HEALTHY,HAPPY, AND OLD: CHILDREN LEARN ABOUT THE ELDERLY     

Carol Seefeldt  Richard K. Jantz  Alice Galper  Kathy Serock 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(1):79-87

This study explored the effectiveness of a curriculum in fostering children's positive attitudes toward the elderly and their own aging. The curriculum was developed around three major goals: (1) increasing children's knowledge of the elderly; (2) enabling children to assess their own aging positively; and (3) decreasing negative stereotyping of the physical and behavioral characteristics of the elderly. A total of 108 children in kindergarten through the sixth grade received the curriculum; 107 children in the same grades served as the control and did not participate in the curriculum. The test. Children's Attitudes Toward the Elderly (CATE) (Jantz, Seefeldt, Galper, & Serock, 1976), was administered on a pre‐post paradigm. Multiple regression analyses were computed to assess the effects of the curriculum on posttest responses on the CATE. The results indicated that the curriculum was effective in fostering positive attitudes toward the elderly as measured by the total score, F (1,209) = 5.28, p <.05; in knowledge of older persons, F (1,209) = 5.41, p < .01; and in changing stereotyped thinking about the elderly. The curriculum, however, did not significantly change children's negative attitudes toward their own aging.  相似文献   

Learning from older citizens’ research groups     

Carol Munn-Giddings  Andy McVicar  Melanie Boyce  Niamh O’Brien 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(1):58-69

ABSTRACT

This article adds to an ongoing conversation in gerontology about the importance of training and involving older people in research. Currently, the literature rarely distinguishes between the one-off involvement of older citizens in research projects and the development of research groups led by older people that sustain over time as well as the nature of educational initiatives that support their development. This article presents a case-study based on evaluative data from the WhyNot! Older Citizens’ Research Group that has been running independently for nearly eight years. Members’ evaluations of, and reflections on, the impact of the training program explore from their perspective: Why older people want to get involved in research training and research groups, what they value most in the training, and the types of impact their involvement has had. Creating an educational environment where participants were able to contribute their knowledge in a new context as well learn new skills through group-work based experiential learning were key. Regular role-modeling provided by inputs from successful established citizen research groups was also important. Of the many benefits members gained from being part of a research group, emphasis was given to the relational aspects of the experience. Likewise the benefits members’ accorded to taking part in training and research transcended individual benefits encompassing benefits to the collective and the wider community. Linking health, social care and educational policies is important in providing coherence and opportunity for older people’s voices to shape research, policy, and practice.  相似文献   

PROJECT INSIGHTS: AN EVALUATION OF A COMMUNITY VISION EDUCATION PROJECT FOR OLDER ADULTS     

Susan Buonocore  Carol Sussman-Skalka 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(4):289-299

Project InSights is a community vision education and outreach program designed to utilize trained older adult volunteers to educate their peers about age-related vision loss and the benefits of vision rehabilitation for people who are visually impaired. Volunteers conduct programs that motivate attendees to maintain their vision health and provide information about available services and resources in the community. The overall goal is to prevent unnecessary functional disability among older adults with vision impairment. Peer education is based on the assumption that people are more likely to listen to their contemporaries, and Project InSights uses this approach. A nine-month evaluation of Project InSights was conducted to determine program effectiveness, volunteer and attendee satisfaction, and suggestions for program modification. Data were gathered from two perspectives--program attendees and volunteers--via telephone interviews and evaluation forms completed by program attendees. Program attendees (90 % ) stated that they learned something new that could help them or someone they know who has a vision problem. Volunteers (98 % ) would recommend others to become an InSights volunteer because they are providing an important service. Results indicate that Project InSights was viewed as a valuable community resource by all involved.  相似文献   

Gender and Realized Educational Expectations: The Roles of Social Origins and Significant Others     

Ryan S. Wells  Tricia A. Seifert  Daniel B. Saunders 《Research in higher education》2013,54(6):599-626

Gender gaps in educational expectations and postsecondary enrollment are well studied, but few scholars have investigated the extent to which students realize or fail to realize their expectations. Even fewer have examined how the likelihood of realizing one’s expectations may differ for men and women. Using 35 years of data, this study examines the role race, social class, and significant others’ influences have played in realizing educational expectations and how these relationships have differed for men and women. It also investigates how group gender differences in these characteristics have contributed to the gap between the proportion of men and proportion of women who have realized their educational expectations via college enrollment. Results show trends in realized expectations by gender over time. Group gender differences explain little of past gaps but returns on students’ characteristics differ by gender, which has been a key explanatory factor for differences between men and women in realizing their expectations. Implications of these findings relative to policy and program initiatives are discussed.  相似文献   

Using Small Group Methods for Social Education     

Dr. Carol Ann Valentine 《Clearing house (Menasha, Wis.)》2013,86(3):115-117

  相似文献   

Issues of Collaborative Authorship in Higher Education     

Carol A. Mullen  Frances K. Kochan 《The Educational forum》2013,77(2):128-135

The essay considers two analogies that help to reveal the limitations of -value-added modeling: the first, a comparison with batting averages, shows that the model's reliability is quite limited even though year-to-year -correlation figures may seem impressive; the second, a comparison between -medical -malpractice and so-called educational malpractice, suggests that strict -accountability measures within education are out of line with legal precedent.  相似文献   

Impact of an Early Reading First program on the language and literacy achievement of children from diverse language backgrounds     

Sandra Jo Wilson  David K. Dickinson  Deborah Wells Rowe 《Early childhood research quarterly》2013

This study used an age-cutoff regression discontinuity design to examine the impact of a well-resourced Early Reading First prekindergarten program designed to foster the language and literacy development of 4-year-old children from low-income homes. A special challenge for the application of the language-rich curriculum and professional development package implemented in this study was the presence of a large proportion of ELL children in essentially English-speaking classrooms. We, therefore, sought to determine whether the program was effective for improving English language and literacy outcomes for English-language learners as well as native English speakers. There were large and significant differences between treatment and control groups on literacy outcomes for all students. On the literacy tasks, ELL students in the treatment groups performed nearly as well or better than non-ELL students at the beginning of kindergarten, and reached national norms on standardized tests. There were also significant program impacts on some language outcomes for all students. ELL students who received the intervention significantly outperformed ELL students in the control groups on English receptive and expressive vocabulary. On the more complex oral comprehension skills, preschool did not have a significant impact for ELL students. Intervention effects on receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension for native speakers were found only for the third cohort and were not found for expressive vocabulary. These results provide evidence that, given material supports, coaching, professional development, and the use of a language and literacy-focused curriculum, prekindergarten classrooms can enable low-SES children from diverse language backgrounds to enter kindergarten with literacy skills at or near national norms and can significantly impact some language skills. While non-native speakers of English continued to score lower on language measures than their native-speaking peers, results show that 1 year of preschool can put all children on a positive trajectory for long-term success in school.  相似文献   

Investigation of a Nonparametric Procedure for Assessing Goodness-of-Fit in Item Response Theory     

Craig S. Wells  Daniel M. Bolt 《教育实用测度》2013,26(1):22-40

There have been many studies of the comparability of computer-administered and paper-administered tests. Not surprisingly (given the variety of measurement and statistical sampling issues that can affect any one study) the results of such studies have not always been consistent. Moreover, the quality of computer-based test administration systems has changed considerably over recent years, as has the computer-experience of students. This study synthesizes the results of 81 studies performed between 1997 and 2007. The estimated effect size across all studies was very small (–.01 weighted, .00 unweighted). Meta-analytic methods were used to ascertain whether grade (elementary, middle, or high school) or subject (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Reading, Science, or Social Studies) had an impact on comparability. Grade appeared to have no affect on comparability. Subject did appear to affect comparability, with computer administration appearing to provide a small advantage for English Language Arts and Social Studies test (effect sizes of .11 and .15, respectively), and paper administration appearing to provide a small advantage for Mathematics tests (effect size of??.06).  相似文献   

DIF Testing With an Empirical-Histogram Approximation of the Latent Density for Each Group     

Carol M. Woods 《教育实用测度》2013,26(3):256-279

This research introduces, illustrates, and tests a variation of IRT-LR-DIF, called EH-DIF-2, in which the latent density for each group is estimated simultaneously with the item parameters as an empirical histogram (EH). IRT-LR-DIF is used to evaluate the degree to which items have different measurement properties for one group of people versus another, irrespective of mean differences on the construct. Usually, the latent distribution is presumed normal for both groups, but results are biased if this assumption is violated. Simulations show that if the latent densities are nonnormal, Type I error and estimates of the item parameters and focal-group mean and SD are more accurate using EH-DIF-2 than standard methods. Free software for carrying out EH-DIF-2 is available on request.  相似文献   

Parent Reading Belief Inventory: Reliability and Validity With a Sample of Mexican American Mothers     

Barbara L. Rodríguez  Carol Scheffner Hammer  Frank R. Lawrence 《Early education and development》2013,24(5):826-844

Research Findings: The purpose of the current study was to (a) evaluate the internal consistency of the 7 scales of the Parent Reading Belief Inventory (PRBI), (b) assess the factor structure, and (c) examine concurrent validity in a sample of Mexican American mothers from low-income homes.

Two hundred and seventy-four mothers of preschool children completed the PRBI and the Home Literacy Activities Questionnaire.

Five of the seven scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Principal component and parallel analyses revealed that one component provided the best summary of the observed variables. Preliminary evidence of concurrent validity was revealed. Practice or Policy: Future qualitative research is needed to explore mothers' interpretations of the items and to examine modifications to the PRBI.  相似文献