Phonological knowledge and naming ability in children with reading disability

Children who are poor readers have difficulty naming pictured objects. Their naming difficulty could be a result of inadequate representations of the phonology of words, inadequate processing of those representations, or both. In this study, third-grade good and poor readers were tested on object naming, and, in cases of naming failure, forced-choice recognition tasks were used to probe their knowledge of the phonology of the object names. The two reading groups showed no differences in their ability to select the initial phonemes or rhymes of object names they had not produced spontaneously. Moreover, initial phoneme prompts were helpful for both reading groups. The children differed, however, in their ability to produce words after being given rhyme information. The results indicated that, except in the ability to manipulate explicitly phonological information, the poor readers; performance was qualitatively similar to that of the good readers. It is suggested that training in phonological analysis may help poor readers overcome the deficiencies in establishing and processing phonological representations that lead to their quantitative deficit in object naming.     

College students’ attitudes towards sexually themed science content: a socioscientific issues approach to resolution

A socioscientific issues integrated instruction was used in the study to resolve college students attitude towards sexually-themed science content. Some 200 college students participated in the study as experimental and control groups. The former consisting of 98 students from one college was taught the content using the socioscientific issues integrated instruction. The later with 102 students from another college was taught the same content using a traditionally teacher dominated lectures. Both groups were taught over a period of eight weeks. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained before and after the intervention. The quantitative data were analysed using analysis of covariance. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups (F (1, 247) = 426.97, p = .00, partial eta squared = 0.64) where the experimental group showed a significant change in attitude towards the content studied. The qualitative data obtained some experimental group students showed a change in attitude the second interview. It was concluded that the use of the approach has significantly made the college students feel comfortable and confident to learn and teach the content.     

Psychosocial adjustment in adolescent child molesters

This study compared adolescent child molesters (n = 31) with nonsex offending delinquents (n = 34) and normal adolescents (n = 71) on standardized measures of social competence and psychological adjustment. The measures included the Adolescent Assertiveness Scale, the Survey of Heterosocial Interactions, the Self-Consciousness Scale, the Social Anxiety and Distress Scale, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Norwicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and the Jesness Inventory. Results were consistent with predictions. Molesters showed significantly more global maladjustment than normals and were more socially anxious and threatened by heterosocial interactions than nonsex offending delinquents. A discriminant function analysis suggested that molesters, more than delinquents, were likely to perceive themselves as socially inadequate and to be externally oriented in their attributional style. Results support the hypothesis that social skill deficits and social isolation are risk factors that may predispose some adolescents to commit sexual crimes against children.     

Affordances of Item Formats and Their Effects on Test‐Taker Cognition under Uncertainty

The current study investigated how item formats and their inherent affordances influence test‐takers’ cognition under uncertainty. Adult participants solved content‐equivalent math items in multiple‐selection multiple‐choice and four alternative grid formats. The results indicated that participants’ affirmative response tendency (i.e., judge the given information as True) was affected by the presence of a grid, type of grid options, and their visual layouts. The item formats further affected the test scores obtained from the alternatives keyed True and the alternatives keyed False, and their psychometric properties. The current results suggest that the affordances rendered by item design can lead to markedly different test‐taker behaviors and can potentially influence test outcomes. They emphasize that a better understanding of the cognitive implications of item formats could potentially facilitate item design decisions for large‐scale educational assessments.     

Mainstreamed or Self‐Contained Classes for Students with a Mild Learning Disability: The Case of Israel

Two studies compared students with a mild learning disability who were enrolled in the Israeli version of self‐contained classes, with comparable peers who were assigned to mainstreamed classes. The first sample comprised 33 pupils in self‐contained and 34 children in mainstreamed elementary school classes. The second sample consisted of 20 high school students in self‐contained and 21 students in regular classes. The data did not support the contention that student growth was fostered more readily in the self‐contained classes. Students of these classes tended to have somewhat higher academic self‐concept, whereas their academic attainment was generally similar to the academic performance of mainstreamed students. Results were discussed in terms of learning opportunities extended to students in the self‐contained classroom.     

Modification of Children's Gender-Stereotyped Behavior

2 studies of 8- and 11- year-old children explored factors related to willingness $$. Study I assessed baseline gender prefernces and gender-reiatd cognitive flexibility. While older children were found to have greater congnitive flexibility, and older boys had more stereotyped preferences, such questionnaire measures were not highly predictive of gender-atraditional behavior. Study 2 explored the parameters of vicarious social reinforcement in the symbolic modeling of gender-atraditional behavior. Peer reinforcers were more effective with younger children and on child-oriented tasks, whereas adult reinforcers were more effective with older children and on adult-oriented gender tasks. Both studies found that considerably more atraditional behavior was elicited with male examiners, suggesting more attention needs to be paid to this variable. Possible mechanisms underlying this effect are discussed.     

文化学习与幼儿教育

幼儿应该学什么?什么时候开始学?如何才能学得好?我怎样才能知道我已经回答了上述三个问题?第一个问题主要是关于课程的目标与目的,第二个问题是关于如何看待儿童长远发展问题,第三个问题是关于如何贯彻课程计划,第四个问题是关于评估。这四个问题是所有打算制定幼儿教育课程的人必须回答的。本文对这四个问题作了初步讨论。