EXTENDING THE VALIDITY OF THE FAMILY INVOLVEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE–SHORT FORM FOR CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE FAMILIES FROM LOW‐INCOME BACKGROUNDS

The construct validity of the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Short Form (FIQ‐SF) was examined in an independent sample of ethnically and linguistically diverse low‐income families (N = 498) enrolled in an urban Head Start program in the Southeast. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses replicated the three‐factor structure identified in initial validation studies with Northeast samples: home‐school conferencing, home‐based involvement, and school‐based involvement. Findings from multiple group confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence that the three‐factor structure was invariant across family ethnicity. multivariate analyses of variance also confirmed hypothesized mean differences on FIQ‐SF dimension scores across family demographic variables such as caregiver ethnicity, primary home language, caregiver education, employment, and marital status. Findings replicate and extend prior construct validity evidence to support the use of the FIQ‐SF by early childhood education programs such as Head Start serving diverse families from low‐income backgrounds. Implications for future research, practice, and policy applications in early childhood are discussed.     

Home Literacy Environments and Foundational Literacy Skills for Struggling and Nonstruggling Readers in Rural Early Elementary Schools

Factors such as weak early literacy skills and living in poverty may put young students at risk for reading disabilities. While home literacy activities and access to literacy materials have been associated with positive reading outcomes for urban and suburban students, little is known about home literacy environments of rural early elementary school students living in poverty and their relationship to foundational reading skills for struggling and nonstruggling readers. This study examined how home literacy environments might relate to rural kindergarten and first grade students’ reading performance. Parents of 1,108 kindergarten and first grade students in the rural Southeast completed questionnaires on the frequency of home literacy activities and access to literacy materials. Multilevel model analyses revealed that home literacy activities and access to literacy materials were positively related to basic word reading skills, passage comprehension, and spelling. Implications for families and educators are discussed.     

A Comparison of Responsive Interventions on Kindergarteners’ Early Reading Achievement

This study compared the effects of Tier 2 reading interventions that operated in response‐to‐intervention contexts. Kindergarten children (N = 90) who were identified as at risk for reading difficulties were stratified by school and randomly assigned to receive (a) Early Reading Intervention (ERI; Pearson/Scott Foresman, 2004) modified in response to student performance or (b) their schools’ typical supplemental reading intervention (regrouping and curriculum pacing adjustments). In both conditions, intervention was provided 30 minutes per day in small groups for approximately 100 sessions. Results indicated no statistically significant group differences on any outcome measures. Between‐group effect sizes revealed substantively important differences (Valentine & Cooper, 2003) favoring the ERI responsive condition on multiple measures with effect sizes ranging from .35 to .59. Overall, findings indicated that the majority of students in both Tier 2 intervention conditions performed above the 30th percentile on posttest measures of word reading measures.     

From presentation to interaction: new goals for online learning technologies

Educators have used online technology in the past as information presentation tools and information storage tools to support learning. Researchers identify online technologies with large capacities and capabilities to enhance human learning in an interactive fashion. Online learning technology should move away from the use of computer technology as presentation and storage tools and advance to the next level by using them as interactive tools. Emerging technologies should be implemented with advanced and sound instruction to promote interactive learning by engaging learners in actively analysing information and knowledge construction and applying technology to support their decision‐making. Three dimensions of advanced, sound and interactive online technologies are purposed in this paper: instructional communication technology, cognitive technology and management technology. These thee dimensions engage learners in active online communication, knowledge construction and the exchange of mental models.

De la présentation à l’interaction:de nouveaux objectifs pour les technologies d’apprentissage en ligne

Les éducateurs ont par le passé utilisé les technologies en ligne comme outils de présentation de l’information ou comme outils d’archivage de l’information pour faciliter l’apprentissage. Les chercheurs voient les technologies en ligne comme des outils de grande capacité à fort potentiel susceptibles de stimuler l’apprentissage humain de façon interactive. Les technologies d’apprentissage en ligne devraient dépasser l’emploi de la technologie informatique à des fins de présentation et d’archivage et passer à un autre niveau en les utilisant comme outils interactifs. Les technologies émergentes devraient être mises en ?uvre avec des instructions avancées et solides pour pouvoir faciliter l’apprentissage interactif en amenant les apprenants à faire preuve de dynamisme pour analyser l’information, construire les connaissances et appliquer la technologie à leur propre prise de décision. Dans cet article on présente trois aspects des technologies en ligne interactives avancées et solides : la technologie de la communication éducative,la technologie cognitive et la technologie de gestion. Ces trois dimensions amènent les apprenants à communiquer activement en ligne,à construire leurs connaissances et à échanger des modèles intellectuels.

Von der Präsentation zur Interaktion: Neue Ziele für Online‐Lerntechnologien

Pädagogen haben die Online‐Technologien in der Vergangenheit zur Informationspräsentation und als Informationsspeicher zur Unterstützung von Lernen verwendet. Heute wünschen Forscher, die Möglichkeiten leistungsfähiger Online‐Technologien auch in interaktiver Weise beim menschlichen Lernen zu nutzen. Online ‐ Lehr‐ und Lerntechnologien sollten von ihrer Verwendung als Präsentations‐ und Speicher‐Werkzeugen zu interaktiv nutzbaren Computertechnologien neuer Generation weiterentwickelt werden. Neue Techniken sollten mit fortschrittlichen und soliden Anweisungen verbunden werden, um interaktives Lernen dadurch zu fördern, dass Lernende sich mit aktiver Informationsanalyse, Wissenskonstruktion und dem Anwenden von Technologie zur Entscheidungsfindung befassen. Drei Dimensionen von fortschrittlichen, verlässlichen und interaktiven Online‐Techniken werden in diesem Papier vorgestellt: Unterrichtskommunikationstechnik, kognitive Techniken und Management Technologien. Diese drei Dimensionen beschäftigen Lernende bei aktiver Online‐Kommunikation, Wissens Konstruktion und dem Austausch virtueller Modelle.     

Specialized Reading Instruction for Adolescents with Learning Disabilities: What Special Education Co‐Teachers Say

In this exploratory study, secondary special education co‐teachers report about specialized reading instruction for students with learning disabilities in co‐taught classes. Almost half of the respondents were concerned that reading instruction was not occurring in co‐taught classes. One‐third were concerned reading instruction was not occurring any time during the school day.     

Challenges and management frameworks of residential schools for students with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties in Hong Kong

This study by Stella Suk‐Ching Chong, an assistant professor, and Ka‐wai Leung, a teaching fellow, both at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, focuses on the perspectives of hostel staff from six residential schools for students with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties. Individual or focus group interviews were conducted to explore the range of challenges perceived by staff and the strategies they employed to address the needs of the students. The software N‐Vivo was used to analyse both qualitative and quantitative data. This study finds that staff met a multiplicity of challenges, of which 67.9% were management‐related rather than student‐related (32.1%). In relation to effective strategies for staff, co‐ordinated and concerted efforts are frequently used between different stakeholders, such as intra‐hostel‐staff‐student collaboration (84%), inter‐hostel‐community collaboration (8.6%), inter‐hostel‐home collaboration (5.1%), and finally inter‐hostel‐school collaboration (2.2). In summing up the findings of various approaches deemed favourable by different residential staff, a residential school management framework is conceptualised and presented in this article. Implications and future research directions are also highlighted.