A Test of the Parenting Alliance Theory

Parenting alliance is assumed to be the key element in the marital relationship accounting for the sometimes-found covariation of marital adjustment and child behavior problems. This study examined the core tenet of the parenting alliance theory using the newly developed Parenting Alliance Inventory (PAI). The sample consisted of 53 mothers of children between the ages 2 and 15 seen at a pediatric outpatient clinic. Scores from the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) were correlated with both the Marital Adjustment Test (MAT) and the PAI in order to test the hypothesis that the relationship of child behavior problems with the parenting alliance is stronger than with general marital adjustment. Results showed a significant and moderate negative correlation between the PAI and the ECBI, even when controlling for the influence of the MAT, versus a nonsignificant, negligible correlation between the MAT and the ECBI. Results support the construct validity and utility of the PA1 as a concise measure of parenting alliance.     

Participation in structured STEM-focused out-of-school time programs in secondary school: Linkage to postsecondary STEM aspiration and major

In this paper, we explore how secondary school students' participation in structured, math- and science-focused programs outside of school is associated with the aspiration to, and actual enrollment in, a STEM major in college. Moreover, we examine how varying sociodemographic backgrounds are related to their participation in these programs. Using expectancy-value theory and social cognitive career theory as our conceptual frameworks, we conduct a path analysis based on a nationally representative panel dataset. Results indicate that students who participate in structured science-focused out-of-school programs in eighth grade are more likely to express an aspiration to and choosing a STEM major in college. The intersection of sociodemographic backgrounds further highlights the intricate differences in math-focused programs participation outside of school between Latinx and White adolescents of varying socioeconomic status.     

The Interplay Between Multisensory Associative Learning and IQ in Children

This study assessed the developmental profile of unisensory and multisensory processes, and their contribution to children's intellectual abilities (8- and 11-year olds, N = 38, compared to adults, N = 19) using a simple audiovisual detection task and three incidental associative learning tasks with different sensory signals: visual-verbal with pseudowords, novel audiovisual, and visual-visual. The level of immaturity throughout childhood was dependent on both, the sensory signal type and the task. Associative learning was significantly enhanced with verbal sounds, compared to novel audiovisual and unisensory visual learning. Visual-verbal learning was also the best predictor of children's general intellectual abilities. The results demonstrate a separate developmental trajectory for visual and verbal multisensory processes and independent contributions to the development of cognitive abilities throughout childhood.     

Rolling out ‘good’, ‘best’ and ‘excellent’ practice. What next? Perfect practice?

The identification and dissemination of ‘good practice’ has for years been a central part of the Government's strategy for radical change of the education system. ‘Good practice’, however, is no longer good enough, nor is ‘best practice’. The requirement now for post‐compulsory education and training (from which all our examples are taken) is nothing less than ‘excellent practice for all’. This article critically examines these highly significant shifts in the rhetoric of policy, finds them wanting and argues that we need to face up to the complexities involved in deciding not only what is ‘excellent practice’ but also in working through all the stages which would be needed to transmit it throughout the sector. In particular, recent documents from the Quality Improvement Agency and the Learning and Skills Council on the pursuit of excellence are critically appraised. The views of those practitioners who are part of the authors' project in the Economic and Social Research Council's Teaching and Learning Research Programme are also explained in relation to ‘good practice’. The authors attempt to explain the frenetic activity of politicians and policy makers in this sector, and end by moving from critique to construction by considering what can be rescued from the inherently contestable notion of ‘good practice’, and, in doing so, draw heavily on the work of Robin Alexander.