Maternal Perceptions of Competence and Children’s Academic Adjustment: Longitudinal Relations across Early Elementary School

Children’s perceptions of their academic ability play an important role in their academic adjustment, but relatively little research has examined the factors affecting academic self perceptions of young children, especially the role of parents. Seventy-seven children and their mothers were followed longitudinally from kindergarten to fourth grade to assess the association between mothers’ early perceptions of children’s academic abilities in reading and math and children’s later academic adjustment. Mothers’ perceptions of children’s reading ability in kindergarten were associated with children’s later self-perceptions of academic competence and later achievement, above and beyond kindergarten achievement. However, mothers’ perceptions of math ability in kindergarten were not significantly associated with later outcomes. In reading, mothers’ perceptions of children’s natural talent were positively associated with later self-perceptions and mothers’ perceptions of children’s difficulty in school were negatively associated with later self-perceptions. Additionally, mothers’ perceptions of children’s reading competence were positively associated with later reading achievement. This was the youngest sample in which these relations have been examined to date. Longer-term implications for early parental perceptions are discussed.     

A Jamaican Response to the Call to Act Together

This article is an exploration of following the way of Jesus regarding apologies and restitution for slavery. Three stories of good practice from the North American Jesuits, the United Reformed Church, and the Church of England are contrasted with stories of the abuse of children from First Nations people in Canada, poor families in Ireland, and the transportation of allegedly indigent children from Britain to Australia. These accounts are used to examine critically how far the church is following the call of Jesus to care for the vulnerable and identify with the marginalized in interactions with those sexually abused in churches, in engagement with sex workers, and the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. A poetic reflection from the voice of the man who lived outside his community of the Gadarenes concludes the article.     

EFFECTS OF WARNING STIMULI FOR REINFORCER WITHDRAWAL AND TASK ONSET ON SELF-INJURY

Results of a functional analysis of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in a child with autism showed that her SIB was maintained by access to preferred objects and escape or avoidance of task demands. Extinction and noncontingent reinforcement treatments were supplemented by presenting a statement combined with a picture cue at 30-s intervals indicating that a preferred object would be removed or a task would be presented. Warning stimuli in combination with extinction and noncontingent reinforcement reduced SIB to acceptable levels. SIB rates remained comparatively high in a control condition consisting of a 2-min delay to onset of reinforcer removal or task demands.     

Schools,identity and the conception of the good. The denominational tradition as an example

The Dutch education system relies upon a large number of publicly-subsidized, denominational schools. The authors defend the importance of schools that educate children within a specific — including denominational — conception of the good by arguing for the importance of such a conception for the development of the child's identity. An essential component of this developmental process is critical reflection, conceived as crucial to the formation of moral autonomy.     

Decomposition of a Rasch partial credit item into independent binary and indecomposable trinary items

For each Rasch (Masters) partial credit item, there exists a set of independent Rasch binary and indecomposable trinary items for which the sum of the scores and the partial credit score have identical probability density functions. If each indecomposable trinary item is further expressed as the sum of two binary items, then the binary items are positively dependent and cannot be both of the Rasch type. This paper was written while the author was working with Steve Ferrara and Hillary Michaels on some technical aspects of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. The author had been puzzled by the fact that most MSPAP assessment items have three or less score categories. With a psychometric justification now being apparent, this paper is dedicated to both of them.     

Effects of sequential 1-minute time trials with and without inter-trial feedback and self-correction on general and special education students' fluency with math facts

We measured the effects of two procedures for implementing 1-min time trials on the rate and accuracy with which elementary students wrote answers to single-digit math facts in two concurrent experiments in a first grade classroom and a special education classroom. On-task behavior of three students in each class was also measured. Baseline was a 10-min work period in which students were told to answer as many problems as you can. The two time trial conditions, each of which was also conducted within a 10-min period, consisted of: (1) a series of seven 1-min time trials with a 20-s rest period following each timing; and (2) two 1-min timings, each followed by a teacher-directed feedback and self-correction activity. Students in both classrooms answered correctly more problems per minute during both time trial conditions than they did during the 10-min work period, with the highest levels of fluency occurring during the two time trials with self-correction. The emphasis on going fast did not impair students' accuracy of performance. In both classrooms the percentage of attempted problems answered correctly was high during the initial baseline and increased slightly over the course of the study. On-task behavior was higher during both time trial conditions than during the 10-min work period. When asked at the study's conclusion which of the three methods for practicing math facts (1) helped you learn the most and (2) would you like to do again, the majority of the students in both classrooms chose the time trials followed by feedback and self-correction.     

Mentoring to prevent school drop outs

American businesses have established partnerships with schools in an effort to upgrade the quality of education and increase the number of skilled workers for the future. In these partnerships, business employees act as mentors to help develop human and social capital in at-risk children beginning at an early age so that they will graduate from high school and be prepared for post-secondary education. The purpose of this study was to examine mentoring policy in two elementary schools in an urban district. Participants in the study included central office administrators, principals from the two schools, 10 fourth-grade at-risk students in each school who had been mentored for at least one year, their mentors from local businesses, their teachers, and parents. Data were gathered from interviews, documents, and observations. The successes and limitations for mentoring programs in these two schools depended on policy, implementation, school governance, and support from central office. The study provided implications for improving these programs and providing a model for future mentoring programs.     

TRANSLATING WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR INTO A LOWER PREVALENCE OF SUCH BEHAVIOR

Although we have identified many variables that affect antisocial behavior, there is no evidence that we have learned how to reduce the incidence of such behavior or the proportion of young people who repeatedly engage in antisocial behavior. It is appropriate, therefore, for behavioral scientists to turn some of their energies to research on reducing the incidence and prevalence of antisocial behavior. Small communities may be a particularly useful social unit in which to conduct experimental research. The interventions to be tested include advocacy and community organizing to influence communities to make validated school and clinical interventions widely available and to assist them in increasing other forms of supervision of young people and social and material support of families. Key components of advocacy and community organizing are suggested, and possibilities for research are described.     

提高小学四年级学生情绪胜任力的干预研究

基于将情绪、认知和行为发展相整合的理念,试图通过团体干预活动,提高小学生的情绪胜任力。结果表明,6个系列干预活动能够有效提高小学四年级学生的情绪词汇量、情绪识别能力和情绪调节能力。团体内同伴提名和教师访谈显示,干预活动有助于促进学生的积极心境、自我控制能力和亲社会社交能力的发展,有助于减少攻击、同伴拒绝等适应不良行为。     

Project Chill: Program Description and Session Feedback Data From a Proof-of-Concept Study of a School-Based Psychoeducational Program Using Creative Media

Anxiety disorders in youth are pervasive and impairing. Further, too few young people are identified and treated due to the barriers in accessing mental health treatment (fees, transportation, and time). School-based prevention initiatives may represent viable options for these vulnerable youngsters. Therefore, this proof-of-concept study assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and benefits of a brief prevention program for seventh and eighth grade students. Forty-two seventh and eighth grade students completed a 5-session psychoeducational program using creative media including short video clips, music, and karaoke. Session feedback forms were completed by all students after each class. The results revealed that the program was perceived as moderately helpful yet was quite feasible and acceptable. Further, the majority of students accurately recalled key lessons from every lesson, suggesting high levels of engagement and integrity of session content. The implications of these findings for future program development and evaluation are discussed.