Validating self-paced sentence-by-sentence reading: story comprehension,recall, and narrative transportation

Previous studies on discourse have employed a self-paced sentence-by-sentence paradigm to present text and record reading times. However, presenting discourse this way does not mirror real-world reading conditions; for example, this paradigm prevents regressions to earlier portions of the text. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the ecological validity of self-paced sentence-by-sentence presentations by comparing it to normal page reading with respect to comprehension, recall, and narrative transportation, across two time points (immediate and delayed). Bayesian analyses found greater evidence in favor of the null hypothesis for transportation, indicating that little difference likely exists between sentence-by-sentence presentations and normal reading for this outcome. Weak evidence supporting the alternative hypothesis was found for immediate comprehension and recall, with participants who read the story as isolated sentences scoring marginally higher. Altogether, these results validate the self-paced sentence-by-sentence paradigm for measuring reading times, uncovering few differences in outcomes relative to natural reading.     

A Prospective Sequential Analysis of the Relation Between Physical Aggression and Peer Rejection Acts in a High-Risk Preschool Sample

Research Findings: Early Head Start home-based programs provide services through weekly home visits to families with children up to age 3, but families vary in how long they remain enrolled. In this study of 564 families in home-based Early Head Start programs, “dropping out” was predicted by specific variations in home visits and certain family characteristics. It also was negatively related to several targeted program outcomes. Home visits to dropout families focused less on child development, were less successful at engaging parents, and had more distractions. Dropout families had more risks and changes of residence, were more likely to be headed by a single mother, and were less likely to have a mother with poor English skills or a child with a documented disability. Practice or Policy: Home visiting programs may be able to reduce dropout rates, and thereby increase the duration of services to each family, by keeping home visits engaging and focused on child development and also by individualizing to the specific needs of families at risk for dropping out. To keep families involved longer, home visiting programs should consider (a) planning home visits that are longer, more engaging for both parent and child, scheduled at a time when there are fewer distractions for the family; and (b) spending the majority of time on child development activities and topics.     

Preservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusion: Early childhood education and elementary education programs

Abstract

Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of children with disabilities play a central role in the successful inclusion of these children into general education classrooms. This study examined possible predictors of preservice teachers’ attitudes toward (1) persons with disabilities, and (2) inclusion of children with disabilities into general education classrooms. Participants were students majoring in early childhood education and elementary education. Preservice teachers’ attitudes toward persons with disabilities and inclusion were explained significantly by their personal relationships with persons who have disabilities and the number of courses related to special education/teaching strategies taken. However, preservice teachers’ experiences working with persons who have disabilities was not a significant predictor. Further, the relations between preservice teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and personal experience variables were mediated by their attitudes toward persons with disabilities. This study provides evidence that more effective, practical experiences and course content related to children with disabilities, inclusion, and teaching strategies need to be provided in teacher education programs to support successful efforts with inclusion. This study also suggests that teacher education programs should strive to improve students’ attitudes toward inclusion, as well as toward persons with disabilities.     

Quality assessment,decision‐making and institutional change

The paper studies the relation between different national cost‐sharing models and how students from different socio‐economic backgrounds finance their higher education in six different European countries: the Czech Republic, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. The findings reveal considerable differences both between the countries and also between different socio‐economic groups of students within each country. Even though there are only small social differences in the students’ level of income, there are considerable social differences in the students’ sources of income. The findings are discussed related to the country’s specific policy and higher education funding structures.     

The Divide and Conquer Exercise: Finding the Essence of Difficult Readings

Objective: In this exercise, students collectively summarize a long and perhaps difficult reading into a shorter, more condensed version of itself; in the process, students experience the virtues of teamwork (the divide and conquer approach), gain valuable reading and note-taking skills, and collectively distill the essence of a reading in class.

Courses: This exercise works best in any course with theoretical or complex readings assigned to students as outside reading, e.g., introductory courses in communication, communication theory, special topics in communication; the exercise requires 20–40 students.     

Gender Stereotypes in Children's Books: their prevalence and influence on cognitive and affective development

In the 1960s and 1970s many researchers in the USA noted the prevalence of gender stereotypes in books for children. Numerous studies showed that females were typically portrayed as passive, dependent and generally incapable, and that males were typically portrayed as active, independent and generally competent. Stereotype patterns were consistent across a variety of reading materials, including picture‐books, fiction for older readers and school‐books. Some researchers questioned what the potential effects of such stereotypes might be on readers, but few examined these questions empirically. A review of this literature led us to question whether increased awareness about the potentially harmful effects of gender stereotypes had led to their elimination from books intended for young readers. This paper describes the data we collected on a set of picture‐books. We found that while the prevalence of stereotypes has decreased somewhat, the decreases in quantity and in kind have not been statistically meaningful. A discussion of the effects of gender stereotypes on affective development and on cognitive development is also presented.     

Evaluation of patterning instruction for kindergartners

Abstract

To determine whether patterning instruction was as useful or more useful than other forms of instruction, kindergarten children (age five) were taught either patterning or early literacy or mathematics or social studies in matched sessions. Instruction was conducted in 15-minute sessions from November through mid-April. Posttests on patterning, mathematics, early literacy, and three executive functions showed that the children taught patterning became significantly better at patterning than those in the other instructional conditions. No differences were found between the children taught mathematics, early literacy, or social studies. Correlational analyses indicated that the relations of patterning ability, working memory, and inhibitory control to mathematics achievement were similar. Cognitive flexibility was not very strongly related to any other measure and the executive functions were relatively independent of each other for the children who were age five.