Is Reading Recovery sustainable two to four years after discontinuation?

The Reading Recovery programme has been a key early literacy intervention in many international contexts for over two decades. As a consequence, there have been numerous investigations into its efficacy for short-term gains, but only a few on long-term sustainability. This study examines the progress of 95 Year 4–6 students from seven schools in the rural hinterland of New Zealand. Standardised data were collected from students who had been successfully discontinued from Reading Recovery two to four years previously and compared them with mean performance from the same school populations. Results showed that only Year 6 students obtained the mean scores which placed them within the national average range. Our results also showed that whilst almost half of the ex-Reading Recovery students we studied, fell within the average band, 45% were classified as well below average.     

Assessment in special schools: national early assessment procedures and pupils attending special schools in England

An implicit assumption that fostering inclusion means having shared systems encompassing the needs of all children is evident in many aspects of policy development over the past decade. Reflecting this, the implementation of ‘baseline assessment’ schemes (i.e. testing at around age 5 years) is a statutory requirement on all state-maintained special and mainstream schools in England since 1998. Our argument is that the enthusiasm for commonality has obscured the need to question the value and validity of baseline assessment schemes for children with special educational needs (and possibly some others such as children having English as an additional language). We illustrate this position with reference to data from our recent study on baseline assessment in England. The study encompassed survey data from a national sample of 982 schools, of which 107 were special schools. Between them, these special schools used 42 different baseline assessment schemes. Comparisons between our mainstream and special school respondents indicated that there were similarities in the nature and perceived value of the schemes used. However, special schools were less satisfied with their schemes. We suggest that a reappraisal of the nature and purpose of baseline assessment for pupils with special educational needs warrants greater critical debate. Without this, there is a danger that a stress on commonality, veiling an inclusion orthodoxy, will ultimately be counterproductive.     

Early Literacy and the Public Library: An Opportunity of a Lifetime (of Reading)

In this article, author Bill Ptacek says that the future is now, and, at least from the 1970s through today, in the field of early childhood work, the future has come so fast that it is constantly upon us. That reality means that those concerned about young children in libraries have been about adaptation on a continuing basis. In this world of rapid change, innovation is constant: City firefighters come to the libraries in uniform to read stories to children, library outreach specialists take programs to daycare centers in their communities, and staff members create a space in a library devoted to early childhood reading. This tradition of rapid change means that the early childhood staff of most large public libraries in North America is changing for the future on a regular basis. The work unit should be considered seriously as one model for 21st century public library reform.     

20世纪30年代粤港走私问题探析

20世纪30年代，基于政治、地理及经济等因素，加之世界经济危机风暴的冲击，粤港两地走私现象日趋猖獗。这不但严重影响了粤港间的正常贸易活动，也造成国货滞销，进而在一定程度上抑制了国内经济的发展。     

半坡氏族的原始农业

本文从半坡氏族时代的自然环境、生产工具、耕作方法、古粟起源、粮食加工、贮藏等多方面论述了半坡原始农业的生产规模和历史地位.     

略论民初河南社会的组党热潮

民初河南组党热潮的出现,集中反映出辛亥革命后河南政治生活的活跃和各阶层人民参加政治生活、改善自己的政治和经济地位的要求。民初河南组党热潮的出现,具有区域性特征,同时也是全国组党热潮运行轨迹的一个缩影。从中可以折射出民初河南乃至全国社会政治发展演变的历史脉络。     

试论义和团运动对中国早期现代化进程的作用

探讨了义和团运动对中国早期现代化进程所起的作用 ,义和团运动加速了中国资产阶级民主革命的迅速到来 ,客观上为民族资本主义工业发展创造了条件 ,并促使了中国社会意识形态的全面变革     

Using Multicultural Resources for Teachers to Combat Racial Prejudice in the Classroom

As the American population continues to become more diverse there is a need to provide children in early education with factual information about all ethnic groups to decrease prejudice. First, teachers must examine their own beliefs prior to implementing a multicultural approach into the curriculum. Three questions are presented that will assist teachers in evaluating their views and behaviors toward ethnic groups. Informative resources are provided for teachers to educate themselves, parents, and students. Through children's literature, instructional materials, and Internet sources, teachers can promote more positive attitudes among students and educate children to be respectful and accept the individuality of others.     

Children’s emotional and behavioral responses to peer provocation and early school adjustment

ABSTRACT

Even very young children think about their own and others’ behavior, including emotions. Such cognitions and emotions about the self and others convey information that is crucial to social interactions and relationships. The current study based on an integrated model of emotion processes and cognition in social information processing (SIP) aimed to explore students’ emotional and behavioral responses in SIP choices, and their association with teacher-reported early school adjustment. Two-hundred and thirty pre-school and first-grade primary school students were interviewed using the Challenging Situations Task (CST). CST assessed students’ emotional and behavioral responses to 12 unambiguous hypothetical peer provocation situations. Children’s preschool and first-grade primary teachers rated children’s early school adjustment with the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30) measure. The results revealed that children chose mainly sad and angry emotions and socially competent and passive behaviors. We found a relationship both between sad emotions and socially competent behavior choices, and between angry emotion and aggressive behavior choices. Sad emotions and aggressive behavior choices were the main predictors of school adjustment. Children’s responses to peer provocation situations varied depending on how the children interpreted the situations. The results address the importance of children’s SIP and school adjustment.