How Two- and Four-Year-Old Children Interpret Adjectives and Count Nouns

We examined the role of object kind familiarity (i.e., knowledge of a count noun for an object) on preschoolers' sensitivity to the relation between a novel word's form class (adjective or count noun) and its reference (to a material kind-property or to an object kind). We used a forced-choice match-to-target task, in which children learned a word for one object (e.g., a metal cup), and then chose between 2 other objects. One was from the same object kind but a different material kind (with different related properties, such as color and texture; e.g., a white plastic cup); the other was from a different object kind but the same material kind (with the same related properties; e.g., a metal spoon). In Experiment 1, children learned either a count noun (e.g., "This is a zav") or an adjective (e.g., "This is a zav one"). Within each form class, we crossed the familiarity of the referent object kind (familiar and unfamiliar) with the age of the children (2- and 4-year-olds). The principal finding was that in interpreting an adjective, 4-year-olds were more likely to choose the object sharing material kind with the target if the target was familiar than if it was unfamiliar. No such familiarity effect was evident among 2-year-olds. In Experiment 2, we employed a more unambiguously adjectival frame (e.g., "This is a very zav-ish one"), and replicated the results of Experiment 1. We interpret the results in terms of 2 proposed word learning biases: one that learners initially expect any word applied to an unfamiliar object to refer to a (basic-level) kind of object, and a second that learners prefer words to contrast in meaning. We consider several interpretations of the observed age difference.     

Building collective leadership capacity using collaborative twenty-first century digital tools

The current research explores how using collaborative twenty-first century digital tools developed the collective leadership capacity among participants in an educational leadership course. A qualitative interpretive approach was used. The data show how learning within the digital collaborative spaces was multidirectional and enhanced the possibilities of each student’s learning and practice. Communicating, curating and sharing knowledge, led to the development of new insights and support of mutual practice. The authors argue that the group’s collaborative endeavours produced substantive collective knowledge that elevated practice, and in so doing created collective leadership capacity within educational institutions and organisations in Trinidad and Tobago.     

Understanding student/alumni satisfaction from a consumer's perspective: The effects of institutional performance and program outcomes

The benefits of understanding and promoting student/alumni satisfaction are numerous. While this article draws on previous studies of the determinants of satisfaction in higher education, it has a different research focus. The study investigates the student/alumni satisfaction phenomenon in a consumer satisfaction framework. Results indicate that the formation of satisfaction judgments is a multidimensional process, and that the process is dependent on the degree of goal development that a student has for a particular aspect of his or her educational experience. If students have poorly formed goals for an aspect of education, they are likely to base their satisfaction judgments on institutional performance. If their goals are well formed, they are likely to base satisfaction judgments on the outcomes of the institutional performance. In general, however, student/alumni assessments of satisfaction with higher education are influenced by both the perceived quality of the service provider's performance and the perceived outcomes of that performance.The authors' names are ordered alphabetically to reflect equal contributions.     

Physical abuse during adolescence: Gender differences in the adolescents' perceptions of family functioning and parenting

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between physical abuse of adolescents and parenting by mothers and fathers and whether the association differs by gender. METHODS: Subjects were adolescents, 51 girls and 45 boys, documented by Child Protective Services (CPS) as physically abused during adolescence. Comparison subjects were non-abused adolescents, 47 girls and 48 boys, from the same suburban communities. Subjects completed the following: Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, Parental Bonding Instrument, modified Conflict Tactics Scale (assessing physical abuse/punishment by each parent). RESULTS: Although CPS generally cited fathers as the abuse perpetrators, abused boys and girls often reported experiencing physical maltreatment from both parents. Not surprisingly, comparison subjects rated parents more positively than abused subjects. For both groups, mothers were perceived as more caring and less controlling, were reported to have closer relationships with their adolescents, and were less likely to use abuse/harsh punishment than were fathers. Differences between the adolescents' perceptions of mothers and fathers were more pronounced for abused than for comparison subjects. Boys' and girls' perceptions of parenting were generally similar except that girls, especially the abused girls, reported feeling less close to fathers. Abused girls also viewed mothers as less caring than the other groups viewed mothers. Abused girls were also less likely than abused boys to perceive that either parent, but particularly fathers, had provided them with an optimum style of parenting. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents who experienced relatively mild physical abuse reported dysfunctional family relationships, which may place them at risk of poor adult outcomes. Adolescents' reports suggest that CPS reports may underestimate physical maltreatment by mothers.     

Examining the Perspectives of Latino Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Towards Advocacy

Rapidly becoming the largest ethnic group of American students, compared to White students with disabilities, Latino students with disabilities receive less services and their parents are more likely to struggle to receive services. Yet, it is unclear how Latino families advocate for their children with disabilities including how cultural values facilitate their advocacy efforts. In this study, four focus groups were conducted with 46 Latino parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Parents reported advocating by being assertive but not aggressive, being involved in school activities, communicating with the school and documenting the communication, and relying on knowledge and faith. Parents also reported facilitators (i.e., knowledge and resources, increased parent-school communication, and greater peer support) and barriers (i.e., poor school experiences, school related-stress, and stigma and discrimination) to advocacy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

Systemic cognitive-developmental therapy: A counselling model and an integrative classification schema for working with partners and families

Systemic Cognitive-Developmental Therapy (SCDT) represents a holistic, non-pathological, and integrative approach to partner and family counselling. The model directly links developmental constructs to the counselling process and offers specific assessment and treatment strategies that can be easily learned and applied in the immediacy of the counselling encounter. Additionally, it offers a classification schema that clinicians can use to organize familiar counselling and therapy approaches into a developmental framework. This article introduces the theory and practice of SCDT, illustrates the techniques and strategies specific to the model, and provides illustrative partner, family, and client examples for clarification.Paper presented in April, 1994 at the International Conference on Counselling in the Family in München, Germany, sponsored by the International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling.     

Victims of Bullying in Schools

This article provides an overview of current research on bullying (peer victimization, peer harassment) in school, with a focus on victims of such bullying. The 1st section provides a working definition of bullying and its many forms. The 2nd section describes some of the known consequences of being bullied for mental health, physical health, and academic achievement. The 3rd section turns to individual characteristics that might place children at risk for being bullied. The 4th section describes school-based interventions to reduce bullying and its negative effects. The final section considers implications of research on school bullying for teacher practice.