A Pilot Study of a Self-Administered Parent Training Intervention for Building Preschoolers’ Social–Emotional Competence

Social–emotional skills are equally as crucial for school success as cognitive and academic skills (Webster-Stratton and Reid in Infants Young Child 17:96–113, 2004), yet many young children lack these skills (Lavigne et al. in J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 35:204–214, 1996). Therefore, it is essential to invest in the development of social–emotional competence at an early age—a task that necessitates active parent involvement (Webster-Stratton and Reid 2004). This pilot study explored the effectiveness, integrity, and acceptability of a self-administered parent training intervention [Devereux Early Childhood Assessment—Second Edition (DECA-P2) family guide (Mackrain and Cairone in Promoting resilience for now and forever: a family guide for supporting the social and emotional development of preschool children, 2nd edn. Kaplan Early Learning Company, Lewisville, 2013)] targeting the promotion of social–emotional competence in young children (N = 12). Pre- and post-test parent reports revealed that children’s social–emotional competence increased and behavior problems decreased following program completion. Parent ratings indicated the intervention was carried out as intended (i.e., integrity) and that it was helpful (i.e., acceptability). These exploratory findings suggest that this self-administered parent intervention shows promise as an alternative to face-to-face early childhood prevention services.     

Psychometric Properties of the Full and Short Versions of the Quality of Life Instrument Package: Results from the Ontario province-wide study

Results that bear upon the psychometric properties of the Quality of Life Instrument Package are presented. The reliability and validity of quality of life data from a probability sample of 500 persons with developmental disabilities in Ontario were assessed. The data indicate that most of the instruments found in the package met acceptable psychometric standards. In some cases, specific domain scores need to be interpreted with caution. The Full Version of the instrument seems appropriate for ongoing practical program planning with clients. The Short Version seems especially appropriate for evaluation and monitoring purposes.     

Longitudinal course of rapid naming in disabled and nondisabled readers

The Rapid Automatized Naming Test (Denckla and Rudel 1974) was studied cross-sectionally in an sample of kindergartners (n=342) at-risk for reading disability (Study 1), and longitudinally in an n=160 epidemiological normal sample of children tested in first, third, fifth, and eighth grades (Study 2). Study 1 showed faster absolute naming speeds for those with near perfect untimed alphabet recitation, but the stronger and more orderly relation (at r=.31, p<.0001) was between three levels of alphabet recitation accuracy and the relative number/letter naming speed advantage (ratio of mean number/letter naming speed minus mean color/object naming speed over mean color/object naming speed). In Study 2, the number/letter advantage was already strongly present by first grade, and did not increase significantly thereafter, but absolute naming times improved steadily across grades in an exponential decay function. In this sample, the relative number/letter advantage was not related to reading level. However, the absolute color/object naming speed was strongly related to reading level and vocabulary across grades. Norms for the Rapid Automatized Naming Test based on the epidemiological normal sample tested in Grades 1, 3, 5, and 8 are presented in the appendix.     

Comparing Teacher Assessment and Standard Task Results in England: the relationship between pupil characteristics and attainment

This study examines the 1992 National Curriculum assessment data from one large LEA in England in order to address the issue of equity. For comparison purposes we also present additional data obtained front the same sample of pupils on an NFER standardised word recognition test. The report focuses on the relative performance of gender, low income, linguistic, and special needs groups on a standardised reading test and the teacher (TA) and standard task (ST) performance assessments administered in 1992 to 7‐year‐olds as part of the national curriculum (NC) in England and Wales. The impact of schools and teacher effectiveness on student attainments scores is also examined and discussed. Briefly, the findings show that irrespective of the method of assessment, differences in attainment were found between most pupil groups investigated. However, importantly, only very modest evidence was found that particular methods of assessment appeared either to reduce or increase the differences in attainment and overall no clear patterns emerged. The findings are discussed in the context of various factors that may have an impact on the assessment of student attainment.     

The Effects of Enrolling in Oversubscribed Prekindergarten Programs Through Third Grade

This study leverages naturally occurring lotteries for oversubscribed Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program sites between 2007 and 2011, for 3,182 children (M = 4.5 years old) to estimate the impacts of winning a first choice lottery and enrolling in Boston prekindergarten versus losing a first choice lottery and not enrolling on children’s enrollment and persistence in district schools, grade retention, special education placement, and third-grade test scores. There are large effects on enrollment and persistence, but no effects on other examined outcomes for this subsample. Importantly, children who competed for oversubscribed seats were not representative of all appliers and almost all control-group children attended center-based preschool. Findings contribute to the larger evidence base and raise important considerations for future prekindergarten lottery-based studies.     

The Spectrum of Learning and Teaching: The Impact of a Fourth-Year Anatomy Course on Medical Student Knowledge and Confidence

There is growing demand from accrediting agencies for improved basic science integration into fourth-year medical curricula and inculcation of medical students with teaching skills. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a fourth-year medical school elective course focused on teaching gross anatomy on anatomical knowledge and teaching confidence. Fourth-year medical student “teacher” participants' gross anatomy knowledge was assessed before and after the course. Students rated their overall perceived anatomy knowledge and teaching skills on a scale from 0 (worst) to 10 (best), and responded to specific knowledge and teaching confidence items using a similar scale. First-year students were surveyed to evaluate the effectiveness of the fourth-year student teaching on their learning. Thirty-two students completed the course. The mean anatomy knowledge pretest score and posttest scores were 43.2 (±22.1) and 74.1 (±18.4), respectively (P < 0.001). The mean perceived anatomy knowledge ratings before and after the course were 6.19 (±1.84) and 7.84 (±1.30), respectively (P < 0.0001) and mean perceived teaching skills ratings before and after the course were 7.94 (±1.24) and 8.53 (±0.95), respectively (P = 0.002). Student feedback highlighted five themes which impacted fourth-year teaching assistant effectiveness, including social/cognitive congruence and improved access to learning opportunities. Together these results suggest that integrating fourth-year medical students in anatomy teaching increases their anatomical knowledge and improves measures of perceived confidence in both teaching and anatomy knowledge. The thematic analysis revealed that this initiative has positive benefits for first-year students.     

Choosing 'stereotypes': debating the efficacy of (British) disability-criticism

This paper considers how, by paying attention to the divergent use of 'stereotypes' as a methodological tool, we concomitantly pay attention to the capacities of contemporary disability-criticism. First, the search for negative stereotypes is described in terms of how it enables the repeated citation of common examples. However, as some areas of disability-criticism have begun to acknowledge that 'stereotypes' are not exclusively a negative form, the second part of the paper uses the US cartoon series South Park to explore what sort of interpretations such a troublesome recognition allows. While critical discourse on disability is discussed as a whole, the ultimate aim is to draw some conclusions about the past, present and future of British disability-criticism. The paper concludes by suggesting that recognising the contingency of where we are on how we choose to read representations of disability strengthens debates about how we want to go on.