Put Theory Into Practice

Audrey J. Jaeger, Stephany Dunstan, Courtney Thornton, Alyssa B. Rockenbach, Joy G. Gayles, and Karen J. Haley argue that applying our theoretical frameworks in everyday decision making will help us to be more efficient and effective—and they provide a user‐friendly analogy to guide us in this endeavor.     

Significant Influences on the Development of Adults’ Environmental Awareness in the UK,Slovenia and Greece

This article provides an overview and discussion of the relative importance of various categories of significant influences and formative life experiences on the development of environmental educators’ knowledge of and concern for the environment. A previous article in this journal (Palmer & Suggate, 1996) presents relevant findings deriving from the UK and analyses the ways in which the importance of influences may change through time or be affected by the subject's age. Here, the team of international authors presents data from three European countries and engages in both location‐specific and cross‐cultural comparative analysis.     

Newspapers as a reading resource: their impact on boys and on parental involvement

This study, carried out in connection with the Newspapers in Education programme, reveals the effectiveness of newspapers as a reading resource in the classroom. Their beneficial effect is especially apparent in the motivation given to boys as readers and to the natural way in which parents, and fathers in particular, can become involved.     

Noncontingent use of alum in the reduction of rumination

In the years following the passage of PL 94–142, increasing numbers of severely and profoundly handicapped children have been educated in public school classrooms. One of the many troublesome behaviors sometimes found among members of this population is rumination, a habit in which the child vomits repeatedly and may reingest the vomitus. The behavior is a potential health hazard. It also tends to make the child repulsive to teachers and other caregivers. Treatments developed for management of this behavior in residential facilities have tended to require time-consuming contingent aversive treatment of the rumination. The present study adventitiously identified a stimulus that is effective in reducing rates of rumination when used contingently and also when used noncontingently. Theoretical implications for the understanding of rumination are considered.     

The impact of support services on students’ test anxiety and/or their ability to submit assignments: a focus on vision impairment and intellectual disability

This study investigated the influence of the support services on the test anxiety of students and/or their ability to submit assignments in each of the two disability groups, those with vision impairment and those with intellectual disability, who were placed in specialist and mainstream educational settings in South Australia. Interviews were conducted with 14 students with vision impairment and 9 students with intellectual disability, as well as a total of 10 parents and 8 teachers. The findings unfolded that the support services were found to influence positively the test anxiety experienced by students with vision impairment and/or their ability to submit assignments, but appeared to help students with intellectual disability to a much smaller extent. These findings have implications for mainstream teachers and school support staff working with students with vision impairment and those with intellectual disability, to determine what type and kind of support works for these students and helps them to alleviate their test anxieties.     

Narrative elaboration and participation: two dimensions of maternal elicitation style

This study investigated the narrative scaffolding styles of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking mothers as they engaged their preschool-aged children in family reminiscing and book sharing interactions. Specifically, the study examined the dimensions of narrative elaboration and participation in mothers' scaffolding styles across the 2 narrative tasks. Cluster analyses identified 2 styles of maternal scaffolding for each context, differing in the degree to which mothers elaborated, the manner in which they did so, and the extent to which they encouraged child participation. Findings highlight the importance of both narrative elaboration and narrative participation as defining dimensions of maternal scaffolding styles. Results are discussed in relation to variations in socialization practices and the role these practices might play in children's development.     

Differences in the Fears of Elementary School Children in North and South America: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study compared the fears of North American and South American children in Grades 2–5. Fears were assessed with English and Spanish versions of the American Fear Survey Schedule (FSSC-AM; Burnham 2005). Specific fears and several most common fears differed across the two countries. Overall, the South American children and the girls from both countries had significantly higher fear intensity scores than North American children and the boys. Fear intensity scores also differed significantly across racial backgrounds. Implications for counsellors and directions for future research are considered.