Communication skills, educational achievement and biographic characteristics of children with moderate learning difficulties

This paper examines aspects of intellectual, linguistic and academic abilities of 71 children with moderate learning difficulties. A profile of these abilities is presented and analysed. The profile provides a rationale for mounting a long-term intervention study designed to develop these children’s communication abilities. It also provides us with a baseline model against which the effects of the intervention can be assessed. In addition, the profile explores the relationships between several aspects of academic achievement and biographical factors such as age, gender, season of birth and IQ. Statistical analysis reveals significant relationships between several of the variables investigated. The implications of this analysis for educational practice are considered.     

Test anxiety and learned helplessness is moderated by student perceptions of teacher motivational support

The aim of the present study was to examine the interplay between test anxiety (i.e. worry and emotionality) and learned helplessness in a sample of adolescents (N = 845, aged 13–17 years) in secondary schools in Germany. In accordance with the buffering hypothesis, it was hypothesised that the detrimental association between both components of text anxiety and helplessness in school would be buffered by students’ perception of their teachers as positive motivators (TPM). TPM refers to student motivation within the academic context, which results from their perception of teacher support. Interesting differences between the two components of test anxiety were identified: emotionality was positively associated with helplessness in school, whereas worry was negatively associated. Using latent moderated structural equations (LMS), the findings revealed that TPM functions as a moderator in the interplay between emotionality and learned helplessness. Despite these results, TPM did not operate as a buffer between emotionality and learned helplessness since helplessness in school was the highest when students perceived some degree of TPM. These findings make a case for implementing specific psychological interventions within the school context in order to prevent helplessness in school.     

University intramural sport administrators' perceptions of gender modifications in intramural coed flag football

Coed sport environments can be paradoxical settings where pre-existing gender biases influence participants' enjoyment and success. Furthermore, gendered messages and stereotypes as well as low expectations for females within coed sports can create participation barriers by reducing feelings of confidence and performance. Within university intramural sport programs, administrators have a significant role in determining participation opportunities and experiences. From a critical perspective, this investigation examined administrators' perspectives about coed intramural flag football gender modifications. Specifically, four research questions guided this study: (1) How do intramural sport administrators view coed flag football gender modifications? (2) To what extent do intramural sport administrators perceive gender modifications to impact coed flag football environments? (3) What level of awareness do intramural sport administrators have about the gendered messages of coed flag football gender modifications? and (4) To what extent are intramural sport administrators willing to modify their perceptions of the rules in light of critical questioning? Qualitative interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of 12 intramural administrators from across the USA. Administrators reported that coed gender modifications impacted perceptions about female ability, often by sending messages of inequity. Moreover, administrators revealed that the modifications created competitive strategy that often diminished the integrity of the game and undermined perceptions of female ability. Findings also indicated that administrators were highly influenced by previously existing gender stereotypes, leading to an endorsement of the modifications. Endorsements were accompanied by questioning of the rules but reluctance to enact changes. These findings elucidate the importance of scrutinizing the existence and application of coed gender modifications. Furthermore, engaging flag football participant feedback on the specific attributes of the coed modifications is important to better understand the needs of female populations. Lastly, eliminating modifications may help diminish the gendered messages that currently exist within coed flag football.     

Paradise Lost and Found: Obedience, Disobedience, and Storytelling in C. S. Lewis and Philip Pullman

In the fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials, by C. S. Lewis and Philip Pullman respectively, the authors use symbols and themes from Paradise Lost. Each author's narrative choice uses his view of cosmic order to persuade readers that obedience should be understood as central to coming of age. At stake is the proper role of human agency in the world. Can children become narrators of their own lives, or are they fated simply to occupy narratives already written for them? Obedience and disobedience are inextricably connected with narratives of origin, of development, and of maturation. Both Lewis and Pullman model and problematize the process of independent storytelling in order to arrive at truth; their treatments of obedience and disobedience explore each writer's sense of the nature of authority, storytelling, and the creative process.     

Serials Data in the Data Age: Project CERES Data for Digitization and Print Preservation

The report summarizes a presentation given at the 2015 NASIG conference. It outlines metadata used by Project CERES, a print preservation and digitization project supported by a partnership between the United States Agriculture Information Network and the Center for Research Libraries. It also outlines metadata guidelines used to disclose print holdings committed for preservation and provides tips on creating efficiencies in gathering the detailed issue level data and providing quality assurance for digitization. Gathering detailed metadata to support the preservation of print is an investment in the preservation of essential scholarly resources. Project CERES can be used as a model for other programs coupling preservation and digitization.     

Events in learning mathematics: Insights from research in classrooms

In this paper, it is contended that in order to understand individual student's learning in the complexity of the mathematics classroom it is necessary to examine the events that occur before, during, and after learning. To illustrate, the process by which two children each construct new mathematical meanings is examined in this manner. The detailed analyses of each of these events provides insight into the processes by which individual students construct mathematical meanings in classroom settings. The investigation also reveals that the underlying social norms differ from those found in traditional classes, and that this creates different opportunities for learning. It is contended that it is the differences in the norms that have been established in their respective classes that distinguishes between the events in learning for the two children.Preparation of this paper was supported by the National Science Foundation (RED 9254939) and while the author was the Snodgrass Scholar in the School of Education Purdue University. The final draft was completed at the Mathematics Education Research Centre, Oxford University. All opinions are those of the author.