‘Either You Have Misunderstood the Directions,or You are Not Playing the Game’. South Australian Women in Educational Administration 1900–1960

This article examines continuity and change in the management of gender with specific reference to infant mistresses, whose quest for autonomous control of their own departments in the largest South Australian primary schools threatened the maintenance of patriarchal authority in and through the administration of state schooling. The complex location of these women is discussed in relation to the broader history of infant education in South Australia and the sexual division of labour in teaching. In taking account of their active resistance to the imposition of male hegemony in a sphere of education which was traditionally ‘woman’s work’, the article describes infant mistresses’ networks, the strategies of power and rhetoric they deployed, and how they built professional boundaries to protect their distinctive interests. It also examines the means adopted by headmasters and the Education Department to manage the troubling spectre of the independent female principal so that men’s self‐esteem, social and professional status, ‘natural’ authority over women, and employment opportunities in the ‘manly’ realm of school administration might be preserved.     

Career education and career guidance: Strategies for implementing career development

Dedmond is Supervisor, Career Education and Career Guidance, Virginia Department of Education.     

Auditory Frequency Resolution in Human Infancy

Frequency resolution is a fundamental capacity of the auditory system that underlies the perception of all complex sounds. The development of this capacity has not been well characterized in humans. This investigation used a nonsimultaneous pulsation threshold technique to examine the development of infant frequency resolution. Psychophysical tuning curves were obtained for 3- and 6-month-olds and for adults at either 500, 1,000, or 4,000 Hz. Both the sensation level and the sound pressure level of the stimulus were varied for adults to determine the contribution of stimulus intensity to age differences in frequency resolution. At 500 and 1,000 Hz, 3- and 6-month-olds' tuning curve widths were equivalent to adults'. At 4,000 Hz, the 3-month-olds' tuning curves were broader than those of 6-month-olds and adults, even when absolute sound pressure level was equivalent. The maturation of psychophysical frequency resolution in infants is discussed in terms of the general development of the auditory system and of nonsensory factors that might contribute to age differences in performance.     

A Study of Bullying in Further Education

Until recently, bullying has tended to be associated with primary and secondary school, but, increasingly, it is being recognized as a phenomenon that exists at all stages and in all aspects of life. This paper is concerned with a level and type of institution with which the idea of bullying might not have been associated. It describes how a recent study into bullying within the 16- to 18-year-old population in a college of further education instigated change within its infrastructure. By promoting an awareness of bullying, it resulted in the implementation of an active Harassment/Anti-bullying Policy.     

An afterschool intervention program for educationally disadvantaged young children

The research investigated the premise that if educationally disadvantaged children experience increased instructional time combined with an educational setting that is sensitive to their culture and that provides perceptions of control, enhanced achievement and interest in learning will result. The research setting was the Hilltop Emergent Literacy Project (HELP), an afterschool educational program serving poor, mostly African American five- to nine-year-olds (kindergarten to third grade) who reside in a subsidized apartment complex. A treatment group of 12 kindergartners was compared to a control group of 12 kindergartners. In the spring of kindergarten, the treatment group was outperforming the control group on standardized test scores, but both groups were below national norms. In the spring of first grade, the treatment group was still outperforming the control group and was above national norms in some areas. Report card data and qualitative indicators also provide evidence of the effectiveness of the program.We thank the Hilltop Emergent Literacy Project (HELP) head teachers Teresa Bunge and Diana Reamsnyder, the HELP students, and the many graduate and undergraduate students who have served at HELP. This program was partially funded through grants from the University of Toledo, Ohio Board of Regents, General Mills Foundation, and Toledo Public Schools.     

Infant and Toddler Child-Care Quality and Stability in Relation to Proximal and Distal Academic and Social Outcomes

This study considered the quality and stability of infant and toddler nonparental child care from 6 to 36 months in relation to language, social, and academic skills measured proximally at 36 months and distally at kindergarten. Quality was measured separately as caregiver–child verbal interactions and caregiver sensitivity, and stability was measured as having fewer sequential child-care caregivers. This longitudinal examination involved a subsample (N = 1,055) from the Family Life Project, a representative sample of families living in rural counties in the United States. Structural equation modeling revealed that children who experienced more positive caregiver–child verbal interactions had higher 36-month language skills, which indirectly led to higher kindergarten academic and social skills. Children who experienced more caregiver stability had higher kindergarten social skills.     

What do prospective students look for in higher degrees by research? A scale development study

ABSTRACT

This empirical investigation was aimed at conceptualizing, developing and validating a scale for the measurement of the quality of higher degrees by research (HDR-QUAL). For that purpose, this study specifically measured perceptions of higher degrees by research (HDR) students about the constituents of HDR quality in Pakistani tertiary education institutions. Following the 7-step process of scale development, three studies were conducted in order to develop an initial pool of scale items, establishing proposed scale validity and reliability, and assessing nomological behavior of the proposed scale. The principal component analysis with Varimax rotation method resulted in a 3-factor solution, subsequently proposing a 15-item scale. The model fit indices of measurement and the higher-order model indicated a satisfactory fit to data. Finally, the resultant three factors, i.e. financial assistance, supervisory expertise, and infrastructural support, converged into a unidimensional HDR-QUAL scale that was found positively associated with student satisfaction, thus, confirming nomological validity as well. Important policy measures and directions for future research are proposed at the end.     

Parental perceived control over caregiving and its relationship to parent-infant interaction

In this sample of 66 dual-earner mothers and fathers and their 1-year-old infants, associations among parental ratings of infant difficulty, parental perceived control over caregiving outcomes, and parental sensitive and directive behavior were examined during a triadic free-play session in the home. Perceived infant difficulty was related to maternal directiveness for mothers with low perceived control. Fathers with low perceived control exhibited more directiveness, regardless of their ratings of infant difficulty. For both mothers and fathers, there was a negative association between sensitivity and directiveness but no association between sensitive behavior and parental perceived control. Although parents scored similarly overall on various other measures, mothers with low perceived control demonstrated more categorical thinking about children's development than other mothers.