Being Alone, Playing Alone, and Acting Alone: Distinguishing among Reticence and Passive and Active Solitude in Young Children

3 forms of solitude were studied in young children—reticence (onlooker and unoccupied behavior), solitary-passive behavior (solitary-constructive and -exploratory play), and solitary-active behavior (solitary-functional and -dramatic play). 48 4-year-old children grouped in quartets of same-sex unfamiliar peers were observed in several situations. Mothers completed the Colorado Temperament Inventory. Results indicated that (1) solitary-passive, solitary-active, and reticent behaviors were nonsignificantly intercorrelated; (2) reticence was stable and associated with the demonstration of anxiety and hovering near others, whereas solitary-passive and solitary-active play were stable yet unrelated to anxiety and hovering; (3) reticence during free play was generally associated with poor performance and displays of wariness in several other social situations, while solitary-passive and -active play were not; (4) reticence was associated with maternal ratings of child shyness, while solitary-active behavior was associated with maternal ratings of impulsivity. Results are discussed in terms of the underlying mechanisms associated with reticence and passive and active withdrawal.     

Referring and Reporting Research Participants at Risk: Views from Urban Adolescents

Researching developmental risks of urban youth raises ethical concerns when an investigator discovers a participant is in jeopardy. This study collected data on 147 seventh, ninth, and eleventh graders' views of 3 investigator options: (1) taking no action and maintaining confidentiality, (2) reporting the problem to a concerned parent or adult, and (3) facilitating adolescent self-referrals. Participants judged these options within the context of 5 risk domains: substance abuse, child maltreatment, life-threatening behaviors, delinquency, and shyness. Judgments of reporting options were related to grade and ratings of risk severity, but not to moral reasoning. Confidentiality was viewed favorably for risk behaviors of low perceived severity or for which the consequences of adult discovery might introduce greater risk. Confidentiality was viewed unfavorably and reporting to adults favorably for child maltreatment and threats of suicide. Self-referral was viewed favorably across all grades and risk behaviors. Implications of adolescent perspectives for research ethics are discussed.     

Examining Urban,American, Middle-School Students’ Divergent Views of Nature Before and After a Field Trip to a University Field Station and Nature Preserve

The Urban Review - Nature field trips offer opportunities for urban students’ exploration, discovery, and learning which they may not experience otherwise. Seventh grade students at an...     

The Jig Experiment: Development and Evaluation of a Cultural Dance Active Video Game for Promoting Youth Fitness

School physical education teachers promote fitness by offering children a variety of aerobic activities. Our interdisciplinary team developed a cultural dance active video game (AVG) and tested whether the AVG was equivalent to traditional face-to-face instructor lessons or hybrid instruction at dance mastery, increasing heart rates, and student satisfaction. The study participants (N = 404) were elementary children, Grades 1 to 5, at a Midwestern suburban school. We employed a quasi-experimental design to compare outcomes across groups of children exposed to different teaching approaches. Group 1 received AVG instruction. Group 2 received face-to-face lessons by a certified Irish dance teacher. Group 3 received AVG and face-to-face lessons. Group assignment was stratified by age, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. During daily physical education class, students received five days of intervention exposure. AVG students achieved comparable levels of mastery, significantly elevated heart rates, and high levels of satisfaction.     

Integrating Research into Television Production: Square One TV and the case of “Pauline”

Within the field of formative research, there is debate as to whether researchers should collaborate with producers or serve as independent evaluators. The Children's Television Workshop (CTW) produces educational programs through a collaborative process of development that has come to be known as the “CTW Model”. Under the CTW Model, producers, content specialists, and researchers work together throughout the life of a project, from its initial conceptualization through its final production. This paper illustrates the value of the CTW Model via an in‐depth case study of the development and production of a single repeated format within Square One TV, an educational television series about mathematics. In particular, we focus on the multifaceted role played by formative research at all stages of production.     

Media modules: A hands-on approach to media for education students

Summary Modules One, Two, and Three have been a required part of the seminars for the past eight years at Purdue University Calumet. It has been the experience of this university, that the students feel more comfortable in seminar with the small group setting. Since the EML/IRC is open 67 hours a week including evenings and Saturday, the students find they are better able to schedule their time to complete Modules One, Two, and Three in an independent manner. Faculty feel the seminars and modules are successful because instructors take on more of a leadership role in the seminar and leave the expertise of media to the Educational Media Lab/Instructional Resource Center. Specified topics are covered in each seminar class to ensure the students are exposed to topics and problems relevant to their future teaching experiences. Revisions are made on the Module booklets to ensure the students are aware of new equipment and technology. It is through these seminars and module experiences that the students can begin to grow and prepare for their teaching profession.     

Influences of Family Involvement in Kindergarten Transition Activities on Children’s Early School Adjustment

Transition to kindergarten can be a pivotal experience for children because of its potential long-term impact on school performance. As the importance of relationships among contextual factors surrounding a child has been recognized, many schools have made efforts to establish strong ties with families in order to make kindergarten transition experiences as seamless as possible. Our current understanding of the role of family involvement in kindergarten transitions and the specific outcomes, however, is still somewhat limited. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, this study investigated the impact of family involvement in kindergarten transition activities on children’s transition to kindergarten and their early school adjustment. Although quantitative results revealed that family involvement is not a significant predictor of children’s early school adjustment, qualitative evidence suggests that families believe their involvement in kindergarten transition has a positive influence. In addition, qualitative results provide information concerning barriers, which interfered with family involvement in the transition process. Based on these findings suggestions for schools and families of young children are provided.     

The Family Context of Gender Intensification in Early Adolescence

This longitudinal study of 144 young adolescents (ages 9–11 at phase 1) examined the hypothesis that boys and girls would experience increased "gender-differential socialization" across a 1-year period in early adolescence, and that such patterns would be stronger in families in which ( a ) parents maintained a traditional division of labor, and ( b ) there was a younger sibling of the opposite gender. Longitudinal analyses of 3 aspects of family socialization (adolescents' participation in "feminine" and "masculine" household chores; adolescents' involvement in dyadic activities with mothers and fathers; parental monitoring) revealed that gender intensification was apparent for some aspects of family socialization but not others. In addition, when gender intensification was apparent, it generally emerged in some family contexts but not in others. Only dyadic parent-adolescent involvement was characterized by an overall pattern of gender intensification in which girls became increasingly involved with their mothers and boys with their fathers; this pattern was exacerbated in contexts where adolescents had a younger, opposite-sex sibling.     

Do Boys or Girls Make Better Reading Tutors? An Empirical Study to Examine Children's Effectiveness as Tutors Using the Pause,Prompt and Praise Procedures

This study aimed to assess the effects of single‐sex and cross‐gender pairings in the context of the ‘pause, prompt and praise’ procedures for improving reading, the effects of boys as tutors compared with girls as tutors and those of choice in sex of tutor. Four groups were involved in the study: boys tutoring boys, girls tutoring girls, girls tutoring boys and boys tutoring girls. The tutees were 24 Year 7 pupils and the tutors were 24 Year 10 pupils from a large suburban comprehensive school in the Midlands of England. The reading age of each of the tutees was measured both before and after the intervention so that gains in reading age could be evaluated. The results showed that peers could be successfully trained to use the pause, prompt and praise techniques and that these were effective in raising the reading standards of tutees in all four groups. However, little evidence was found to suggest that any of the pairings was any more successful than the others or that the sex of the tutor had any significant effect on the tutoring outcome. On the other hand, however, there was some evidence that choice of tutor sex might have an effect on gains in tutee's measured reading ages