Classroom Emotional Support predicts differences in preschool children's cortisol and alpha-amylase levels

Accumulating evidence suggests children enrolled in full-time child care often display afternoon elevations of the hormone cortisol, which is an indicator of stress. Recent advances in immunoassays allow for measurement of activity in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the autonomic sympathetic nervous system from saliva, and measurement of both systems provides a more complete understanding of activity in the stress response system. This study is the first to examine both cortisol and alpha-amylase in children attending child care and focuses on the influences of specific indicators of classroom process quality. A diverse sample of 63 preschool children nested in 14 classrooms of varying quality participated in this study; child salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were collected at six times over 2 days. Results indicate that children in classrooms with higher Emotional Support displayed a greater decline in cortisol from morning to afternoon. Further, children in classrooms with higher Emotional Support exhibited lower total alpha-amylase output while attending child care. Implications for professional development for early childhood teachers and measurement of classroom quality are discussed.     

Countering the Critics: Responses to Recent Criticisms of School Effectiveness Research

Criticisms of school effectiveness research (SER) from recent books are addressed. Fourteen criticisms are presented, followed by counterpoints, including: (1) many criticisms are based on simplistic/skewed readings of SER; (2) there is a wide diversity in SER; no single viewpoint prevails, as implied by critics; (3) many SER researchers have reported the direct/indirect impact of social class on student achievement, instead of ignoring it as implied by critics; (4) SER researchers believe schools have an impact beyond that of social class, and educators should influence what they can in their schools/classrooms; critics pessimistically focus on the social class/student achievement relationship; (5) pragmatism is a valid paradigm for studying schools; indeed, it has advantages over “critical” theory employed by other commentators. Resolution of these issues is unlikely given differences in commentators' world views.     

Creating case studies of practice through Appreciative Inquiry

Taking a positive view is a fruitful way to prompt educators to reflect on and to develop their practice. Teachers, teacher educators and children bring a wide range of ideas that provide a powerful basis for developing understanding of the complexities of classroom practice. Using appreciate inquiry the authors show how they developed their understanding of professional development as they worked with groups of teachers who investigated their science teaching practice with young children and produced case studies of practice. The authors also show how the roles and ideas of themselves as university tutors were challenged and emerged to suit the range of contexts involved. Their view of Continuing Professional Development was influenced by the lived experiences of the teachers and themselves. They worked to systematise learning through identifying commonalities of experience and reflection along four dimensions: creating spaces for growth; working with emergent purposes; action research as rhizomatic growth; and collaborative and collective action. The rich variety of outcomes shows the value of creating space for growth for children and for adults. The energy and enthusiasm liberated motivated the participants to explore their worlds in ways that were difficult to predict at the start of the project.     

REJOINDER

In this paper, we explore the influence of the teacher on the language games being played in a Grade 3 mathematics classroom. The kinds of listening strategies used by the teacher seemed to have an impact on the kind of language game being played as a small group of students engaged in a problem‐solving activity. Understanding classroom conversation from a language‐games perspective is used to explore the kinds of sense‐making, student engagement, and new understandings evolving through classroom discourse. Language games may also be important for encouraging students to extend and transform their understandings. We describe how learning to ‘teach etcetera’ as a way of helping students ‘see‐as’ and move beyond narrowly defined predetermined content may entail playing more open‐ended language games and learning how to ‘listen’.     

The history curriculum and its personal connection to students from minority ethnic backgrounds

Whereas history is seen by some as crucial in developing a sense of identity and fostering social cohesion, it is however, often based around narrowly nationalistic views of the past, and yet little is known about how students relate to the past they are taught. Thus, this paper focuses on the history curriculum and the ways in which students aged 12–14, from different ethnic backgrounds, relate to it. Moreover, the small-scale study which enabled this paper, focused, in particular, on whether students enjoyed and valued history and whether they felt any sense of personal connection to the topics studied. Drawing on survey data collected from 102 students and focus group discussions with 42 students, from two high schools, the findings indicate that although many students enjoy history, they fail to fully understand its value. Additionally most students, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, feel a lack of personal connection to the past, as they do not see themselves in the history they are taught.     

Things I've Learned from My Pupils

In this article, the authors, students in an instructional technology graduate course, describe a process to create an online tutorial for teaching software. They created the tutorial for a cyber school's use. Five tutorial modules were linked together through one menu screen using the MenuBuilder feature in the Adobe Captivate program. The separate modules allowed the cyber school's students to customize their learning, whereas the entire tutorial allowed teachers to concentrate class time on teaching lesson objectives, rather than software.     

Overexcitabilities and ADHD in the Gifted: An Examination

Gifted children and adolescents can display behavioral characteristics similar to those exhibited by children and adolescents who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), leading to potential issues with misdiagnosis. The overlapping characteristics between giftedness and ADHD are often seen as anecdotal or to only exist in theory, such as that explained by Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration and his notion of overexcitabilities. There is a paucity of empirical data to support this perceived relationship between ADHD and overexcitabilities. This study provides empirical support for a relationship between ADHD and overexcitabilities within a sample of gifted adolescents. Implications are discussed.