Assessing emergent literacy in preschool classrooms

Recent research on the literacy development of children during the preschool years has emphasized the notion of “emergent literacy,” according to authors Kontos (1986) and Teale and Sulzby (1986). According to this view, preschool children learn about reading and writing as they participate in a literate culture. Early social interactions involving print are crucial to children's reading and writing development, according to the Early Childhood and Literacy Development Committee (1986).     

How do teachers support their students on the autism spectrum in Australian primary schools?

This study investigated the supports and modifications made available to students on the autism spectrum in Australian schools. Teachers rated the importance of several factors in determining the grades of their students and reported on the frequency of student engagement with a range of instructional materials. Eighty‐seven teachers identified the modifications, accommodations and additional assistance provide to primary school students on the autism spectrum. Teachers also compared the frequency of class engagement and methods of evaluating outcomes for students with and without autism. A range of modifications and adjustments were implemented to support students on the spectrum. There were no significant differences in the frequency of instructional material use of students on the autism spectrum compared to their classmates. However, teachers did report differences in their methods of determining the grades of their students with and without autism. This is an important first step in understanding the experiences of teachers who are educating students on the autism spectrum in Australian schools. The findings reveal that teachers are working to support the diverse learning needs of their students on the autism spectrum. Further investigation of the factors that are driving teachers’ use of school‐based supports is warranted.     

Do worksheets improve film utilization?

General Conclusion Today, in order to provide more and more information to pupils during their school years, teachers not only need a much broader background-which many are acquiring through additional study-but they also need to make every moment of their instructional time count. While the motion picture has long been accepted as a respectable teaching tool, it is possible for us-through further research-to develop techniques that will make it even more effective in the hands of most teachers.     

Kinship Support and Maternal and Adolescent Well-Being in Economically Disadvantaged African-American Families

This study tested a conceptual model developed to explain the link between kinship support and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged African-American adolescents. The relation of kinship support with maternal and adolescent well-being and mothers' child-rearing practices was assessed in 51 African-American families whose incomes placed them at or below the poverty threshold. Findings revealed that kinship social support to mothers/female guardians was positively associated with adolescent psychological well-being, maternal well-being, and more adequate maternal parenting practices (acceptance, firm control and monitoring of behavior, autonomy granting). Maternal well-being and more adequate maternal parenting practices were positively related to adolescent well-being. Evidence of the mediational role of maternal well-being and parenting practices was revealed. When the effects of maternal well-being and maternal parenting practices were controlled, significant relations between kinship support and adolescent well-being were no longer apparent.     

Farmers’ intention to use text messaging for extension services in Trinidad

Purpose: The effectiveness of new extension approaches hinges on farmers’ willingness to adopt innovative ways to interact with extension. Therefore, this study explored farmers’ willingness to use mobile text messaging for two-way interactions with Ministry Extension officers.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study followed a correlational design and survey data were conveniently collected from 200 farmers of Trinidad.

Findings: Findings showed most farmers of the sample knew how to send and receive text messages, and many owned Internet-enabled smartphones. In addition, most farmers were willing to communicate with extension officers through text messages.

Practical Implications: Ministry Extension should revisit and revise their policies of communicating with farmers. Administrators should encourage extension officers to use SMS to respond to farmers’ requests and information needs.

Theoretical Implications: While the UTAUT provided an appropriate framework for understanding farmers’ use of text messaging, researchers should tailor the moderator variables to the country’s context.

Originality/Value: This study is the first to look at farmers’ willingness to use two-way information communication technologies in Trinidad. Results showed there is potential for Ministry Extension to use text messaging to communicate with farmers.     

Simultaneous processing of visual and spatial stimuli in pigeons

Pigeons were trained to symbolically match comparison stimuli to either visual sample stimuli presented on a center key or to spatial sample stimuli presented on side keys. Tests were carried out in which visual and spatial cues were simultaneously presented in compound and short-term memory was probed for either visual or spatial information. Symmetrical interference with the matching of visual and spatial components of compounds was found when the visual and spatial cues were presented on separate keys. However, when visual and spatial cues were superimposed on the same side key, no interference was observed relative to element control tests. Discussion of these findings focuses on accounts in terms of limited processing capacity, coding decrement, and receptor orientation mechanisms.     

Applying Kember's Linear‐Process Model to distance education at Charles Sturt University‐Riverina

Kember's linear‐process model of drop‐out from distance education (described in detail in Distance Education 10, 2, 196‐211) has been adapted and used as the basis for a series of interviews with students studying externally at Charles Sturt University‐Riverina. Although the sample is small, many issues are raised that arc relevant for distance educators. It is concluded Kember's model provides a useful theoretical underpinning for examining not only reasons for student withdrawal but also why they continue their studies.     

The Androgynous Mentor: bridging gender stereotypes in mentoring

This paper explores the possibility that a suitable mix of instrumental and expressive personality traits‐the concept of psychological androgyny — are required to allow a complete mentoring relationship. The discussion seeks a solution to a mentoring paradox which arises from the argument that instrumentality is necessary in reaching positions of influence, power, authority and experience ‐from which pool mentors may be selected in organisations ‐yet expressiveness as necessary for mentoring behaviour.

A comment on research into mentoring and psychological androgyny is offered, and this concept is discussed in regard to the experienced mentor combining such instrumental and expressive personality traits. A review of the literature on gender and mentoring is also offered and reveals several causes for concern. However, such literature rarely focuses upon what both genders can do. This paper offers the hypothesis that the experienced mentor will be androgynous‐thus being able to display both instrumentality and expressiveness according to situation‐specific demands.     

Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers: An Exploratory Study of Students’ and Professors’ Perceptions

Mentoring is believed to be one of the most influential factors in US efforts to encourage college‐aged students to seek careers in science, yet the role that mentoring plays in this process has not been elucidated. The researchers were interested in understanding whether the long‐held beliefs about the importance of mentoring would be revealed as what actually occurs in an undergraduate research program. They describe students’ perceptions of the mentoring process and students’ beliefs about how it impacted their experiences as undergraduate researchers and their development as scientists. Also described are professors’ perceptions of their roles and effectiveness as mentors in students’ development as scientists. A multi‐case narrative analysis was conducted of two groups, undergraduate science scholars (n=5) and mentoring professors (n=5), who were each interviewed on two occasions at the beginning and end of the first year of a funded research program. As this grounded research study shows, students and professors described student gains as increased technical expertise and communication skills. Professors suggested that they were available to students on a regular and frequent basis. However, students’ experiences suggested a contradiction. They were often mentored by postgraduates, technical assistants, and other students; their meetings with mentoring professors were infrequent and at times distant. With respect to mentoring, this finding highlights the differences between beliefs and the reality of what was delivered. Professors discussed the challenges associated with mentoring including the recruitment of and difficulty of working with students whose first language was not English and concerns about the quality of instruction from graduate students.     

Books and Print Reference Sources

Madeline Miele, et al. (eds.) The Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Information (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1976---$23.50)

Sigfred Taubert (ed.) The Book Trade of the World, Volume II: The Americas, Australia, New Zealand (New York: R.R. Bowker/London: Andre Deutsch, 1976---$36.00)

Kenneth Kister's Encyclopedia Buying Guide 1975- 1976: A Consumer Guide to General Encyclopedias in Print (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1976--$15.50)

J.M. Brittain and S.A. Roberts's Inventory of Information Resources in the Social Sciences (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/ Saxon House, 1976--$18.00)

Harry Carter's A History of the Oxford University Press, Volume I, to 1780 (London: Ox ford University Press, 1976---£15.00 or about $30.00)

Daniel Gore (ed.) Farewell to Alexandria: Solutions to Space, Growth, and Performance Problems of Libraries (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976---$12.50)

Lester D. Stephens' Historiography: A Bibliography (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1975--$9.00)

W. Philip Leidy's A Popular Guide to Government Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976--$25.00)