The importance of early phonics improvements for predicting later reading comprehension

The role of phonics instruction in early reading development has been the subject of significant conjecture. Recently, England implemented a phonics screening check to assess the phonetic decoding of 6-year-old students, to ensure that all students master this foundational literacy skill and attain adequate phonemic awareness in the early years of primary schooling. Students who fail this check are obliged to retake the assessment the following year. In this article, we compare the performance of students who initially pass this check (pass) and students who fail the original assessment but pass the retaken assessment (fail–pass), with students who fail both the original and retaken assessments (fail–fail). Using data from the Key Stage 1 assessment of reading and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), we examined the reading comprehension performance of these students approximately 1 and 4 years after their first phonics screening. The results suggested that fail–pass students performed substantially better than fail–fail students, even after performance on the initial phonics check was controlled for. While fail–pass students do not appear to entirely catch up with pass students in reading comprehension, their relatively better performance underscores the importance of intervening for those students who are identified as having problems with phonetic decoding to increase their likelihood of success at reading comprehension in later schooling.     

Using Spreadsheet Modeling to Teach Exchange Curves (Optimal Policy Curves) in Inventory Management

Inventory management is widely researched and the topic is taught in business programs across the spectrum of operations and supply chain management. However, the concepts are notoriously difficult for students to practice once they finish school and become managers responsible for inventory control. This article explains the structure and details of an inventory management class module designed to bridge the gap between learning inventory management theory and applying the learning to practice. Through an active learning exercise, groups of logistics management graduate students in two sections of an introductory inventory management class (in‐residence and online) are taught the exchange curve concept, introduced to its use in practice, and given a tool for implementing this learning in a variety of practical scenarios. The exercise is valuable as it is well suited for students with a limited math background because it allows the exchange curve concept to be taught and demonstrated without presenting complicated mathematics. A three‐tiered assessment of the exercise reveals its effectiveness in meeting the goals of providing an engaging and interesting use of learning time and giving the students an in‐depth practical understanding of the exchange curve concept. The exercise is designed to be equally useful for application in an undergraduate class.     

Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Student Experiences in Christian Higher Education: A Qualitative Exploration

Religion and spirituality are important in the lives of many transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals. Although TGNC students can make unique contributions to Christian colleges and universities (CCUs), many individuals who identify as both religious and TGNC report rejection from nonaffirming religious communities that view TGNC identities and expression as sinful or psychologically disordered. Additionally, previous research has suggested that TGNC college students experience disproportionately high rates of verbal and sexual harassment, threats, physical assault, and anti-TGNC messaging on college campuses. In order to better understand the experiences of TGNC students who attended nonaffirming CCUs, semistructured interviews were conducted with seven TGNC students and alumni regarding their gender identity, religion, spirituality, campus experiences, and perceptions of campus climate. Data analysis was completed using guidelines consistent with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Shaw, 2010). Findings revealed four major themes: (a) invisibility of TGNC individuals and identities on campus, (b) rejection within the college environment, (c) ambivalence and psychological conflict about integrating religion, spirituality, and gender identity, and (d) resilience and the importance of campus support systems. Recommendations for creating greater inclusion of TGNC students on CCU campuses are presented. This study also explores clinical considerations for mental health professionals and student services personnel employed at CCUs.     

Two-year impacts of a universal school-based social-emotional and literacy intervention: an experiment in translational developmental research

This study contributes to ongoing scholarship at the nexus of translational research, education reform, and the developmental and prevention sciences. It reports 2-year experimental impacts of a universal, integrated school-based intervention in social-emotional learning and literacy development on children's social-emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. The study employed a school-randomized, experimental design with 1,184 children in 18 elementary schools. Children in the intervention schools showed improvements across several domains: self-reports of hostile attributional bias, aggressive interpersonal negotiation strategies, and depression, and teacher reports of attention skills, and aggressive and socially competent behavior. In addition, there were effects of the intervention on children's math and reading achievement for those identified by teachers at baseline at highest behavioral risk. These findings are interpreted in light of developmental cascades theory and lend support to the value of universal, integrated interventions in the elementary school period for promoting children's social-emotional and academic skills.     

Many districts left behind: An individual change analysis of inequity in the Kenyan primary educational opportunities (2001–2007)

The study examined variations in district performance in KCPE national examination in Kenya between 2001 and 2007. The individual change model revealed that district poverty rate was not a significant predictor of either the initial district performance (2001) or the rate of change over the seven-year period. The regional context of North Eastern Province had the lowest initial KCPE performance rates followed by the Gusii districts of Nyanza. However, the model revealed that the KCPE performance rates among districts located in the North Eastern Province are predicted to improve at an annual rate of 10.31 percentage points. The study recommends that educators and policy makers seek ways to address educational under-performance and low participation rates in Kenya without over-reliance on poverty reduction programs alone.     

Geolocating popular memory: Recorded images of Hashima Island after Skyfall

ABSTRACT

This article examines efforts to document Japan’s Hashima Island following its appearance in the popular film Skyfall. It describes how the film’s commercial success led to an effort by Google to produce images of the island’s built environment using digital navigation technologies. It further describes how this effort led the Japanese government to include Hashima Island in a bid to gain Unesco heritage status for Meiji-era sites of industrialization. Drawing from visual studies, critical media studies, and from interdisciplinary approaches to collective memory, this article analyzes how the circulation of images depicting Hashima Island in popular culture affects continuing efforts to hold Japan accountable for injustices committed there in the past. By narrowing on the moment “after” Skyfall, the article concludes with an assessment of the island’s Google Street View archive in terms of its broader impact on the uses of navigation, spatial presence, and digital heritage.