Vocational identity of at-risk emerging adults and its relationship with individual characteristics

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Vocational identity is a prerequisite for enhancing societal inclusion of at-risk emerging adults. School curricula and rebound...     

Longitudinal twin study of early reading development in three countries: Preliminary results

We have initiated parallel longitudinal studies in Australia (Byrne, PI), the United States (Olson, PI), and Norway (Samuelsson, PI) of identical and fraternal twins who are being tested in preschool for prereading skills, and in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade for the development of early reading, spelling, and related cognitive skills. Comparisons of the similarities of identical and fraternal twins will reveal the relative influence of genetic, shared family environment, and nonshared environment on individual differences at and across different stages of development. Family and twin-specific environmental information is also being directly assessed through parent questionnaires and observations by testers. Most of the data collected so far have been from preschool twins (146 in Australia, 284 in the United States, and 70 in Norway). Preliminary analyses for the preschool cognitive measures showed reliable genetic influences on phonological awareness and several measures of memory and learning. In contrast, vocabulary, grammar, and morphology showed significant shared environment and negligible genetic effects. A print knowledge composite showed both genetic and shared environment influence.     

Marital status and birthrate of deaf people in two Swedish counties: the impact of social environment in terms of deaf community

Deafness affects many social interactions. The impact of deafness depends on several factors, e.g., the type of social environment in terms of the particular Deaf community a person lives in. The authors recorded the birthrate and the proportions of married and divorced people among deaf people in two Swedish counties: Narke, which had a strong Deaf community, and Varmland, whose Deaf community was weak. In both counties, the authors found that deafness was associated with low marriage rates and low birthrates. Further, in Narke, 99% of the people in the sample were married to another deaf person; only 10% were in Varmland. In Narke, the divorce rate among deaf people was about the same as that of the reference population (i.e., the county's marriage-age population). In Varmland, deaf people had a relatively low divorce rate. The findings are discussed from medical and social perspectives.     

Live-action Communication Design: A Technical How-To Video Case Study

This case study is based on a research through design project (RTD) that focuses on a technical communication video of the live-action format. It investigates the usability and design-implications of a live-action how-to video, by means of analyzing user-centered data such as YouTube analytics data, usability, and comprehension assessments. In the study, four key live-action video affordances are identified: verifiability, comparability, recordability, and visibility. The identification of these affordances when related to the users’ assessments resulted in several design implementations that would warrant sought-for communication efficacies. Findings show that some assumed efficacies appear to be mitigated by the complexity and the density of the video information. One implication of this is that the implementation of conventional video editing techniques and the addition of on-screen text that serve to make content briefer and more concise into instructional live-action videos requires the technical communicator’s careful consideration.     

Ethnicity and engagement in first-year New Zealand law programmes

This paper investigated the extent to which the engagement levels of a self-selected cohort of students enrolled in first-year law programmes at three New Zealand universities varied according to ethnicity. When viewed in the light of factors identified within the international literature as having a bearing on student engagement and, in consequence, academic success and retention, no significant differences were identified in the ways students of Pākehā (European), Māori, Pasifika, Chinese and Indian descent interacted with the law school at which they were enrolled. This was despite some identified differences in students’ backgrounds and motivations for study and in the external factors having an impact on their study. Nevertheless, the identified differences between the ethnicities in relation to personal and external factors can be utilised to enhance and/or improve the engagement of particular groups of students. Overall, the findings indicate a need for law schools to focus on student engagement in first-year programmes with a view to improving the engagement levels of students across all ethnicities.     

Classroom Process and Practices in Public Pre-K Programs: Describing and Predicting Educational Opportunities in the Early Learning Sector

Research Findings: The present study used data from 117 publicly funded preschool classrooms within a large, diverse, suburban county to describe teacher practices and child engagement along with classroom activity settings and children’s exposure to instructional content. Practice or Policy: Results from this investigation revealed that children spent the largest share of the day in teacher-directed whole-group instruction and in free play and very little time was spent in individual and small-group settings. Although a 3rd of the school day was dedicated to academic activities, there were few opportunities for socioemotional learning, and children spent roughly a 3rd of the school day in routines/transitions and meals. Few differences emerged in the classroom observations across school- and community-based programs; however, more educated and experienced teachers spent more time teaching and in teacher-directed instruction.     

The changing nature of expertise: insights from the case of TAVI

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we interrogate the current views on medical expertise, and expertise more in general, by building upon the study of an innovative medical procedure called transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We find that phenomena like TAVI require that we modify our traditional views of expertise to acknowledge its social, material and distributed nature. We also find that in the case of TAVI expertise feeds upon the broad circuits of knowledge created by the combination of professional relationships, social ties and, increasingly, economic interests. Becoming and remaining an expert implies not only being socialised in a local regime of activity but increasingly also participating in, learning to navigate, and exploiting alternative and potentially competing circuits of knowledge, which may be controlled by private companies. The case of TAVI helps us to appreciate expertise as a translocal and connected phenomenon and foreground some of the implications of the emergence of proprietary circuits of knowledge.     

Will my child ever go to a university? The link between school segregation practices and Norwegian parents’ expectations for their physically disabled child

How parents perceive their children's educational prospects can reveal a great deal about how their children will progress in the educational system. The paper examines the consequences of variations in inclusive education practices by investigating determinants of parents’ educational expectations for their child. All parents included in the study had children with physical disabilities in primary school (mainly cerebral palsy and spina bifida). The empirical material includes results from a survey (Net sample = 491), in combination with information merged from a range of official registers. The results showed that the more the child is segregated from ordinary classroom education, the lower parental expectations are for their children's educational attainments. Other factors also significantly influencing parents’ educational expectations include how parents’ view their child's school performance, as well as various measures of the severity of the child's physical disability. However, these secondary factors could not account for the empirically strong association between segregation practices and parental expectations. Parental expectations were also significantly related to parental income and education. The findings indicate that the expectations of parents with higher income and education are less affected by school segregation practices.