Gender typing of sports: an investigation of Metheny's classification

The purpose of this study was to investigate if children perceived certain sports to be masculine, feminine, or neutral. Students attending a University Laboratory school (grades K-12) were asked to fill out a survey about sports during a class period, Children in grades K-6 were given a sport (such as baseball) and asked if a boy named David would play it, if a girl named Jane would play it, or if both David and Jane would play the sport. Students in grades 7-12 were asked to name their favorite athlete or team and sport and indicate what sports they felt was best for a girl and a boy. Then they were given a list of sports and asked to indicate, using a 5-point Likert-type scale, whether they believed the sport was masculine, neutral, or feminine. Results from loglinear analyses indicated that students sex-typed certain sports, such as aerobics and football. Additionally, although some responses from students in grades 7-12 indicated that individuals should be able to play any sport they wanted, there were many gendered rsponses in terms of what sport(s) girls and boys should participate in. The results are discussed with reference to Metheny's categories of permissible sports for girls and in the framework of the gender typing of sport.     

Development of the Design Thinking and Instructional Lessons (DTAIL) model: a creative approach for teachers

Educational technology research and development - The educational landscape continues to become increasingly complex, which suggests a need for a teacher-driven creative approach to developing...     

Good intentions: providing students with skills to avoid accidental plagiarism

This article explores one librarian's experience with creating and implementing a plagiarism seminar as part of the library liaison program to the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo. The changes and evolution of the seminar over several iterations are described. This article also examines student perceptions, misperceptions, and reactions to the plagiarism workshop.     

What makes a youth-produced film good? The youth audience perspective

In this article, we explore how youth audiences evaluate the quality of youth-produced films. Our interest stems from a dearth of ways to measure the quality of what youth produce in artistic production processes. As a result, making art in formal learning settings devolves into either romanticized creativity or instrumental work to improve skills in core content areas. We conducted focus groups with 38 youth participants where they viewed four different films produced by the same youth media arts organization that works with young people to produce short-form, autobiographical documentaries. We found that youth focused their evaluations on identifying the films' genre and content and on assessing how well the filmmakers' creative decisions fit with identifications of genre and content. Evaluations were mediated by audiences' expectations and seemed to inform judgments of quality and creativity. We hope that our work can inform the design of formal learning spaces where young people are producing narrative art.     

Is children's spelling naturally stage-like?

Children's spelling development is often described by researchers and educators as proceeding through a series of stages. Two properties of stages were analyzed in this study. If spelling development can be characterized by stages, then it should be possible to observe qualitatively different spellings at different points in development. In addition, spellings within a point of development must be consistent. Spelling samples were obtained from stories written by children in first through sixth grade. Stage classifications of spellings for (a) silent -e long vowel words (e.g., bake), and (b) regularly affixed past tense words phonologically represented as /t/ (e.g., helped), /d/ (e.g., opened), and /ed/ (e.g., listed) were analyzed. Little evidence was found for either predicted qualitative differences in stage classification of errors or in stage constancy across grades. Implications for theories of spelling development and instructional practice are discussed.     

Teacher engagement in core components of an effective,early childhood professional development course: Links to changes in teacher–child interactions

This study built on prior research regarding the effectiveness of the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education (NCRECE) course by exploring the individual course components. Core aspects of course engagement and performance were described and examined in relation to improvements in the observed quality of teacher–child interactions. Teacher characteristics were also examined as predictors of course engagement and performance. A sample of 150 preschool teachers participated in a semester-long, credit-bearing, college course designed to improve the quality of their emotional, organizational, and instructional interactions with children. Teachers’ participation and performance in the course were high on average. Teachers’ skill level in accurately and specifically explaining other teachers’ instances of effective teacher–child interactions was related to improvements in their own observed teacher–child interactions. Finally, teachers with an early childhood major and those endorsing child-centered beliefs displayed better skills in detecting other teachers’ high-quality interactions with children. Results are discussed in relation to designing more effective early childhood professional development programs.     

Mothers’ and Fathers’ Roles in Caring for an Adult Child with an Intellectual Disability

To date, there have been few studies of mothers’ and fathers’ roles in caring for their adult children with intellectual disabilities. The present study investigated the care-giving roles of mother and father couples caring for their adult offspring with an intellectual disability, their psychological health, and the demands and satisfaction of their care-giving roles. Twelve Anglo-Australian middle-aged mother and father couples with an adult child with intellectual disability (mean age?=?24 years) participated in semi-structured interviews about their care-giving roles and completed a series of questionnaires pertaining to care-giving difficulties and satisfaction, hassles and uplifts, and general health. Findings indicated that an extremely high proportion of both mothers and fathers were in the clinical range for social dysfunction, anxiety/insomnia, and somatic complaints, although levels of depression were relatively low. The present study found that mothers undertake more daily care-giving tasks than fathers, but that the range of tasks is similar. Mothers also reported significantly more care-giving difficulties and satisfaction than fathers. Associations between measures differed somewhat for the two parent groups, indicating the need for further exploration of both mothers’ and fathers’ experiences.     

Catching them Early: An Examination of Chicano/Latino Middle School Boys’ Early Career Aspirations

The authors draw from a 16-month ethnographic study to examine Latino middle school boys’ early college and career aspirations. Sources of information and support for students, as well as contextual factors that shaped students’ early career aspirations were explored. Findings indicate that early college and career exposure may allow Latino middle school males to form feasible college and career plans. While parents and older siblings served as sources of encouragement, teachers and other institutional agents played a more direct role in assisting students prepare and plan for college. The AVID program provided exposure and concrete information that allowed students to identify different colleges and admissions requirements. Findings from this study may be beneficial for school leaders who hope to engage Latino males during this critical stage of development and help improve their college participation rates.