Who is out of school? Evidence from the Statistics South Africa Community Survey     

Brahm Fleisch  Jennifer ShindlerHelen Perry 《International Journal of Educational Development》2012

The South Africa Schools Act requires every child to “attend school from the first school day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of seven years until the last day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of 15 years or the ninth grade, whichever comes first” (Republic of South Africa, 1996). This paper addresses three questions in relation to this. First, to what extent has this legal requirement been met? Second, what are the trends in relation to achieving universal access to compulsory education? And third, what are the factors related to and characteristics of those learners of compulsory school age who are not attending? To address these questions, we have made use of the Statistics South Africa dataset, Community Survey 2007. Our analysis suggests that the size of the compulsory age population who are not attending school may be slightly higher than some government sources have suggested. The trend associated with access remains consistent, with the only major change over the past 10 years being the improved levels of enrolment of six and seven year old children. With regard to the factors related to and the characteristics of children who are not attending school, our analysis reveals that certain sub-populations have higher non-attendance ratios: coloured boys; children whose parents, particularly mothers, have died; children born outside South Africa; children who have moved in the past five years; children with disabilities; and children living in some specific rural communities. A number of broad but interrelated factors may account for children not being in school: disability; family structure; children living in households that are eligible for social grants but are not receiving them; and geographic and racial characteristics. To be poor in South Africa may mean exclusion from the mainstream of the economy, but it does not necessarily mean exclusion from access to basic state services like enrolment in schooling or social grants. Children not attending are not only likely to be living in households that are excluded from participation in the mainstream economy, but are also on the fringes of state services; they may also be on the fringes of households. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research to identify reasons why children in these vulnerable sub-populations are less likely to be enrolled.  相似文献   

Does classroom management coursework influence pre-service teachers’ perceived preparedness or confidence?     

Sue O’Neill  Jennifer Stephenson 《Teaching and Teacher Education》2012

There has been conjecture that completing focused coursework units on classroom management during pre-service teacher preparation might lead to increased feelings of preparedness and confidence. This study reports the preparedness in managing specific problem behaviours, familiarity, and confidence in using management strategies and models of final-year pre-service teachers in Australia who had and had not completed focused classroom management units. Unit completion significantly increased perceived preparedness, familiarity, and confidence in using strategies and models. However, the whole sample felt only somewhat prepared to manage misbehaviour, and were confident in using only half of the strategies they were familiar with.  相似文献   

Do bilingual children possess better phonological awareness? Investigation of Korean monolingual and Korean-English bilingual children     

Jennifer Yusun Kang 《Reading and writing》2012,25(2):411-431

This study examined whether there are bilingual advantages in terms of phonological awareness (PA) for children acquiring two phonologically and orthographically different alphabetic languages and investigated the emergent literacy factors that explain variances in their PA, in comparison to monolingual children. The study participants comprised seventy 5- to 6-year-old Korean-English bilingual children who had attended English-medium kindergartens for at least 2 years and fifty-six Korean monolingual children whose age and L1 oral language proficiency were matched to the bilingual participants. They were tested on a range of PA and emergent literacy skill measures including decoding skills in both Korean and English. The study findings indicated that (1) the bilingual children had a bilingual advantage in PA tasks in both L1 and L2, (2) there was language transfer in processing L1 and L2 PA for both bilingual and monolingual children, and (3) the PA of the two groups was explained by different factors. The results are discussed in terms of language-specific L1 characteristics and the potential effects of instructional differences in language arts.  相似文献   

Preventing retention: First grade classroom instruction and student characteristics     

Jennifer Lucas Dombek  Carol McDonald Connor 《Psychology in the schools》2012,49(6):568-588

Retention is a frequently used strategy to support children who are struggling academically. However, the strategy is costly, and research findings with regard to positive outcomes are mixed. This study examined whether efficacious reading instruction might reduce rates of retention in first grade. We also evaluated the reading instruction the students received compared with children with similar reading and vocabulary skills who were not retained. Additionally, we examined the impact students' self‐regulation may have on grade retention. Findings reveal that it was significantly less likely for students to be retained at the end of first grade if their teacher was implementing more efficacious reading instruction. Moreover, there were substantial differences in the literacy instruction provided for children who were and were not retained. Finally, students in the efficacious reading condition who were retained exhibited significantly weaker self‐regulation skills than did their matched‐promoted peers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  相似文献   

States' reading outcomes of students who are d/deaf and hard of hearing     

Easterbrooks SR  Beal-Alvarez JS 《American annals of the deaf》2012,157(1):27-40

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Mentorship: mutual benefits for ASL students and gifted students (part 1)     

Buisson GJ  Salgo J 《American annals of the deaf》2012,157(2):81-86

Postsecondary American Sign Language (ASL) students are capable of teaching short lessons related to sign language and deaf culture to gifted students in elementary school. College students who work as interest-area mentors benefit gifted students while building their own academic discipline and professional skills. In Part 1 of a 2-part series of articles, the authors explain the unique needs shared by students in gifted education programs (GEPs), the concept of interest-area mentorship, and how mentors help meet the needs of gifted students in light of National Association for Gifted Children standards. Benefits for ASL students, gifted students, and GEP teachers are discussed. College instructors also benefit, because mentoring experiences help make mentors better students and professionals. Additionally, mentoring in gifted classes facilitates recruiting of the next generation of professionals. In this case, recruiting occurs with the best and brightest: gifted students.  相似文献   

A network method of measuring affiliation-based peer influence: assessing the influences of teammates' smoking on adolescent smoking     

Fujimoto K  Unger JB  Valente TW 《Child development》2012,83(2):442-451

Using a network analytic framework, this study introduces a new method to measure peer influence based on adolescents' affiliations or 2-mode social network data. Exposure based on affiliations is referred to as the "affiliation exposure model." This study demonstrates the methodology using data on young adolescent smoking being influenced by joint participation in school-based organized sports activities with smokers. The analytic sample consisted of 1,260 American adolescents from ages 10 to 13 in middle schools, and the results of the longitudinal regression analyses showed that adolescents were more likely to smoke as they were increasingly exposed to teammates who smoke. This study illustrates the importance of peer influence via affiliation through team sports.  相似文献   

Young Children’s Knowledge About the Moon: A Complex Dynamic System     

Grady J. Venville  Robert D. Louisell  Jennifer A. Wilhelm 《Research in Science Education》2012,42(4):729-752

The purpose of this research was to use a multidimensional theoretical framework to examine young children??s knowledge about the Moon. The research was conducted in the interpretive paradigm and the design was a multiple case study of ten children between the ages of three and eight from the USA and Australia. A detailed, semi-structured interview was conducted with each child. In addition, each child??s parents were interviewed to determine possible social and cultural influences on the child??s knowledge. We sought evidence about how the social and cultural experiences of the children might have influenced the development of their ideas. From a cognitive perspective we were interested in whether the children??s ideas were constructed in a theory like form or whether the knowledge was the result of gradual accumulation of fragments of isolated cultural information. Findings reflected the strong and complex relationship between individual children, their social and cultural milieu, and the way they construct ideas about the Moon and astronomy. Findings are presented around four themes including ontology, creatures and artefacts, animism, and permanence. The findings support a complex dynamic system view of students?? knowledge that integrates the framework theory perspective and the knowledge in fragments perspective. An initial model of a complex dynamic system of young children??s knowledge about the Moon is presented.  相似文献   

Child maltreatment and onset of emergency department presentations for suicide-related behaviors     

Rhodes AE  Boyle MH  Bethell J  Wekerle C  Goodman D  Tonmyr L  Leslie B  Lam K  Manion I 《Child abuse & neglect》2012,36(6):542-551

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Childhood trauma exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans: implications for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and adult functional social support     

Van Voorhees EE  Dedert EA  Calhoun PS  Brancu M  Runnals J  Beckham JC;VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup 《Child abuse & neglect》2012,36(5):423-432

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