Special Education of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

The current study aimed to estimate the cost associated with special education among children (5 to 14 years) with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in elementary and middle school by sex, age group, and province and territory in Canada. It was estimated that there were 6,520 students with FASD receiving special education in Canada in 2011–2012. The cost of special education among these students was 53.5 million Canadian dollars. Implications for decision- and policymakers, educational systems and school staff are discussed.     

Motivation and Self-Regulation as Predictors of Achievement in Economically Disadvantaged Young Children

The primary purpose of the present study was to better understand the roles of motivation and self-regulated task behavior for early school achievement differences among young, economically at-risk and not-at-risk children. Of the at-risk participants, 43 were 5-6-year-olds and 42 were 7-8-year-olds. Of the not-at-risk participants, 21 were 6-year-olds, and 21 were 8-year-olds. Results of the study showed that child-and-teacher-reported motivation levels were comparable among the at-risk and the not-at-risk children. However, the at-risk children showed poorer abilities to regulate their task attention than the not-at-risk children did. In addition, younger at-risk children's achievement scores were predicted by their levels of attention-regulation abilities. Results are discussed in relation to the importance of at-risk children's attention-regulation skills.     

Troubled Relationships in Early Childhood Education: Parent-Teacher Interactions in Ethnoculturally Diverse Child Care Settings

In order to study the nature of the relationships between early childhood educators and minority families, we interviewed child care teachers (N = 199) and supervisors (N = 77) in three Canadian cities of major immigrant influx. Views of minority families were elicited through 14 focus groups (total attendance, N = 108) in these cities. A coordinated analysis of data revealed four main findings as follows: 1) Although both minority parents and teachers agreed that minority parents were not involved enough in the child care setting, they disagreed about the reasons for the lack of involvement. 2) Minority parents and teachers tended to be unaware of their basic differences in ECE goals, particularly with respect to cognition, social skills, and respect for authority; they gave conflicting accounts of difficulties related to these goals. 3) Schools and minority parents appeared to have substantial differences over what constitutes proper child-rearing methods in the home. The practices of minority parents were often viewed by teachers as lax. 4) Based on teachers' and parents' reports, racial and discriminatory incidents, according to the various definitions of those involved, were not uncommon in child care centers; sometimes teachers were unaware of them. Subtle and unintended effects of racism were much more noticed by some parents than by many teachers. Some of these difficulties may be linked to an “expert model” of early childhood education; hence it is proposed that a collaborative approach is one avenue to better relations between teachers and minority parents.     

Facilitating adult learning and a researcher identity through a higher education pedagogical process

This empirical study uses auto-ethnography to describe a higher education pedagogical process that facilitated largely doctoral students in preparing their candidacy proposals through the use of specific adult learning principles. Students＇ experiences and points of view of such a learning environment were explored, including： （1） how they contributed to their peers＇ learning; （2） how their peers contributed to their own individual learning; and （3） how the learning environment impacted the process. Key factors identified as pivotal to learning to learn, include creating a learning sanctuary and trusting relationships, engaging in mutual inquiry and the co-construction of meaning, and bridging research theory and practice. These factors enabled students to expand their identities to include a researcher identity and to negotiate deep knowledge at the personal level. Throughout this article, the students＇ points of view are used to elucidate shared and diverse experiences, in addition to supporting conclusions and recommendations for practice and further study.