Behavior Problems and Social Skills in Preschool Children: Parent-Teacher Agreement and Relations with Classroom Observations

The goals of the present investigation were to provide basic psychometric information about the use of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS: Merrill, 1994) with a sample of normally-developing preschool children, to assess agreement between parent and teacher ratings of children on this instrument, and to assess concurrent, criterion-related validity of these instruments in terms of their relations with observations of children's behavior in the classroom. Parents and teachers of 47 preschool children completed the scales and these children were observed naturalistically in the classroom setting. Overall, agreement between parents and teachers was modest (-.09 to .38). Cross-informant correlations were poor (-.09 to .27) for social skills, low (.15 to .36) for internalizing behaviors, and modest (.29 to .38) for externalizing behavior. Both parents and teachers rated boys as having more externalizing behavior problems than girls. Parents perceived their children to have more externalizing, and more overall, behavior problems than did teachers. In general, teacher reports, but not parent reports, were significantly associated with children's independently observed goal-directed activity, sustained attention, inappropriate behavior, peer affiliation, expressed negative affect, and proximity to a teacher in the classroom. Results argue for the clinical utility of the PKBS for teacher-report assessment of child behavior problems and social skills in the preschool years, and suggest the need for cross-contextual assessment. Also, it is clear that children's behavioral and social competence are crucial for optimal functioning in the preschool setting.     

The Forces Shaping National Response(s) to Global Educational Regulatory Initiatives: The Case for Germany and Ontario

This article argues that the stance toward global regulatory initiatives is influenced by the extent to which these regulatory initiatives threaten the comparative institutional advantages of the national economy. The cases through which this proposition is examined are the showpieces of Germany and Ontario: their system of vocational education and training. The article draws on the Varieties of Capitalism literature to explore the factors that implicated the most into the educational reforms introduced in Germany in the context of the Bologna Process. In the case of Ontario, the paper used educational reforms in the context of two OECD reports, Learning for Job and A Skills beyond School. The paper concludes that comparative institutional advantage and the institutional complementarity sustaining it explain the different trajectories countries take in their response to global pressures.     

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty: A Changing Federal Role in American Education

For this first History of Education Quarterly Policy Forum, we invited participants in the special Plenary Session at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (HES) in St. Louis to publish their remarks on the historical significance of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) at fifty. Organized and introduced by HES vice‐president and program chair Adam R. Nelson, the session consisted of presentations by three expert panelists from the fields of History and African American Studies, American Law and Politics, and Political Science and Public Policy: Crystal Sanders of Penn State University, Doug Reed of Georgetown University, and Susan Moffitt of Brown University, respectively. What follows are the texts of Adam Nelson's introductory remarks—including his introduction of the three panelists—followed by the panelists' remarks.     

Taking stock of sustainability in higher education: a review of the policy literature

Abstract

This paper provides a review of the current literature that examines the uptake of sustainability policies in higher education. Articles were retrieved from both ERIC and Scopus databases and then manually reviewed to ensure that they focused on each of: higher education; sustainability; and policy. A total of 91 articles were analysed using a multi-stage process that involved sorting data according to typologies (i.e. temporal, terminology, methodology, geography), coding the text of the articles based on topical content, and an indexing method used to label data for further analysis and the development of broader code categories. Results suggest that drivers and barriers associated with the integration of sustainability policy in higher education are well known; yet increased research is needed to understand best practices and processes by which sustainability can be furthered through higher education policy. In addition, findings demonstrate the need for future research to focus on various aspects of the policy process, including policy development and enactment, and on implications of policy for practice. While there have been some reviews of sustainability policy in higher education research to date, this review contributes to this literature by highlighting research primarily focused on sustainability policy within higher education.     

Stata commands for importing bibliometric data and processing author address information

Given the recent trend in bibliometrics and information science to use increasingly complex statistical methods, it is necessary to have powerful toolboxes to work with data from Web of Science (Thomson Reuters). We developed such a toolbox with four specific commands for the statistical software package Stata. These commands refer to (1) the import of downloads from Web of Science to Stata, (2) the preprocessing of address information from authors of publications in the downloaded set, (3) the geocoding of address information, and (4) the calculation of the minimum and maximum distance between several co-authors of a single paper. An advantage of developing commands for an established and comprehensive statistical software package (like Stata) is that a large number of further commands are available for the analysis of bibliometric data. We will describe some of these useful commands as well.     

Systemic ecological illiteracy? Shedding light on meaning as an act of thought in higher learning

Research on ecological literacy often takes for granted that participants understand, and can construct the meaning within, the complex concepts involved, simply because they are able to use the appropriate terminology in a ‘fluent’ manner and/or can select the correct option on multiple choice tests. In this study, and in the larger two-year study it is part of, a trend has been unearthed regarding the ecological literacy of university students entering into a Bachelor of Education program. An analysis of the meaning contained in participant definitions has revealed that the vast majority of teacher candidates, graduates of many different universities, are unable to explain the meaning of key integrating ecological concepts at even a minimal level of maturity, alluding to a possible systemic problem. The findings, though preliminary, suggest that until we inquire into the meaning that teachers possess for key concepts rather than accepting fluent but shallow use of these concepts, we may be taking too much for granted.     

Attitudes toward Face-to-Face and Online Counseling: Roles of Self-Concealment,Openness to Experience,Loss of Face,Stigma, and Disclosure Expectations among Korean College Students

This study examined attitudes toward face-to-face (f2f) and online counseling among 228 Korean college students. In addition, it tested a hypothesized model proposing that general propensities (i.e., self-concealment, openness to experience, and loss of face) would influence counseling-specific expectations (i.e., self-stigma and disclosure expectations), which, in turn, would predict attitudes toward f2f and online counseling. Findings mirrored the results of earlier studies revealing that self-concealment was negatively related to attitudes toward both f2f and online counseling, while openness to experience and disclosure expectations were positively related. However, whereas self-stigma was associated with negative attitudes toward f2f counseling, it was not related to attitudes toward online counseling. In addition, disclosure expectations accounted for f2f attitudes more than online attitudes.     

Cosmopolitan tensions: religious diversity in an Australian university

This paper examines ideas of cosmopolitanism, particularly social theorists’ interests in a cosmopolitan ‘disposition’, to consider how religiously diverse students experience campus life in a multi-faith Australian university. We draw on data from focus-group interviews conducted with students from Muslim, Christian, Spiritual, and Atheist student-groups to contribute empirical insights into theoretical debates about cosmopolitanism. We show how students understand religious relations in a university campus in multiple ways; moving back and forth between relations of religious openness and tension in different institutional scenarios. In light of these findings, we reflect on the possibilities of fostering ‘cosmopolitan religiosity’ in higher-education settings and demonstrate the limits of a liberal multicultural approach to religious diversity.     

All Validities are Not Created Equal: Determinants of Variation in SAT Validity Across Schools

Previous research has demonstrated that cognitive test validities are generalizable and predictive of academic performance across situations. However, even after accounting for statistical artifacts (e.g., sampling error, range restriction, criterion reliability), substantial variability often remains around estimates of cognitive test–performance relationships suggesting the presence of additional moderators. In the present study, we examine the sources of institutional variation in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) validity across a sample of 110 institutions. Institutional characteristics moderated the size of SAT validities, such that more selective schools and schools that emphasize traditional assessment techniques (i.e., school records, standardized tests) showed higher SAT validities while schools that were larger and where students demonstrated more financial need, schools that emphasized the usage of alternative assessment techniques (i.e., essays, letters of recommendations, extracurricular activities), and schools that enrolled higher percentages of historically disadvantaged minority students generally exhibited lower SAT validities. Future directions in the understanding of situational influences on SAT–grade point average validities are discussed.