Variables involved in personal, social and school adjustment in a sample of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds

The continuing incorporation of immigrant populations into the Spanish educational system poses an important challenge in that all participants must cooperate toward creating the best possible adaptation process at the academic level as well as on the personal and social levels. A number of different factors appear to influence children’s adjustment during the preschool stage, and these factors are especially relevant since many studies have shown that this is a key period for the prevention of future difficulties. The present study examines the variables involved in the adaptation of a group of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds in Spain. The results indicate that preschoolers, regardless of their background, have similar performance and learning potential, with language proficiency being the factor that most clearly affects the other variables investigated. It was also found that children’s attitudes toward learning were related to the presence of behavioral difficulties and with the quality and type of parental child-rearing practices. These practices appear to be related to a number of difficulties immigrant children may experience on personal and social levels.     

A study of staff development programs for improving school discipline

This paper reports two phases of an ongoing study of the effectiveness of teacher training programs related to school discipline. An exhaustive review of efficacy studies of programs such as Reality Therapy, Teacher Effectiveness Training, and Human Relations Training revealed serious methodological weaknesses. Most studies indicated programs involved teacher attitudes towards more humane discipline, but there were few demonstrations of actual behavior change in students. After phase 1, programs were examined for teaching strategies and processes taught to teachers to improve school discipline. A list of 38 processes were identified and each program examined for their presence. Phase 2 reports the incidence of these processes across programs and suggests further approaches to using these data for continuing research.The research reported here was supported by the National Institute of Education. The opinions expressed are the authors', and no official endorsement of the NIE should be inferred.Presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Psychological Association, Montreal, September 1980.     

Effects of Mobility Patterning Techniques upon Selected Motor Skills of Primary School Educable Mentally Retarded Children

Abstract

This study compared the effects of mobility patterning techniques to the effects of special physical education activities upon selected motor skills of primary school educable mentally retarded children. The experimental group received the appropriate mobility patterns in creeping, crawling, and walking, which later were practiced in game situations. The control group received special physical education activities. Both groups received daily 30-minute classes, Monday through Friday, from September 1966 to December 1966. Based on the differences in leg power as measured by the hurdle jump and the standing broad jump, it appeared that the special physical education activities contributed more to the development of the subjects. However, neither program was more effective than the other in terms of dynamic balance, agility, or fine manual motor coordination.     

Biology in Community Education: a Philippine Scenario for Lifelong Education

Summaries

English

This paper describes the various activities undertaken by an educational institution as it seeks through a R & D project to improve the quality of life (and learning) in a rural community in The Philippines. Although the subject matter focus is on science education (biology), the project staff became involved in several activities which were only remotely related to biological education, but more closely related to the immediate concerns of the community; these concerns were mainly related to the economic and individual welfare. Efforts to bridge the gap between the community and classroom are described, including educational activities for adults of the community, identifying topics for in‐service seminars of teachers, educational activities for children. Some major principles of lifelong education are then reviewed, and implications to educators are then drawn.     

IDENTIFYING INFLUENTIAL FACILITATORS OF MATHEMATICS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A SURVEY ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

This paper builds on results from a previous phenomenological study examining characteristics of influential facilitators of elementary mathematics professional development. The current study utilized a survey design where results from the qualitative investigation were quantitized to develop an instrument that allowed participants to identify qualities of facilitators that are necessary to motivate teachers to be engaged in professional development sessions related to mathematics at the elementary level. This paper describes the instrument development process and results when implemented to a sample of teachers in the USA (n = 565). Findings from this research indicate that participants share the same perceptions of what it means to be an influential facilitator as participants from the phenomenological investigation of facilitator characteristics.