Principals’ qualifications in special education and students with and at risk for disabilities’ reading achievement growth in kindergarten

To effectively teach reading to students with and at risk for disabilities, special and general education teachers depend on principals who support effective specialized reading instruction. Yet, extant research indicates that principals have inadequate preparation for supporting specialized instruction. To address this issue, scholars have recommended that leader preparation programs should provide prospective leaders with more preparation in special education. However, research to date provides limited indications of whether more preparation would in fact support more effective leadership for special education. Therefore, we examined data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to determine whether principals’ qualifications in special education and in reading predicted struggling readers’ and students with disabilities’ reading achievement growth in kindergarten. We found no effects; principals’ coursework in special education, coursework in reading, prior experiences as a special education teacher, and experience in school leadership did not predict reading achievement growth among students with or at-risk for disabilities.     

The effect of curricular activities on learner autonomy: the perspective of undergraduate mechanical engineering students

This study researches how first-year engineering students perceived the influence of curricular activities on their own learning autonomy, measured with an adaptation of the Personal Responsibility Orientation to Self-direction in Learning Scale (PRO-SDLS). Participants were questioned to assess the influence of the teacher's role. The results indicate that learners’ characteristics (motivation and self-efficacy) contribute more to learner autonomy (LA) than the teaching–learning transaction (control and initiative), as in the original PRO-SDLS validation. The most autonomous learners presented higher values in all LA components and dimensions, but the differences were greater in motivation and initiative. The participants with higher LA were not as dependent on the teacher, regarding assessment, the completion of classroom tasks and deadlines. Regardless of the degree of autonomy in learning, all participants viewed teachers as the main source of information. Therefore, LA plays an important role in teaching activities planning. Suggestions for adjustments and more flexible learning scenarios are formulated.     

A Comparison of One-Step and Three-Step Approaches for Including Covariates in the Shared Parameter Growth Mixture Model

The shared parameter growth mixture model (SPGMM) has been proposed as a method to handle missing not at random (MNAR) data in longitudinal studies. This Monte Carlo simulation study compared the one-step approach with a three-step approach for adding covariates into the SPGMM. The results showed that performances of one-step and three-step approaches did not differ, but the estimate of the coefficient of the covariate was biased in most conditions with MNAR data. However, means, variances, and covariance of the intercept and slope as well as their standard errors were estimated without bias in most conditions, except for some combinations of small class distances and MNAR dropout missingness that was not related to the underlying growth trajectory. Classification accuracy was similar with both one-step and three-step SPGMM.     

Propensity Score Analysis of Complex Survey Data with Structural Equation Modeling: A Tutorial with Mplus

Propensity score (PS) analysis aims to reduce bias in treatment effect estimates obtained from observational studies, which may occur due to non-random differences between treated and untreated groups with respect to covariates related to the outcome. We demonstrate how to use structural equation modeling (SEM) for PS analysis to remove selection bias due to latent covariates and estimate treatment effects on latent outcomes. Following the discussion of the design and analysis stages of PS analysis with SEM, an example is presented which uses the Mplus software to analyze data from the 1999 School and Staffing Survey (SASS) and 2000 Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) to estimate the effects teacher’s participation in a network of teachers on the teacher’s perception of workload manageability.     

Verbal Short‐Term Memory Underlies Typical Development of “Thought Organization” Measured as Speech Connectedness

Formal thought organization obtained from free speech, a key feature for psychiatric evaluations, has been poorly investigated during typical development. Computational tools such as speech graph connectedness (LSC) currently allow for an accurate quantification in naturalistic settings. LSC's typical development is better predicted by years of education than by age. Among beginning readers, the LSC of stories composed of short‐term memory predicted reading independently from IQ. Here we set out to test a longitudinal sample (6–8 years old, n = 45, followed for 2 years) to verify whether the LSC is predictive of various memory measures, and whether such relations can explain the correlation with reading. The LSC was specifically correlated with verbal short‐term memory performance. The results support the notion that the short‐term storage of verbal information is necessary to plan a story. Given the limited sample size, the relationship of this interaction with reading remains inconclusive.     

Prospective physical sciences teachers' willingness to engage in learning communities

Teachers' professional development is a lifelong learning process that should start with teaching practice, is best developed from experience and can be promoted by socio‐professional interactions. Thus, a learning community of teachers might be a valuable environment for continuing professional development. This paper reports research carried out with 46 prospective physical sciences teachers about to graduate from a Portuguese university. The study aims at investigating their willingness to engage in learning communities. The majority of the participants stated that they would like to engage in a learning community. Therefore, actions must be taken in order to foster learning communities, including newly formed teachers.

Le développement professionnel des enseignants est un processus que doit débuter par un stage, d'avantage réalisable grâce à l'expérience acquise et qui peut être promu par les interactions sociales. Une communauté d'apprentissage peut être un milieu viable et concret afin de permettre le développement continu des enseignants. Cet article présente une recherche réalisée auprès de 46 futurs professeurs en Physique et Chimie, qui étaient sur le point d'achever leur programme de formation initial au sein d'une université Portugaise. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'étudier les intentions des futurs enseignants souhaitant ou non participer à des communautés d'apprentissage. Il en résulte que la majorité des participants a manifesté le souhait de se joindre à de tels groupes d'apprentissage. Par conséquent, il faudrait réunir les conditions nécessaires visant la création de communautés d'apprentissage qui incluraient les nouveaux enseignants.

El desarrollo profesional de los profesores es un proceso que transcurre a lo largo de la vida, pero que, a pesar de ser iniciado en un contexto de practicum, este se ve favorecido por la práctica y facilitado por las interacciones socio‐profesionales. Así, una comunidad de profesores puede ser una ambiente favorable al desarrollo profesional continuo de los mismos. Este artículo presenta una investigación realizada con 46 futuros profesores de Física y Química del último curso de licenciatura en una universidad Portuguesa. El objetivo del estudio fue investigar el interés de esos futuros profesores en participar en comunidades de aprendizaje. La mayoría de los sujetos afirmó que le gustaría participar en estas comunidades de aprendizaje y también señalaron algunas características que esas comunidades deberían tener. En este contexto, parece importante crear condiciones que hagan posible el funcionamiento de estas comunidades que incluyan profesores recién formados.

Die berufliche Entwicklung von Lehrern beginnt mit einen Praktikum und wird vervollständigt durch Erfahrung und soziale Wechselwirkung. Eine Lerngemeinschaft kann eine gute Umgebung sein für die berufliche Weiterentwicklung von Lehrern. Dieser Artikel präsentiert eine Forschung mit 46 zukünftigen Physik‐ und Chemielehrern, welche ein erstes Ausbildungsprogramm an einer portugiesischen Universität beendeten. Das Ziel dieser Forschung ist die Untersuchung des Interesses dieser zukünftigen Lehrer an der Teilnahme an Lerngemeinschaften. Die Mehrzahl der Teilnehmer auesserten den Wunsch solchen Lerngemeinschaften beizutreten. Folglich sollten die notwendigen Bedingungen für die Bildung von Lerngemeinschaften geschaffen werden, welche zukünftige Lehrer aufnehmen.     

A Comparison of Latent Growth Models for Constructs Measured by Multiple Items

A multiple testing approach is outlined that can be used to examine the assumption of underlying normal variables in latent variable models with categorical indicators. The method is based on an application of the increasingly popular Benjamini–Hochberg multiple testing procedure, and is readily applicable with widely circulated software. The discussed method is especially useful for ascertaining this assumption that is very often made in research based on structural equation modeling using models containing discrete outcomes. The described approach is illustrated with numerical data.     

Teachers’ role in curriculum design in Portuguese schools

Teachers’ role in curriculum design is a broad question that inspires political educational reforms among European countries, a trend that even extends to higher education politics. The perspective on teachers’ role in curriculum, both at the level of the policies and of the practices, shapes recent educational reforms in Portugal. These are the concerns underlying our research that intends to substantiate school teachers’ involvement in curriculum development as it is experienced by them, and while comparing their views to the roles they are attributed in the political and academic dominant discourses. To reach teachers’ perceptions, we distributed questionnaires which were completed by 214 teachers in primary and secondary schools. We could conclude that the enactment of a professional identity on the basis of teacher assumption of their role as real curriculum designers is still far from being achieved.     

Analysis of the distances covered and technical actions performed by professional tennis players during official matches

The purpose of this study was to analyse the physical and technical performances of professional tennis players during official matches. The trajectories of eight players were obtained during matches, using an automatic tracking method. The distances covered and technical performances were analysed for the first and second sets. The athletes covered (mean ± standard deviation) a total of 1702.4 ± 448.2 m in the first set, 1457.6 ± 678.1 m in the second set and 3160.0 ± 880.1 in the entire match. No differences were found between the sets for the physical variables (lateral and forward displacements, distance covered per rally, per game and per set, and the percentage of time spent in each range of velocity). However, the distances covered by the athletes during the rallies in which they were serving (median = 5.2; interquartile range (IQR) = 6.7 m) were statistically smaller than when they were returning (median = 6.2; IQR = 7.7 m). Forehand ground stroke proficiency decreased from the first (mean ± standard deviation: 75.2 ± 4.11%) to the second set (mean ± standard deviation = 65.5 ± 14.3%). In conclusion, tennis players did not present reduced physical performance from the first to the second set.