SCHOOL RACIAL CLIMATE AND THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

This investigation utilized an integrative model of development for ethnic minority children and a process model of engagement to explore whether three dimensions of school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) mediated relationships between school racial climate, academic performance, and educational aspirations. A total of 139 African American students were recruited from a high school in the southeastern United States. Findings revealed an indirect association between perceptions of racial fairness and academic achievement indicators through behavioral and cognitive engagement. Behavioral and cognitive engagement also mediated relationships between youths’ perceived peer discrimination and academic achievement indicators. No significant indirect associations between teacher discrimination and academic achievement through school engagement dimensions were found. Study limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.     

Understanding and Improving Classroom Emotional Climate and Behavior Management in the “Real World”: The Role of Head Start Teachers' Psychosocial Stressors

Research Findings: This article reports on two studies. Study 1 considered ways in which Head Start teachers' (n = 90) psychosocial stressors are related to teachers' ability to maintain a positive classroom emotional climate and effective behavior management in preschool classrooms. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that among teachers randomly assigned to a treatment condition (n = 48), psychosocial stressors serve as important predictors of their use of an intervention designed to improve classroom emotional climate and behavior management. Practice or Policy: Findings from Study 1 were mixed; notably, teachers' personal stressors were moderately predictive of lower use of effective strategies of behavior management in the classroom. Findings from Study 2 suggest that psychosocial stressors are not a barrier to teachers' use of intervention services. Contrary to our expectations, teachers reporting more stressors attended more training sessions than did teachers reporting fewer stressors. Teachers reporting higher levels of stress availed themselves of less support from mental health consultants during classroom consultation visits offered to treatment group classrooms as part of the intervention.     

当代自由主义的困境——论哈耶克、约翰·顿、罗尔斯和罗蒂

非常感谢高瑞泉教授的邀请,使我十分荣幸能有机会来华东师范大学主持第九期大夏讲坛。今天我演讲的题目是“当代自由主义的困境——论哈耶克、约翰&;#183;顿、罗尔斯和罗蒂”。正如在座诸位知道的那样,这个演讲其实是我这次在华东师范大学系列演讲的第三讲。前两讲的题目分别是“人类学文化观念中的知识论意蕴”和“文化观念中的知识论意蕴：中西哲学的讨论”,其出发点就是去探讨如何以哲学思辩的方式来会通中西。     

Early Malnutrition and Child Neurobehavioral Development: Insights from the Study of Children of Diabetic Mothers

In this study we sought to discern whether disturbances in mothers' metabolism during pregnancy may exert long-range effects on the neurobehavioral development of the progeny. Participants were 139 Women with diabetes in pregnancy and their singleton offspring. Serial estimates of circulating maternal fuels were obtained for each pregnancy, along with detailed records of perinatal course and outcome. Offspring were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children—Revised (WISC-R) full-scale IQ scores below 70 in our cohort did not differ significantly from national estimates. Nonetheless, after statistically controlling for other influences, WISC-R verbal, performance, and full-scale IQ scores, and Bannatyne's indices of Verbal Conceptualization Ability, Acquired Knowledge, Spatial Ability, and Sequencing Ability were inversely correlated with measures, of maternal lipid and glucose metabolism in the second and third trimesters. KTEA Arithmetic scores were similarly correlated with measures of maternal lipids in the third trimester. All correlations indicate that poorer metabolic regulation was attended by poorer child performance. The effects of maternal metabolism on fetal brain and neurobehavioral development are discussed as potential intermediary factors.     

Adolescents' and Parents' Evaluations of Helping Versus Fulfilling Personal Desires in Family Situations

A sample of 118 predominantly European American families with early and middle adolescents ( M _ages= 12.32 and 15.18 years) and 1 parent evaluated hypothetical conflicts between adolescents' and parents' requests for assistance versus the other's personal desires. Evaluations differed by level of need, but in low-need situations, adolescents viewed teens as more obligated to help parents than did parents, whereas parents rated it as more permissible for teens to satisfy personal desires than did teenagers. Justifications for helping focused on concern for others, role responsibilities, and among parents, psychological reasons. Middle adolescents reasoned about role responsibilities more and viewed satisfying personal desires as less selfish than did early adolescents, but satisfying personal desires was seen as more selfish by parents of middle than early adolescents. Implications for adolescent–parent relationships are discussed.     

An alternate route for preparing deaf children for BiBi programs: the home language as L1 and cued speech for conveying traditionally spoken languages

This article focuses on nonsigning hearing parents of deaf children who share the goals of bilingual-bicultural (BiBi) programs for their child, opt for their home language to be their deaf child's first language (L1), and have questions about communication options (e.g., oral methods, manually coded English [MCE] systems, or Cued Speech) for conveying that language. We present research findings related to the effectiveness of MCE systems and Cued Speech for conveying English and developing deaf children's reading abilities. We compare the cueing of English and the signing of MCE systems in terms of theoretical and practical advantages. Finally, we suggest research needs.     

Who uses a means-tested scholarship,and what do they choose?

This paper provides detailed evidence regarding the nature of selection into a school voucher system. We use micro-data on scholarship applications matched with state student-level records on test scores, schools attended, and demographic background characteristics to describe the attributes of students who choose to participate in Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, a means-tested scholarship program that is the largest of its type in the United States. We find evidence that those who choose to participate in the program tend to be lower-performing students from poorly performing schools, and that students of different backgrounds tend to choose different types of private schools. Students participating in the program tend to select schools that have more white students and fewer minority students, regardless of student race.     

C-Reactive Protein and Uric Acid Levels in Patients with Psoriasis

Serum CRP and uric acid levels were estimated in twenty-five patients with psoriasis (group III) before and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results were compared with a group of 25 normal subjects (group I) and a group of 25 patients of various skin diseases other than psoriatic lesion (group II). Mean value for CRP was found to be increased by more than 20 folds in patients with psoriasis, which was subsequently reduced to nearly 50% of the initial value after 12 weeks of treatment. These patients also showed hyperuricemia. Nearly 25% of these patients also exhibited arthritis. It is thus suggested that both CRP and uric acid levels should be monitored in patients with psoriasis.     

The relationship between reading level and retention in average and supra readers

Research which indicates a relationship between reading level and memory has generally focused on the performance of average and delayed readers, leaving open the question of performance by above average (supra) readers. The present study considered the performance of average and supra readers on a partial report task with a variable interstimulus interval. The results demonstrated that the two groups do not differ when the interval is less than 200 ms, but the supra readers perform better when the interval extends beyond that point. The results are interpreted as supporting the concept of a continuous relationship between memory and reading level.