The Importance of Self‐Regulation in Young Children With Down Syndrome

Adulthood brings with it responsibilities for making choices and decisions about one's own life. Individuals with Down syndrome, their parents and communities, have begun to expect that at least some of these responsibilities will be met by the person with Down syndrome. This will require a range of skills in managing one's own behaviour and these skills will need to be acquired in childhood. The Down Syndrome Research Program has begun a number of investigations into two important aspects of self‐regulation‐the capacity to delay gratification and mastery motivation. This paper describes the importance of these skills and habits of behaviour to those with Down syndrome and discusses the research to date.     

Reducing Risk for Substance Use by Economically Disadvantaged Young Men: Positive Family Environments and Pathways to Educational Attainment

Using prospective, longitudinal data spanning 10 years (age = 10–20) from a study of 295 economically disadvantaged males, the current investigation evaluated a developmental model that links early family environment and later educational aspirations, extracurricular activities, and educational attainment to substance use in early adulthood. The results indicate that a positive family environment during adolescence (low family conflict, high family warmth, and effective child management) predicted educational involvements during adolescence that promoted educational attainment during early adulthood. Finally, higher levels of educational attainment were associated with less substance use in early adulthood, even after controlling for adolescent substance use. These findings suggest that positive parenting promotes educational achievements that increase resilience to substance use for economically disadvantaged males.     

Mothers’ and Fathers’ Roles in Caring for an Adult Child with an Intellectual Disability

To date, there have been few studies of mothers’ and fathers’ roles in caring for their adult children with intellectual disabilities. The present study investigated the care-giving roles of mother and father couples caring for their adult offspring with an intellectual disability, their psychological health, and the demands and satisfaction of their care-giving roles. Twelve Anglo-Australian middle-aged mother and father couples with an adult child with intellectual disability (mean age?=?24 years) participated in semi-structured interviews about their care-giving roles and completed a series of questionnaires pertaining to care-giving difficulties and satisfaction, hassles and uplifts, and general health. Findings indicated that an extremely high proportion of both mothers and fathers were in the clinical range for social dysfunction, anxiety/insomnia, and somatic complaints, although levels of depression were relatively low. The present study found that mothers undertake more daily care-giving tasks than fathers, but that the range of tasks is similar. Mothers also reported significantly more care-giving difficulties and satisfaction than fathers. Associations between measures differed somewhat for the two parent groups, indicating the need for further exploration of both mothers’ and fathers’ experiences.     

Becoming an agricultural advisor – the rationale,the plan and the implementation of a model of reflective practice in extension higher education

Purpose: This paper argues the rationale for a model of reflective practice in the formation of young agricultural advisors and to use this model to inform a wider discussion on the importance of the different levels of reflection in agricultural extension higher education.

Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a model of four reflective practice modules conceived as successive building blocks in the professional development of a reflective agricultural advisor and examines the model through the lens of theory and the lens of experience of the first cohort of students to complete the programme.

Findings: Experiential learning with structured critical reflection is shown to support the integration of knowledge gained into new professional identities as agricultural advisors.

Practical Implications: Curricula for higher education in agricultural extension need to be revitalised and refreshed to address the mismatch between the emphasis on the social dimensions of extension in the literature and the general lack of attention to this in the education and formation of agricultural advisors.

Theoretical Implications: The paper presents a model of reflective practice that draws on experiences in other professions that could be applied to early career and continuing professional development for agricultural advisors.

Originality/Value: By presenting a model for reflective practice, the author intends to stimulate a wider discussion on the importance of the different levels of reflection in agricultural extension higher education.     

Technology adoption,consumer inattention and heuristic decision-making: Evidence from a UK district heating scheme

This paper contributes to the debate on the energy efficiency paradox according to which consumers fail to adopt cost-effective, energy efficient technologies over less efficient technologies and therefore fail to reduce energy consumption. Both traditional and behavioural theories are used to investigate the decision-making process of residential consumers with empirical evidence based upon a specially designed quasi-experimental survey of 784 households on the decision to connect to a district-heating system, a more energy efficient alternative to individual heating systems. The results suggest an internal discount rate of around 36 per cent for homeowners, a signal that consumers undervalue future energy costs. We also find the household’s decision to be negatively affected by years of payback up to around 7–8 years. Our findings suggest that neglecting consumer inattention and heuristics can lead to biases which cast doubt on the existence of the energy efficiency paradox. We believe that these results help to explain why some consumers are unlikely to invest in energy efficient technology, particularly those on low incomes.     

JROTC as a Substitute for PE: Really?

Purpose: Even though physical education (PE) is an evidence-based strategy for providing and promoting physical activity, alternative programs such as the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) are commonly substituted for PE in many states. The purpose of this study was to compare student physical activity and lesson contexts during high school PE and JROTC sessions. Method: The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time was used to assess PE and JROTC sessions (N = 38 each) in 4 high schools that provided both programs. Data were analyzed using t tests, negative binomial regression, and logistic regression. Results: Students engaged in significantly more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during PE than during JROTC sessions and they were significantly less sedentary. Significant differences between the 2 program types were also found among lesson contexts. Conclusions: PE and JROTC provide substantially different content and contexts, and students in these programs engage in substantially different amounts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Students in JROTC, and perhaps other alternative programs, are less likely to accrue health-supporting physical activity and engage in fewer opportunities to be physically fit and motorically skilled. Policies and practices for providing substitutions for PE should be carefully examined.     

The role of academic management in implementing technology-enhanced learning in higher education

ABSTRACT

This article addresses how technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is implemented in higher education institutions. The study is based on data collected from a nationwide survey and semi-structured interviews with academic managers. The findings suggest that: (1) members of the academic management staff have limited knowledge of institutional strategies; (2) there is a gap between what academic managers believe they do to support and implement TEL and what other academic staff perceive them to actually do; and (3) TEL is seldom discussed during performance assessment reviews. In addition, the study reveals that academic managers have different understandings of the use of educational technology. Those differences appear to be closely related to the individual managers’ assessment of TEL’s role in supporting teaching.     

Parents’ views of an optimal school life: using Social Role Valorization to explore differences in parental perspectives when children have intellectual disability

Children with disability continue to experience disadvantage in their school lives; thus, the question of what makes up an optimal school life, and whether this is different for children with disability, becomes critical. This paper reports on research into parental views about an optimal school life and the usefulness of Social Role Valorization theory as a framework for exploring this issue. Six focus group interviews were used to collect data from 30 parents. Children of a variety of ages, with and without disability, were represented. All groups were similar in the aspects they regarded as optimal in a child’s school life. These fell into five categories: being connected, growth, personhood, basic needs, and happiness. Despite this similarity across groups, there were some notable differences in the detail; for example, parents of children with disability had a stronger focus on children being wanted, high expectations, and being seen as an individual.