The relationship between social support and student adjustment: A longitudinal analysis

This study is an examination of the relationship of perceived social support and adolescents' adjustment behaviors over time. The sample (n = 82) included students from two at‐risk urban middle schools. Utilizing two measures, the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; C. K. Malecki, M. K. Demaray, & S. N. Elliott, 2000) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Self Report of Personality (BASC; C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1998), data were collected at three time points. Results point to a relationship between social support and student adjustment behaviors over time. Specifically, support from parents was related to clinical maladjustment and emotional symptoms one year later. In fact, parent support was still related to clinical maladjustment one year later even after students' earlier levels of clinical maladjustment were taken into account. Parent support was also related to personal adjustment in the short term (6 months). Classmate support was related to students' emotional symptoms one year later. Finally, school support was related to school maladjustment one year later even after students' earlier school maladjustment was taken into account. Implications for school psychologists are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 691–706, 2005.     

Future apprenticeships in England: the role of mediation in the new model

Apprenticeship systems across the globe are having to adapt to changing international economic and social trends. England is no exception. This article examines the latest model of apprenticeship in England from the perspective of the ‘mediators’ who work at local and regional level with employers to construct and deliver the majority of current apprenticeships. The role of these actors is examined through a conceptual framework analysing different forms of mediation in the context of ‘the modern expanded state’. Their views were collected through 27 focus groups in nine regions of England in Spring 2016 and involving over 100 participants. These data suggest that the new apprenticeship model faces a number of challenges; notably how to engage small and medium-sized enterprises and how to better support the mobility and progression of apprentices. Participants advocated the development of regional and local networks comprising employers, FE colleges and other providers, HEIs and local government, as ways of sustaining the ‘apprenticeship market’, providing learner progression routes and stimulating employer demand for skills. The article concludes by suggesting a set of necessary local and national conditions if these networks are to have an impact on the successful development of the new apprenticeships.     

How School Choice Is Framed by Parental Preferences and Family Characteristics: A Study of Western Area,Sierra Leone

This research set out to investigate how, in a post-conflict area, parental preferences and household characteristics affect school choice for their children. A multinomial logit is used to model the relationship between education preferences and the selection of schools for 954 households in Freetown and neighboring districts, Western Area, Sierra Leone. The increased economic well-being of a family tends to increase the likelihood of choosing a nongovernment school. As a child gets older parents are more likely to select government over nongovernment schools. For girls, parents are twice as likely to select a nongovernmental organization (NGO) school than a government one. Where parental preference for girls is a “safe environment” government is the preferred choice over a private proprietor school. Interestingly, the level of household education does not affect the likelihood of attending any school management type.     

Gardnerella vaginalis infection and sexual contact in female children

Gardnerella vaginalis (GV) infection has been reported as being acquired via sexual contact in adults and as an indicator of sexual contact in female children (DeJong, 1985). The purpose of this study was to determine if GV infection was more commonly found in 191 female children who gave a history of sexual contact and/or were infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) or Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) (Group 1), compared with 144 female children evaluated for possible sexual abuse and found to have no such history or infection with GC or CT (Group 2), or 31 female children (friends of the authors) without such a history or GC or CT infection (Group 3). Vaginal GV was found in 5.3% of Group 1, 4.9% of Group 2 and 6.4% of Group 3 (p > .05). Also, vaginal GV infection was not related to the type of sexual contact or race, but did increase with age in white female children. Because vaginal GV infection is not more commonly found in children with a history of sexual contact than those without such a history, the finding of GV in a vaginal culture in an individual case would not be a reliable marker of sexual contact. Routine culturing for GV is not recommended as part of a sexual abuse workup.     

Consulting Parents to Improve a Child Guidance Service

This paper describes a study undertaken with a group of parents whose children had been referred to the Knowsley Child Guidance Service. A qualitative methodology was used to analyse in-depth interviews with parents. The results led to practical recommendations for the improvement of service delivery. These recommendations had implications for schools and other services involved with parents/carers and children. The survey also provided a base from which to develop a questionnaire for the continuing evaluation of good practice within the child guidance service.     

Multiple worlds/mismatched meanings: Barriers to minority women engineers

Despite receiving over 55% of U.S. bachelor's degrees in 1996, women earned <19% of engineering degrees. Polynesian and Filipino women compose an almost vanishing percentage of these graduates. Interviews with four minority women who were close to or had recently completed degrees in civil or mechanical engineering reveal issues of class, race, and gender that affect school success in general and science success in particular. They specifically describe how stereotyping can lead to social stratification and unequal academic and occupational expectations. Narratives are interpreted through Butler's sex/gender theories, Bhaba's postcolonial theories of mimicry, Bourdieu's concepts of social capital and habitus, Bakhtin's theory of speech genres, and Stanton‐Salazar's concept of social networks. The results suggest that Grade K–12 educators, especially in elementary grades, need to challenge practices that segregate students into groups that reflect socioeconomic and ethnic status. In addition to content knowledge, teachers need the kind of multicultural preparation that will help them work effectively with diverse students and their families. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 621–636, 1999     

Books and Good Stuff: A Strategy for Building School to Home Literacy Connections

Engaging young children in literacy activities at home is one way for families to augment and enrich the home literacy setting and to participate in their child’s education at an early age (St. Pierre et al. in Dev Psychol 41(6): 953–970, 2005). Burgess et al. (Read Res Quart 4(4): 408–426, 2002) suggested that the resources families have at their disposal, the quality of literacy role models provided by parents, and the types of literacy and language activities in which parents and children engage, are all related to young children’s developing literacy and language abilities. Other studies demonstrated that even modest literacy-promoting interventions can significantly enhance a young child’s early literacy environment by increasing the frequency of parent–child book-sharing activities (Weitzman et al. in Pediatrics 113(5):1248–1253, 2004). Dever (J Early Educ Fam Rev 8(4):17–28, 2001) and Dever and Burtis (Early Child Dev Care 172(4):359–370, 2002) emphasize the use of family literacy bags for early childhood development. Developing and sharing take-home literacy bags is an exciting literacy-promoting activity that may be shared with children and families to provide support for emergent literacy. This article explores the development of the BAGS (Books and Good Stuff) take-home literacy kits and provides suggestions for content, construction, implementation, and evaluation. Sixteen current books are reviewed and recommended by theme.