Cognitive and Neural Development of Individuated Self-Representation in Children

Processing the self-relevance of information facilitates recall. Similarly, processing close-other-related information facilitates recall to a lesser degree than processing self-relevant information. This memory advantage may be viewed as an index of the degree to which the representation of self is differentiated from representations of close others. To test developmental hypotheses concerning the self, this study examined the relation of memory for self- and mother-referentially processed information in participants age 7–13 years (Experiment 1: N  = 37; Experiment 2: N  = 14). Memory for words encoded with reference to oneself increases with age, relative to memory for words encoded with reference to one's mother. When used as an individual difference measure, the difference in self versus mother memory correlates with regions of the rostral anterior cingulate associated with affective salience.     

Introduction

This article explores questions of the politics of knowledge and epistemology in relation to Holocaust education. It argues that, since knowledge is not neutral, we must be attentive to the role of ideologies in the selection and presentation of knowledge concerning the Holocaust in textbooks, in teaching, and in the media. The construction of knowledge about the Holocaust in classrooms is a relational process of meaning-making in which the cultures, perspectives and experiences of all involved come into play. For these reasons, the authors argue, Holocaust education should be considered in light of other fundamental questions, including the relationship of history, memory and identity in order to understand its actual and potential role in fostering democratic citizenship.     

Introduction to the Open File

Sixty-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, Holocaust education is at a critical juncture. Societies including Germany and Israel have moved through several discrete stages both in their relationships to the Holocaust, and in education about it. Those shifts will surely continue as the generation of survivors is progressively lost to the passage of time, taking with them our most powerful links to history, memory, and understanding. This special issue explores Holocaust education research, and locates it within our evolving understanding of the Holocaust itself, particularly in light of what is being learned within Central and Eastern Europe, where so many of the atrocities were committed. This introduction considers the potential of Holocaust education as well as its limitations, and the risks of its failure. It also considers the contexts in which Holocaust education takes place, and the meanings that are at work in those contexts. While many goals and visions animate Holocaust education, here we explore the notion of a culture of peace and remembrance. We close with a review of the contributions to this issue.     

Gender differences in instructional leadership: how male and female principals perform their instructional leadership role

The current qualitative study sought to examine how male and female principals enact their instructional leadership. Data were collected through 59 semi-structured interviews with 36 female principals and 23 male principals from Israel, and analysed in a four-stage process – condensing, coding, categorising, and theorising. Findings presented two main differences between male and female principals’ instructional leadership: (a) the source of authority nurturing their instructional leadership; and (b) the integration of instructional leadership with principal-teacher relationships. Gender theories were employed to explain these findings and further research possibilities in this realm are discussed.     

Competition and Instructional Set Effects On the Speed and Accuracy of a Throwing Task

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of competition and instructional sets on the speed and accuracy of a dart-throwing task. In both experiments individuals competed against another subject on one day, and performed under noncompetitive conditions on a second day. The five distinct instructional sets varied from extreme emphasis on speed to extreme emphasis on accuracy. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed main effects for instructional sets on speed and accuracy in both experiments. Strong tradeoffs occurred with speed slowing and accuracy improving as the instructional emphasis changed from speed to accuracy. A competition by instructional sets interaction in Experiment 2 indicated that competition facilitated speed when speed was important, but when instructions emphasized accuracy, speed was slower in competition than in noncompetition. Accuracy was not affected by competition.     

Thinking about the same things differently: Examining perceptions of a non-profit community sport organisation

This paper explores the differing perceptions and identity responses (identification, apathy and disidentification) that potentially exist in relation to one non-profit Community Sport Organisation (CSO), and whether they explain variations in individuals’ existing values and beliefs, sport interest, community identification and views about one organisation's legitimacy. Data were collected using a quantitative online survey (n = 390), then analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to test three hypotheses investigating whether existing values and beliefs, shared community values, local players, organisational practices and sport interest varied based on perception of organisational image and identity response. Based on the contributions of this study, non-profit CSOs should spend time developing understanding of the key dimensions that make them relevant to constituents and to decipher the values and beliefs that underpin what external audiences expect from organisations. In addition, understanding specifically what a CSO's audience expects is fundamental if the organisation is to be perceived as legitimate in relation to its purpose.     

Characteristic behaviour orientations of young scientists: A comparison between young mathematicians/physicists and other natural scientists

Methods of sociological enquiry using data on qualifications, performance indicators, conditions for research and social background were used to investigate aspects of behaviour in young natural scientists relevant to research careers. It was shown that mathematicians and physicists were essentially more intrinsically motivated than the other cadres in the fields of natural sciences and that this manifested itself in a high intensity of work and a greater involvement in activities.     

The Protection of a Statement? Permanent exclusions and the SEN Code of Practice

The number of pupils with Statements who are permanently excluded from school has been identified as an issue in several national studies. This paper reports on a small-scale research project within one local education authority (LEA), aimed at identifying common factors and issues around the exclusion of Statemented pupils from mainstream schools. Key findings include a high rate of significant literacy and numeracy difficulties in the sample, limited communication between some schools and LEA support services, the schools' predominant use of Statements to provide in-class support from a learning support assistant rather than other more targeted interventions, and teachers' perceptions that no amount of increased funding through the Statement would have prevented the exclusion.     

Developmental Trajectories in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders: The First 3 Years

Retrospective studies indicate 2 major classes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) onset: early and later, after a period of relatively healthy development. This prospective, longitudinal study examined social, language, and motor trajectories in 235 children with and without a sibling with autism, ages 6–36 months. Children were grouped as: ASD identified by 14 months, ASD identified after 14 months, and no ASD. Despite groups' initial similar developmental level at 6 months, ASD groups exhibited atypical trajectories thereafter. Impairment from 14 to 24 months was greater in the Early‐ASD than the Later‐ASD group, but comparable at 36 months. Developmental plateau and regression occurred in some children with ASD, regardless of timing of ASD diagnosis. Findings indicate a preclinical phase of varying duration for ASD.