Universal and language-specific constraints on phonemic awareness: evidence from Russian–Hebrew bilingual children

The study tested phonemic awareness in the two languages of Russian (L1)–Hebrew (L2) sequential bilingual children (N = 20) using phoneme deletion tasks where the phoneme to be deleted occurred word initial, word final, as a singleton, or part of a cluster, in long and short words and stressed and unstressed syllables. The experiments were designed to test the effect of four linguistic factors on children’s phoneme deletion: phoneme position (initial, final), linguistic context (singleton, cluster), word length and stress. The results indicated that word length and stress confirmed previous findings in other languages demonstrating the universal validity of these factors. However, phoneme position and linguistic context gave rise to novel findings in the languages studied and provided evidence for language-specific effects on phonemic awareness reflecting onset-rime versus body-coda syllable structure differences. The results are discussed within the framework of universal versus language-specific constraints on phonemic awareness performance in different languages.     

Critical thinking and the danger of intellectual conformity

Critical thinking is becoming an essential ingredient in college and university curricula. Its stated goals are to foster critical ability and broad-mindedness, on both the conceptual and the social level. But an overemphasis of its reductionistic method can lead to results which are antithetical to its aims. Methodologically, it tends to encourage absolutism; psychologically, its exclusive rule orientation promotes passivity; and practically, its imperial rejection of nonanalytical methods breeds intolerance. Together, these three effects lead to a fetish-like regard for intellectual and social conformity, and an accompanying fear of eccentricity. The conclusion is that the present lopsided concentration on critical thinking's reductionism should be balanced with the teaching of alternative approaches to the understanding of knowledge and reality.     

Congruence between Mothers' and Fathers' Differential Treatment of Siblings: Links with Family Relations and Children's Well-Being

We studied patterns of mothers' and fathers' differential treatment of firstborn (average age 10.5 years) and secondborn (average age 8 years) school-age siblings, and we examined the links between parents' differential treatment and children's well-being and dyadic family relationships. Mothers, fathers, and both siblings in 110 families were interviewed in their homes. For each dimension of parental behavior that we assessed (i.e., differential affection and discipline) we created groups of families that reflected mothers' and fathers' levels of differential treatment (e.g., discipline the firstborn more, equal treatment, discipline the secondborn more). Although we detected substantial correspondence between the 2 parents' differential treatment, we found a sizable group of families in which parents' reports were incongruent (i.e., 1 parent reported equal and the other differential treatment). Parental patterns were linked to differences between the siblings' well-being and both sibling and parent-child relationships, with younger siblings exhibiting greater vulnerability to differential treatment. Incongruence in differential warmth was associated with marital distress.     

Using Problem Solving to Assess Young Children’s Mathematics Knowledge

Mathematics problem solving provides a means for obtaining a view of young children’s understanding of mathematics as they move through the early childhood concept development sequence. Assessment information can be obtained through observations and interviews as children develop problem solutions. Examples of preschool, kindergarten, and primary grade children’s approaches to problem solving are provided in the article. Prekindergarten and kindergarten age children discover problems during play. For example, they figure out how to use informal measurement to use construction materials such as unit blocks and Lego to build a desired building or make a desired object. Moldable materials such as clay and play dough provided shape experiences. The daily sequence of activities builds on their concept of time. Primary grade children solve adult- and child-generated problems. They may use manipulatives and/or drawings to generate problem solutions prior to using symbols and notation. Teacher and/or student devised rubrics can be used to guide evaluation.     

Practical Guides

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF RADIO, by Linda Busby and Donald Parker (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1984-$20.00).

ELECTRONIC ARTS OF SOUND AND LIGHT, by Ronald Pellegrino (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983—$28.50).

TELECONFERENCING HANDBOOK: A GUIDE TO COST-EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, by Ellen Lazar et al. (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$34.95).

THE CREATIVE CONNECTION: ADVERTISING COPYWRITING AND IDEA VISUALIZATION, by Arthur A. Winters and Shirley F. Milton (New York: Fairchild Publications, 1982—$16.50).

BROADCAST NEWSWRITING AS PROCESS and BROADCAST COPYWRITING AS PROCESS by J. Clark Weaver (New York: Longman, 1984—price not given, paper).

PUBLIC RELATIONS/PUBLICITY: A KEY LINK IN COMMUNICATIONS, by Lois Ehrenkranz and Gilbert Kahn (New York: Fairchild, 1983—$14.50).

EXPERTS IN ACTION: INSIDE PUBLIC RELATIONS, by Bill Cantor (New York: Longman, 1984—$29.95/ 14.95).     

Health Sciences Librarians' Research on Medical Students' Use of Information for Their Studies at The Medical School,University of Queensland,Australia

This study reports the findings of research undertaken by health sciences librarians at the University of Queensland Library into how medical students use information for their studies, particularly resources and services provided by the Library. The methods utilized were an online survey and focus groups. Results indicated that students favor print resources over electronic, value accessing resources on a one-stop basis, and prefer training to be delivered flexibly. The implication of these results for future resource selection, service provision, and instructional design and delivery is discussed.     

Embedded Assessment in Project‐based Science Courses for the Gifted: Insights to inform teaching all students

The present study of gifted students’ views of assessment is aimed at understanding how the employment of Embedded Assessment for Learning (EAfL) framework in science courses for the gifted affects the students’ views throughout the learning process. The participants were 86 students in three programmes for the gifted who elected project‐based science courses. The data included questionnaires, distributed at the beginning and at the end of the assessment processes in each science course, and in‐depth interviews with 12 students, which were analysed according to three main themes: general view of assessment; assessment modes; and relationships between assessment and learning. The students viewed the EAfL framework as an integral part of the learning process, and perceived it as a means of expressing autonomous learning and a range of performances; characteristics that correspond with the students’ unique needs. In addition, students addressed cognitive and social processes they had undergone. This implies that assessment which is explicitly designed to promote learning in science courses is a powerful tool for teachers as well as for students, and contributes to meaningful learning.     

An end of innocence: African-American high school protest in the 1960s and 1970s

This paper considers African-American student protests in secondary schools during the 1960s and early 1970s. Taking a national perspective, it charts a growing sense of independence and militancy among black students as they made the schools a focal point of activism. Activist students challenged established civil rights organisations on a variety of questions. They also engaged in an escalating series of protest activities to make schools change. Much of this focused on curricular change, particularly adding black history courses and hiring African-American teachers and principals. Generally, these protests proved quite successful. Black students also protested against conditions encountered in integrated schools, where they often met hostility from whites. Distinct regional patterns characterised such activities, with more protest over school issues in the North and greater conflict regarding desegregation in the South. By the mid-1970s the era of black secondary student protest concluded, although its legacy continues to live.