The role of the Virtual School in supporting improved educational outcomes for children in care

ABSTRACT

In England, ‘Virtual Schools’ oversee and support the educational progress of children in care. This paper reports on the analysis of 16 interviews with Virtual School headteachers that were part of two mixed methods research projects on the educational progress of children in care. These interviews explored their role; the types of support they offer young people in care; what they see as the key factors about a young person’s individual characteristics and care experiences that influence their educational outcomes; how schools support young people in care; and the influence of the foster carer/residential staff on the educational outcomes of these children. The interviews were analysed using NVivo and emerging themes were identified informed by the literature on the education of children in care. The paper draws out the main findings which explore the status and role of Virtual Schools in England, their functions, strategies, and what they see as their contribution to improving the educational outcomes of children in care.     

An evaluation of curriculum, setting, and mentoring on the performance of children enrolled in pre-kindergarten

An alarming number of American pre-school children lack sufficient language and literacy skills to succeed in kindergarten. The type of curriculum that is available within pre-kindergarten settings can impact children's academic readiness. This work presents results from an evaluation of two language and literacy curricula (i.e., Let's Begin with the Letter People and Doors to Discovery) from a random assignment study that occurred within three settings (i.e., Head Start, Title 1, and universal pre-kindergarten) and included a control group. The design included a mentoring and non- mentoring condition that was balanced across sites in either curriculum condition. A pre and post-test design was utilized in the analyses, with children (n = 603) tested before the intervention and at the end of the year. Multilevel growth curve modeling, where the child outcomes (dependent measures) are modeled as a function of the child's level of performance and rate of growth between pre and post-testing, was used for all analyses. Results indicated that in many key language/literacy areas, the skills of children in classrooms using either one of the target curricula grew at greater rates than children in control classrooms. This was especially true in the Head Start programs. The findings from this study indicate that at-risk children can benefit from a well-specified curriculum. Additionally, findings demonstrate that a well-detailed curriculum appeared to be less important for children from higher income families. The impact of mentoring was less clear and seemed dependent on the type of skill being measured and type of program.     

课件制作中插接Flash动画的方法

利用ActiveX控件或包以及启动程序 /打开文档等工具 ,可以在PowerPoint、方正奥思、Authorware中插接Flash动画。实践证明这些插接Flash动画的方法是切实可行的     

Accounting for the gender gaps in student performance in reading and mathematics: evidence from 31 countries

In most countries, girls perform better than boys in reading but worse in mathematics. However, there is much variation between countries. Explanations for the gender gaps include the organisation of the school system, students' expectations and macro‐societal factors. The purpose of this paper is to account for gender differences in both reading and mathematics among 15‐year‐old students using data from the OECD's 2000 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) project. In most countries, school system factors are associated with the gender gap in reading but not in mathematics. Generally, gender differences in students' occupational expectations do not account for the gender gaps, although expectations contribute to the gender gaps in reading in New Zealand and the United States. Although several macro‐societal factors—the proportion of women in the workforce, societal inequality and public sector spending—are associated with the gender gap in reading, the correlations are only moderate, unstable and, importantly, are not associated with the gender gaps in mathematics. The much stronger association between the gender gaps in reading and mathematics across countries implies that they are both influenced by policy: the extent that countries have successfully implemented policies to promote the educational outcomes of girls and young women. In such countries the gender gap in mathematics is small or non‐existent but the gender gap in reading is relatively large. Policies shift both gender gaps in tandem.     

Classroom age composition and rates of change in school readiness for children enrolled in Head Start

Despite policy and theoretical support for mixed-age classrooms in early childhood, research examining associations between age-mixing and children's outcomes is inconclusive and warrants further investigation, particularly in preschools serving children who are at risk for poor adjustment to formal schooling. One recent study conducted in preschool classrooms serving low-income children found negative associations between age-mixing and children's social and cognitive development. The current study extended this research by examining associations between classroom age composition (variability in ages of children in the classroom) and low-income preschool children's rates of change in school readiness. The sample consisted of 4417 preschool children enrolled in 207 classrooms in a large, diverse urban Head Start program. Multilevel modeling was employed to examine the main effect of classroom age composition, as well as the interaction between classroom age composition and children's age, as predictors of children's rates of change in emergent literacy, emergent numeracy, social and emotional skills, and approaches to learning. In contrast to previous research, classroom age composition was not associated with school readiness outcomes. This study contributes to the conflicting literature examining the associations between age mixing and children's school readiness and calls for a future research agenda to examine age mixing in context that is focused on sorting out these conflicting results. In the meantime, policymakers should consider other relevant factors when making decisions regarding mixed-age classrooms, such as family preference or the capability for teachers to individualize instruction to children based on their individual needs.     

Head Start and children's nutrition,weight, and health care receipt

Using a sample of low-income children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N ≈ 4350) and propensity-score weighted regressions, we analyzed children's nutrition, weight, and health care receipt at kindergarten entry, comparing (1) Head Start participants and all non-participants, and (2) Head Start participants and children in prekindergarten, other center-based care, other non-parental care, or only parental care. Overall, we found that compared to all non-participants, Head Start participants were more likely to receive dental checkups but showed no differences in getting medical checkups; they were also more likely to have healthy eating patterns but showed no differences in Body Mass Index (BMI), overweight, or obesity. However, these results varied depending on the comparison group—Head Start participants showed lower BMI scores and lower probability of overweight compared to those in other non-parental care, and the effects on healthy eating and dental checkups differed by comparison group.     

Beyond the Brink: Beachy Head as a Climbing Landscape

This article closely interrogates the cultural meanings and embodied history of climbing Beachy Head on the south coast of England. The history is traced through the escapades and accounts of leading protagonists, such as Edward Whymper and the famed occultist and mystic Aleister Crowley. The article contends that Beachy Head offers an enduring topography of mortal terror which can be seen through Romantic depictions of the cliffs in art and literature in the early nineteenth century and in the semiotic meanings attributed to the Head by climbers as they negotiate the steep and crumbling face. The article argues that an enduring ‘chronotopic’ relationship between climber and surface, geography and memory, persists on the Head; its dark reputation as a famed suicide spot is reaffirmed in the embodied agency of adventure climbers as they activate topological memories of British Alpinism at the site and so continue to mark it as a perilous space defined by risk and victimhood in ways that limit its wider sporting appropriation.     

英国党魁遴选的历史沿革

英国近现代大党党魁的遴选方式形形色色，曾有国王任命、前首相举荐、自然浮现、上层推荐和下院议员选举等方式，显现出党内民主的滞后性。君主任命权和贵族政治的长期存在，保守主义政治文化和社会民主发展的迟滞，是统治阶级政党内部民主缓迟出现的原因。     

An experimental study comparing English-only and Transitional Bilingual Education on Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ early literacy development

A longitudinal, experimental–control design was used to test the hypothesis that native language instruction enhances English language learner's (ELL's) native language and literacy development without significant cost to English development. In this study, 31 Spanish-speaking preschoolers (aged 38–48 months) were randomly assigned to two Head Start classrooms differing only in the language of instruction (English and Spanish). As predicted, results showed that Spanish language instruction resulted in significantly higher growth on both Spanish oral vocabulary and letter–word identification measures. There were no significant differences between classrooms on these same measures in English. Results extend previous work by showing that Transitional Bilingual Education may be a viable alternative to traditional English-only models. Implications for theory, future research, and early childhood practice are discussed.     

Parenting behaviours among low‐income mothers of preschool age children in the USA: implications for parenting programmes

This study examines the overall quality of parenting behaviours among low‐income mothers in the USA and the extent to which they are influenced by risk factors within the family environment, maternal well‐being and maternal risk characteristics associated with socio‐economic status. Participants consisted of 1070 low‐income mothers of three‐year‐old children who were enrolled in the Early Head Start (EHS) Research and Evaluation Project. Data were collected using structured interviews with the mothers and from videotaped mother–child interactions during play activities when children were age three. Findings indicated that less‐positive parenting behaviours and fewer supports for language and learning were predicted by higher family conflict, higher parental distress and maternal social risk factors including younger age, less education and a history of public assistance. Fewer household resources also predicted fewer supports for language and learning, but not positive parenting. Negative parenting behaviours were not predicted by maternal well‐being, although higher family conflict and maternal demographic risk factors (younger age, history of public assistance, not being married or living with partner) were statistically significant predictors. Findings from this study suggest that programmes to address the parenting abilities of low‐income mothers are warranted, and that national programmes geared at helping mothers should be augmented by efforts to decrease the degree of stress they experience in their parenting role, as well as by effective strategies to increase available household resources and reduce family conflict. They also indicate that particular attention should be paid to enhance the parenting abilities of mothers who are younger, have lower levels of education, have a history of receiving public assistance and those who are not married or living with their partner.