Attachment Predicts College Students’ Knowledge,Attitudes, and Skills for Working With Infants,Toddlers, and Families

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children.     

A comparison of two types of computer support for reading development

The claims for the educational benefits of multimedia supported software are positive but largely untested. Can such claims be justified with specific reference to support for the development of reading skills? This paper presents evidence of learning outcomes in the area of reading from the use of software incorporating two very different styles of learning, structured sub‐skills tutoring (using an Integrated Learning System) versus free reading (using a talking book), but which both heavily exploit multimedia presentation. The message from these two studies is complex. Learning does occur but differential performance gains compared to more traditional teaching are not assured. Secondly, these studies show that current debates about whole‐word versus phonological skills teaching can be overshadowed by characteristics of the software other that of the mode of teaching, and by organisational choices and constraints within the classroom.     

Mother-daughter incest

Reports of mother-daughter incest are conspicuously absent from the extensive literature on the sexual abuse of children. When homosexual incest has been reported, the relationship usually involves father and son. In some reported cases of father-daughter incest, the mother had an active role in the sexual act. There is one reported case of grandmother-grand-daughter incest. In the present case, the victim, L., entered psychotherapy because of migraine headaches. She was a university student, struggling, ambivalently, to separate from a jealous and possessive mother. She had been involved in several homosexual affairs which had ended with L. rejecting her partner. Early in therapy, she made a self-mutilating suicide attempt. L. was the only child of an older, lower middle class couple. Father was a passive, ineffectual man, overshadowed by L. 's mother. Soon after L. was born, mother and father began sleeping in separate bedrooms. When L. was six years old, mother invited her to share her bed. L. had a room of her own, but was allowed to sleep there only when mother entertained her homosexual lover. L. recalls being extremely jealous of her mother's lover. Starting at age 8, L. recalls awakening to find mother kissing L. on the lips or fondling her breasts. L. thinks that genital fondling also took place while L. was asleep. At age 14 L. insisted that she sleep alone because she felt there was “something wrong” with her relationship with mother. After two years of psychotherapy, L. was able to separate successfully from mother. Soon after this, she rekindled a relationship with a male friend and later married. It can be difficult to distinguish a sexually exploitative mother-daughter relationship from a normal physical closeness that occurs between mothers and female children. This closeness is critical in the development of mothering behaviors in the daughter. Seductive behavior in mothers is more socially tolerated than similar behavior in male caretakers. In some cultures, mothers actively masturbate their nursing infants. In the case of L., the sexual relationship between mother and daughter parallels the patterns seen in father-daughter incest. The incest behavior occurred in the context of a deteriorated husband-wife relationship. L. was confused about whether to relate to mother as a parent or as a sex partner. Sexual contact began when the patient was pre-pubertal and consisted mainly of fondling. L's memories of this contact are vague and dreamlike, and were revealed after a substantial therapeutic relationship had been established. L's subsequent homosexual encounters were a repetition of her seduction by her mother. Less explicit maternal seductions have been implicated in the pathogenesis of female homosexuality. As more women with homosexual life-styles take on the single parenting of daughters, reports of mother-daughter incest may become more common.     

La formation des enseignants du secondaire: la formule belge

The author, drawing upon 37 years’ experience of the training of Secondary teachers in Belgium, offers a critical view of the present situation. His remarks bear upon training for the lower‐Secondary cycle, the system for which—though apparently simple— is in fact complex.

A 1981 reform extended the period of training to three years, but lower‐ and upper‐Secondary training, at University level, are still separate. A greater unity is desirable.

Three principles which should underpin all training are: a planned continuation into in‐service training, the development of practice‐oriented research, and (to allow of flexibility) a unit‐based approach. The length of study is important, since it has implications for maturation.

Finally, the author examines in turn each element in the range of skills, aptitudes and attitudes needed by the student teacher.     

Sustaining teachers’ stories to live by: implications for teacher education

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we focus on questions around who we are as teacher educators as well as our responsibilities in helping pre-service teachers compose forward-looking stories as they prepare to begin teaching. We draw on the results of two studies in this paper: one a semi-structured interview study with 55 second- and third-year teachers in two Canadian provinces and one narrative inquiry into the experiences of early career teacher leavers. These studies showed how early career teachers’ stories to live by fuel their desires to become teachers. Teaching was a way to try to live out and sustain their stories to live by, that is, participants continued to live out their stories to live by shaped in early personal knowledge landscapes and embodied in their personal practical knowledge. We also learned that when teachers could not sustain their stories in the professional knowledge landscapes, their stories to live by shifted to stories to leave by, and they left teaching.     

Les materiels didactiques pour l'education en matiere de population

Résumé Le matériel développé pour promouvoir l'Education en matière de Population (EmP) est indispensable car les enseignants n'ont pu être préparés à délivrer cet enseignement d'un type nouveau, interdisciplinaire, mettant en oeuvre des méthodes actives, privilégiant l'adoption d'attidudes plutôt que de connaissances. Les premiers matériels didactiques ont donné à l'EmP une image doctrinaire, centrée sur l'éducation sexuelle. On constate plus récemment que la cible prioritaire des matériels devient mieux définie: plutôt que de convaincre les enseignants, on tente de mieux connaître leurs besoins pour mettre au point des outils pour leur venir en appui.Un rapide survol des matériels didactiques pour l'EmP, prennant appui sur cinq exemples représentatifs, illustre l'évolution des documents. La quête d'un corpus scientifique indiscutable de l'EmP se retrouve dans les exemples de leçons proposées en Asie par le Programme Régional, auquel participent 25 Etats. En plus, l'EmP n'est plus centrée sur la seule connaissance démographique: la dynamique de la population a des incidences sur la qualité de la vie dans de nombreux domaines. Dans la décennie 1980, la recherche initiée par le CRESALC a réalisé des documents prototypes d'une grande originalité, basées sur la discussion, la simulation, les médias, le jeu, l'enquête ... qui stimulent la participation active de l'élève. Mais dans la grande majorité des cas, les contenus et les objectifs de l'EmP restent intégrés dans les différentes disciplines du programme.

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The materials developed to promote Population Education are indispensable since teachers have not been prepared to deliver this new type of teaching, using active methods and stressing the acquisition of attitudes rather than knowledge. Early teaching materials gave Population Education a doctrinaire image, focusing on sexual education. More recently, the priority target for the materials has become better defined: rather than trying to convince teachers, attempts are made to discover their needs in order to develop tools that will help them.A rapid survey of Population Education teaching materials, using five representative examples, illustrates their evolution. The quest for an unassailable scientific corpus of Population Education is found in the examples of lessons put forward by the Regional Programme in Asia, in which 25 States are participating. Moreover, Population Education no longer focuses only on demographic knowledge: the dynamics of population change have effects on numerous aspects of the quality of life. In the 1980s, research started by CRESALC resulted in pilot materials of great originality, using discussion, simulation, the media, games, enquiry, etc., which stimulate the active participation of pupils. But in the vast majority of cases, the contents and objectives of Population Education remain integrated into the various subjects of the curriculum.

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Zusammenfassung Die zur Förderung der Bevölkerungslehre entwickelten Lernmaterialien sind unentbehrlich, da Lehrer nicht auf diese neue Art des Unterrichtens mit aktiven Methoden und der Hervorhebung des Erwerbs von Geisteshaltungen an Stelle von Wissen vorbereitet sind. Früher angewandte Lernmaterialien verliehen der Bevölkerungslehre ein doktrinäres Image und konzentrierten sich auf Sexual-kundeunterricht. In letzter Zeit wurde das Hauptziel dieser Materialien besser definiert: an Stelle des Versuchs, Lehrer zu überzeugen, treten nunmehr Bemühungen um die Aufdeckung ihrer Bedürfnisse, um Möglichkeiten zur Hilfestellung zu finden.Ein rascher Überblick über die Lernmaterialien zur Bevölkerungslehre unter Zuhilfenahme von fünf repräsentativen Beispielen verdeutlicht ihre Evolution. Die Suche nach einem unanfechtbaren wissenschaftlichen Korpus der Bevölkerungslehre erscheint in den Unterrichtsbeispielen des Regionalprogrammes in Asien, an dem 25 Länder teilnehmen. Die Bevölkerungslehre konzentriert sich nicht länger auf nur demographisches Wissen: die Dynamik einer Veränderung der Bevölkerung wirkt sich auf zahlreiche Aspekte der Lebensqualität aus. In den 80er Jahren ergaben von CRESALC durchgeführte Forschungen Pilotmaterial von großer Originalität, in das Diskussionen, Simulationen, die Medien, Umfragen usw. integriert wurden. Damit bewirkte man eine erhöhte aktive Beteiligung der Schüler. Aber in der großen Mehrzahl der Fälle bleiben Inhalte und Ziele der Bevölkerungslehre Bestandteil der zahlreichen Fächer des Curriculums.

     

Relational Aggression and Friendship During Early Childhood: I Won't Be Your Friend!

Associations between relational aggression and mutual, dyadic friendships during early childhood were assessed in the context of a year-long, short-term longitudinal study. Children's mutual friendships were determined via sociometric ratings and their relationally aggressive behavior among peers was assessed via naturalistic, free play observations. Generally, children who were more relationally aggressive had more mutual friends, although this relation differed by gender and time of assessment. Future work should include measures of friendship quality and investigate the role of relational aggression within friendship dyads.     

A nuanced critical realist approach to educational policy and practice development: Redefining the nature of practitioners’ agency

In an age of nationalisation of international educational (leadership) policy, or vice versa, the politics and conflicts behind such policies often take centre stage to the detriment of (research-based) professional expertise. In response, this article develops a nuanced critical realism to propose a practice-based development and implementation of educational (leadership) policy reforms. Based on empirical reports of head teachers’ subversive practice, the article concludes by highlighting that professional expertise is a central component, dubbed ‘formless capability’ (potency), that all stakeholders use to turn policy intentions into policy actions (Actuality). Actuality consists of the three traditional domains of critical realism – the real, the actual and the empirical – whose importance is derived from whether it is a means to (incomplete action) or an end in itself (complete action). It is argued here that empirical experiences of leading schools are the stage of actuality that is directly linked to the complete action of students’ learning and, therefore, stands the most chance of being faithfully and successfully embedded and implemented. Policy mechanisms, therefore, need to reflect such research-based knowledge.     

FRAGMENTS OF AN OLD AND CURRENT HISTORY OF LITERACY

The title of this article is faithful both to the contents and to the organization of the text. It uncovers aspects of the history of literacy which are strikingly current: the different ways used to estimate the extent of illiteracy, the roots of the current literacy movement and its division into two networks, and the ideological changes it has survived. The article briefly describes the provincial organization of literacy programmes in order to identify trends and to ask questions concerning organizational practices which may result in the mortgaging of the future of the movement The conclusion sets. forth the following paradox: “the new Canadian Education Act, in principle, allows universal access to literacy programmes, but by forcing these programmes to fit the school system, it risks excluding most of its target population”.