Inconsistencies in regulation: the continuing story of Early Childhood Services

The inconsistencies of regulation and inspection in UK early childhood services are examined. The rationale and regulatory requirements for daycare put forward by the Department of Health are compared with those currently operating within the Department for Education and Employment for schools and nursery education. The policy frameworks within the two departments are based on different assumptions about practice and lead to major inconsistencies of delivery. A more coherent policy is needed to resolve these inconsistencies.     

Effects of Spatial Scale on Cognitive Play in Preschool Children

This study examines the effects of a scale-reduced play environment on temporal aspects of play behavior. Specifically, it examines the amount of time required to enter complex forms of play, the length of play segments, and the percentage of total play time spent in complex play under normal environmental conditions (full-size, control) and under scale-reduced environmental conditions (experimental). Eleven subjects (mean age of 4 years 2 months) were observed during unstructured play activity with playdough in a small-n, A-B-A-B design. Subjects served as their own controls and were self-motivated relative to the activity. The play structure (scale-reduced environment) consisted of a screened wooden frame 7' (L) x 5' (W) x 5' (H) over a vinyl floor. Results indicate subjects enter complex forms of play more quickly, engage in play segments of longer duration and tend to spend a slightly greater percentage of their overall play time in complex play under experimental conditions, as hypothesized. This study suggests attention span and information processing may be affected by the scale of the play environment. : -.     

Physical fitness percentiles for Portuguese children and adolescents aged 10–18 years

Abstract

This study aimed to produce age- and sex-specific physical fitness reference data for Portuguese youth; to report the prevalence of youth in the healthy zone of physical fitness according to the FITNESSGRAM^® criteria; to verify the agreement between the Portuguese physical fitness percentiles and the FITNESSGRAM^® healthy zones. In 2008, 22,048 Portuguese children and adolescents (10–18 years) were evaluated. Physical fitness (curl-ups, push-ups, 20-m shuttle run and modified-back-saver-sit-and-reach tests) was evaluated using the FITNESSGRAM^® Test Battery 8.0. Smoothed percentile curves were estimated using Cole’s LMS method. Boys consistently outperformed girls in every physical fitness test, except for the modified-back-saver-sit-and-reach tests. In both sexes and for all physical fitness tests, higher percentile values were observed at older ages. The 50th percentile of all physical fitness tests had the highest accuracy to discriminate between under healthy zone and healthy zone of the FITNESSGRAM^®. Portuguese schools and physical education teachers may considerer the 50th percentile for age and sex or the FITNESSGRAM^® criteria for classifying participants in the healthy zone as acceptable cut-offs, above which youth should be considered fit. These reference values can be used as normative data and for baseline values for subsequent surveillance of the physical fitness of Portuguese youth.     

Using concept maps to assess student learning in the science classroom: Must different methods compete?

This yearlong study was implemented in seventh-grade life science classes with the students' regular teacher serving as teacher/researcher. In the study, a method of scoring concept maps was developed to assess knowledge and comprehension levels of science achievement. By linking scoring of concept maps to instructional objectives, scores were based upon the correctness of propositions. High correlations between the concept map scores and unit multiple choice tests provided strong evidence of the content validity of the map scores. Similarly, correlations between map scores and state criterion-referenced and national norm-referenced standardized tests were indicators of high concurrent validity. The approach to concept map scoring in the study represents a distinct departure from traditional methods that focus on characteristics such as hierarchy and branching. A large body of research has demonstrated the utility of such methods in the assessment of higher-level learning outcomes. The results of the study suggest that a concept map might be used in assessing declarative and procedural knowledge, both of which have a place in the science classroom. One important implication of these results is that science curriculum and its corresponding assessment need not be dichotomized into knowledge/comprehension versus higher-order outcomes. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 1103–1127, 1998.     

THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN ADOLESCENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER‐STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR ACADEMIC SELF‐REGULATION: DOES LIKING A SPECIFIC TEACHER MATTER?

Although positive teacher‐student relationships are known to aid students’ academic self‐regulation, the emotional aspects of teacher liking are often neglected within research. The present study used a large sample of seventh‐ and eighth‐grade students (N = 1,088; M_Age =  13.7) in secondary schools in Germany to investigate whether the motivation students gain from specific well‐liked teachers (i.e., that students identify) can moderate the relation between their perception of teacher‐student relationships overall and academic self‐regulation (intrinsic motivation, identified, introjected, and external regulation). By means of latent moderated structural equations, students’ motivation based on liking one specific teacher was found to moderate the association between teacher‐student relationships and intrinsic motivation. The present study makes a contribution to the existing research on teacher‐student relationships and academic self‐regulation by investigating the role of students’ motivation related to the liking of a specific teacher. Results indicate that when early adolescent students can identify a well‐liked teacher, they tend to have higher levels of academic motivation. Hence, students’ motivation based on liking a single teacher compensates for generally low‐quality teacher‐student relationships and their respective impact on students’ intrinsic motivation.     

The prevalence and seriousness of incestuous abuse: Stepfathers vs. biological fathers

Analysis of interviews obtained from a random sample of 930 adult women in San Francisco revealed that 17% or one out of approximately every six women who had a stepfather as a principal figure in her childhood years, was sexually abused by him. The comparable figures for biological fathers were 2% or one out of approximately 40 women. In addition, when a distinction was made between Very Serious Sexual Abuse (including experiences ranging from forced penile-vaginal penetration to non-forceful attempted fellatio, cunnilingus, and anal intercourse) and other less serious forms, 47% of the cases of sexual abuse by stepfathers were at the Very Serious level of violation compared with 26% by biological fathers. Possible explanations for these startling discrepancies are discussed, and some of the implications for remarriage are considered.