Examination of peer-group contextual effects on aggression during early adolescence

Peer group contextual effects of aggressive behavior among middle school students (6th-8th graders) were examined using a short-term longitudinal design. More specifically, the homophily hypothesis that peer group membership influences individual-level bullying and fighting was evaluated with multilevel sex-specific models of individual- and peer-level aggression scores. Peer groups were identified via social network analysis. Intraclass correlation coefficients yielded through hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated substantial within-group similarity on self-reported bullying and fighting, suggesting that students affiliate with individuals who bully and fight at the same frequency. Peer group bullying and fighting was associated with individual-level behavior, even after controlling individual baseline levels for males and females. However, peer contextual effects explained more variance in individual bullying than individual fighting. This differential impact of peer group membership suggests that future studies consider peer relations across subtypes of aggression.     

Smart girls traversing assemblages of gender and class in Australian secondary mathematics classrooms

I examine experiences of former Australian schoolgirls in relation to mathematics during secondary school. This research scrutinises misunderstandings about success and impact on subject choice that can result in post-schooling trajectories that limit what girls can do in their lives beyond school. I examine ways affective relationality, as a sense of embodied belonging, may influence participation in subjects. I frame the discussion using the Baradian concept of intra-action, a co-production that engages an ethic of non-coincidence. For these participants, a reductive high-stakes testing environment and aspirations to become a master subject evoke a powerful not good enough assemblage. The responsibility to achieve enough success incites a soliciting of a particular self in affective regulation. The dread of not excelling in mathematics was often too much to endure thus participants chose to discontinue studying mathematics. They understood this as a sensible solution to prevent vulnerability, as not good enough.     

Preschoolers mistrust ignorant and inaccurate speakers

Being able to evaluate the accuracy of an informant is essential to communication. Three experiments explored preschoolers' (N=119) understanding that, in cases of conflict, information from reliable informants is preferable to information from unreliable informants. In Experiment 1, children were presented with previously accurate and inaccurate informants who presented conflicting names for novel objects. 4-year-olds-but not 3-year-olds-predicted whether an informant would be accurate in the future, sought, and endorsed information from the accurate over the inaccurate informant. In Experiment 2, both age groups displayed trust in knowledgeable over ignorant speakers. In Experiment 3, children extended selective trust when learning both verbal and nonverbal information. These experiments demonstrate that preschoolers have a key strategy for assessing the reliability of information.     

Differential symptom pattern of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in maltreated children with and without concurrent depression

OBJECTIVE: The present study attempted to examine specific differences in the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatology among abused children with and without concurrent depression. METHOD: PTSD and depressive symptoms were identified that discriminate between 98 children divided into three groups: (1) abused children with PTSD, (2) nonabused children who meet criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and (3) abused children with both PTSD and MDD. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that nine items reflecting depressive symptomatology, primarily vegetative symptoms, differentiated the diagnostic groups (PTSD-only, MDD-only, and the combined group). A discriminant analysis revealed that the sum of responses to the nine significant items adequately predicted diagnostic classification for those with PTSD and depression, but did not correctly diagnose any in the combined group. Analyses also revealed that three post-trauma symptoms, including psychological amnesia, flashbacks/reenactments, and sleep difficulties, discriminated between the groups. The PTSD-only group reported more episodes of psychological amnesia while the PTSD and MDD group experienced more flashbacks. CONCLUSIONS: For the sample of abused children examined, these results illuminate differences with respect to PTSD symptom presentation for those children with PTSD who have a concurrent depressive disorder and their nondepressed counterparts. Children with PTSD who have a concurrent depression report greater levels of intrusive PTSD-related symptoms.     

Design Recommendations for Self-Paced Online Faculty Development Courses

An increased need for self-paced, online professional development opportunities in higher education has emerged from a variety of factors including dispersed geographic locations of faculty, full teaching loads, and institutional evaluation requirements. This article is a report of ?the examination of the design and evaluation of a self-paced online faculty development course about rubrics. A mixed-methods research design was implemented to collect quantitative and qualitative data from faculty members upon completion. Data obtained from an evaluation questionnaire, rubric artifact, self-reflections, and teaching improvement plan revealed that faculty viewed the course as a positive and useful experience. Specific design recommendations for instructional designers and faculty developers of self-paced online courses are provided. These design recommendations emphasize adult learning principles and transformative learning through self-reflection.     

A critical discourse analysis of teachers’ views on LGBT literature

This article presents a thread of discussion posted to a web-based forum in the context of a children's literature course in one teacher education program in the USA. Participants in the virtual discussion include three preservice elementary teachers and the course instructor (author) on the subject of bringing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) literature into the elementary classroom. Classroom teachers who lead discussions about race, gender, class, sexuality and inequality are encouraged to create and maintain a safe environment for dialogue. In this article, the author explores how the need to maintain a culture of safety around discussions of sexuality shaped the participants’ views on teaching LGBT literature written for children. Applying the tools of critical discourse analysis, the author demonstrates how events in the discussion unfolded that left normative constructions of sexuality unexamined.