Broadening the Definition of Collaboration in Early Care and Education

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This article summarizes current peer-reviewed research and conceptualizations of collaboration and presents a new conceptual model. Authors found that the existing peer-reviewed literature does not adequately reflect emerging understandings of the nature of early childhood collaborations or the contributions such collaborations make to outcomes. The paper fills a gap in the literature by presenting a broader conceptualization of collaboration in which stakeholders work together and use data to achieve common goals through engaging in shared activities. Authors provide examples of how collaborations take place within a network of early care and education programs. Practice or Policy: Practitioners can use information presented in this to support collaborations at different levels of an early childhood system. More research needs to be conducted to identify and measure collaborative activities and outcomes across levels of collaboration to align with a broader definition of collaboration.     

Relative contributions of parent substance use and childhood maltreatment to chronic homelessness,depression, and substance abuse problems among homeless women: mediating roles of self-esteem and abuse in adulthood

OBJECTIVE: This study, using latent variable methodology, explores simultaneously the relative effects of childhood abuse and early parental substance abuse on later chronic homelessness, depression, and substance abuse problems in a sample of homeless women. We also examine whether self-esteem and recent violence can serve as mediators between the childhood predictors and the dysfunctional outcomes.METHOD: The sample consists of 581 homeless women residing in shelters or sober living centers in Los Angeles (54% African-American, 23% Latina, 22% White, mean age=33.5 years). Multiple-indicator latent variables served as predictors and outcomes in structural models. Childhood abuse was indicated by sexual, physical, and verbal abuse.RESULTS: Childhood abuse directly predicted later physical abuse, chronic homelessness, depression, and less self-esteem. Parent substance use directly predicted later substance use problems among the women. Recent physical abuse predicted chronic homelessness, depression, and substance use problems. Greater self-esteem predicted less depression and fewer substance use problems. Childhood abuse also had significant indirect effects on depression, chronic homelessness, and drug and alcohol problems mediated through later physical abuse and self-esteem.CONCLUSIONS: Although there was a strong relationship between childhood abuse and parent drug use, childhood abuse was the more pervasive and devastating predictor of dysfunctional outcomes. Childhood abuse predicted a wider range of problems including lower self-esteem, more victimization, more depression, and chronic homelessness, and indirectly predicted drug and alcohol problems. The mediating roles of recent physical abuse and self-esteem suggest salient leverage points for change through empowerment training and self-esteem enhancement in homeless women.     

Cycles of Research and Application in Education: Learning Pathways for Energy Concepts

ABSTRACT— We begin this article by situating a methodology called developmental maieutics in the emerging field of mind, brain, and education. Then, we describe aspects of a project in which we collaborated with a group of physical science teachers to design developmentally informed activities and assessments for a unit on energy. Pen-and-paper assessments, called teasers , were employed, along with interviews, to study how students learned about the physics of energy. Results were used to describe students' learning pathways and to design a scoring rubric for teacher use. We hypothesized that (a) teasers, by themselves, could be used effectively to evaluate the developmental level of students' reasoning about energy and (b) teachers could employ the scoring rubric with minimal instruction. Encouraged by our findings, we went on to create a freely available online version of the energy teaser , including a new rubric designed to improve the accuracy with which teachers can assess the developmental level of students' energy conceptions.     

Chiming in on Museums and Participatory Culture

Abstract The deep trove of information available on the Internet and the expanding connections it affords to new communities online have been a transforming force in museums in the recent past. A single individual can publish thoughts and ideas to an audience of millions with a few simple clicks of a button. The cultural sector has made great strides in adopting these same methods to advance the missions and content of our organizations; however, a rise in participatory culture poses a number of challenges for the role of museums and our place in the evolving culture of our community. A debate surrounding the changing nature of authority and the participatory expectations of society is central to defining how museums can meaningfully engage with contemporary audiences. When making decisions that define how audiences play a role or not in their organizations, museums must consider the far‐reaching consequences of these choices on the relationships they have with their communities.     

Teachers’ Critical Evaluations of Dynamic Geometry Software Implementation in 1:1 Classrooms

Although the use of dynamic software in high school mathematics in the United States has emerged as a research topic, little research has been conducted on how teachers integrate new software in relation to at-home technology networks. Interviews with eight mathematics teachers from four North Carolina counties participating in 1:1 laptop initiatives are analyzed to trace similar decision-making themes, including Internet access, laptop availability, software use, and teacher training. This article outlines how current technologies in classrooms were critically examined by the teachers and how network connectivity impressions affected hardware and software use.     

Journalism

Michael Wynn Jones' A Newspaper History of the World (New York: Morrow, 1974—$15.95)

Problems of Journalism: Proceedings of the 1974 Convention, American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE, Box 551, 1350 Sullivan Trail, Easton, Pa. 18042—$6.25)

M.L. Stein's Shaping the News: How the Media Function in Today's World (New York: Pocket Books, 1974—$1.25, paper)

Raymond A. Schroth S.J., The Eagle and Brooklyn: A Community Newspaper, 1341-1955 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1974— $12.95)

American Newspaper Publishers Association News Research Bulletin (write to Mr. William Schabacker, Manager, Information Services, American Newspaper Publishers Association, P.O. Box 17407, Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C. 20041)     

Community Structure and Social Protest: Influences on Newspaper Coverage

Research on news coverage of social protest has yielded evidence of a “protest paradigm,” a framework of common news attributes that contribute to the marginalizing of protesters as social deviants. Analysis here investigates whether adherence to the protest paradigm varies by structural characteristics of the communities in which news organizations originate. More specifically, news organizations in less pluralistic communities may exhibit lower tolerance for social conflict than news organizations in more pluralistic communities. This research compares newspaper coverage of social protest from communities with varied levels of pluralism. Results showed that newspapers in less pluralistic communities were more critical of protesters when local government was the target and were less likely to quote protesters in stories. Further, newspapers in less pluralistic communities were more critical of protesters when stories were on the front page than those appearing elsewhere in the newspaper. Implications for understanding the protest paradigm and influences of community structure on news coverage patterns were explored.