the tensions and benefits of critical, project-based (CPB) clinical experiences. The first study examines a project embedded within a methods course focused on secondary English language arts (ELA) preservice teachers (PSTs) engaging with youth around a shared writing activity. In the second study, PSTs partnered with local high school students to consider the relevance of writing in and out of schools. We consider how CPB clinical experiences served as mediating spaces that address the disconnect between universities, schools, and communities (Zeichner, 2010). Data analysis suggested there are numerous tensions and benefits associated with CPB clinical experiences for PSTs, teacher educators, and school-based teachers and students. We draw on the findings from this study to make recommendations for future iterations of such work.     

Faculty as Mentors in Undergraduate Research,Scholarship, and Creative Work: Motivating and Inhibiting Factors

In this study, we sought to contribute to research about the high-impact practice of undergraduate research from the understudied faculty perspective. We relied on focus group data from faculty members (N = 41) across five institutions to better understand the supporting and inhibiting factors that contribute to faculty members’ engagement in mentoring undergraduate research. We offer implications for research and practice.     

Under the Magnifying Glass: An Examination of Fundamental Concepts in Mind,Brain, and Education

This special section explicitly introduces aspects of Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) in order to help those new to the field develop a better understanding of and participate effectively in MBE. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners who are already active in MBE will also benefit from the varied perspectives on MBE fundamentals to better understand key concepts in the field. The current issue includes two articles concerning communication in MBE: The article by Tina Grotzer outlines potential barriers to understanding scientific work, and the article by Rebecca Martin and Jennifer Groff presents examples of MBE collaborations in action. Subsequent articles will focus on interdisciplinary work and communication among various stakeholders to address meaningful questions in MBE.