Mothers’ Knowledge of What Reduces Distress in Their Adolescents: Impact on the Development of Adolescent Approach Coping

Objective. This longitudinal study assessed the role of mothers’ knowledge of what is comforting to their adolescents when they are distressed. The authors proposed that the adolescents of mothers who were knowledgeable but dissatisfied with their adolescent would have adolescents who coped better than those whose mothers were less dissatisfied; dissatisfied mothers would be more likely to draw on their knowledge to engage in “not-too-nice” parenting, thereby allowing their adolescents to find their own means of self-comfort. Design. Participants were 111 early adolescents and their mothers. At the first time-point adolescents were assessed for approach coping and asked to rate what they would find comforting when they were upset; mothers were asked to predict those ratings and assessed for the extent of their dissatisfaction with their adolescent’s behavior. Adolescents were assessed again for approach coping 2 years later. Results. Mothers’ knowledge positively predicted adolescent approach coping, but only when mothers were high in dissatisfaction. Conclusions. The findings underscore the importance of parents’ knowledge of their adolescents in promoting coping, as well as the role that maternal dissatisfaction plays in adolescents’ ability to cope on their own.     

Goodness of Fit in Item Factor Analysis: Effect of the Number of Response Alternatives

The power of the chi-square test statistic used in structural equation modeling decreases as the absolute value of excess kurtosis of the observed data increases. Excess kurtosis is more likely the smaller the number of item response categories. As a result, fit is likely to improve as the number of item response categories decreases, regardless of the true underlying factor structure or χ²-based fit index used to examine model fit. Equivalently, given a target value of approximate fit (e.g., root mean square error of approximation ≤ .05) a model with more factors is needed to reach it as the number of categories increases. This is true regardless of whether the data are treated as continuous (common factor analysis) or as discrete (ordinal factor analysis). We recommend using a large number of response alternatives (≥ 5) to increase the power to detect incorrect substantive models.     

In search of pedagogical content knowledge in science: Developing ways of articulating and documenting professional practice

This study examines the development of ways of documenting and portraying science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). As a result of a longitudinal study into science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, a method is developed for capturing and portraying PCK that comprises two important elements. The first is linked to the particular science content, termed Content Representation (CoRe), and the second is linked to teaching practice, termed Professional and Pedagogical experience Repertoire (PaP‐eR). Through this approach new understandings of PCK emerge that are of interest in terms of both academic (knowledge building about PCK) and teaching perspectives. This study includes a full CoRe and one PaP‐eR and fully demonstrates how these two elements interact to begin to portray science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 370–391, 2004     

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Developing Placement Services for Liberal Arts Undergraduates

In Fall 2002, the University of Missouri-Columbia began a new initiative to develop placement services for liberal arts students. Placement services had never before been offered to this student population and the MU Career Center was designated as the principal creator, administrator and provider of these career services. The Career Center staff decided the most effective approach would be to develop a strategic plan that reflected the needs, values, and desires of our faculty, student, and employer constituents. We conducted an environmental scan, collected substantial data and gathered campus feedback. After careful analysis, we developed a dynamic and responsive strategic plan that would meet our goals and achieve success with our financial, organizational, and human resources in mind.     

Into the Unknown: Examining Neural Representations of Parent–Adolescent Interactions

The parent–adolescent relationship is important for adolescents’ emotion regulation (ER), yet little is known regarding the neural patterns of dyadic ER that occur during parent–adolescent interactions. A novel measure that can be used to examine such patterns is cross-brain connectivity (CBC)—concurrent and time-lagged connectivity between two individuals’ brain regions. This study sought to provide evidence of CBC and explore associations between CBC, parenting, and adolescent internalizing symptoms. Thirty-five adolescents (mean age = 15 years, 69% female, 72% Non-Hispanic White, 17% Black, 11% Hispanic or Latino) and one biological parent (94% female) completed an fMRI hyperscanning conflict discussion task. Results revealed CBC between emotion-related brain regions. Exploratory analyses indicated CBC is associated with parenting and adolescent depressive symptoms.     

Extracurricular Activities,Screen Media Activity,and Sleep May Be Modifiable Factors Related to Children’s Cognitive Functioning: Evidence From the ABCD Study®

This study used a machine learning framework in conjunction with a large battery of measures from 9,718 school-age children (ages 9–11) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development^SM (ABCD) Study to identify factors associated with fluid cognitive functioning (FCF), or the capacity to learn, solve problems, and adapt to novel situations. The identified algorithm explained 14.74% of the variance in FCF, replicating previously reported socioeconomic and mental health contributors to FCF, and adding novel and potentially modifiable contributors, including extracurricular involvement, screen media activity, and sleep duration. Pragmatic interventions targeting these contributors may enhance cognitive performance and protect against their negative impact on FCF in children.     

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education: Capturing the Unique Challenges Associated with Remote Teaching and Learning in K-2

Early Childhood Education Journal - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across North America closed to in person learning in March 2020. Since then, it has become increasingly clear that physical...