Predictors of Delinquent Behaviors Among Latino Youth

This study used an ecological framework to examine predictors of delinquent behaviors among 91 sixth-grade Latino youth. Both proximal and distal contextual factors were assessed to determine their impact on various forms of delinquency, such as violent behaviors, violent thoughts, substance abuse, and general delinquency (e.g., skipping school). Attitudes toward school, mobility (number of moves to new schools and neighborhoods), and exposure to community violence were distal variables, whereas attachment to parents and attachment to peers were considered more proximal variables. Environmental experiences or exposure to distressing community violence was the strongest predictor of delinquent outcomes. The results were discussed in terms of school officials' developing linkages with the community to promote safe environments for youth.     

The case for democratic governance in Canada's community colleges

Although the tradition of bicameral governance is well established in Canada's universities, in no province do community colleges operate under a similar principle. In fact, there is no statutory role for college faculty in governance, either through a senate or a senate-like body. This article argues the case for greater democracy in the governance of colleges and, in doing so, analyzes the role of college governance. The conclusion reached is that, while more democratic and participatory governance may be argued on conceptual grounds, it would also improve morale, trust, and communication within the college sector.     

Teaching about Cold Cases Experientially: Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences and Products

This paper discusses three separate educational projects which involved students working side-by-side with homicide investigators in an effort to conduct cold case investigations. Each project resulted in two different products, one for agency use and the other for public consumption. The cold case investigative reports produced for each case became part of the investigative file and are confidential documents. The video PSAs were for public consumption and were designed to provide additional exposure to the cases with the hope of generating productive tips. Each project was carried in collaboration with local Crime Stoppers programs, law enforcement agencies, and coroner’s offices.     

Characteristics of gifted and talented children and problems of identification by teachers and parents

The ability to recognise the characteristics of giftedness and talentedness in children is a critical skill in the identification effort especially as the literature is replete with varying notions of what it means to be gifted and talented. The present paper reviews several definitions of giftedness and concludes that any definition that should guide identification activities must emphasise the multidimensional nature of the concept. The characteristics of gifted children are enumerated and stated in a manner that parents and teachers who have the earliest responsibilities in the identification process may have observable behavioural indices to inform referral. Finally, the paper identifies some of the practical issues in the identification of the gifted and talented.     

Reading Rescue: A follow-up on effectiveness of an intervention for struggling readers

The authors examined whether Reading Rescue continues to be an effective literacy intervention and factors that impact its effectiveness. Data were collected on 143 first-grade students, tutored by 104 tutors at 38 schools. There was significant growth on all foundational skills (ps?ps?d?=?1.62 sight words, d?=?1.68 oral reading/comprehension). Student-level factors of Individualized Education Program status, program completion, number of session, and invented spelling; tutor-level factors of sessions delivered and years of experience; school level factors of school size and percentage of language minority students all predicted grade-level passage or word reading (all ps?2007 Ehri, L. C., Dreyer, L. G., Flugman, B., &; Gross, A. (2007). Reading rescue: An effective tutoring intervention model for language-minority students who are struggling readers in first grade. American Educational Research Journal, 44(2), 414–448.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) study. Efforts should focus on ensuring program completion and increasing program exposure in neediest schools.     

How infants use vision for grasping objects

The role of vision was examined as infants prepared to grasp horizontally and vertically oriented rods. Hand orientation was measured prior to contact to determine if infants differentially oriented their hands relative to the object's orientation. Infants reached for rods under different lighting conditions. Three experiments are reported in which (1) sight of the hand was removed (N = 12), (2) sight of the object was removed near the end of the reach (N = 40, including 10 adults), and (3) sight of the object was removed prior to reach onset (N = 9). Infants differentially oriented their hand to a similar extent regardless of lighting condition and similar to control conditions in which they could see the rod and hand throughout the reach. In preparation for reaching, infants may use the current sight of the object's orientation, or the memory of it, to orient the hand for grasping; sight of the hand had no effect on hand orientation.     

Empowerment and relationships: A classroom model to enhance student motivation

This project focused on the goal of establishing a classroom model of motivation in which the source of student motivation is based on internal mechanisms or structures, along with the establishment of greater self-regulatory opportunities for students, and which results in greater student empowerment and motivation. One-hundred current elementary and secondary teachers and 100 university preservice teacher education students completed a 40-item Likert-type questionnaire that focused on four classroom dimensions of affirmation, rejection, student empowerment and teacher control. The results of this project suggested that, although veteran and preservice teachers agreed on the need for teacher control in the classroom, there was less agreement about their perceptions of the need to create a classroom environment of positive affirmation and student empowerment. Implications for future research and the need for creating an affirming, empowering, motivational classroom environment are discussed in light of the limitations for teachers and schools to encourage these constructs associated with recent federal legislative policies.     

Stimulant medication and reading performance: follow-up on sustained dose in ADHD boys with and without conduct disorders.

The study examined the sustained effects of methylphenidate on reading performance in a sample of 42 boys, aged 8 to 11, with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Two subgroups were formed based on the presence or absence of co-occurring conduct disorders. Subjects were selected on the basis of their positive response to methylphenidate as determined in a series of original medication trials (Forness, Cantwell, Swanson, Hanna, & Youpa, 1991). For the purpose of this study, subjects were placed on their optimal dose of medication for a 6-week period and then tested on measures of oral reading and reading comprehension equivalent to those used in the original trials, retested after a week without medication (placebo), then tested again the following week after return to medication. Only the subgroup with conduct disorders responded, and this response was limited to reading comprehension improvement in only those subjects who also demonstrated improvement in oral reading on original trials. No response differences were found between subjects with or without learning disabilities.     

Power,Perceptions, and Relationships: A Model of Co-Teaching in Higher Education

Co-teaching has historically been used in K–12 education to provide students with disabilities access to general curriculum; therefore, much of the co-teaching literature has focused on the K–12 population. Research on collegiate co-teaching has been more limited and largely focused on the advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching, omitting important factors that affect relationships between partners. This qualitative study involved seven interviews of co-teachers of graduate and undergraduate classes in order to better understand interactions between college-level co-teaching dyads. Data analysis revealed themes of power and authority structures, dynamics of co-teaching relationships, and co-teachers' perceptions related to advantages of co-teaching, disadvantages of co-teaching, and student experiences. The researchers developed the Circular Model of Collegiate Co-Teaching, an original model to explain how these themes and subthemes are interrelated and affect each other. Specific best practices and new insights for collegiate co-teaching practice are discussed.