Ideas and the future of higher education

Travellers who begin their pilgrimage to the uncertain future by attending colleges or universities need an educational experience characterized by specific consideration of ideas as ideas and overt attention to the process of challenging assumptions. Effective higher education in the future may be recognized by its participants' focus on ideas in general as the foundation of the curriculum and their simultaneous willingness to challenge any particular idea. To the extent to which these two activities do not presently characterize American higher education, the most critical innovation for the future may be a change of mind.     

Parental substance abuse and the nature of child maltreatment.

The authors reviewed 190 randomly selected records from the case load of a large juvenile court. These records involved cases in which the state took legal custody of the children following a finding of significant child maltreatment, based on a "clear and convincing" standard of evidence. Sixty-seven percent (127/190) of these cases involved parents who were classified as substance abusers. The results of this study revealed specific associations between (a) alcohol abuse and physical maltreatment and (b) cocaine abuse and sexual maltreatment. Logistic analyses, testing for the effects of polysubstance abuse, revealed that additional forms of substance abuse failed to add significantly to the effects of alcohol in predicting physical maltreatment or cocaine in predicting sexual maltreatment.     

Teachers’ Integration of Scientific and Engineering Practices in Primary Classrooms

The Next-Generation Science Standards (NGSS) challenge primary teachers and students to work and think like scientists and engineers as they strive to understand complex concepts. Teachers and teacher educators can leverage what is already known about inquiry teaching as they plan instruction to help students meet the new standards. This cross-case analysis of a multiple case study examined teacher practices in the context of a semester-long professional development course for elementary teachers. We reviewed lessons and teacher reflections, examining how kindergarten and first grade teachers incorporated NGSS scientific and engineering practices during inquiry-based instruction. We found that most of the teachers worked with their students on asking questions; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking; and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information. Teachers faced challenges in supporting students in developing their own questions that could be investigated and using data collection strategies that aligned with students’ development of number sense concepts. Also, some teachers overemphasized the scientific method and lacked clarity in how they elicited and responded to student predictions. Discussion focuses on teacher supports that will be needed as states transition to NGSS.     

The Strong African American Families Program: translating research into prevention programming

A randomized prevention trial contrasted families who took part in the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF), a preventive intervention for rural African American mothers and their 11-year-olds, with control families. SAAF is based on a contextual model positing that regulated, communicative parenting causes changes in factors protecting youths from early alcohol use and sexual activity. Parenting variables included involvement-vigilance, racial socialization, communication about sex, and clear expectations for alcohol use. Youth protective factors included negative attitudes about early alcohol use and sexual activity, negative images of drinking youths, resistance efficacy, a goal-directed future orientation, and acceptance of parental influence. Intervention-induced changes in parenting mediated the effect of intervention group influences on changes in protective factors over a 7-month period.     

Perceived workplace conditions and first-year teachers’ morale, career choice commitment, and planned retention: a secondary analysis

The relationships between perceived workplace conditions and morale, career choice commitment, and planned retention were examined for first-year teachers in the United States. A nationally representative sample of first-year teachers (K-12) was extracted from the United States Department of Education's Schools and Staffing Surveys database for 1987–88 and 1993–94. A school culture that supports collaboration and teacher participation in decision-making was most strongly related to higher morale, stronger commitment to teaching, and intentions to remain in the profession. The discussion highlights the importance of providing supportive workplace conditions during a formalized induction year that socialize new teachers into a collaborative and participatory work-ethic that sustains commitment.     

Developing phonological awareness and word recognition skills: A two-year intervention with low-income,inner-city children

Low-income, inner-city children were involved in a two-year intervention delivered in the regular classroom by regular classroom teachers to develop phonological awareness and word recognition skills. For the treatment children, an 11-week phoneme awareness program in kindergarten was followed by a first grade reading program (extended to grade 2 for some children) that emphasized explicit, systematic instruction in the alphabetic code. Control children participated in the school district's regular basal reading program. Both groups participated in a phonetically-based spelling program mandated by the district. At the end of grade 1, treatment children (n = 66) significantly outperformed control children (n = 62) on measures of phonological awareness, letter name and letter sound knowledge, and three measures of word recognition, and reached marginal significance (0.056) on a fourth. They also significantly outperformed the control children on two measures of spelling. One year later, at the end of grade 2, the treatment children (n = 58) significantly outperformed the control children (n = 48) on all four measures of word recognition. For the groups as a whole, there were no differences on the one measure of spelling readministered at the end of grade 2. However, there were significant differences in spelling between the treatment (n = 16) and control children (n = 13) who remained in the bottom quartile of spellers at the end of grade 2 when partial credit was given for phonetically correct spelling, and significant differences in reading favoring these treatment children on all four measures of word recognition.     

“I'm just not that great at science”: Science self-efficacy in arts and communication students

Research in science education confirms the importance of self-efficacy in students' persistence and success in the sciences. The current study examined the role of science self-efficacy in nonspecialist, arts and communication-oriented students encountering science in a general education context. Participants (N = 275) completed a beginning- and end-of-semester survey including a Science Self-Efficacy Scale, a “connection to science” measure—the Inclusion of Science in Self Scale—and a Science Anxiety Scale. Participants also responded to two open-ended “sources of science efficacy” questions, and provided background/demographic information and access to their academic records. Results showed a significant increase in science self-efficacy and connection to science—although no change in science anxiety—over the course of the semester. The observed shift in self-efficacy for minority and international students was of particular note. These students started the course with lower confidence but, by the end of the semester, reported comparable science self-efficacy, and achieved similar grades to their White/Non-Hispanic and US resident classmates. Contrary to expectations, science self-efficacy did not predict performance in the class. However, students' self-reported sources of efficacy indicated increased confidence in using science in daily life, and confirmed the value of mastery experiences and of personally meaningful, student-centered course design in scaffolding student confidence. Results are discussed in terms of the individual and instructional factors that support science self-efficacy and student success in this unique, general education science environment.     

Adopting a toolkit to manage time,resources, and expectations in the systematic review process: a case report

Background:The proliferation of systematic reviews has impacted library operations and activities as librarians support, collaborate, and perform more tasks in the systematic review process. This case report describes a toolkit that librarians with extensive experience in supporting multiple review teams use to manage time, resources, and expectations in the systematic review process.Case Presentation:The toolkit is a compilation of documents that we use to effectively communicate with and help review teams understand and navigate each stage of the systematic review process. Elements included in the toolkit and discussed in this case report are intake forms, communication templates and memoranda, a process flow diagram, library guides on tools for retrieval and data appraisal, and established standards for guidance during the write-up stage. We describe the use of the toolkit for both education and project management, with a focus on its use in helping manage team time, resources, and expectations.Discussion:The systematic review toolkit helps librarians connect systematic review steps and tasks to actionable items. The content facilitates and supports discussion and learning by both librarians and team members. This toolkit helps librarians share important information and resources for each stage of the process.