Naming speed and word familiarity as confounding factors in decoding

The present investigation has three aims: (1) to establish a suitable composite index which combines speed and accuracy in the measurement of decoding skill; (2) to examine whether speed acts as a confounding factor in the measurement of decoding ability; and (3) to see whether familiarity with the word, as indicated by the ability to pronounce it, or lack of it acts as a confounding factor in the assessment of spelling skills. Three studies were conducted to fulfill these aims. In the first study, 33 children from Grade 2 were asked to name a list of 40 letters of the alphabet as quickly and as accurately as possible. A combined index of speed and accuracy was computed from these two sets of data using two formulas, which were based on the ‘z’ score and the mean variance score. A Pearson product‐moment correlation coefficient of 0.94 was obtained between the results of the two formulas indicating that the two formulas yield almost identical results. In the second study, 37 fifth‐graders were administered the word‐attack sub‐test of Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery. When the speed and accuracy composite index, based on the ‘z formula’ was applied to the word‐attack scores, it was found that three children were slow decoders even though their scores were within the normal range. In the third study, 39 children from Grade 3 and 40 children from Grade 5 were asked to read aloud a list of words and then these words were administered as a spelling test. Subsequently, their spelling ability was assessed by computing the number of words they could both read and spell correctly. When familiarity of words was included as a factor in assessing spelling ability, five children in Grade 3 and three children in Grade 5 were found to be misclassified as poor spellers. This indicates that including word‐naming speed and word familiarity (i.e. ability to pronounce) produce different metrics than when they are not. Inclusion of speed and familiarity factors in assessment can be helpful in avoiding false negatives and false positives.     

What can we learn from the electromagnetic spectrum?

Electromagnetic radiation is all around us, and essential for the survival of all lifeforms. It provides valuable information about the physical world around us, feeds us by providing energy to plants, allows us to maintain human metabolism, and cures us of various diseases. This article deals with the various properties of electromagnetic radiation, its sources and detectors, its nature, and its uses. A brief discussion on the absorption spectrum of the Earth’s atmosphere and the atmospheric windows, and celestial objects seen through optical and radio telescopes is also provided.     

`Emergency Education': The Missing Dimension in Education Policy

Large numbers of children regularly experience educational disruption because of natural disasters. Donor and rehabilitation agencies, using an ‘emergency education’ framework, have usually addressed the immediate needs of such children and longer-term educational reconstruction. However, the imperative of continuous educational access to all children, and the need for resource and curricular policies to deal with frequent disruption, call for the inclusion of an emergency education dimension in traditional educational policy. This article outlines the features of such a dimension by drawing on the experiences of an earthquake rehabilitation effort in India (2001-02). Policies that target an improved post-crisis educational system create an opportunity to redress past disadvantages. Helping local educational institutions build capacities in curriculum development and continuing education of emergency personnel is crucial. Some new features highlighted include tracking local demographic shifts with the help of local leaders and the use of innovative teachers to handle children’s immediate recreational needs. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Single‐sex schooling and labour market outcomes

One quarter of the 1958 British Birth cohort attended single‐sex secondary schools. This paper asks whether sex‐segregated schooling had any impact on the experience of gender differences in the labour market in mid‐life. We examine outcomes at age 42, allowing for socio‐economic origins and abilities measured in childhood. We find no net impact of single‐sex schooling on the chances of being employed in 2000, nor on the horizontal or social class segregation of mid‐life occupations. But we do find a positive premium (5%) on the wages of women (but not men), of having attended a single‐sex school. This was accounted for by the relatively good performance of girls‐only school students in post‐16 qualifications, not by the wider range of subjects studied by both girls and boys at single‐sex schools. Men’s labour market attainments were more closely related to attending private schools and to parental class, suggesting that the intergenerational transmission of advantage, while not related to coeducation, is related to gender.     

The longitudinal relationship between generalized self-efficacy and physical activity in school-aged children

Our understanding of the longitudinal relationship between generalized self-efficacy (GSE) and physical activity in children and youth is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of GSE towards physical activity on sedentary behaviours and physical activity in school-aged children over time. A total of 2278 nine-year-old children (1120 girls and 1158 boys) were recruited at baseline and followed for seven waves of data collection from 2005 to 2008. All children completed questionnaires at each wave assessing their GSE (adequacy, predilection, and enjoyment), sedentary behaviours, free play, and organized activity. Mixed-effects models were used to estimate changes in physical activity and GSE within individuals over time, controlling for gender and motor ability. The results showed that participation in free play significantly increased over time, whereas organized activity significantly decreased over the same period. Children with high perceived adequacy and predilection had higher free play and organized activity participation relative to other children over time. However, the effect of perceived adequacy diminished over time, while the gaps between groups with different levels of predilection widened over time. While sedentary behaviours were lower over time in children with high predilection, these behaviours were consistently higher in children with high enjoyment. The differences in sedentary behaviours between groups increased over time for both predilection and enjoyment. This study highlights the importance of different components of GSE on physical activity participation. In addition, interventions targeting the enhancement of predilection may facilitate physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviours.