Children's literacy environments and early word recognition subskills

First-grade children completed a battery of tasks that included standardized measures of word recognition and spelling, measures of phonological and orthographic processing skill, and a short indicator of exposure to print via home literacy experiences. Phonological and orthographic processing skill were separable components of variance in word recognition. Orthographic processing ability accounted for variance in word recognition ability even after the variance in three phonological processing measures had been partialed. Additionally, variance in orthographic processing ability not explained by phonological abilities was reliably linked to differences in print exposure. The print exposure measure was not, however, linked to the measures of phonological processing. This finding was unexpected but it is consistent with some previous research. The theoretical implications of this result are discussed.     

Building the College Library Collection to Support Curriculum Growth

Because the mission of smaller academic libraries serving fewer than 10,000 full-time enrolled students is mainly to serve the curriculum-based needs of students and faculty, collection management in these libraries needs to be directly related to changes in the curriculum of the parent institution. A look into applicable collection management literature, combined with one library's experience, offers insights about effective curriculum-based collection building in a smaller academic library setting. To achieve efficiency, collection managers must maintain up-to-date knowledge of changing instructional and research needs at their institutions, the needs new programs have for library materials, appropriate collection assessment tools, and the tasks involved in a focused expansion project. By optimizing consultations with faculty and evaluation procedures scaled to its needs, the library at North Georgia College & State University, a modestly sized academic institution, established a model for becoming an active participant in new course and program planning during the application stage, ensuring appropriate library support for new courses and programs of study.     

Experiences of a gifted and talented enrichment cluster for pupils aged five to seven

There has been an increased commitment to gifted and talented education in the UK in recent years, with a national strategy of grant-funded programmes. However, research into the effective-ness of gifted programmes is relatively limited. This paper, written by Anne Morgan of the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research at Sheffield Hallam University, investigates parents', teachers' and children's experiences and views of the impact of an enrichment programme for gifted and talented pupils aged five to seven. Methods included a survey of mainstream teachers (n = 15), interviews with parents (n = 17) and activities with pupils (between 16 and 24 children). Results showed that children and parents rated the cluster highly, particularly the varied teaching styles and interaction with other gifted children. There were few concerns regarding withdrawal of children from school in order to attend. All parents felt that their children had benefited from attending and around half said there had been an impact on their social and academic development. Similarly, around half of mainstream teachers said that attending the cluster had benefited children socially and academically.     

Cultural complexity, post-colonialism and educational change: Challenges for comparative educators

This study explores various elements in the struggle for a post-colonial refashioning of cultural identity through education. Drawing on experiences in Australia and the Caribbean, the author illustrates how educational systems undergoing decolonisation reflect socio-cultural tensions of race and power. The author discusses the complexities for comparative educators in engaging with suppressed knowledge, recognising the yearnings of the marginalised, challenging the conditions that lead to poverty, and refashioning education for social justice in an era when the achievement of justice seems increasingly difficult. She argues that comparative educators can benefit from using post-colonial thinking to understand cultural complexity and promote lifeaffirming practices in educational change.     

'Goslob is a Boy's Name'

This class-based case study explores how firmly established are primary school children's gender expectations and how far a primary school environment serves to reinforce or challenge their expectations. Children of differing ages responded to a specially written story framework. Their responses indicated a gender stereotyping which influenced interpretation. Implications for teaching are discussed.     

Creation,Transformation, Dissemination,and Preservation: Advocating for Scholarly Communication

Scholarly communication is often thought of as the preservation of knowledge. In fact, it also influences the creation, transformation, and dissemination of knowledge. The new norms of scholarly communication are multiple authorships, inter-institutional and international collaboration, and use of social media. The evolving norms for the librarians and consortial groups are supporting research data management, aiding discovery of collaborators, and dissemination and preservation of results, especially in digital formats. Librarians are viewed as experts in scholarly communication on many campuses but their leadership is not always recognized.     

The Role of Reflection in the Effects of Community Service on Adolescent Development: A Meta‐Analysis

This meta‐analysis assessed the effect of community service on adolescent development and the moderation of this effect by reflection, community service, and adolescent characteristics to explicate the mechanisms underlying community service effects. Random effects analyses, based on 49 studies (24,477 participants, 12–20 years old), revealed that community service had positive effects on academic, personal, social, and civic outcomes. Moderation analyses indicated that reflection was essential; the effect for studies that include reflection was substantial (mean ES = .41) while community service in the absence of reflection yielded negligible benefits (mean ES = .05). Effects increased when studies include more frequent reflection and community service, reflection on academic content, and older adolescents. These findings have implications for understanding and improving community service.