The Kindergarten Hotspot: Literacy Skill Convergence Between Boston Prekindergarten Enrollees and Nonenrollees

Preschool improves children’s kindergarten readiness, but the cognitive outcomes of preschool enrollees and nonenrollees tend to converge partially or fully in elementary school. In older programs, most of this convergence occurs in kindergarten (Li et al., 2016), but evidence from today’s programs is sparse. Using data on 4,971 children who applied to the Boston Public School Prekindergarten program and a quasi-experimental approach, we examine convergence in kindergarten through third grade (K-3) literacy outcomes of prekindergarten enrollees and nonenrollees. Consistent with previous literature, most of the convergence in K-3 literacy outcomes occurred in kindergarten. Our findings suggest that detailed investigations into the kindergarten teaching and learning context may be particularly important for solving the widely noted preschool convergence pattern.     

Genital examinations for alleged sexual abuse of prepubertal girls: findings by pediatric emergency medicine physicians compared with child abuse trained physicians

OBJECTIVE: This study compares abnormal genital examination findings made by pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians to examinations by physicians with training in child sexual abuse in the evaluation of prepubertal girls for suspected sexual abuse. METHOD: A prospective study was performed following the genital examination by a PEM physician of prepubertal girls suspected of being sexually abused. A physician with training in child sexual abuse re-examined those girls whose examinations were interpreted as abnormal by the PEM physicians. The findings and interpretations of the PEM physician were then compared to those by the physicians with training in child abuse. RESULTS: Between October 1994 and October 1998, 46 patients diagnosed by PEM physicians with nonacute genital findings indicative of sexual abuse were re-examined by a physician with training in child abuse. The follow-up examinations were done 2 days-16 weeks (mean 2.1 weeks) after the emergency department visit. The physicians with training in child abuse concluded that only eight of these children (17%) showed clear evidence of abuse. Normal findings were noted in 32 children (70%), nonspecific changes were noted in 4 children (9%), and 2 children (4%) had findings that are more commonly seen in abused children than nonabused children but are not diagnostic for abuse (concerning for abuse). CONCLUSIONS: There was poor agreement between the pediatric emergency medicine physicians and the physicians with training in child sexual abuse. This study suggests that emergency medicine physicians should consider additional training in this area. In addition, all children with abnormal ED examinations should have follow-up examinations by a child abuse trained physician.     

School psychologist assessment practices in the evaluation of students referred for social/behavioral/emotional problems

The current study examined the assessment strategies school psychologists used in their everyday assessment routine in the evaluation of students referred for social/behavioral/emotional problems. A stratified, random, national sample of 1,000 members of the National Association of School Psychologists were sent surveys; 667 completed surveys were returned, and 648 were included in the current study (64.8%). Findings indicated that, although measures of intelligence, achievement, and perceptual‐motor skills continue to remain a part of the assessment process, structured interviews, direct observation, and behavior rating scales and checklists also are frequently used methods of assessment. In addition, the majority of experienced practitioners indicated that their use of behavioral assessment had increased and that it was valuable in linking assessment to intervention. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 551–561, 2004.     

COPING WITH THE RABIN MURDER: A SOCIAL WORK POINT OF VIEW

Acknowledgments

It is an exceptional pleasure for me to greet you at this conference of the National Council for Jewish Education. In the first place, I deeply appreciate the honor of being able to do so as your president. Secondly, all of us involved in making the policy decision to have this separate conference were a bit anxious about the degree of membership participation and attendance. To see the full attendance here is both a vindication of our judgment and an endorsement of the idea that the NCJE needs occasions to meet as a group.     

Enacting Organizational Culture: Balloons in the Air

Objective: To actively engage students in creating and analyzing an organizational culture

Course: Organizational Communication     

Familial Capital,Narratives of Agency,and the College Transition Process for Refugee-Background Youth

This study examines the role of family in the college transition process for students with refugee backgrounds in New England (United States). Extant research finds that the investments immigrant and refugee families make in their children’s education are often overlooked, and that the family is sometimes seen an educational obstacle, rather than an asset. Using the framework of familial capital, with a focus on narratives of agency, this study offers a counter-story to such discourse, highlighting numerous ways that families have contributed to their children’s educational goals, decisions, and achievements. Analysis of student interviews reveals how families cultivate aspiration and resilience, remove barriers to educational success, and empower their children to serve as agents of change. These strategies and decisions represent a sustained commitment to educational access and achievement—one which must be acknowledged as part of a culturally relevant curriculum. Findings from this study have relevance for practitioners in both secondary and postsecondary settings and suggest possibilities for future research into the role of family and community in students’ educational decision-making processes.     

David Purpel,Emeritus Professor: In Memoriam

This article employs an intersectional analysis of the experiences of Black faculty at an elite US university who have mentored Black undergraduates, and focuses on faculty’s meaning making of their connection to their mentees, and challenges they face in these relationships. Findings reveal that faculty found their shared cultural background enhanced mentoring, and they worked hard to establish trust with their mentees, absent at times in mentees’ relationships with White faculty. Participants shared barriers to engaging in mentoring relationships, with gender and age intersecting with race for unique challenges and benefits for the subjects. Policy recommendations are made to support junior faculty mentors in the tenure granting process, and produce incentives for all faculty to share the responsibility of mentoring.