Does early reading failure decrease children's reading motivation?

The authors used a pretest-posttest control group design with random assignment to evaluate whether early reading failure decreases children's motivation to practice reading. First, they investigated whether 60 first-grade children would report substantially different levels of interest in reading as a function of their relative success or failure in learning to read. Second, they evaluated whether increasing the word reading ability of 15 at-risk children would lead to gains in their motivation to read. Multivariate analyses of variance suggest marked differences in both motivation and reading practice between skilled and unskilled readers. However, bolstering at-risk children's word reading ability did not yield evidence of a causal relationship between early reading failure and decreased motivation to engage in reading activities. Instead, hierarchical regression analyses indicate a covarying relationship among early reading failure, poor motivation, and avoidance of reading.     

More Than Manga

This paper describes a partnership project between Hazel Grove High School, Stockport and Cornerhouse Gallery, Manchester, during June 2001. In celebration of National Children’s Art Day, all year 10 students (14–15 year olds) spent a full day at the Cornerhouse, engaging with different types of manga (the Japanese word for comic). Pupils explored its diversity and developed their own storyboards and graphic styles. Pupils worked alongside artist, Adela Jones, with each pupil making their own sculptural comic book at school the following week. All artwork produced was exhibited either at the Cornerhouse or at school in celebration of the project. This was a unique experience for all pupils and staff, and the outcomes of the project exceeded all expectations.     

Les colonies de vacances en France, 1944–1958: impulsions politiques autour d’un fait social majeur

Abstract

This article looks at the French state’s approach to the “colonies de vacances” between 1944 and 1958. Created in 1876 by the Reverend Bion in Zurich, these summer camps originated as a charitable institution: their initial purpose was to provide rural retreats and to restore the health of poor urban youth. Set up on French soil in 1880, these institutions gradually grew in France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Considered both as complements to the republican school and as extensions of the “patronages” (parish unions), they were important for children and adolescents from the industrial city suburbs, and were enshrined in the leisure policies of the Popular Front from 1936 onwards. After the Second World War, summer camps in France became a major social institution (300,000 children went to summer camps in 1945, 900,000 in 1949) in response to both hygiene and educational needs. Based on the archives of the Directorate of Youth Movements and Popular Education (1944–1947) and the General Directorate of Youth and Sports (1948–1958), this article aims to examine the politics behind the organisation of these summer camps and to demonstrate the social and political importance of these popular educational institutions which, in 1957, involved 1.35 million French children and teenagers. Although the history of French summer camp federations (UFCV, CEMEA, CPVC, UFOVAL, etc.) has been widely studied, how the state sees its role and influences these organisations has mostly been considered indirectly. The intention is to show that among the educational, cultural and sports policies implemented during the Fourth Republic in France, those related to the organisation of “colonies de vacances”, and therefore the organisation of holidays for a very large number of children and teenagers, occupy a significant place. In 1944, the summer camps were widely supported by the French state, which also planned to regulate this booming sector. The creation of qualifications for summer camp staff and directors in 1949 obliged organisations to start training schemes: they trained staff and directors to work in the municipal camps, associations, etc. Security issues led to the state tightening control of the summer camps, their recruitment and their activities. There was a great deal of political investment in these “colonies de vacances” during this period, and this was reflected in the creation of a Ministerial Education Committee in 1950, a general and regional body of inspectors for these camps, etc. However, the considerable expansion of summer camps posed increasing problems at the national political level resulting in changes to the initial subsidy policies. The State played a major part in crucial issues such as the sociological diversification of these institutions and the changes in their social role according to evolving sociocultural trend. The fact remains that the “colonies de vacances” were for the French state a centrepiece of the “popular education” that the political actors of the Fourth Republic wanted to implement in order to build the France of the post-war period..     

The Relationship Between Career Maturity and Work Commitment in a Sample of Australian High School Students

The present study reports on a study conducted with 377 Australian students enrolled in grades 9 through 12. The Australian version of the Career Development Inventory (CDI-A; Lokan, 1984) and a work commitment measure modified for the Australian context (Rowley & Feather, 1987) were administered. Analyses were conducted with the four subscales of the CDI-A as the dependent measures, and two levels of work commitment (high/low), four levels of age (14–17) and gender (female/male) as the independent variables. Work commitment was moderately correlated with all subscales of the CDI-A. Gender differences were evident on work commitment and career maturity. A striking finding was the strong relationship between work commitment and the knowledge component of career maturity for females. Findings are discussed in the context of changing educational and labour market opportunities and the role of education programs in career maturity development.     

Can training improve marker accuracy at detecting contract cheating? A multi-disciplinary pre-post study

Contract cheating occurs when students outsource assessed work. In this study, we asked experienced markers from four disciplines to detect contract cheating in a set of 20 discipline-specific assignments. We then conducted a training workshop to improve their detection accuracy, and afterwards asked them to detect contract cheating in 20 new assignments. We analysed the data in terms of sensitivity (the rate at which markers spotted contract cheating) and specificity (the rate at which markers spotted real student work). Pre-workshop marker sensitivity was 58% and specificity was 83%. Post-workshop marker sensitivity was 82% and specificity was 87%. The increase in sensitivity was statistically significant, but the increase in specificity was not. These results indicate that markers can often detect contract cheating when asked to do so, and that training may be helpful in improving their accuracy. We suggest that markers’ suspicions may be crucial in addressing contract cheating.     

A Critical Reflection on Career Development

The science and professional practices of vocational psychology and career development are brought into question via a critical polemic informed by the work of Foucault, with a particular focus on the application of theory and techniques of objective assessment and psychometrics. It is asserted that the scientific and professional discourse and constructs of traditional approaches to career development have been reified. The context of this discourse is discussed with respect to the risk that career development scientists and practitioners have become unwitting or complicit instruments of a broader economic and political discourse. Their alignment with the client is ultimately questioned.     

Modifications in children's goals when encountering obstacles to conflict resolution

Previous studies have demonstrated that children's goals are associated with their success in peer relationships. The current study extends earlier findings by examining changes in children's goals during hypothetical conflicts. Participants were 252 children ages 9 to 12 years old (133 boys, 119 girls). As predicted, children's goals changed significantly when they encountered obstacles to conflict resolution, and these changes were predictive of their subsequent strategy choices. Both aggressive- and submissive-rejected children were more likely to evidence antisocial changes in their goals, including an increased desire to retaliate. They also showed reluctance to forego instrumental objectives. Other findings highlighted the need to investigate the combinations of goals children pursue as predictors of their strategies and the quality of their peer relationships.     

Dialogical self: author and narrator of career life themes

This conceptual paper introduces the Theory of Dialogical Self to the career development literature. The life themes component of the Theory of Career Construction is the focus of application for dialogical self. It is proposed that the notion of dialogical self may contribute to understanding how individuals construct the career-related life themes. Dialogical self is thus presented as a promising theoretical construct to augment the explanatory capacity of the Theory of Career Construction and the constructivist, narrative approach to career theory in general. Implications for career counselling are presented.