Resourcefulness: a protective factor buffer against the academic stress of school‐aged children

The objectives of this study were twofold: to examine the interaction of academic stress and student resourcefulness on subject grades and to identify the factors of parental support that contribute to student resourcefulness. The participants of this cross‐sectional study were 695 fifth and sixth graders from four major districts in Shanghai. Student resourcefulness was observed to moderate academic stress and subject grades. Moreover, perceived paternal emotional support and maternal informational support contributed significantly to student resourcefulness. The implications of this study for parent education are discussed.     

Creating a space where teachers can locate their voices and develop their pedagogical awareness

The claim is made here that we need to prepare teachers who can locate their voices in teaching situations, recognize their relationship with other voices in those situations, and reflect on their pedagogical intentions. In a teacher education course, stories written about practicum experiences offered students an opportunity to reflect on the location of their voice in classroom situations and to discuss with peers different classroom situations and possibilities for teaching and learning. This study examines more closely the reflections of two of the students with seemingly distinct orientations to learning to teach. Their practicum stories and reflective essays were analyzed for positioning of voice as described by Belenky et al. (1986). The two students located their voices in distinct ways, and also expressed growing awareness of classroom dynamics and the value of peer dialogue in broadening and deepening their understandings of teaching and learning.     

The impact of fostering relationships through music within a special school classroom for students with autism spectrum disorder: an action research study

Music therapists have been working in special education contexts for many decades, utilising research and case studies to inform practice. Growing interest in the link between the creative arts and well-being has led music therapists to consider what aspects of their knowledge others could feasibly appropriate in the school system. An action research approach was utilised to explore this question, grounded in partnerships between university-based music therapy researchers and staff at a school for learners on the autistic spectrum. Five cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection framed the collaborative partnership, with a music therapist acting as consultant to explore how music could be used across the school day. The greatest shift evidenced through qualitative and quantitative analysis was in the area of relationship building. Rather than seeing music as a tool that supports the acquisition of specific skills, the professionals and students in the school came to understand that music could be a meaningful part of their encounter with one another. This is congruent with music therapy research findings that also emphasise the ways music can be used to motivate, evoke and elicit meaningful responses from young people. Some limitations were identified in the sustainability of music practices in the school, particularly when other parts of the school culture were changing.     

Does Online Comprehension Monitoring Make a Unique Contribution to Reading Comprehension in Beginning Readers? Evidence from eye movements

The goal of this study was to investigate the nature of online comprehension monitoring, its predictors, and its relation to reading comprehension. Questions were concerned with (a) beginning readers’ sensitivity to inconsistencies, (b) predictors of online comprehension monitoring, and (c) the relation of online comprehension monitoring to reading comprehension over and above word reading and listening comprehension. Using eye tracking technology, online comprehension monitoring was measured as the amount of time spent rereading target implausible words and looking back at surrounding contexts. Results from 319 second graders revealed that children spent greater time fixating on inconsistent than consistent words and engaged in more frequent lookbacks. Comprehension monitoring was explained by both word reading and listening comprehension. However, comprehension monitoring did not uniquely predict reading comprehension after accounting for word reading and listening comprehension. These results provide insight into the nature of comprehension monitoring and its role in reading comprehension for beginning readers.     

“Blips of Meaning”: The Transformation of Reader and History Text

The study focused on the interpretations of eight “good” or effective Secondary One teachers. It suggests that the teachers interpreted the “text” (consisting of 12 elements) on the basis of their practical knowledge. The teachers tended to describe the literal meaning of the content. This, however, is a rather restricted form of interpretation which ignores the role of both the reader and the plurality of meanings in the message(s) of the text. To be receptive to the text, the teachers need to reflect on their often taken-for-granted knowledge and practices. The repertory grid was used to elicit such tacit knowledge. Like a mirror, the grid reflected to the teacher his or her own frame of reference for his or her consideration. This is a vital first step in the transformation of both the teacher and his or her interpretation of the text.     

Examining the Efficacy of Targeted Component Interventions on Language and Literacy for Third and Fourth Graders Who are at Risk of Comprehension Difficulties

Testing a component model of reading comprehension in a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy of 4 interventions that were designed to target components of language and metacognition that predict children’s reading comprehension: vocabulary, listening comprehension, comprehension of literate language, academic knowledge, and comprehension monitoring. Third- and 4th-graders with language skills falling below age expectations participated (N = 645). Overall, the component interventions were only somewhat effective in improving the targeted skills, compared to a business-as-usual control (g ranged from ?.14 to .33), and no main effects were significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Effects did not generalize to other language skills or to students’ reading comprehension. Moreover, there were Child Characteristic × Treatment interaction effects. For example, the intervention designed to build sensorimotor mental representations was more effective for children with weaker vocabulary skills. Implications for component models of reading and interventions for children at risk of reading comprehension difficulties are discussed.     

Gender and Education for All: Progress and problems in achieving gender equity

The paper explores the effects of rapid increases in gender parity in primary schooling in Bangladesh and Malawi on gender inequities in schools and communities. Based on an analysis of comparative case studies of marginalized communities, we argue that educational initiatives focused on achieving gender parity provide limited evidence that girls’ educational experiences modeled significantly different gender norms than in communities, or that by being educated, girls experienced a transformation of the inequitable gender relations they faced in society. The data illustrate persistent gender discrimination related to educational attainment and learning, and gender-based violence in schools. These patterns of gendered discrimination and violence largely mirrored those that girls and boys experienced in their homes and communities, raising important questions about the transformational capacity of current gender parity and schooling models.     

Supporting Lesotho teachers to develop resilience in the face of the HIV and AIDS pandemic

HIV and AIDS threaten to erode the wellbeing of teachers who are faced with an increasing number of children rendered vulnerable by the pandemic. This article explores the usefulness of a supportive group intervention, Resilient Educators (REds), in supporting Lesotho teachers to respond to the HIV and AIDS-related challenges. A time-series pre- and post-intervention design was used to evaluate the programme. The findings indicate that the intervention led to an increase in the sense of agency of participating teachers both on a personal and community level. The findings have international significance for teachers working in similar contexts characterised by extreme adversity.     

Undergraduates’ text messaging language and literacy skills

Research investigating whether people’s literacy skill is being affected by the use of text messaging language has produced largely positive results for children, but mixed results for adults. We asked 150 undergraduate university students in Western Canada and 86 in South Eastern Australia to supply naturalistic text messages and to complete nonword reading and spelling tasks. The Australian students also completed two further real word and nonword reading tasks, a spoonerisms task, a questionnaire regarding their reading history, and a nonverbal reasoning task. We found few significant correlations between literacy scores and both use of textisms (such as u for you) and measures of texting experience. Specifically, textism use was negatively correlated with spelling for the Canadian students, and with scores for timed nonword reading, spoonerisms, and Adult Reading History for the Australian students. Length of phone ownership was negatively correlated with spelling (Canadians), but positively correlated with Word Attack scores (Australians), whereas daily message sending volumes were negatively correlated with Word Attack scores (Australians). Australian students who thought that using textisms was more appropriate had poorer nonword reading and reported having had more difficulty learning to read, than those who found it less appropriate. We conclude that there is inconsistent evidence for negative relationships between adults’ use of textisms and their literacy skills, and that these associations may be influenced by attitudes towards the appropriateness of textism use. A model of the potential relationship between adults’ textism use and literacy skills is presented.     

Reexamining the Link Between Cultivation Factors and Viewer Involvement: Investigating Viewing Amount as a Catalyst for the Transportation Process

In an effort to expand on prior cultivation research involving narrative processing (Bilandzic &; Busselle, 2008 Bilandzic , H. , &; Busselle , R. W. ( 2008 ). Transportation and transportability in the cultivation of genre-consistent attitudes and estimates . Journal of Communication , 58 ( 3 ), 508 – 529 . doi: 10.1111/j.1460–2466.2008.00397.x [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), this study examined the interrelationships between viewing amount and the transportation process. Results showed that transportation mediated the relationship between genre-specific television viewing and perceived realism, while overall television viewing directly predicted reduced counterarguing. In addition, structural equation modeling was employed to test a combined cultivation-transportation model leading to changes in viewer excessive drinking perceptions. Findings indicated that genre-specific television viewing indirectly influenced beliefs through increased transportation. Conversely, a significant, direct path was found between overall viewing and excessive drinking beliefs, supporting the original cultivation perspective.