Diversity among Spanish-speaking English language learners: profiles of early literacy skills in kindergarten

This study explored heterogeneity in literacy development among 2,300 Hispanic children receiving English as a Second Language (ESL) services at the start of kindergarten. Two research questions guided this work: (1) Do Spanish-speaking English language learners receiving ESL services in the fall of kindergarten demonstrate homogeneous early literacy skills, or are there distinct patterns of achievement across measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthography? and (2) if there are distinct profiles, to what extent do they predict literacy achievement at the end of kindergarten and the beginning of first grade? Using cluster analysis, the authors identified four distinct literacy profiles derived from fall kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and phonetic spelling. These profiles were found to be associated with literacy outcomes in spring of kindergarten and fall of first grade. The two profiles that were associated with greater success on later measures of concept of word in text, letter sound knowledge, word reading, and spelling were the two that included stronger performance on orthographic skills (i.e., alphabet knowledge and phonetic spelling). These findings demonstrated that there is heterogeneity among Hispanic ESL students at kindergarten entry and suggested that literacy instruction must be differentiated from the very beginning in order to meet students’ individual needs. The findings also suggested that orthographic skills should be assessed and taught early on. While phonological awareness may be a necessary precursor to reading, phonological awareness in the absence of orthographic skills may not be sufficient.     

Assessing value-added in the first year of schooling: Some results and methodological considerations

This article reports data from children aged about 5 years in their 1st year of schooling. Scores on tests of both literacy and numeracy at the start and end of the year were used to derive value-added measures of progress using both residual gain analysis and multilevel (ML) modelling. Results indicated that the school was more effective in explaining pupil progress than the class; that the schools and/or classes which add the greatest value in literacy tended also to be those which added the greatest value in numeracy; and that the numbers of classes and schools which were significantly different from the sample mean depended greatly on which method was used. It is concluded that while ML modelling is preferable to residual gain analysis for research, it may not be as suitable for feedback purposes.     

English in action: school based teacher development in Bangladesh

In the Least Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs), School Based Teacher Development (SBTD) is sometimes advocated as a potential mechanism for improving the classroom practices experienced by millions of children in a complete school system, as quickly as possible. Robust evidence is required for approaches to be implemented with some confidence by Government development agencies, such as the UK Department for International Development (DFID). SBTD has a long history stemming from ideas of school-based curriculum development, which underlay the ideas on teacher-as-researcher, and is typically advocated in the developed world based on a view of the teacher as a professional. How might such notions play out, and to what effect, in LEDC contexts? This article examines the issues at stake in introducing SBTD in LEDCs, by examining: the nature of the evidence for various forms of teacher development, the nature of SBTD in particular and the evidence for its effectiveness. The latter issues will be illustrated through examination of English in Action (EIA, www.eiabd.com), a large-scale SBTD programme for primary and secondary English language (EL) teachers serving government schools across Bangladesh.     

Measuring the success of 'Playing for Success'

'Playing for Success' is a national initiative to establish Study Support Centres in professional football clubs, intended to support underachieving young people at key stages 2 and 3. The second year of the evaluation involved collection of data from pupils in 12 such Centres. Instruments were administered before and after attendance at the Centres, and measurements taken relating to literacy and numeracy, as well as attitude scales and self-assessments of ICT skills. Data were also obtained from a small 'control' group. Multilevel analysis of the results has given insights into the areas where the initiative appears to have had positive effects, and the other factors which may be associated with such effects.     

Variables involved in personal, social and school adjustment in a sample of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds

The continuing incorporation of immigrant populations into the Spanish educational system poses an important challenge in that all participants must cooperate toward creating the best possible adaptation process at the academic level as well as on the personal and social levels. A number of different factors appear to influence children’s adjustment during the preschool stage, and these factors are especially relevant since many studies have shown that this is a key period for the prevention of future difficulties. The present study examines the variables involved in the adaptation of a group of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds in Spain. The results indicate that preschoolers, regardless of their background, have similar performance and learning potential, with language proficiency being the factor that most clearly affects the other variables investigated. It was also found that children’s attitudes toward learning were related to the presence of behavioral difficulties and with the quality and type of parental child-rearing practices. These practices appear to be related to a number of difficulties immigrant children may experience on personal and social levels.     

Surviving,not Thriving: Leas since the Education Reform Act of 1988

Local Education Authorities (LEAs) have been features of the administrative landscape of England and Wales for a century. For most of this period, their role, as central government's key partners in the operation of the national education system, expanded. However, intense criticisms of educational organisation and standards, during the 1970s, led to re-assessment of, and ultimately to major reductions in, their responsibilities, during the 1980s and 1990s. This article surveys the changed and changing role of LEAs, and the debate that has surrounded it, during their hundred years of existence, with particular reference to the period since the 1988 Education Reform Act. The concluding part of the article focuses on current developments under the New Labour government, which has assigned a definite but limited range of functions to LEAs. It is argued in this article that, as the 'intermediate level' of LEA administration has been relegated to a marginal role, little purpose would be served by implementing recent proposals for a radical restructuring of the local educational administration.     

The path to mobile shopping compatibility

The mobile technology involves an unexplored world of doing business and consumer behavioral change that constitutes a revolution in the application of technologies to marketing. A key factor in the adoption of mobile commerce is the compatibility that the consumer perceives with his/her life. Given that the research on compatibility with mobile purchases made so far treats it as an antecedent of adoption, this pioneer research studies the influencing role of two more personal factors (self-efficacy and innovativeness) and two factors more related to the shopping (involvement and perceived entertainment). The model was tested using PLS with information from 583 Mexican mobile buyers. Our results show a positive effect of innovativeness, involvement and perceived entertainment on compatibility. On the contrary, self-efficacy does not seem to influence the perception of compatibility of mobile shopping with consumer life. This work has important implications for the practice of professionals dedicated to mobile commerce.     

Innovation and business survival: A long-term approach

This paper explores the influence of innovation on the probability of survival of two hundred top British firms founded throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. To this end, we have collected the firms’ significant innovations and classified them by Schumpeterian types, patented and non-patented and domestic and imported. The number of patents registered by the firms throughout their lifetime ?a rough measure of their incremental innovation activity– has also been recorded. In addition, twelve control variables ?five characteristics of the firms and seven of their business leaders– have been included. Both log-normal and gamma duration models have been used in the analysis. They have been estimated, firstly for the whole set of firms and, secondly, for the manufacturing and the service firms separately to control for industry differences. The results of the log-normal and gamma estimations are highly coincident, with some nuances. The significant innovations ?particularly new processes, non-patented and domestic ones– have been found to positively influence the probability of business survival. The number of patent applications seems to increase the survival probability of the manufacturing firms, but not of the service ones. Among the control variables, the firm’s size, its international dimension, and the age of the business leader at entry seem to be the most influential ones on business survival, although there are some differences between manufacturing and services. The main results are robust to the division of the sample by entry period.     

A wearable system for biosignal monitoring in weightlifting

The use of technological aids in sports has increased in the last years. These tools allow to register the athletes’ movements to evaluate and track their performance over time. With that information, it is possible to design more effective training routines, prevent and treat injuries, and improve performance. This paper describes the design and construction of an electronic system to register joint angle and electromyography signals during the execution of weightlifting exercises. The system was designed to be unobtrusive, energy efficient, and low cost. It was evaluated during the execution of flexion/extension exercises of the arm with weights, and was effective to acquire the signals and transmit them wirelessly in real-time. Electromiography signals were visualized and analyzed with an adequate dynamic range, and angle measurements were performed with error percentages less than 0.8 %.     

Inter-rater reliability assessment for the new-born screening quality assurance

IntroductionTo ensure the quality of the new-born screening (NBS), our laboratory reviewed the analytical procedure to detect subjective steps that may represent a risk to the patient. Two subjective activities were identified in the extra-analytical phases: the classification of dried blood spots (DBS) according to their quality and the assignment of haemoglobin patterns. To keep these activities under control, inter-rater studies were implemented. This study aimed to evaluate the inter-rater reliability and the effectiveness of the measures taken to improve the agreement between observers, to assure NBS results’ quality.Materials and methodsDried blood spots specimens were used for the inter-rater studies. Ten studies were performed to assess DBS quality classification, and four to assess the assignment of haemoglobin patterns. Krippendorff’s alpha test was used to estimate inter-rater reliability. Causes were investigated when alpha values were below 0.80.ResultsFor both activities, the reliability obtained in the first studies was inadequate. After investigation, we detected that the criterion to classify a DBS as scant was not consolidated, and also a lack of consensus on whether or not to report Bart’s haemoglobin depending on its percentage. Alpha estimates became higher once the training was reinforced and a consensus about the appropriate criteria to be applied was reached.ConclusionInter-rater reliability assessment helped us to ensure the quality of subjective activities that could add variability to NBS results. Furthermore, the evolution of the alpha value over time allowed us to verify the effectiveness of the measures adopted.