Skater girlhood and emphasized femininity: ‘you can't land an ollie properly in heels’

This study draws from interviews with 20 girls in British Columbia, Canada who participated to varying degrees in skateboarding culture. We found that skater girls saw themselves as participating in an ‘alternative’ girlhood. Becoming skater girls involved the work and play of producing themselves in relation to alternative images found among peers at school, at skate parks, online and in music videos. The alternative authority of skater girl discourse gave the girls room to manoeuvre within and against the culturally valued discourse of emphasized femininity. A subgroup of middle class skater girls, the ‘in‐betweeners’, used skater girl discourse as a way of distancing themselves from the sexism evident in skater culture as well as emphasized femininity. They used one discourse against another and took advantage of contradictions within skater discourse to forge a positive identity for themselves.     

“I did not realize so many options are available”: Cognitive authority,emerging adults,and e-mental health

Approximately one in five people in developed countries such as Canada and Australia will experience mental illness during their lifespan, and this statistic may be even higher for people between the ages of 18 and 25. Due to widespread stigma and other issues, access to mental health care is limited. However, given the heavy online use by people in this age range as well as the prevalence of existing online health information, it is possible that “e-mental health,” when delivered in an efficacious and engaging format, could be a viable dissemination option. A quantitative and qualitative online survey was distributed to university students in order to determine their opinions of currently available e-mental health resources. Within the sample (n = 1308), text-based searching on Web sites such as Google as well as reading informational Web sites were the most highly preferred and utilized methods. However, a significant knowledge gap regarding the existence of other e-mental health formats was noted. Suggestions for future research include search engine optimization changes and continued development of e-mental health resources.     

Improving children's behaviour and attendance through the use of parenting programmes: an examination of practice in five case study local authorities

In this article, Professor Susan Hallam, of the Institute of Education, University of London, Lynne Rogers, lecturer in psychology at the Open University, and Jacqueline Shaw, music teacher, researcher and educational psychologist in training, report the key outcomes of their recent research into parenting programmes. The survey suggested that most local authorities in England were at a relatively early stage in their preparations for meeting demand for programmes focused on developing parenting skills in order to improve the attendance and behaviour of children in school. Here the authors present case studies of five local authorities that had well-developed provision based on contrasting approaches. Two of these authorities used existing programmes available through alternative providers or early years provision; the others offered programmes in schools, one based on established and internationally-available material and two that used content developed within the local authority. Longer term needs relating to parenting programmes are considered in relation to these case studies and the implications for schools, that may be actively encouraged to take on responsibility for these programmes, are explored.     

Early Communicative Gestures Prospectively Predict Language Development and Executive Function in Early Childhood

Using an epidemiological sample (N = 1,117) and a prospective longitudinal design, this study tested the direct and indirect effects of preverbal and verbal communication (15 months to 3 years) on executive function (EF) at age 4 years. Results indicated that whereas gestures (15 months), as well as language (2 and 3 years), were correlated with later EF (φ_s ≥ .44), the effect was entirely mediated through later language. In contrast, language had significant direct and indirect effects on later EF. Exploratory analyses indicated that the pattern of results was comparable for low‐ and not‐low‐income families. The results were consistent with theoretical accounts of language as a precursor of EF ability, and highlighted gesture as an early indicator of EF.     

COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES: A SURVEY OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

The present article describes an exploratory study regarding the preferred cognitive assessment practices of current school psychologists. Three hundred and twenty‐three school psychologists participated in the survey. The results suggest that the majority of school psychologists endorsed that they base their assessment practices on an underlying theoretical framework, specifically Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll (CHC) theory. Despite this finding, the majority of those sampled continue to engage in traditional assessment practices that are not consistent with CHC theory. Furthermore, the majority of those sampled reported that they assess culturally and linguistically diverse students and modify their practices when doing so. Unfortunately, the modifications endorsed by those surveyed might be discriminatory. The implications of these findings are discussed herein.     

Being a Librarian Isn't Enough: The Importance of a Nonlibrary Research Agenda for the Academic Librarian: A Case Study

Subject specialist college librarians can become producers and disseminators of knowledge by pursuing an active research agenda in their nonlibrary field. Research in an academic discipline can inform and enhance the college librarian's teaching, research, and collection development practices. Through such research, college librarians can elevate their personal status among their nonlibrary colleagues and students, as well as the prestige of their library and the library profession. Suggestions for managing traditional librarian duties and pursuing a nonlibrary research agenda are included.     

Researching a Womanist Pedagogy to Heal

The author identifies historic factors supportive of the 20th-century church's embrace of a program model for youth ministry while showing how its location outside the centering practices of the church by century's end produced a strong theological critique. The presence of both qualitative and quantitative research data and the reality of post-Christendom strengthens this theological turn. Current youth ministry proposals are described as centered by the presence of vibrant, multigenerational, theologically involved congregations, an emphasis on the interpretive practices that help form baptismal vocational identity, and the presence of biblical narrative performances in the co-construction of congregational worship. Two authors of such proposals are discussed. Those who are asked to lead in such models will need competency in facilitating communal relationships as well as the ability to engage in the co-construction of a community's response to God in ministry and in worship.