A Qualitative Examination of the Challenges, Resources, and Strategies for Serving Children Learning English in Head Start

The dramatic growth in the number of children learning English as a second language in our country has led to a corresponding increase in the need to understand how teachers and schools can effectively teach children who are learning English as a second language. Many teachers report not feeling prepared to meet the needs of these children (National Center for Education Statistics, Teacher preparation and professional development: 2000. , 2002). The current study used focus group interviews to examine how Head Start teachers in one program addressed the special learning needs of children learning English in their classrooms. Key challenges involved communicating with children and their families in their home language. Teachers used other staff, parents, and children in the classroom to interpret. Strategies involved visual aids, pictures, gestures, and a welcoming classroom environment. Resources used by teachers were professional development and language skills of other staff. However, available resources were often underutilized and limited for teachers to use in meeting the challenges the teachers faced in the classroom. Suggestions are presented for overcoming the challenges and limited resources encountered by teachers, such as changes in preservice and inservice training opportunities, and second language learning opportunities for teachers. Further implications for training and research are discussed.     

Social IEP Objectives, Teacher Talk, and Peer Interaction in Inclusive and Segregated Preschool Settings

The purpose of this study was to examine: (a) the role of teacher talk in promoting peer interaction, (b) the adequacy of social IEP objectives to reflect children’s social functioning and guide provision of teacher talk, and (c) differences in children’s peer interaction and teacher talk in inclusive and segregated settings. Thirty children with disabilities and their teachers participated. Overall, we observed low rates of teacher talk thought to support peer interaction; however, when teachers verbally facilitated peer interaction, children were observed interacting more frequently with peers. Children’s social IEPs accurately reflected their current level of social functioning. However, the social IEPs appeared to fail to influence teacher intervention. Finally, children with disabilities in inclusive settings interacted with peers more than children in segregated settings, even though there was no significant difference in amount of teacher talk in the two settings.     

Sport,Homelessness, and Capability: Voices from the Street

ABSTRACT

To what extent does soccer increase the capability of the homeless and those living on the street? This study addresses this question by focusing on the ways in which the Homeless World Cup and Street Soccer (Scotland) have impacted upon the lives of some individuals. Primary source data obtained from a series of interviews are situated within Sen’s capability approach to social choice theory. The implications of the study contribute to policy by supporting the idea that sport can contribute as a resource of hope through the development of capability that impacts upon life chances and choices. It adds to a growing number of applied studies of sport that have critically used the work of Sen and it advances the way in which this body of work has been utilized in sport and related areas.     

Assessing early arithmetic abilities: Effects of verbal and nonverbal response types on the calculation performance of middle-and low-income children

In two studies, we compared young children's performance on three variations of a nonverbally presented calculation task. The experimental tasks used the same nonverbal mode of presentation but were varied according to response type: (1) putting out disks (nonverbal production); (2) choosing the correct number of disks from a multiple-choice array (nonverbal recognition); and (3) giving a number word (verbal production). The verbal production task required children to map numerosities onto the conventional number system while the nonverbal production and nonverbal recognition tasks did not. Study 1 showed that the performance of 3-, 4- and 5-year-old middle-income children (N = 72) did not vary with the type of response required. Children's answers to nonverbally presented addition and subtraction problems were available in both verbal and nonverbal forms. In contrast. Study 2 showed that low-income children (3- and 4-year-olds; N = 48) performed significantly better on both nonverbal response type tasks than on the verbal response type task. Analysis of individual data indicated that a number of the low-income children were successful on the completely nonverbal calculation tasks, even though they had difficulty with verbal counting (i.e., set enumeration and cardinality). The findings suggest that the ability to calculate does not depend on mastery of conventional symbols of arithmetic.     

Analysis and Application of the Concept of Modesty to Breastfeeding

Modesty may be a significant variable impacting breast- feeding outcomes in western cultures, yet this term has received minimal attention in the breastfeeding literature. An analysis of the concept of modesty was conducted to gain greater understanding of the potential impact of modesty on breastfeeding outcomes. Various uses of the term modesty and particularly modesty in the context of breastfeeding are discussed in this paper. The defining attributes of breastfeeding modesty are identified and examples are provided. Implications for research and clinical practice are suggested.     

The inadequacy of individual educational program (IEP) goals for high school students with word-level reading difficulties

This investigation analyzed goals from the Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) of 54 high school students with diagnosed reading disabilities in basic skills (decoding and/or word identification). Results showed that for 73% of the students, the IEPs written when they were in high school failed to specify any objectives regarding their acute difficulties with basic skills. IEPs from earlier points in the students’ educations were also reviewed, as available. For 23 of the students, IEPs were present in the students’ files for three time points: elementary school (ES), middle school (MS), and high school (HS). Another 20 students from the sample of 54 had IEPs available for two time points (HS and either MS or ES). Comparisons with the IEPs from younger years showed a pattern of decline from ES to MS to HS in the percentage of IEPs that commented on or set goals pertaining to weaknesses in decoding. These findings suggest that basic skills deficits that persist into the upper grade levels are not being sufficiently targeted for remediation, and help explain why older students frequently fail to resolve their reading problems.     

The Talking Drawings Strategy: Using Primary Children’s Illustrations and Oral Language to Improve Comprehension of Expository Text

Listening and reading comprehension can be assessed by analyzing children’s visual, verbal, and written representations of their understandings. “Talking Drawings” (McConnell, S. (1993). Talking drawings: A strategy for assisting learners. Journal of Reading, 36(4), 260–269 is one strategy that enables children to combine their prior knowledge with the new information derived from an expository text and “translate” those newly-acquired understandings into other symbol systems, including an oral discussion with a partner, a more detailed drawing, and written labels for the drawing. The Talking Drawings strategy begins by inviting children to create pre-learning drawings. These initial drawings are a way of taking inventory of a child’s current content knowledge about a particular topic. After pre-learning drawings are created and shared, children listen to or read an expository text (e.g., information book, passage from a textbook) on the same topic as their drawing. Pairs of students discuss the information and either modify their pre-learning drawings to be more detailed or create completely new drawings that reflect the recently-acquired information. Students are encouraged to label their drawings with words in a diagram or schematic fashion. By evaluating the “before” and “after” artwork, educators can identify advances in students’ reading and listening comprehension of the terminology, facts, and principles on a particular topic.     

基于ANP的毕业要求达成度评价解析

毕业要求达成度是基于成果导向教育模式(Outcomes--based Education,OBE)的核心概念,对其评价的合理性直接影响到OBE教育模式的实施效果。传统的相关评价中存在教育过程性因素考查不充分、指标不独立引起的信息损失过多、评价方法使用受限、评价结果不准确等问题,而基于网络层次分析法(ANP)的毕业要求达成度评价可在一定程度上解决这些问题。该评价方法不仅有效融入了教育全过程因素,而且充分考虑了各指标间的关联性,能够反映出全部指标的相对重要度,减少了信息损失,更符合OBE中毕业要求达成度的评价要求。