Phonological processing and emergent literacy in younger and older preschool children

Phonological awareness, phonological memory, and phonological access to lexical storage play important roles in acquiring literacy. We examined the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of these phonological processing abilities (PPA) in 389 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the validity of each PPA as separate from general cognitive ability and separate from each other. Multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) with mean structure demonstrated that older preschoolers have better developed latent PPA than younger preschoolers but that the structure of PPA is equivalent. RAN was found uniquely associated with letter knowledge and text discrimination in younger preschoolers, and PA was found uniquely associated with word reading skills in older preschoolers. Finally, general cognitive ability was only indirectly associated with emergent literacy via PPA. These results highlight the importance of PPA in the early literacy development of English-speaking preschool children.     

Fostering creative performance in art and design education via self-regulated learning

Instructional Science - There is a lack of research and practice focused on how to foster higher-order processing, such as creative performance, within higher education settings. To address this...     

Interventions supporting baccalaureate achievement of Latinx STEM students matriculating at 2-year institutions: A systematic review

Numerous national reports have identified the importance of significantly improving pathways that begin with Latinx students enrolling in 2-year institutions and ultimately completing baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields at 4-year institutions. Many programs using multiple interventions have been designed, implemented, and studied to achieve this goal. To synthesize what has been learned from studies of these programs, this article presents a systematic review of published studies of programs designed to support Latinx student success in 2-year institutions and successful transfer to 4-year institutions, particularly for STEM majors. A total of 49 quantitative, 9 qualitative, and 16 mixed-methods studies published as reports, articles, or dissertations since 1980 were identified that met the criteria for the review. Studies covered a wide range of interventions, including mentoring, counseling, advising, study groups, tutoring, scholarships, orientations, career services, undergraduate research, articulation agreements, and transfer programs. Individually, these studies report positive influences on student success outcomes, including 2- and 4-year graduation, transfer to a 4-year institution, retention, and success in individual courses. However, the number of qualifying studies was surprisingly small, considering the importance of improving success of Latinx students and the length of time during which the problem has been repeatedly emphasized. Few interventions have been undertaken from explicitly assets-based perspectives or theoretical frameworks. The lack of explicit frameworks underlying interventions—combined with a sole/primary focus on students—suggests many interventions were approached from a deficit-based perspective. Further, the study found no pattern of replication studies that might confirm effectiveness of potentially promising interventions. Based on our analysis of evaluations presented in the studies, it does not appear that the research community has developed agreed-upon methods to evaluate commonly agreed-upon outcomes. Finally, no intervention has been sufficiently supported that widespread implementation could be recommended.     

Assessing Marijuana Use,Anxiety, and Academic Performance Among College Students

This article examines the relationship between marijuana use and anxiety symptoms among college students, with a secondary focus on marijuana use and grade point average (GPA). A secondary analysis was conducted on data obtained from the American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment. Results indicated that marijuana use was negatively associated with GPA among students with current anxiety and no formal treatment. The relationships between these variables may be more complex than previously thought.     

Forms and practices of accountability in education

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability -     

Predicting University Students’ Academic Success and Major Using Random Forests

Research in Higher Education - In this article, a large data set containing every course taken by every undergraduate student in a major university in Canada over 10 years is analysed. Modern...     

The relationship between the Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery-children's revision and the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test with learning disabled students

The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision (LNNB-Children's Revision) and The Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test (MPD) were administered to 40 learning disabled (LD) students. Correlations were run between the scales of the LNNB-Children's Revision and MPD scores across the sample. Coefficients ranged from .07 to .71 for the intercorrelations of the scales of the LNNB-Children's Revision. Low correlations (−.10 to −.27) were found between MPD T scores and the LNNB-Children's Revision Scales, but raw scores from the MPD had somewhat higher correlations with the LNNB (.18 to .65).     

An examination of achievement-related behavior of high- and low-achieving inner-city pupils

Incorporating the academic engaged time model, the present study investigated behavioral differences between high- and low-achieving inner-city children. Two hundred observations of “on-task”-“off task” behavior of 136 children within the elementary grades (1 through 6) were noted during reading and mathematics lessons. Findings suggested that high- and low-achieving inner-city children spend a large proportion of time actively engaged in academic tasks, with high achievers spending somewhat more time than low achievers. No significant developmental trends were noted, and discrepant academic attainment levels of children are discussed in terms of an “academic learning time” model.     

Normative data for eight dimensions of reading attitudes: Canadian public school students

The Survey of Reading Attitudes was administered to 613 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students enrolled in the schools that serve the metropolitan area of a small city in Ontario, Canada. Means, standard deviations, coefficient of alpha reliability estimates, and standard errors of measurement were computed for the eight dimensions of reading attitude included in the Survey. The reliability estimates for the respective dimensions are as follows: Expressed Reading Difficulty, α = .88, Reading as Direct Reinforcement, α = .83, Reading as Enjoyment, α = .89, Alternative Learning Modes, α = .72, Reading Group, α = .81, Reading Anxiety, α = .82, Silent vs. Oral Reading, α = .83, and Comics, α = .79.     

Repeated retention testing effects do not generalize to a contextual interference protocol

Three experiments examined repeated retention testing effects in a contextual interference (CI) protocol. Retention was assessed at 10 min and 24 hr following acquisition or at just 24-hr for the one-test conditions. Experiments 1 and 2 used speeded-response key-pressing tasks. Dependent measures were total time and errors. Experiment 3 used sequential-timing tasks. Dependent measures were absolute error and absolute constant error Results revealed CI effects in each experiment. Repeated retention testing effects were not found in Experiments 1 and 3. Experiment 2 revealed superior performance by the two-test condition compared to the one-test condition. This result was qualified by possible practice effects during the 10-min test. It was concluded that repeated retention testing does not present problems for most studies of CI.