The Effects of Parental Behavior on Infants' Neural Processing of Emotion Expressions

Infants become sensitive to emotion expressions early in the 1st year and such sensitivity is likely crucial for social development and adaptation. Social interactions with primary caregivers may play a key role in the development of this complex ability. This study aimed to investigate how variations in parenting behavior affect infants' neural responses to emotional faces. Event‐related potentials (ERPs) to emotional faces were recorded from 40 healthy 7‐month‐old infants (24 males). Parental behavior was assessed and coded using the Emotional Availability Scales during free‐play interaction. Sensitive parenting was associated with increased amplitudes to positive facial expressions on the face‐sensitive ERP component, the negative central. Findings are discussed in relation to the interactive mechanisms influencing how infants neurally encode positive emotions.     

Individual Differences in Childhood Behavior Disorders Associated With Epigenetic Modulation of the Cortisol Receptor Gene

Behavioral/emotional difficulties in children are the first sign of mental health problems. These problems are however, heterogeneous. A domain that may identify homogenous subgroups is hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal function. This study tested whether epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor gene could explain the co‐occurrence of anxiety problems in children with behavior problems. Four‐ to 16‐year‐old clinically referred children (N = 241) were measured for psychiatric symptoms, methylation of target CpG sites in blood or saliva, and morning cortisol levels in those who gave blood. Increased methylation of promoter 1F CpG sites was associated with higher vulnerability to co‐occurring internalizing symptoms and morning cortisol. The results support increasing optimism that epigenetic regulation of key neuroendocrine systems might help explain hitherto unfathomable individual differences in susceptibility to psychiatric symptom profiles.     

Innovative learning and developments in motivation and achievement in upper primary school

Although previous research has shown the potential of innovative learning for enhancing motivation and learning outcomes, further understanding is needed on which aspects of IL are most effective and whether these are equally motivating for different types of students. The present study investigated how developments in students’ motivation and achievement related to different aspects of innovative learning (i.e. authentic learning, collaborative learning and focusing on self-regulation), and whether these relations varied by students’ background characteristics. A sample of 722 grade five students from the Netherlands (average age 11?years old) and their teachers completed questionnaires during four measurements from grade five to grade six. Autoregression analyses were performed. Results showed both positive and negative relations between IL and developments in students’ motivation and achievement, indicating that IL is not a unidimensional construct. Furthermore, the effectiveness of different aspects of IL depended on students’ gender, and social and ethnic background characteristics.     

Familial and Institutional Factors: Job Satisfaction for Female Counselor Educators

Job satisfaction based on familial and institutional factors was explored for 157 female counselor educators. Results indicate that female associate professors had lower levels of intrinsic rewards domain after controlling for institutional type. Parental responsibility and partnership status were equivocal, with significant interaction effects after controlling for Carnegie Classification.     

The role of work-related learning in the identity transformation of Canadian workers with low literacy skills

Workplaces are settings where power, knowledge and self are brought together in a complex social environment which includes various forms of struggle related to identity, agency, socio-cultural norms, political structures and functional practices. The purpose of this article is to uncover how formal and informal work-related learning processes influence the identity transformation of workers with low literacy and essential skills. Drawing on two recent Canadian data bases which serve as cases in this study, the position taken by the authors is that the organisational context can both facilitate and impede worker subjectivity. Various conditions, approaches to learning and training pathways are examined as they contribute to social cognitive and transformative learning theories.     

Predictors of Adult Education Program Satisfaction in Urban Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Lifelong learning is receiving greater attention due to population aging in modern societies. Lifelong learning benefits individuals by supporting their physical, psychological, social, and economic well-being. However, older adults generally have lower motivation for learning than younger adults, and facilitating long-term participation in learning activities is still challenging. Previous studies mainly identified negative factors such as barriers and obstacles to individuals’ initial participation in lifelong learning programs. As such, less is known about positive factors that promote long-term participation. To address this gap, data were collected from 330 older adults who participated in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program in an urban community in the United States. Results from proportional odds ordinal logistic regression analysis demonstrated that gender, number of household members, income, religious affiliation, self-rated health, and number of courses taken were associated with satisfaction with the program. In hopes to promote true lifelong learning, possible explanations about the findings are explored and several recommendations for existing lifelong learning programs are derived in this study.     

The development of student teachers’ research knowledge,beliefs and attitude

This study reports on the development of second-year student teachers’ knowledge of research, and the changes in their beliefs and attitude regarding research during an introductory course at an institute for primary teacher education. Questionnaires and concept maps were administered before and after the course. The results showed that student teachers’ knowledge about research grew during the introductory course and that their positive beliefs about research became more positive, while their negative beliefs about research decreased. A positive change was found concerning the attractiveness of research to student teachers. Furthermore, student teachers’ self-efficacy regarding research appeared related to their beliefs and attitude: the more the student teachers were convinced of their abilities to conduct and use the results of research after the course, the more positive their beliefs and their attitude regarding research were. This study provides guidelines for institutes for teacher education on integrating research activities into their curricula, so that their student teachers develop research knowledge and positive beliefs and attitudes towards research.     

Revisiting Zhang’s scale of transactional distance: refinement and validation using structural equation modeling

Transactional distance has been defined as barriers to students’ engagement with learning in the online environment. This research updates Zhang’s (2003) scale of transactional distance, which quantified the extent of the barriers, in light of the massive changes in today’s web-based learning environment. The resulting revised scale of transactional distance (RSTD) is a parsimonious version with 12 elements (compared to 31 original) that measure the transactional distance between student and teacher, student and student, and student and content. The RSTD has excellent factorial validity and reliability, yields better fit statistics, and is easier and less time-consuming to apply. The transactional distance values are unique predictors of student satisfaction, which is correlated to learning and persistence (a major concern with massive open online courses). This information can form the basis for a systematic approach to improving the design of today’s contemporary open, flexible, distance education courses and thus serve as a valuable tool for researchers and educators alike.