Longitudinal associations between marital instability and child sleep problems across infancy and toddlerhood in adoptive families

This study examined the longitudinal association between marital instability and child sleep problems at ages 9 and 18 months in 357 families with a genetically unrelated infant adopted at birth. This design eliminates shared genes as an explanation for similarities between parent and child. Structural equation modeling indicated that T1 marital instability predicted T2 child sleep problems, but T1 child sleep problems did not predict T2 marital instability. This result was replicated when models were estimated separately for mothers and fathers. Thus, even after controlling for stability in sleep problems and marital instability and eliminating shared genetic influences on associations using a longitudinal adoption design, marital instability prospectively predicts early childhood sleep patterns.     

Bias and the intended use of student evaluations of university faculty

This study examines whether the intended use of data obtained from student evaluations of university faculty biases the ratings. The paper reviews and critiques previous research done in the area. Previous studies produced contradictory results, but the results were confounded by several methodological problems. The research reported here remedied some of the problems in previous studies. The findings indicated that, while students are aware of the intended use of ratings as stipulated in written directions, different uses do not result in statistically significant differences in the ratings. Implications for the use of student ratings in the evaluation of faculty are discussed.     

Instructional Activities and the Quality of Language in Chilean Preschool Classrooms

Research Findings: This study examines the association between preschool classroom activity and the quality of the language spoken by teachers and children. Eighteen classrooms serving low-income children between the ages of 3 and 4 in Santiago de Chile were audio-recorded during one morning shift. Recordings were transcribed and segmented into activities (greeting, learning experience, book sharing, book discussion, breakfast, lunch, free play and other noninstructional time). A total of 113 activity segments were identified. Characteristics of teacher and child language were measured in each segment. Differences between the eight activities were examined using analysis of variance. Activities were classified as instructional or noninstructional, and the association between this dimension and language characteristics was examined using multilevel path analysis. Results show that most of the variance in language outcomes occurs within classrooms. Analyses show that a significant portion of the variance in the way teachers and children talk is explained by the instructional/noninstructional dimension. Instructional activities are characterized by more language stimulation, more teaching, fewer directives, and more child talk than noninstructional activities. Practice or Policy Implications: We discuss implications for teacher professional development and early childhood education improvement in general and for Latin-America specifically.     

BOOK REVIEWS

This paper presents findings from a collaborative evaluation project within a masters programme in professional education. The project aimed to increase knowledge of research methodologies and methods through authentic learning where participants worked in partnership with the tutor to evaluate the module which they were studying. The project processes, areas of the course evaluated and the data collection methods are outlined. The findings focus on key themes from evaluating the effectiveness of using a collaborative evaluation approach, including: enhanced student engagement; creativity of the collaborative evaluation approach; equality between the tutor and students; and enhanced research skills. Discussion focuses on the outcomes and effectiveness of the project and tutor reflections on adopting a collaborative approach. This paper highlights lessons from the project relevant to those interested in staff–student partnership approaches and those facilitating postgraduate learning and teaching programmes and educational research courses.

Cet article présente les résultats d’un projet collaboratif d’évaluation ayant eu lieu dans le cadre d’un programme de master en formation professionnelle. Le projet visait à accroître les connaissances des méthodes et méthodologies de recherche par l’entremise d’un apprentissage authentique dans le cadre duquel les participantes ?uvraient en partenariat avec le tuteur à l’évaluation du module auquel elles prenaient part. Les processus du projet, les parties du cours ayant été évaluées et les méthodes de collecte des données sont présentées. Les résultats se concentrent sur les thèmes principaux provenant de l’évaluation de l’efficacité d’une approche collaborative d’évaluation. Ceux‐ci comprennent : l’engagement accru des étudiantes ; la créativité de l’approche collaborative d’évaluation ; l’égalité entre le tuteur et les étudiantes ; et les compétences de recherche développées. La discussion porte sur : les résultats et l’efficacité du projet de même que des réflexions du tuteur au sujet de l’adoption d’une approche collaborative. L’article met en lumière les leçons tirées de ce projet pouvant être pertinentes pour ceux qui seraient intéressés par les approches de partenariat enseignant‐étudiant et pour ceux qui ont la charge de programmes de 2e ou 3e cycle en pédagogie universitaire ou de cours de recherche en éducation.     

Achievement Goals During Middle Childhood: Individual Differences in Motivation and Social Adjustment

Person-centered analyses of achievement goals have been scarce in studies of elementary school children. In this investigation, the authors examined the natural combinations of achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach, performance-avoidance) among 3rd grade students (N = 195) and how clusters differed in self-, teacher-, and peer-reported adjustment variables. Cluster analysis revealed four groups of students: mastery (above average in mastery goals, below average in performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals), multi-goal (above average in all three goals), avoidant (above average in performance-avoidance goals, below average in mastery and performance-approach goals), and low motivation (below average in all three goals). Clusters differed in self-reported academic self-efficacy and perceptions of teacher support, teacher-reported academic competence, and peer nominations of social status. Mastery students had the most adaptive profiles; low motivation, the least adaptive. Avoidant boys had more maladaptive profiles than avoidant girls.     

Rational Higher-Order Belief Revision in Young Children

Belief revision can occur at multiple levels of abstraction, including lower-level and higher-order beliefs. It remains unclear, however, how conflicting evidence interacts with prior beliefs to encourage higher-order belief revision. This study explores how 4- and 5-year-olds (N = 96) respond to evidence that directly conflicts with their causal higher-order beliefs. When shown a single event that directly violated a strongly supported prior belief, preschoolers largely maintained their initial higher-order belief. However, when the prior belief was more weakly supported and the counterevidence was stronger, children changed their minds. These findings indicate that young children can revise their higher-order beliefs and, furthermore, do so depending on the strength of both the evidence and their prior beliefs.     

Droplet dispensing in digital microfluidic devices: Assessment of long-term reproducibility

We report an in-depth study of the long-term reproducibility and reliability of droplet dispensing in digital microfluidic devices (DMF). This involved dispensing droplets from a reservoir, measuring the volume of both the droplet and the reservoir droplet and then returning the daughter droplet to the original reservoir. The repetition of this process over the course of several hundred iterations offers, for the first time, a long-term view of droplet dispensing in DMF devices. Results indicate that the ratio between the spacer thickness and the electrode size influences the reliability of droplet dispensing. In addition, when the separation between the plates is large, the volume of the reservoir greatly affects the reproducibility in the volume of the dispensed droplets, creating "reliability regimes." We conclude that droplet dispensing exhibits superior reliability as inter-plate device spacing is decreased, and the daughter droplet volume is most consistent when the reservoir volume matches that of the reservoir electrode.