Security of children's relationships with nonparental care providers: a meta-analysis

Meta-analysis aggregated results of 40 investigations involving 2,867 children who averaged 29.6 (SD = 8.6) months of age when their attachments to care providers were assessed using either the Strange Situation (SS) or the Attachment Q-Set (AQS). As opposed to parents, secure attachments to nonparental care providers were less likely (using SS) or equally likely (using AQS), respectively. Secure child-care provider attachments were more likely in home- than center-based care, when the children were assessed longer after enrollment, and when they were girls. Whereas care providers' sensitivity to individual children predicted attachment security only in the small groups that characterize home-based settings, group-related sensitivity was a reliable predictor of secure child-care provider attachment, especially in child care centers.     

Effects of early and later family violence on children's behavior problems and depression: a longitudinal, multi-informant perspective

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of different forms of family violence at two developmental stages by assessing a sample of 110 Israeli children, drawn from the case files of Israeli family service agencies, studied longitudinally in both middle childhood and adolescence. METHODS: Information about the children's adjustment was obtained from parents, teachers, and the children themselves when the children averaged 10.6 and 15.9 years of age using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF), Youth Self-Report (YSR), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Information about the history of family violence was obtained from the mothers, fathers, children, and social workers. RESULTS: The results paint a mixed picture of the effects of family violence on children and adolescents. The relationship between concurrent behavior problems and abuse group varied by informant and study phase, although they were strongest when children were the informants. Predictions regarding the relationship between early abuse and later adjustment were only partially confirmed. Different informants did not agree about which groups of children were most adversely affected, there was little stability over time in the pattern of reported effects, and children were more likely than other informants to report levels of maladjustment that varied depending on recent or concurrent exposure to family violence. Many families changed their abuse status over time, and children who were new victims at follow-up had the most internalizing problems. Girls were found to be at more risk for internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than boys. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple informants are necessary to evaluate and assess the effects of family violence on children's behavior. Younger children may be more susceptible to the effects of family violence than older children, but problems manifest by some children may not carry over to adolescence. Changes in family and parenting practices, as well as in children's capacity to appraise and cope with family violence may help mitigate the adverse effects of family violence.     

Science Teacher Efficacy and Extrinsic Factors Toward Professional Development Using Video Games in a Design-Based Research Model: The Next Generation of STEM Learning

Designed-based research principles guided the study of 51 secondary-science teachers in the second year of a 3-year professional development project. The project entailed the creation of student-centered, inquiry-based, science, video games. A professional development model appropriate for infusing innovative technologies into standards-based curricula was employed to determine how science teacher’s attitudes and efficacy where impacted while designing science-based video games. The study’s mixed-method design ascertained teacher efficacy on five factors (General computer use, Science Learning, Inquiry Teaching and Learning, Synchronous chat/text, and Playing Video Games) related to technology and gaming using a web-based survey). Qualitative data in the form of online blog posts was gathered during the project to assist in the triangulation and assessment of teacher efficacy. Data analyses consisted of an Analysis of Variance and serial coding of teacher reflective responses. Results indicated participants who used computers daily have higher efficacy while using inquiry-based teaching methods and science teaching and learning. Additional emergent findings revealed possible motivating factors for efficacy. This professional development project was focused on inquiry as a pedagogical strategy, standard-based science learning as means to develop content knowledge, and creating video games as technological knowledge. The project was consistent with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework where overlapping circles of the three components indicates development of an integrated understanding of the suggested relationships. Findings provide suggestions for development of standards-based science education software, its integration into the curriculum and, strategies for implementing technology into teaching practices.     

Gender-Typed and Gender-Segregated Play Among Tanzanian Hadza and Congolese BaYaka Hunter-Gatherer Children and Adolescents

Few data exist on gender-typed and gender-segregated play in hunter-gatherer societies, despite their unique demographic and cultural features which may influence children’s gendered play. Using naturalistic observations of Hadza (N = 46, 41% female) and BaYaka (N = 65, 48% female) hunter-gatherer 3- to 18-year-olds from Tanzania and the Republic of Congo, we showed that access to playmates was negatively associated with playing in mixed-gender groups. Young boys did not engage in more rough-and-tumble play than girls, but adolescent boys participated in this type of play more than adolescent girls. Children were also more likely to participate in work-themed play which conformed to gender norms within their society. Findings are discussed within the context of gendered division of labor, child autonomy, and demography.     

Adoptive Gay Father Families: A Longitudinal Study of Children’s Adjustment at Early Adolescence

Findings are presented from the second phase of a UK longitudinal study of 33 gay father, 35 lesbian mother, and 43 heterosexual parent families when their adopted children reached early adolescence. Participants predominantly lived in urban/suburban areas and were mostly white and well-educated. Standardized interviews, observations, and questionnaires of parental mental health, parent–child relationships, and adolescent adjustment were administered to parents, children, and teachers between 2016 and 2018. There were few differences between family types. However, adjustment problems had increased in all family types, with better parenting quality and parental mental health associated with fewer adjustment problems. The findings contribute to adoption policy and practice, and to theoretical understanding of the role of parental gender in child development.     

Conditional cooperators: student prosocial dispositions and their perceptions of the classroom social environment

A common problem in education is getting students to cooperate effectively in groups during learning. Because interdisciplinary research has established that cooperation is sensitive to specific contextual factors such as reciprocity, friendship and benefit, similar factors could be shaping student interactions in contemporary classroom environments. The present article reports an initial investigation of this idea by examining how student perceptions of their classroom environment relate to their willingness to expend energy and resources on classmates (through helping). This was accomplished through the structural equation modeling of survey data collected from 845 undergraduate life sciences students from 41 laboratory classrooms at a research-intensive university. Characteristics of the classroom social environment previously associated with benefits in other contexts also predicted (reciprocity β = 0.576; friendship β = 0.156) the educational benefit that students perceive as coming from their classmates. This perceived benefit in turn was highly associated (β = 0.605) with student willingness to expend resources on classmates (i.e. their prosocial disposition). Also both reciprocity (β = 0.298) and perceived benefit (β = 0.403) concurrently predict a student’s support for enforcing cooperation in the classroom. Potential insights into the contribution of classroom social environment to student dispositions towards cooperation are discussed.     

Interaction and the Development of Communication in the Under Twos: Issues for practitioners working with young children in groups

This article considers the role of adult-child interaction in the communication development of children under two. It specifically investigates the situation of a family with twins, where it may be more difficult to undertake sustained, supportive interactions with two children at the same time. The study identifies strategies used by the family to support the children's language development and suggests that these could be used in care settings where early years practitioners may be working with under twos in small group contexts.     

Computer-assisted learning in UK engineering degree programmes: lessons learned from an extensive case study programme

This paper gives a synopsis of an extensive programme of case studies on real uses of computer-assisted learning (CAL) materials within UK engineering degree programmes. The programme was conducted between 2000 and 2003 and followed a questionnaire-based survey looking at CAL use in the UK and in Australia. The synopsis reveals a number of key messages for academic tutors and authors including students' enthusiasm for notes, self-tests and features to aid visualisation. Publishers should also consider pricing and licensing arrangements suited to the individual user. Cet article donne une synthèse exhaustive des études de cas concernant l'utilisation concrète des logiciels d'enseignement assisté par ordinateur (EAO) dans les études d'ingénieur au Royaume Uni. Ces études, conduites entre 2000 et 2003, sont basées sur l'analyse de questionnaires concernant l'utilisation de l'EAO au Royaume Uni et en Australie. La synthèse révèle un certain nombre de points clés destinés au corps enseignant et aux auteurs, dont notamment l'intérêt des étudiants pour les cours papiers, les exercices d'autoévaluation et les éléments d'aide à la visualisation. Les aspects liés aux coû ts et aux droits d'auteurs devraient aussi ûtre pris en compte par les éditeurs, afin de faciliter l'accès aux logiciels par les utilisateurs individuels.     

Shared care: establishing a balance between home and child care settings

The onset of regular nonparental care for infants and toddlers has complex psychobiological and behavioral effects on their functioning both at home and in child care centers. Maladaptive behavior on the part of children who spend many hours in child care may reflect not the direct effects of nonparental care but the inability of parents to buffer the enhanced levels of stress experienced in child care. Successful adaptation demands careful equilibration of the contrasting limitations and benefits of the two environments, with parental care characterized by stress reduction and emotional regulation and providers' care characterized by emphasis on cognitive stimulation and behavioral regulation.