Handwriting production in Spanish children with dyslexia: spelling or motor difficulties?

Reading and Writing - Spelling and handwriting are different processes; however, they are learned simultaneously, and numerous studies have shown that they interact. Besides the commonly reported...     

A study into the impact of the Reading Education Assistance Dogs scheme on reading engagement and motivation to read among Early Years Foundation-Stage children

This research explores the impact of the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) scheme on reading engagement and motivation among Early Years Foundation-Stage children using a case study approach at a primary school in the English Midlands. There is a notable lack of UK-based research into the READ scheme, which offers a potential alternative method for promoting engagement among young readers. This study used qualitative techniques to determine if the READ scheme is reported to have an impact; and if so, what type of impact. The findings suggest that the READ scheme is successful in a number of areas, including promoting engagement, increased motivation, improved attainment, fostering children’s enjoyment and promoting a love of reading, alongside other additional benefits for specific target groups. It must be recognised that this case study is based on a small pool of opportunity-sampled participants, so the findings cannot be further generalised, but do provide a useful insight into an under-researched area, as a starting point for which more specific aspects and impacts could be investigated.     

Teachers’ perspectives of lower secondary school students in streamed classes – A Western Australian case study

Streaming in secondary schools is not beneficial for improving student outcomes of education with vast amounts of educational research indicating that it does not improve academic results and increases inequity. Yet teachers often prefer working in streamed classes, and research shows that teachers mediate the effects of streaming on students. This study sought to add to the understanding of teachers’ role in student learning by investigating how teachers conceptualise the students in streamed classes. A qualitative case study approach was used, where 18 teachers were interviewed in-depth to create narrative examples, three of which are presented here. These narratives summarise the research findings that teachers saw students in high and low streams as having homogenous characteristics according to five dichotomous categories: approach to learning, attitude to learning, learning style, autonomy and background. Students in mixed-ability classes were viewed along these same continua, but as more heterogeneous groups. Furthermore, these views of students had direct implications for how teachers planned for learning and the expectations that they held of their students. The discussion links streaming research with teacher expectation research, suggesting that teachers of streamed classes in this secondary school hold specific whole-class ideas that affect student learning. The article concludes with recommendations for further inquiry that links these two important fields of educational research.     

Age Differences in Choice Deferrals as Functions of Interattribute Conflict and Decision Domain

The primary purpose of the present study was to examine age differences in choice deferral when young and older adults make high vs. low conflict decisions in two domains (i.e., health and commodity). Sixty young and 60 older adults were presented with four different decision scenarios in which they could either choose an option or use choice deferral (i.e., not choose any of the options for the time being). The high conflict decisions had negative interattribute correlations, while the low conflict decisions had positive interattribute correlations. Older adults were more likely than young adults to choose the deferral option across domains. Participants were more likely to choose the deferral option when making high conflict decisions than when making low conflict decisions. For older adults, an increase in postdecision positive affect was greater for those who deferred choice than for those who did not defer choice in the commodity domain. Implications were discussed in terms of real-life decision making of older adults.     

Bullying Prevention Strategies in Early Childhood Education

Bullying is a serious problem that affects the young children’s well being. Early childhood educators find it difficult to manage bullying in the classroom. Preschool is the first environment outside of the home setting where children encounter difficulties when they socially interact with their peers. Based on the principles of protecting and establishing a safe environment for all children, the purpose of this review is to present current empirical evidence about the nature and distinctive facet of bullying among preschool children. It defines both the concept of traditional school bullying and bullying in early childhood education, describes the social context of young children’s bullying, differentiates between bullies and victims in early childhood education, discusses the young children’s interpretations of bullying, describes the young children’s functions in bullying, and provides a rationale for the use of bully prevention programs for young children.     

NO CHILD IS AN ISLAND: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

In this essay Olivia Newman critically examines two opposing rights claims: the liberal claim that children have a right to become liberal choosers and the fundamentalist claim that children have a right to not become liberal choosers. These positions reflect differing views regarding the value of critically choosing, rather than simply accepting, a way of life. Given their assumptions regarding preference formation, both of these rights appear untenable in light of recent scholarship in psychology: we can neither select a way of life independent of our social milieu, as liberals often imply, nor can we predict how different experiences will affect our preferences, as fundamentalists assume. Nevertheless, each position points to important concerns. Children have a substantive right of exit from constraining social milieus, as liberals purport, as well as a right to respect in public institutions, as fundamentalists insist. When liberals and fundamentalists assert these more modest rights claims, educators can and should strive to satisfy both.     

Relationship between Cognitive Style and Teachers’ Perceptions of Young Children’s Academic Competence

The study investigated the significance of matching cognitive style of first- and third-grade students to their teachers. The Articulation of the Body-Concept Scale was administered as a measure of cognitive style to 20 first- and 20 third-grade female teachers and a sample (480) of six boys and six girls for each teacher. Teachers ranked their students according to their judgment of the students’ academic competence. Discrepancy scores were obtained based on the degree to which teachers differed in ranking their students in comparison to rankings on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills. A repeated measures analysis of variance indicated statistically significant main effects for grade level and a statistically significant interaction among the cognitive styles of teachers in ranking their matched and mismatched students according to sex in relation to the students’ academic achievement scores.     

Assessing and developing critical-thinking skills in higher education

Generic skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication are essential for students' success in higher education and their careers. This article presents findings from an international study of students' (n ≈ 120,000) generic skills from six countries using a performance-based assessment. Results indicate that higher education students, on average, gain generic skills between entry and exit. However, learning gain is less marked than could be expected and varies significantly among country samples. Various background variables such as gender, ethnicity, parental level of education, and primary language are also explored. The authors conclude that it is feasible to reliably and validly measure generic skills in a cross-cultural context and that assessment of these skills is an essential component of best practices in higher education.     

A Factor Analysis of Preschool Children's Play Strategies and Cognitive Style

ABSTRACT The social behaviours of 2400 3‐, 4and 5‐year old children attending an early childhood programme were observed, recorded, and analysed, and their cognitive style assessed. Factors underlying the play of preschool children based on their cognitive style were identified. Sex and age were considered in these social factors. ThePlay Rating Scale was used to record young children's behaviours in four different forms of play (physical, block, manipulative, dramatic); while theGoodenough‐Harris Drawing Test was used to determine the children's cognitive style. Factor analysis indicated two dimensions of play behaviours for each group of children. These factors had strong loadings with a range of items. The factors indicated that field‐dependent children participated more in social play activities, whereas field‐independent children engaged more in nonsocial play activities. The study suggests practical and research implications in promoting educational play using the children's cognitive style.