Interventions for reading difficulties: a comparison of response to intervention by ELL and EFL struggling readers

This article explores whether struggling readers from different primary language backgrounds differ in response to phonologically based remediation. Following random assignment to one of three reading interventions or to a special education reading control program, reading and reading-related outcomes of 166 struggling readers were assessed before, during, and following 105 intervention hours. Struggling readers met criteria for reading disability, were below average in oral language and verbal skills, and varied in English as a first language (EFL) versus English-language learner (ELL) status. The research-based interventions proved superior to the special education control on both reading outcomes and rate of growth. No differences were revealed for children of EFL or ELL status in intervention outcomes or growth during intervention. Oral language abilities at entry were highly predictive of final outcomes and of reading growth during intervention, with greater language impairment being associated with greater growth.     

Description of Environmental Factors in Schools: Lessons from a Study in North–West Spain

The objective of this study is to offer a view on the different environmental factors that affect health (sound, light, colour, temperature) in the design, planning and organization of school premises. To achieve this, the authors first outline the problems leading to unhealthy situations. They subsequently analyse all the building and planning factors behind those problems based on a study carried out in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, in the north west of Spain. The study took as its subject all secondary-level education centres built in Galicia since the Spanish Basic Act on the Educational System (LOGSE) was passed by the Spanish Parliament in 1990. To conclude, the article offers a number of guidelines to be taken into account when designing a school environment.     

Beyond magical thinking: Doing the real work of diversifying our institutions

U.S. Supreme Court opinions have left some doors open for institutions to build the kinds of diverse student populations that are known to enrich the learning of all students. But simply inviting diverse students through those doors is not doing nearly enough.     

Depictions of Human Bodies in the Illustrations of Early Childhood Textbooks

In many Ibero-American countries children in the early childhood education (ECE) system have the opportunity to interact with textbooks on a regular basis. The powerful social function of textbooks in socializing children in primary and secondary school, and in legitimizing what counts as cultural norms and officially sanctioned values and knowledge, is clearly documented. However, the examination of ECE textbooks especially in the context of developing countries for messages about the social construction of the body is virtually nonexistent. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine, through a content analysis of the illustrations, the representation of the body across the different categories of gender, age, activity level, space and disability in eight Colombian ECE textbooks from the three major commercial publishing houses between 2009 and 2012. Our results show that these textbook authors and publishers have made an effort to promote equality between the genders. However, only four disabled people were portrayed in the illustrations and there was a lower proportion of older adults doing a limited range of gross motor activities. Likewise the results note that, although progress has been made in terms of the balance of gender representation in textbooks, these still reinforce and legitimize the status of the “able-body”, and contribute to consolidating a view of able-bodiedness as the dominant norm. Taking into account that beliefs and prejudices constitute barriers to education and social participation, these results suggest that the representation of children with disabilities in ECE textbooks at the earliest stages of education should be mandatory.     

Do the effects of computer-assisted practice differ for children with reading disabilities with and without IQ-achievement discrepancy?

This study was designed to assess whether the effects of computer-assisted practice on visual word recognition differed for children with reading disabilities (RD) with or without aptitude-achievement discrepancy. A sample of 73 Spanish children with low reading performance was selected using the discrepancy method, based on a standard score comparison (i.e., the difference between IQ and achievement standard scores). The sample was classified into three groups: (1) a group of 14 children with dyslexia (age M = 103.85 months; SD = 8.45) who received computer-based reading practice; (2) a group of 31 "garden-variety" (GV) poor readers (age M = 107.06 months; SD = 6.75) who received the same type of instruction; and (3) a group of 28 children with low reading performance (age M = 103.33 months; SD = 9.04) who did not receive computer-assisted practice. Children were pre- and posttested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and visual and phonological tasks. The results indicated that both computer-assisted intervention groups showed improved word recognition compared to the control group. Nevertheless, children with dyslexia had more difficulties than GV poor readers during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation, because their performance was more affected by low-frequency words and long words. In conclusion, we did not find empirical evidence in favor of the IQ-achievement discrepancy definition of reading disability, because IQ did not differentially predict treatment outcomes.     

A Layered Approach to Critical Friendship as a Means to Support Pedagogical Innovation in Pre-service Teacher Education

In this article we describe and interpret how two distinct layers of critical friendship were used to support a pedagogical innovation in pre-service teacher education. The innovation, Learning about Meaningful Physical Education (LAMPE), focuses on ways to teach future teachers to foster meaningful experiences for learners in physical education. Critical friendship was applied in two ways: (1) the first two authors served as critical friends to each other as they taught their respective teacher education courses using LAMPE, and (2) the third author acted as a meta-critical friend, providing support for and critique of the first two authors’ development and enactment of the innovation. Over two years, data were gathered from reflective journal entries, emails, recorded Skype calls, and teaching observations. The two layers of critical friendship held significant benefits in advancing and supporting the development of the innovation while also contributing to the professional learning of all participants. Analysis of the first year’s data showed that we entered the critical friendship without thoroughly considering what we each hoped to give and take from the relationship or acknowledging the potential problems that might unfold. In the second year, guided by suggestions from our meta-critical friend, we took a more rigorous inquiry stance as critical friends, contributing contentious feedback and pushing each other beyond our personal and pedagogical comfort zones. This led to a noticeable improvement in our professional learning about teacher education practices and advanced the development of the LAMPE innovation.     

Intercultural sensitivity among university students: measurement of the construct and its relationship with international mobility programmes / Sensibilidad intercultural de los estudiantes universitarios: medición del constructo y su relación con los programas de movilidad internacional

The purpose of this study was to validate the IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory) and to assess the impact of international mobility programmes on the intercultural sensitivity of university students. For this, a quasi-experimental study was carried out using a longitudinal design of repeated pre-test and post-test measures, with an experimental group of students who carried out international mobility programmes and a control group of students who did not. The sample consisted of 3,047 university students. The inventory yielded a five-factor structure (negation/defence, minimization, reversion, acceptance/adaptation and encapsulated marginality) with alpha coefficients ranging from .82 to .91, revealing adequate reliability and validity. The results indicate the effectiveness of the IDI to measure intercultural sensitivity. Although the post-test scores are higher than the pre-test scores for both groups, there are significant differences in favour of the experimental group (p = .000) in all factors except the negation/defence stage. The conclusions focus on the implications of this study for curriculum development and policy at an educational level.     

四川平武火溪河水牛家水电站对库区鸟类的影响

通过野外工作 ,在掌握了火溪河流域鸟类的分布状况的基础上 ,预测火溪河水牛家水电站工程对库区鸟类的影响 ,并提出避害促利的措施