Inhibitory control in toddlerhood – the role of parental co-regulation and self-efficacy beliefs

Inhibitory control is considered a core component of self-regulation. Tremendous advances in early childhood have been attributed to brain maturation processes as well as environmental influences, such as parental co-regulation. Parental self-efficacy represents a key correlate of parenting behaviors and is associated with child outcomes. However, research on the interplay of parental co-regulation, parental self-efficacy and child’s inhibitory control in early childhood is scarce. In this study we explore to what extent parents’ positive (PCR) and negative co-regulation (NCR) and domain-specific (DSSE) and domain-general (DGSE) self-efficacy beliefs assessed at pre-test (T1) predict toddlers’ inhibitory control six weeks later (T2). Furthermore, we examine whether NCR mediates the link between DSSE and parent-reported inhibitory control. Results are based on data from 90 parent-child dyads (children’s age: 24–35 months). Parents’ PCR, NCR, DSSE and DGSE are assessed via questionnaire. Children’s inhibitory control is measured via the Inhibition Scale of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF-IN) and a Snack Delay task. Multiple regression analyses reveal that parents’ NCR and DSSE, but not PCR and DGSE, significantly predict BRIEF-IN at T2 (controlling for covariates). The indirect effect from parents’ DSSE on BRIEF-IN via NCR is not confirmed by the data. No associations are observed regarding children’s performance in the Snack Delay task. The present study adds new and important evidence that parents’ DSSE and NCR independently predict (parent-reported) inhibitory control in toddlerhood. Parenting interventions should thus not only address parenting practices but target parental self-efficacy beliefs as an important factor, too.     

Game‐based feedback for educational multi‐user virtual environments

It is generally accepted that informative and timely feedback is important to a student's learning experience within higher education. In the study of commercial digital games it has also become increasingly understood that games are particularly good at providing effective feedback of this form to gameplayers. We discuss recent game based learning research that attempts to harness the motivating qualities of digital games to inform the design of educational technology. Results from this research demonstrate student participation and performance can be improved by providing Game‐Based Feedback (GBF) to students. The GBF approach awards points to students for the successful completion of tasks throughout a course of study. Points and achievements accumulated over time builds a profile that provides a student with a potentially powerful representation of their educational identity. In this paper, we argue that virtual worlds are particularly suitable for this form of GBF and can further enhance a student's understanding of their educational standing. We outline a Virtual Learning Landscape (VLL) design that is embedded within a multi‐user virtual environment, where educational feedback is supplied to students via their avatar and a virtual world's landscape. The core structural principles of the proposed VLL are explained and several examples of the use of the VLL are provided to illustrate the system.     

Helping students with LD to succeed: the role of teachers’ hope,sense of coherence and specific self-efficacy

Teachers play a critical role in facilitating the academic achievements of students with learning disabilities (LD). The personal resources of teachers, such as sense of coherence (SOC) and hopeful thinking, may predict self-perception of the competency and efficacy they possess to help students with LD acquire needed learning skills. Several studies have shown the importance of SOC and hope to the success of students with LD, but research has not focused on how the hope of their teachers may help these students succeed in inclusive classrooms. The goal of the current study was to identify profiles of teachers, based on their personal resources of SOC and hope, and to examine their self-efficacy (SE) in helping students with LD acquire learning skills. The sample consisted of 624 teachers (567 females and 57 males) from inclusive classes; 143 teachers in this sample had special education training. Using cluster analysis four distinct clusters were identified suggesting that both SOC, as a global personality measure, and hope, as a measure of future expectations, contributed to the SE of teachers: their belief in their ability to help the students with LD acquire learning skills. In each cluster, teachers with special education training had higher levels of hope and SE. The results highlight the important role of teachers’ personal resources in predicting their belief in their professional ability to help students with LD.     

Observing Children in German Daycare Centres: Practitioners’ attitudes and practice

Systematic child observation has a long tradition in early childhood education, and it has been used for diverse educational goals. Cross‐cultural comparisons show that its importance varies across different countries and educational settings. These differences may be relevant for international cooperation. In the context of a project implementing Belgian observation and assessment scales in German kindergartens, we studied German practitioners' attitudes towards systematic observation (prior to the project). The most significant overall finding is the low priority that is attributed to systematic observation both in training and practice. These findings are related to some traditions and ideologies of German ‘kindergarten culture’. A concluding section discusses the role of structured child observation methods in professional development.     

The German dual system of initial vocational education and training and its potential for transfer to Asia

Germany has a “dual system” of initial vocational education and training, one that other countries admire and would like to adopt. Can it hand this model over to them? This article argues that doing so will require far more than a simple process of copying. Instead, any transfer must reflect the existing conditions in the country adopting the system, and must be adapted to its unique social, cultural, and economic objectives. In addition, though the dual system can serve as a model, no other country can implement the dual system as a whole, or components one by one. Instead, it must use five constitutive elements in order to transfer the dual spirit of the German model appropriately. The article ends by describing some considerations that apply to the transfer process and reviews some German projects that transferred the system to countries in Asia.     

Alternative education programmes and middle school dropout in Honduras

Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article analyses dropout in three of the four main alternative lower secondary school programmes in Honduras over a three-year period for a cohort of roughly 5,500 students. The results show that these programmes are indeed reaching a vulnerable population in the country, but dropout rates are generally very high – upwards of 50 per cent in some cases – between Grades 7 and 9. Furthermore, even in the control school comparison samples made up of formal lower secondary schools, about 25 per cent of children leave school between Grades 7 and 9. The authors’ analysis includes propensity score matching (PSM) methods that make more focused comparisons between students in alternative programmes and control samples. These results show that dropout rates in alternative programmes are not much different than in control schools, and only significant in one programme comparison, when taking into account family background characteristics like socioeconomic status (SES). Multivariate analysis within alternative programme samples finds that attrition is lower in those learning centres which have adopted key features of formal schools, such as university-educated teachers. The results highlight the tremendous variation in the alternative middle school sector in terms of programme features, school quality and student outcomes, as well as the challenges of expanding this sector to meet the growing demand for lower secondary schooling in Honduras.     

Quotenregelungen im Universit?tsgesetz - Eine verfassungsrechtliche und rechtspolitische Bewertung

Die trotz rechtlicher Gleichstellung bestehenden faktischen Ungleichgewichte zwischen den Geschlechtern in Bezug auf die Verteilung von Arbeitspl?tzen bzw Leitungsfunktionen führten im Bereich des ?ffentlichen Dienstes zur Einführung von Geschlechterquoten. Für die Universit?ten sehen das Universit?tsgesetz (UG) bzw das Bundes-Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (B-GlBG) die bevorzugte Aufnahme von Frauen einerseits in bestimmten Universit?tsgremien, andererseits bei der Besetzung von Stellen und bei Bef?rderungen innerhalb der universit?ren Strukturen vor. Der folgende Beitrag versucht die verfassungsrechtlichen Fragestellungen (Vereinbarkeit mit Gleichheitssatz, Bestimmtheitsgrundsatz) im Zusammenhang mit den Quotenregelungen des UG bzw des B-GlBG in concreto aufzuarbeiten bzw allgemein zur Frage der Gerechtigkeit und der rechtspolitischen Notwendigkeit von Quotenregelungen Stellung zu nehmen.