Black-white achievement gap and family wealth.

This article examines the extent to which family wealth affects the Black-White test score gap for young children based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (aged 3-12). This study found little evidence that wealth mediated the Black-White test scores gaps, which were eliminated when child and family demographic covariates were held constant. However, family wealth had a stronger association with cognitive achievement of school-aged children than that of preschoolers and a stronger association with school-aged children's math than on their reading scores. Liquid assets, particularly holdings in stocks or mutual funds, were positively associated with school-aged children's test scores. Family wealth was associated with a higher quality home environment, better parenting behavior, and children's private school attendance.     

Multicultural apprenticeships in teacher education

The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical structure of what we call multicultural apprenticeships in teacher education. This structure is drawn from decades of scholarship and research in teacher education, in general, and in preparing teachers for diversity, in particular. It is further situated within our own work in an Early Childhood Education Masters in Education program and our commitments to preparing teachers to support diverse populations of children. Three different multicultural apprenticeships are used to provide concrete examples of the characteristics of this approach to preparing teachers for diverse classrooms.     

Maternal self-efficacy and infant attachment: integrating physiology, perceptions, and behavior

48 mothers of 5-month-old infants were asked to estimate their control over the termination of an infant cry in a laboratory-simulated child-care task. Mothers who greatly overestimated their control differed from low or moderate "illusion-of-control" mothers by exhibiting a depression-prone attributional style, a depressed mood state, perceiving the father as participating less in child care, and responding to impending infant cries with heart-rate acceleration characteristic of aversive conditioning. At age 16 months, 40 of the mother-infant pairs participated in the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Insecure infant attachment at 16 months was associated with maternal perception of overcontrol, depressed mood state, and aversive conditioning to the impending cry in the laboratory task at the 5-month period.     

Supporting Parents in Early Literacy through Libraries (SPELL): An Evaluation of a Multi-Site Library Project

ABSTRACT

The Supporting Parents in Early Literacy through Libraries (SPELL) project was initiated to evaluate the effectiveness of early literacy programs in libraries. Eight Colorado libraries developed and implemented year-long early literacy programs targeting parents of children ages zero to three. Pre- and post-surveys were conducted to determine the effect of these programs on the early literacy habits of participating parents. The survey results indicated that after participating in the SPELL prototype programs, respondents reported increased knowledge of and engagement in early literacy activities.     

Validation of the 12-minute swim as a field test of peak aerobic power in young women.

The purposes of this study were to validate the 12-min swim as a field test of VO2 peak in female recreational swimmers and to compare its validity with that of the 12-min run. The results are contrasted with those previously reported on a comparable group of male recreational swimmers. Thirty-four young women completed 12-min swim, 12-min run, tethered swimming VO2 peak, and treadmill running VO2 peak tests within 3 weeks. Mean (+/- SD) 12-min swim and run distances were 597 +/- 82 and 2,313 +/- 317 m, and mean tethered swim and treadmill run VO2 peak values were 39.2 +/- 4.9 and 45.4 +/- 6.3 ml.kg BW-1.min-1, respectively. Correlation coefficients and standard errors of estimate for predictions of swimming VO2 peak from the 12-min swim (.42 and 4.5 ml.kg BW-1.min-1) and run (.58 and 4.1 ml.kg BW-1.min-1) and for predictions of treadmill run VO2 peak from the 12-min swim (.34 and 6.0 ml.kg BW-1.min-1) and run (.87 and 3.2 ml.kg BW-1.min-1) indicated that the 12-min run was a more accurate predictor of tethered swim or treadmill run VO2 peak than the 12-min swim. These data are in close agreement with our previous study on young male recreational swimmers. We conclude that the 12-min swim has relatively low validity as a field test of peak aerobic power and that it is not an equally valid alternative to the 12-min run in young adult female recreational swimmers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)