Heart Rate and Behavioral measures of Attention in Six-, Nine-, and Twelve-Month-Old Infants during Object Exploration

In this study we examined the effect of heart rate and behavioral measures of attention on distractibility of 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants. The infants were presented with a toy, and a distractor was presented while they attended to the toy. The distractor was presented during heart rate changes indicating sustained attention or attention termination, or during periods of time when behavioral ratings indicated the infant was in focused or casual attention. There were longer distraction latencies during attentional engagement as defined by heart rate changes or behavioral ratings than for periods of inattention. Infants had the longest distraction latencies when heart rate and behavior measures were congruent with respect to attention engagement (heart rate deceleration and focused attention). Conversely, latencies were shortes for congruent values of inattention (heart rate acceleration and casual attention). Infant information processing may be greatest when a heart rate deceleration occurs simultaneously with an episode of focused attention.     

Qualitative data analysis in cross‐cultural projects

Large‐scale research projects, conducted in a cross‐European context, are increasingly attractive to educational researchers and policy‐makers. However, this form of comparative research across cultures brings problems concerning the standardization of data collection and analysis, particularly where ethnographic research is concerned, as it prioritizes a full range of qualitative research strategies. This paper outlines the use of a universal model and the approaches recently taken by two research teams and contrasts these with another recent nine‐partner comparative European study that used ethnographic methods. We then describe the analytical procedures used in the project, which encouraged participant observation and individual researcher interpretation in order to generate grounded accounts and outline how they were culturally sensitive and meaningful to research teams who used varied analytical approaches. However, this raised difficult issues for the ‘final’ analysis and the production of a loosely coupled research report. Our pragmatic solution was a process of ‘qualitative synthesis’ whereby individual partner reports were collated by the Project Director and treated as data and a grounded theory approach was applied to generate tentative theory in respect of creative learning. The paper concludes by arguing that data generated by a loosely coupled approach to qualitative comparative research which uses a wide range of data collection methods can be effectively analysed with a qualitative synthesis.     

The Reconstruction of Primary Teachers' Identities

Primary teachers have had to reconstruct their identities in response to the reconstruction of the education system. The holism, humanism and vocationalism of the old Plowden self-identity has been challenged by a new assigned social identity signalled in the assault on child-centred philosophy, the diminution of elementary trust, and changes in the teacher role. These challenges have thrown up new dilemmas for teachers, and represent 'fateful moments' in the careers of their identities. In trying to resolve the dilemmas, teachers have engaged in identity work, characterised mainly by identity talk, and a number of emotional and intellectual strategies. The result has been a partitioning of the old Plowden self-identity, with the 'real self' being largely withheld from the new personal identity and the sense of vocationalism being set to one side. The new personal identity in teaching represents a more instrumental and situational outlook, with the substantial self finding more expression elsewhere. Identity work is still in progress and seems set to continue while teachers have to find ways of relating to two or more competing discourses.     

Meaningful assessment activities

Planning and organizing the young child's curriculum and classroom environment is an essential component in the early childhood education program. Every fall in the USA millions of children begin and continue to participate in formal school settings. These children are all unique and differ in cognitive and social maturity.Jeffrey I. Gelfer is Program Manager of children's services of Easter Seal Society in Sarasota, Florida. Peggy G. Perkins is an Educational Consultant in Sarasota, Florida.     

Rhetoric Versus Reality in Educational Reform: The Case of the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative

In this paper, we present findings from a study assessing the impact of reforms on mathematics and science instruction to illustrate the multiple levels at which educational change must occur to promote student achievement and close achievement gaps. We undertake an analysis of the extent to which the rhetoric of national policy, in this case, the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative, matches the realities of the day-to-day classroom practices we evaluated in our study. Addressed here is the problem of how applied anthropologists can broaden the scope of research and research findings from the edges of the societal mainstream to address larger policy issues. More globally, we discuss the influence of contemporary applied anthropologists and their colleagues who study marginalized groups on educational research.     

The Effect of Stakes on Accountability Test Scores and Pass Rates

Students may not fully demonstrate their knowledge and skills on accountability tests if there are no stakes attached to individual performance. In that case, assessment results may not accurately reflect student achievement, so the validity of score interpretations and uses suffers. For this study, matched samples of students taking state accountability tests under low-stakes and high-stakes conditions were used to estimate the effect of stakes on test performance and subsequent pass rates. Across five assessments, expected performance was greater under high-stakes conditions, with effect sizes ranging from 0.41 to 0.50 standard deviations and with students of lower ability tending to be slightly more affected by stakes. Depending on where cut scores were set, pass rates differed by up to 30% when comparing the low- and high-stakes conditions.     

Embedded Field Test Item Statistics: Can They Be Trusted for Estimating Student Proficiency?

Assessment items are commonly field tested prior to operational use to observe statistical item properties such as difficulty. Item parameter estimates from field testing may be used to assign scores via pre-equating or computer adaptive designs. This study examined differences between item difficulty estimates based on field test and operational data and the relationship of such differences to item position changes and student proficiency estimates. Item position effects were observed for 20 assessments, with items in later positions tending to be more difficult. Moreover, field test estimates of item difficulty were biased slightly upward, which may indicate examinee knowledge of which items were being field tested. Nevertheless, errors in field test item difficulty estimates had negligible impacts on student proficiency estimates for most assessments. Caution is still warranted when using field test statistics for scoring, and testing programs should conduct investigations to determine whether the effects on scoring are inconsequential.     

Teaching Young Children to Make Picture Books

Teaching young children to make picture books provides the opportunity to both record and to share personal experiences in a unique format. Two powerful modes of thought and expression, the linguistic and the visual, are naturally integrated in the process of picture bookmaking. The public recognition of picture bookmaking efforts empowers young children who are struggling to master the reading and writing processes as they gain an understanding of how text and image work together to tell the story. The increased self-confidence which comes from mastery of both bookmaking and illustrating techniques is beneficial for all children.