Gender differences in cognitive abilities of opposite-sex and same-sex twin pairs with reading disabilty

In order to compare the pattern of gender differences for cognitive measures in opposite-sex twin pairs to that in independent samples of twins from same-sex pairs, psychometric test data were obtained from four research-identified samples of children: (1) 96 pairs of opposite-sex fraternal twins in which at least one member of each pair is reading disabled; (2) 62 pairs of opposite-sex fraternal twins with no history of reading problems; (3) 167 males and 155 females from same-sex identical and same-sex fraternal twin pairs in which at least one member of each pair is reading disabled; and (4) a comparison sample of 126 males and 132 females from same-sex twin pairs with no history of reading problems. Results of multivariate analyses indicate that gender differences for cognitive measures are similar in twin pairs with and without reading disabilities. Moreover, a highly similar pattern of gender differences occurs for opposite-sex twin pairs who shared both prenatal and early postnatal influences and for independent samples of children from different families.     

Teacher Attitudes Regarding Barriers to Meaningfully Implementing iPads in a Primary School Setting

The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers to implementing iPads in a primary school setting. The participants in this study included four subject specialist teachers and an ICT coordinator. To gather their views on the use of iPads as instructional tools in the classroom, semi-structured interviews were conducted and teachers' diaries were analyzed. The themes that emerged from the analysis of the teachers' diaries included the positive impact of iPad use in education, the potential disadvantages of iPad use in education, and technical issues. An issue that strongly emerged from the diaries was the need for more training on the features of an iPad and apps along with how to use them appropriately in lessons. It was also revealed that what was initially seen as major barriers to iPad use in lessons could be easily resolved with the presence of the correct knowledge and support.     

Does the use of Journals as a Form of Assessment put into Practice Principles of Feminist Pedagogy?

The writing of journals has become a popular form of assessment in women's studies courses, yet little work has addressed its authenticity as a form of feminist assessment. In this article, the learning journals of a class of tertiary teachers involved in a Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching are analysed to determine the type of pedagogical practice that they reflect. The journals, and the pedagogical processes surrounding the use of the journals, were found to embrace many of the principles of critical and feminist pedagogy and to provide a valuable vehicle for the development of reflective professional practice. However, a focus on issues reflecting a wider context of social justice, for example, sexism and racism, was mostly only salient in the journals of the lecturers whose courses overtly involved these issues. These findings highlight a tension between respecting the rights of learners to construct their own knowledge and pursue areas of personal interest, and demanding attention to issues of equity and the role of education in social change.     

“What to do when you’re raped”: Indigenous women critiquing and coping through a rhetoric of survivance

ABSTRACT

Native women and girls suffer sexual violence at the highest rate of any demographic in the United States—primarily perpetrated by non-Native assailants. In this essay, we explore how dominant Euro-American discourses regarding trauma, sexual violence, and indigenous peoples complicate this epidemic. These discourses individualize trauma, assign it an unrealistic linear timeline that presupposes a stable subject position, and ignore the experiences of women of color. Such rhetoric renders Native bodies as disposable and disguises structural oppression by blaming women for the sexual violence committed against them. Ultimately, we argue that rhetoric of survivance, which combines survival, endurance, and resistance to assert Native presence over historical absence and perceived oblivion, creates a space in which communities disproportionately affected by violence can simultaneously practice collective coping methods while also challenging dominant discourses. To advance this argument we conduct a rhetorical analysis of the illustrated handbook, What to Do When You’re Raped: An ABC Handbook for Native Girls, which was produced by a Native American women’s organization to address sexual violence. We explore how four central characteristics of survivance—infinitive temporality, storytelling, collective agency, and structural critique—assert Native presence and make visible the problem of sexual violence against Native women.     

Ting,tang, tong: Emergent bilingual students investigating and constructing evidence-based explanations about sound production

There is a significant amount of research literature on the importance of identifying and building on students' experiences and ideas for making sense of the natural world, especially when engaging in science practices. Simultaneously, approaches to creating justice-oriented science education promote the need to focus on the diverse sense-making repertoires that students, especially those from historically marginalized communities, bring to science classrooms. However, when it comes to emergent bi/multilingual students, science education has favored narrow definitions of what ways of communicating are seen as productive for figuring out natural phenomena, privileging English-based academic vocabulary. In this article, we investigate the myriad conceptual and semiotic resources that third-grade emergent bilingual students developed and used when explaining sound production. Additionally, we explore how students investigated the sounds produced by a string instrument and unpacked the how and whys that give rise to the pitch of the sounds they heard. Our analyses indicate that: (1) students created mechanistic explanations that identified how changes to the salient physical features of strings affected the pitch of the sounds; (2) students created and laminated multiple semiotic resources when sharing their observations and explanations, particularly sound symbolisms; and (3) students navigated both semiotic convergence and divergence as they worked toward conceptual convergence. Based on our findings, we argue that justice-oriented science learning environments must become spaces where emergent bilingual students can build on all their conceptual, semiotic, and cultural resources, without being policed, as they engage science practices.     

Clinical effectiveness and allied health professionals: an information needs assessment

OBJECTIVE: To determine the information needs and support required by AHPs whilst building services based on clinical effectiveness. METHODS: A qualitative approach using action research in co-operation with a Rehabilitation Department Clinical Effectiveness group, leading to interviews with eight therapists. The sampling strategy was purposive. RESULTS: Therapists have well-developed professional networks, but are unsure how to access traditional library areas. Library training can stop AHPs in asking for help or services, whilst the library is thought to be very different to their everyday work, but confidence in using the library service can be acquired by getting to know a librarian. A departmental-based service was thought to provide better access to, and understanding of, information through mentorship, whilst also providing up-to-date evidence so that clinicians can concentrate on their clinical work whilst being more clinically effective. CONCLUSIONS: When seeking information, AHPs are more likely to use professional networks than libraries. However, when working alongside an AHP, a librarian can upgrade information-seeking skills through mentorship, whilst named library contacts can make it easier to access the library for help.     

Edito: Same journal,new collaborations: looking towards the future

European Journal of Psychology of Education -