Psychometric Properties of the ECERS-R Among an Epidemiological Sample of Preschools

Research Findings: The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ECERS-R) is widely used to evaluate the quality of early childhood education and its association with child development. However, the psychometric properties of the ECERS-R are not well established. Consequently, in this study we tested 3 different factor solutions of the ECERS-R using models sourced from the existing literature (featuring 1-, 2-, and 3-correlated-factor solutions) and applying confirmatory factor analysis to data from the epidemiological sample of the Embu Pre-school Mental Health Study (n = 1,292 children). Alternative measures of child education quality (such as teacher-to-child ratio) were also analyzed. The confirmatory factor analysis returned good fit indices for both the unidimensional and 3-correlated-factor solution models. Practice or Policy: This study showcases different applications of the ECERS-R, both the full and shortened versions. These findings are particularly important for improving ECERS-R guidelines for researchers, professionals, and policymakers.     

Human Rights and ‘Free and Fair Competition'; the significance of European education legislation for girls in the UK

UK law on education and sex discrimination does not protect the right of girls to equality in education. The European Convention on Human Rights and the Treaty of Rome offer better protection. The Convention provides for the right to education and the right of parents to have their philosophical convictions considered in the education of their child. The European Court of Human Rights’ interpretation of these rights is relevant to those seeking a remedy for sexism in education. The Treaty of Rome has stronger and faster enforcement procedures than the Convention but it makes little provision for education except in vocational training and recognition of qualifications. The form and structure of the EEC legal system nevertheless make it hospitable to a reforming education policy. Educationists need to make sure that the focus on education within the EEC extends beyond vocational training, that the context of the discussion and the definition of education are similar to those of the European Convention and the European Court of Human Rights.     

Haemoglobin electrophoresis in diagnosing a case of sickle cell anaemia associated with β-thalassemia

Alkaline haemoglobin electrophoresis is a useful tool in diagnosing β-thalassemia and sickle-cell anaemia. In this report, using this simple technique, β-thalassemia associated with sickle-cell anaemia is diagnosed. This is the first case we have diagnosed in our laboratory using agarose gel electrophoresis.     

The Nazi symbiosis: politics and human genetics at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute

The case of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics (KWIA), from its inception in Weimar Republic Germany to its apogee under the rule of the Third Reich, is an example of how politics and human heredity can function as mutually beneficial resources. Whether it was a result of the Nazi bureaucrats' desire to legitimize their racial policy through science, or the KWIA personnel's desire to secure more funding for their research, the symbiotic relationship that developed between human genetics and Nazi politics could help explain why many scientists in the Third Reich undertook research projects that wholly transgressed the boundaries of morally acceptable science.     

Professional roles and responsibilities in meeting the needs of children with speech,language and communication needs: joint working between educational psychologists and speech and language therapists

There is a large population of children with speech, language and communication needs who have additional special educational needs (SEN). Whilst professional collaboration between education and health professionals is recommended to ensure an integrated delivery of statutory services for this population of children, formal frameworks should be developed for the exchange of information during identification and assessment of needs and planning of intervention strategies. In this study an audit was carried out to examine practical and conceptual issues which might arise in a piloted communication system between educational psychologists and speech and language therapists. Whilst it was found that 62.8% of newly referred children with SEN had some history of co‐existing communication and education needs, it was shown that duplication of work exists and communication is onerous. It was also shown that schools were not fully informed about children’s needs. Joint commissioning of services is required to facilitate individual practitioners in collaborating to serve the needs of these children.     

What did schools experience from participating in a randomised controlled study (PLAY) that prioritised risk and challenge in active play for children while at school?

‘Risky’ play is an important component of play, which positively affects the cognitive, social and emotional development of children. However, a growing culture of ‘risk aversion’ may be limiting the degree of risk that children are allowed to encounter. We undertook qualitative interviews with eight schools to examine the acceptability of an intervention designed to increase risk and challenge in the school playground (e.g. more rough-and-tumble play and tree climbing). Schools were overwhelmingly positive about the approach and all enjoyed participating. Each school believed many benefits occurred from increasing risk and challenge within play, including better behaviour, improved cooperation between children and increases in physical activity. There were some challenges for schools, but these were generally research related, and all were viewed as acceptable. Indeed, schools found the process enlightening, and upon completion of the two-year intervention often viewed play in quite a different light.     

Science and statistical victim: modernizing knowledge in breast implant litigation

The advent of mass torts in US federal courts in the latter third of the 20th century accelerated a process of modernization in an institution that was unprepared for standardized approaches to dispute resolution. Faced with large-scale technological disasters, in particular, courts struggled to reform both their procedures and their fact-finding approaches in order to deal with multiple claimants in consolidated proceedings. Using silicone gel breast implant litigation as a case study, this paper argues that the attempt to marry judicial concerns for individual justice with administrative concerns for speed, efficiency and economy has produced anomalous results. The testimony of the clinician and the victim has become less relevant as judicial remedies take account of injuries done to classes of plaintiffs. Subjective claims about the body are subordinated to statistical correlations between exposure and grouped complaints. At the same time, the transfer of fact-finding authority from juries to judges under new evidentiary rules has privileged the judiciary's lay knowledge and experience over that of the jury. While these transformations may hasten the processing of cases, the paper questions whether the courts can legitimately take on board the issues of risk and social justice in contemporary industrial societies.     

After the fall: Political whitewashing, professional posturing, and personal refashioning in the postwar career of Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer

Despite the numerous books and articles preoccupied with the formidable legitimizing role and unethical medical transgressions of the German human geneticist Otmar von Verschuer (1896-1969) during the Third Reich, scholars have neglected to focus on his career trajectory during the postwar period, especially in the years after he received the first chair of genetics on German soil in 1951. While an examination of von Verschuer's trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumph in post-1945 West Germany is fascinating in its own right, it also raises broader historical issues. First, it lays bare the professional posturing of German biomedical scientists as they attempted to retake control over their once tainted fields of research when Cold War realities opened a window of opportunity for them. Second, it reveals the fine line between adherence to professional ethics and disciplinary solidarity when scientists were faced with a potential outside threat to their profession. Finally, such an analysis demonstrates the macromechanics of professional refashioning on the part of the publicly tainted scientists as they forged a new symbiosis between their field and the politics of a new era in the interest of pursuing research.     

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.