Processing demands of reading comprehension tests in young readers

In the present study we examined the processing demands of three reading comprehension tests, namely the Woodcock–Johnson Passage Comprehension (WJPC), a Curriculum-Based Measure test (CBM-Maze), and a Recall test, in the early elementary years. Our investigation was theoretically motivated by Perfetti’s Verbal Efficiency Theory and examined the contribution of a set of skills that are important in early reading (i.e., rapid naming, phonological processing, orthographic processing, fluency, vocabulary, and working memory) to the three reading comprehension tests. Furthermore, because this set of skills undergo rapid development in the early years, we assessed them in two consecutive years, Grade 1 and Grade 2, before examining their prediction to the three reading comprehension tests in Grade 2. The findings showed that the three reading comprehension tests pose different demands to the young reader. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to reading comprehension assessment and diagnosis of reading difficulties.     

Gender differences in inference generation by fourth‐grade students

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are gender differences among elementary school‐aged students in regard to the inferences they generate during reading. Fourth‐grade students (130 females; 126 males) completed think‐aloud tasks while reading one practice and one experimental narrative text. Females generated a larger number and a greater proportion of reinstatement inferences than did males (Cohen's d = .34, p = .01; Cohen's d = .26, p = .04, respectively). In contrast, there was no evidence for gender differences in other types of think‐aloud responses. These findings suggest that males and females differ in their use of cognitive processes that underlie reading comprehension, particularly with respect to the likelihood of retrieval of information from episodic memory.     

Correction to: KReC-MD: Knowledge Revision with Multiple Documents

Educational Psychology Review -     

What Does the CBM-Maze Test Measure?

In this study, we identified the code-related (decoding, fluency) and language comprehension (vocabulary, listening comprehension) demands of the CBM-Maze test, a formative assessment, and compared them to those of the Gates–MacGinitie test, a standardized summative assessment. The demands of these reading comprehension tests and their developmental patterns were examined with multigroup structural regression models in a sample of 274 children in Grades 4, 7, and 9. The results showed that the CBM-Maze test relied more on code-related than on language comprehension skills when compared to the Gates–MacGinitie test. These demands were relatively stable across grades.     

The Emotional Readiness of Greek Cypriot Teachers for Peaceful Co-existence

In this article, we: (1) offer a conceptualisation of what it means for Greek Cypriot teachers to be ‘reconciled’ with the ‘other side’ (i.e. Turkish Cypriots) in Cyprus; (2) examine Greek Cypriot teachers' emotional responses to the new educational objective of cultivating peaceful coexistence in schools; and (3) investigate how Greek Cypriot teachers' perceptions of reconciliation and emotional responses to the new educational objective of cultivating peaceful coexistence are entangled, and what implications these entanglements may have for educational reform efforts. This investigation is based on data collected in a national survey of Greek Cypriot primary and secondary teachers. The study is important not only for the Greek Cypriot educational system, but also for educational reform efforts in other conflict-ridden areas in Europe because it addresses a fundamental issue in relation to reconciliation: Can teachers, who may still carry traumatic experiences from a conflict and thus be (potentially) emotionally unready to engage in reconciliation, be convinced to put the past behind and promote peaceful coexistence in schools? The findings highlight the teachers' multiple ambivalences, yet they also identify openings for promoting reconciliation and peaceful coexistence in schools. The implications are discussed in terms of educational policymaking, curriculum development, and teacher training.     

Examining the influences of epistemic beliefs and knowledge representations on cognitive processing and conceptual change when learning physics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of epistemic beliefs and knowledge representations in cognitive and metacognitive processing when learning about physics concepts through text. Specifically, we manipulated the representation of physics concepts in texts about Newtonian mechanics and explored how these texts interacted with individuals’ epistemic beliefs to facilitate or constrain learning. Results revealed that when individuals’ epistemic beliefs were consistent with the knowledge representations in their assigned texts, they performed better on various measures of learning (use of processing strategies, text recall, and changes in misconceptions) than when their epistemic beliefs were inconsistent with the knowledge representations. These results have implications for how researchers conceptualize epistemic beliefs and support contemporary views regarding the context sensitivity of individuals’ epistemic beliefs.     

I. CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE: DELAYED DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE

Children exposed to institutional care often suffer from “structural neglect” which may include minimum physical resources, unfavorable and unstable staffing patterns, and socially emotionally inadequate caregiver‐child interactions. This chapter is devoted to the analysis of the ill effects of early institutional experiences on resident children's development. Delays in the important areas of physical, hormonal, cognitive, and emotional development are discussed. The evidence for and against the existence of a distinctive set of co‐occurring developmental problems in institutionalized children is weighed and found to not yet convincingly demonstrate a “postinstitutional syndrome.” Finally, shared and nonshared features of the institutional environment and specific genetic, temperamental, and physical characteristics of the individual child are examined that might make a crucial difference in whether early institutional rearing leaves irreversible scars.     

The Role of Social Culture in Internet Adoption in Greece: Unpacking “I Don't Want to Use the Internet” and Frequency of Use

This article examines the role of social culture in Internet adoption in Greece. It employs Hofstede's five-dimensional framework of national culture and analyzes the European Social Survey 2008 data. It finds that social culture in general and particularly people's past or future orientation in life, and to a lesser extent their degree of openness to difference and novelty in life, are significant drivers of Internet adoption in Greece. It argues that the persistently low level of Internet adoption in Greece can be explained by pointing to a traditional, uncertainty-avoidant, and novelty-resistant culture that discourages technological development and innovation. It concludes that to explain that the statement “I don't want to use the Internet” and frequency of use and other such behavioral patterns, one should look beyond demographics, practical, and real-life factors and examine broader and socioculturally embedded drivers of Internet adoption.     

Simple but complex: components of the simple view of reading across grade levels

The purpose of this study was to examine the simple view of reading (SVR) and contributions of verbal proficiency and reading fluency to reading comprehension for fourth‐, seventh‐ and ninth‐grade readers (N=271). The SVR explained a significant proportion of variance in reading comprehension for all grades with decreasing explained variance in higher grades. The variance explained by decoding decreased from fourth grade to higher grades. The variance explained by listening comprehension increased from fourth‐ to seventh‐grade, but did not change from seventh‐ to ninth‐grade. In all grades, verbal proficiency and reading fluency contributed substantial additional variance to reading comprehension beyond the SVR. Changes in the predictive relation between listening and reading comprehension and factors influencing reading comprehension in each grade are discussed.     

Sexuality education as a collective responsibility: a new health education curriculum in Cyprus

The development of health promotion is typically viewed as a reaction against both the excessive responsibility placed on individuals concerning their health-related choices and the absence of recognition of environmental factors associated with personal decision making. What though does sexuality education mean from the perspective of health promotion? According to one approach, it implies the existence of a curriculum that recognises the environmental factors affecting sexuality and sexual behaviour. It also suggests a curriculum that aims to empower students to engage with risky sexual behaviour, not just as a personal issue but also as a social matter. The emphasis is placed not merely on developing personal knowledge and skills associated with sexuality and sexual behaviour but on enabling active citizens to protect themselves and their co-citizens from sexual risks and to promote healthy sexuality. This paper discusses such a health promotion perspective in relation to the sexuality education curriculum as recently developed in Cyprus. It demonstrates how a health promotion perspective in relation to sex education can be translated into the establishment of learning objectives, appropriate pedagogic methods and the development of school materials.