Learning of letter names and sounds and their contribution to word recognition

This study investigated knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, their learning, and their contributions to word recognition. Of 123 preschoolers examined on letter knowledge, 65 underwent training on both letter names and letter sounds in a counterbalanced order. Prior to training, children were more advanced in associating letters with their names than with their sounds and could provide the sound of a letter only if they could name it. However, children learned more easily to associate letters with sounds than with names. Training just on names improved performance on sounds, but the sounds produced were extended (CV) rather than phonemic. Learning sounds facilitated later learning of the same letters' names, but not vice versa. Training either on names or on sounds improved word recognition and explanation of printed words. Results are discussed with reference to cognitive and societal factors affecting letter knowledge acquisition, features of the Hebrew alphabet and orthography, and educational implications.     

Personality correlates of career choice in the Kibbutz: A comparison between career and noncareer women

The study compared Kibbutz career women (who studied beyond high school and worked in their profession) to Kibbutz noncareer women (who did not study beyond high school and worked in various nonprofessional jobs such as the laundry, the kitchen, and child care) on several personality characteristics. All subjects were nonorthodox Jewish women who were born and raised in the Kibbutz. The two groups completed a variety of self-report inventories, including the Bem Sex-Role Orientation Inventory, need for achievement inventory, two self-esteem scales that measured both the global self-esteem and various dimensions of self-esteem (academic, social, physical appearance, physical abilities, and self-regard) and Cattell's Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), which is a short version of Cattell's 16 Personality Factors Test. The results showed that Kibbutz career women differed significantly from noncareer women on several personality characteristics. These women attributed to themselves more instrumental characteristics, were found to be more independent and emotionally stable, and had a higher need for achievement and a higher academic and social self-esteem. In addition, the division of household work was more egalitarian in the case of career women. The results are discussed in view of the fact that all of the career women were actually holding traditionally feminine positions such as teachers and social workers.     

Gender matters when sports engagement and self-efficacy interact with academic achievement

Social Psychology of Education - This study examines, through the lens of gender, whether engagement in sports, self-efficacy and grade level affect academic achievements of adolescents. The study...