The Nowicki Locus of Control Scales: An Australian Study of Normal and Cerebral Palsied School Children

Mildly handicapped cerebral palsied (CP) children integrated into regular schools were measured on locus of control scales to test the hypothesis that physically disabled children with possible academic difficulties display a more external locus of control than their unimpaired peers. The contribution of this construct to their academic and social performance was also examined. As local norms for these scales were not available, mean grade values were obtained for all children in classes in which a handicapped child had been integrated in order to study the psychometric properties of the scales and the construct's cross‐cultural implications. Results indicated that the instrument did not differentiate between mildly handicapped CP children integrated into regular schools and their non‐disabled peers nor was it a significant correlate of academic or social performance for the target group. Although the possibility exists of real cross‐cultural difference between American and Australian school children, the doubtful reliability and validity of the measure for the population sampled do not support its widespread use as a research instrument with Australian school children.     

Sense of Belonging as a Predictor of Intentions to Persist Among African American and White First-Year College Students

This study investigates the role of students’ sense of belonging to their university in college student retention. Using individual growth curve modeling, we examined (a) whether sense of belonging predicts intentions to persist, and (b) the effects of an intervention designed to enhance students’ sense of belonging. African American and white first-year students completed surveys three times throughout the academic year. Students were randomly assigned to a group that received an intervention to enhance students’ sense of belonging or to one of two control groups. Sense of belonging was found to predict intentions to persist, controlling for background variables and other predictors of persistence. Overall, sense of belonging and intentions to persist declined over the academic year. However, the decline in sense of belonging was smaller for students in the intervention group. Implications for the development of college retention programs and for existing models of student persistence are discussed.     

Professional Development to Promote Teacher Adaptability

Effective professional development (PD) follows adaptive teaching principles; it increases teacher understanding and instructional purpose, which ultimately supports and extends adaptive teaching. Through this article, we compare and contrast training models with educative models of PD (Duffy, 2004). We discuss characteristics of effective PD that enhance teachers' instructional adaptability, and explore potential barriers to the implementation of adaptive teaching, which may be addressed preemptively through PD.     

No more bullying: an analysis of primary school children’s drawings of school bullying

Bullying in schools is an international problem impacting negatively on children’s well-being. Children’s drawings can provide an insight into their emotional states. There is little published literature that uses children’s drawings to gain better understandings of the nature and impact of bullying. We report two studies using indicators of emotional distress to examine Australian primary school children’s drawings about bullying. In Study One, children’s drawings were examined using indicators of size, detail and line heaviness in terms of gender and developmental trends. The analysis showed no main differences for gender, however, there were clear developmental aspects to children’s depictions of school bullying. In Study Two, children’s self-reported victimisation was associated with the degree of detail and the relative distance between the protagonists represented in the drawings. The studies suggest that drawings could be used to counsel young people and help remediate the effects of bullying.     

High school students' use of diagrams during reading

This study examines how high school students use diagrams and summaries during reading and the effects of such on comprehension. The roles of verbal and spatial ability are also examined. Seventy-four Year 7 (13-year-old) students each read a text presented on a computer screen. The text was presented one sentence at a time and subjects could call up a diagram or content-equivalent summary of the main ideas of the text at any time. Time to read the sentences and the adjunct aids was controlled by the subject and recorded by the computer. In addition, the computer kept a record of where in the text subjects made a text-to-aid move. After reading, the subjects completed a 10-minute filler task and then produced free recalls of the text. The free recalls were examined for the inclusion of details and main ideas. Path analyses showed a significant direct effect of verbal ability on the recall of details and main ideas as well as a significant indirect effect through time on diagram. Spatial ability was not found to have any effect on recall, either directly or indirectly. Analyses of text-to-diagram moves showed more inspections in the first few sentences followed by an essentially random inspection pattern. Instructional implications are discussed.