ABSTRACT

Neoliberalism is ubiquitous in higher education. In its dedication to efficiency and measurement, neoliberalism poses threats to the arts and humanities, especially their least measurable, most human qualities. Guided by an institutional logics framework, this multiple case study gauged how arts and humanities faculty can navigate this tension as they develop new academic majors and minors. Findings detail collaborative and top-down decision-making and the importance to faculty of supporting students and advancing academic fields. Faculty showed how they employed hybrid logics by striking balances and compartmentalizing actions. Their actions emphasized adaptations to neoliberalism while advancing academic and democratic logics.

ABSTRACT

Ageism against older adults has been well studied, yet adolescents also experience ageism in pervasive and harmful ways. In this article, we describe anti-youth ageism as a system of oppression that encompasses negative stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination against adolescents that uphold power hierarchies and marginalize young people based on their age. Drawing from interdisciplinary theory and research, we examine adolescents' experiences of anti-youth ageism at interpersonal, cultural, and institutional levels, and consider the ways anti-youth ageism is internalized. Across many levels, anti-youth ageism is understood in concert with other systems of oppression such as racism and cis-heterosexism. The field needs a new wave of anti-oppressive developmental science to understand the multilayered, intersectional manifestations of anti-youth ageism and the impacts of anti-youth ageism on various domains of development. Research can help foster the creation of intervention strategies to reduce harm to adolescents and their development.

ABSTRACT

Research on child development has been advanced by the contributions of human development and human development family science (or studies) departments, which trace their origins to the land grant movement, home economics programs, and the child study movement that coalesced in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In this article, we detail the main historical influences on the field, as well as contemporary strengths and opportunities for the field. We highlight the interdisciplinarity and applied work that are uniquely inherent strengths of human development and family science/studies. We also discuss challenges that are both historic and contemporary in reviewing how experiences of racial and gender discrimination affected and affect scholars in the field, as well as issues of field identity and purpose. Finally, we recommend that the field acknowledge and publicize its past to capitalize on the strengths of its history and to address historical challenges that remain relevant to the study of human development and family science today.

Background

Sleep deprivation is a prevalent problem among adolescents which is closely related to various adverse outcomes. The lack of efficacy of current sleep education programs among adolescents argues for the need to refine the content and format of the intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based sleep intervention using motivational interviewing plus text reminders in changing adolescent sleep habits.

Methods

This study is a randomized controlled trial comparing motivational group-based sleep intervention with nonactive control group. The primary outcomes were the sleep–wake patterns measured by both sleep diary and actigraphy at postintervention, 3 and 6 months after the intervention. The trial was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry (NCT03614572).

Results

A total of 203 adolescents with school day sleep duration of <7 hr (mean age: 15.9 ± 1.0 years; males: 39.9%) were included in the final analysis. Sleep diary and actigraphy data both showed that adolescents in the intervention group had earlier weekday bedtime at postintervention (sleep diary: estimated mean difference: 33.55 min, p = .002; actigraphy: 33.02 min, p = .009) and later wake-up time at 3-month follow-up compared to the control group (sleep diary: −28.85 min, p = .003; actigraphy: −30.03 min, p = .01), and the changes in diary measured weekday bedtime were sustained up to 6-month follow-up. In addition, adolescents in the intervention group had longer sleep diary reported weekday sleep duration at 3- (35.26 min, p = .003) and 6-month follow-up (28.32 min, p = .03) than the controls. Adolescents in the intervention group also reported improved daytime alertness postintervention, which was maintained at the 6-month follow-up.

Conclusions

The motivational group-based sleep intervention is effective in advancing bedtime with improved sleep duration and daytime alertness in sleep-deprived adolescents.

ABSTRACT

This study explored gross motor development (GMD) trajectories among 6359 children, with and without autism, from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort study. By the age of 8, 173 children had either an autism diagnosis (n = 108) or parent-reported autism concerns (n = 65). Gross motor milestones were reported by mothers when children were 9, 24, and 54 months of age. We found that irrespective of autism diagnosis, GMD delays at 24 months of age were more likely among girls, children born preterm, and those whose mothers identified as European. A mixed-effect logistic regression model, controlling for antenatal maternal and child covariates, revealed that the proportion of children with GMD delay (relative to their peers) increased significantly from 9 to 54 months for all three groups, but the increase was greater for those with autism concerns (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.08–1.52) or an autism diagnosis (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10–1.43) compared to the no autism group (OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.02–1.10). Differences in the changes in GMD performance among children with an autism diagnosis compared to those without autism occurred between 9 and 24 months (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.13–4.13). No significant GMD delay differences were found at any time between children with an autism diagnosis versus those with autism concerns. Children with a GMD delay should be screened for autism at 24 m. Early identification is the first step toward knowledge-based, effective intervention of developmental difficulties.

ABSTRACT

This study used a natural experiment design to examine the impact of ethnic studies courses on students' ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, multicultural attitudes, and civic engagement during the 2021–2022 school year in Minneapolis, MN (N = 535; 33.5% White, 29.5% Black, 21.1% Latine, 10.7% multi-racial; 44.7% female, 7.1% non-binary). Compared to students who were quasi-randomly assigned to a control class, 9th graders taking an ethnic studies class (treatment group) engaged in significantly more midpoint ERI exploration (β = 0.12), resulting in stronger endpoint ERI resolution (β = 0.48–0.57). Increased exploration mediated more favorable attitudes toward multiculturalism (indirect effect = 0.05) and more frequent civic engagement activities (indirect effect = 0.02). Results have implications for policy efforts to expand ethnic studies.

ABSTRACT

Black and other BIPOC students face substantial psychological and material harms from racism across predominantly white institutions of U.S. higher education. Drawing on interviews with Black organizers at the University of Missouri, this article asserts the centrality of space to the workings of student racial justice organizing. I examine some of the spaces that interviewees described—including official campus spaces as well protest spaces created by students—that contributed to their well-being and organizing success, and argue that students produced valuable knowledge and spaces through collective struggle that helped to foster a psychological shift toward power, pride, and unapologetic Blackness. I use these examples to argue that the liberatory tools and practices of student racial justice organizers are being increasingly dismantled, punished, and criminalized in the United States, most visibly in the prohibition of programs, policies, and content intended to foster racial equity and inclusion and in efforts to crush the multiracial student movement against war and genocide in Palestine.

Abstract

Using multigroup structural equation modelling, this study investigated the relationships between paternalistic leadership, emotional labour and teacher efficacy, as well as the moderating roles of gender and region among a group of Chinese primary school teachers. The overall results revealed that both authoritarianism and benevolence dimensions of paternalistic leadership have positive impacts on teachers’ emotional labour, albeit with different strengths. Stronger connections were found between authoritarianism and surface acting, and between benevolence and deep acting/the expression of naturally felt emotions. Surface acting was found to have more negative effects, while deep acting and the expression of naturally felt emotions were more positively associated with teacher efficacy. The results of multigroup structural equation modelling supported the invariant measurement models across gender and region, revealing notable differences subgroups. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

This paper surveys research and practice on enhancing peer assessment with artificial intelligence. Its objectives are to give the structure of the theoretical framework underpinning the study, synopsize a sco...

Abstract

Engineering design entails making value-laden judgments against ill-defined, ambiguous, and/or competing sociotechnical criteria. In this article, we argue that such conditions make engineering designers particularly susceptible to the potentially deleterious effects of mis/disinformation in the processes and practices of engineering design, their engagement with people and communities, and in the production and evaluations of the artifacts they produce. We begin by critiquing dominant approaches to engineering design education, specifically, engineering education's social-technical dualism and the ubiquitous ideology of depoliticization, which has exacerbated the effects of mis/disinformation in engineering design. We follow by outlining a framework for developing students' capacity for mitigating its effects in the specific context of engineering design thinking and making value-laden engineering judgments and decision-making. We envision three areas of opportunity for engineering design education to teach students strategies for navigating these challenges when engaging with (a) the processes and practices of engineering, which reflect the unique types of information students engage with across the design process, (b) people and their communities, including the strategic and careful performance of activities for gathering information, while mitigating the harms to misinformation and disinformation and maximizing the benefits of community involvement, and (c) the social and technical criteria of engineering design outcomes in the form of artifacts (e.g., products, processes).

ABSTRACT

Several studies suggest that children's learning and engagement with the content of play activities is affected by the ways parents and children interact. In particular, when parents are overly directive and set more goals during play with their children, their children tend to play less or are less engaged by subsequent challenges with the activity on their own. A concern, however, is that this directed interaction style is only compared with other styles of parent–child interaction, not with a baseline measure of engagement or learning. The present study incorporates such a baseline measure, comparing it with previously-collected data on children's engagement and learning in a set of circuit-building challenges. Regarding engagement, children were less engaged by the challenges when their parents were more directed during a free play setting (tested in Sobel et al. 2021) than when children had no prior experience playing with the circuit components. Regarding learning, children were better able to complete the circuit challenges and provided more causal explanations for how the completed challenges worked when they had experience playing with the circuit blocks with their parent. Overall, these data suggest that parent–child interaction during a STEM activity relates to both children's engagement and performance on challenges related to that activity.

This research project investigated the effects of UFLI Foundations, a foundational reading skills instructional program, on early literary development with kindergarten and first grade students with below average early literacy skills using a cross-cohort quasi-experimental design. Multilevel modeling showed that students in the treatment group demonstrated significantly higher early literacy skills in March or April of the school year, as compared to the control group, and high adherence of program implementation led to higher growth.

Abstract

Research has demonstrated the positive effects of systematically teaching phonemic awareness and phonics in kindergarten and first grade, but many commonly used reading curricula do not adequately incorporate these foundational skills. In this study, we examined the efficacy of an instructional program (UFLI Foundations) in foundational reading skills (i.e., phonemic awareness and phonics) with students in kindergarten and first grade. We compared students who received a full year of the instructional program to propensity score matched control students, who received business-as-usual instruction, with a cross-cohort quasi-experimental design. Multilevel modeling results demonstrated that adding instruction in foundational skills increased early literacy skills scores by more than 1.0 standard deviation. Further, we found that students of teachers who taught with greater adherence to the UFLI Foundations program had larger effects. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Abstract

Previous studies uncover that vocabulary knowledge may be related to compound structure awareness (the awareness of relational structure embedded in compound words), and they both contribute to reading comprehension. Yet, limited studies have examined the dynamic relationship between vocabulary knowledge and compound structure awareness, or their joint contributions (including growth rates) to reading comprehension. Our study aimed to fill this gap in Chinese, an ideal target language with complex grammatical structures of compound words. We followed 125 native Mandarin-Chinese-speaking children in Mainland China from Grades 3 to 6, with one testing point in the fall of each grade and a total of four testing times. These children's vocabulary, compound structure awareness, and text reading comprehension were measured as three key variables, and their Chinese character reading, word reading fluency, and compounding awareness were measured as three control variables in model analyses; all materials were adopted from previous research and were highly reliable and valid. We fitted the latent growth models and found that children's initial vocabulary in Grade 3 significantly predicted their compound structure awareness growth over Grades 3 to 6, and then predicted reading comprehension in Grade 6. However, such results were not evident the other way around. Importantly, initial vocabulary knowledge and compound structure awareness in Grade 3 and their growth rates from Grades 3 to 6 contributed to reading comprehension skills in Grade 6. Our findings demonstrate the necessity of considering vocabulary knowledge and compound structure awareness jointly and longitudinally to support early reading development.

This research project investigated the effects of UFLI Foundations, a foundational reading skills instructional program, on early literary development with kindergarten and first grade students with below average early literacy skills using a cross-cohort quasi-experimental design. Multilevel modeling showed that students in the treatment group demonstrated significantly higher early literacy skills in March or April of the school year, as compared to the control group, and high adherence of program implementation led to higher growth.

Abstract

Research has demonstrated the positive effects of systematically teaching phonemic awareness and phonics in kindergarten and first grade, but many commonly used reading curricula do not adequately incorporate these foundational skills. In this study, we examined the efficacy of an instructional program (UFLI Foundations) in foundational reading skills (i.e., phonemic awareness and phonics) with students in kindergarten and first grade. We compared students who received a full year of the instructional program to propensity score matched control students, who received business-as-usual instruction, with a cross-cohort quasi-experimental design. Multilevel modeling results demonstrated that adding instruction in foundational skills increased early literacy skills scores by more than 1.0 standard deviation. Further, we found that students of teachers who taught with greater adherence to the UFLI Foundations program had larger effects. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Abstract

Previous studies uncover that vocabulary knowledge may be related to compound structure awareness (the awareness of relational structure embedded in compound words), and they both contribute to reading comprehension. Yet, limited studies have examined the dynamic relationship between vocabulary knowledge and compound structure awareness, or their joint contributions (including growth rates) to reading comprehension. Our study aimed to fill this gap in Chinese, an ideal target language with complex grammatical structures of compound words. We followed 125 native Mandarin-Chinese-speaking children in Mainland China from Grades 3 to 6, with one testing point in the fall of each grade and a total of four testing times. These children's vocabulary, compound structure awareness, and text reading comprehension were measured as three key variables, and their Chinese character reading, word reading fluency, and compounding awareness were measured as three control variables in model analyses; all materials were adopted from previous research and were highly reliable and valid. We fitted the latent growth models and found that children's initial vocabulary in Grade 3 significantly predicted their compound structure awareness growth over Grades 3 to 6, and then predicted reading comprehension in Grade 6. However, such results were not evident the other way around. Importantly, initial vocabulary knowledge and compound structure awareness in Grade 3 and their growth rates from Grades 3 to 6 contributed to reading comprehension skills in Grade 6. Our findings demonstrate the necessity of considering vocabulary knowledge and compound structure awareness jointly and longitudinally to support early reading development.

ABSTRACT

Background

Despite their high prevalence and significant burden, mental disorders remain grossly under-diagnosed and under-treated. In low-and-middle-income countries, such as Mali, integrating mental health services into primary care is the most viable way of closing the treatment gap. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a mental health e-learning program on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of primary healthcare professionals in Mali.

Methods

An e-learning platform including 12 interactive modules was used to train 46 healthcare professionals. Changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices, as well as in satisfaction with knowledge and in ability to diagnose and manage patients were evaluated by comparing data collected pre and post e-learning.

Outcomes

Knowledge and practices scores increased significantly post e-learning for all modules, except the practices score for anxiety disorders. Similarly, scores regarding satisfaction with knowledge and ability to diagnose and manage patients increased significantly, and more so than the knowledge and practices scores. Changes in attitudes however were not significant.

Conclusion

Despite the difficult conditions of implementation in isolated areas of rural Mali, preliminary results suggest a positive effect of the e-learning.

Abstract

This mixed-methods study sought to determine the effectiveness of assessment hubs in re-integrating children at risk of school exclusion into mainstream school. First, the assessment hubs provided attendance and exclusion data for 39 children who attended the hubs (KS2, n = 11 and KS3, n = 28) between January 2020 and January 2022. Second, 23 semi-structured interviews adopting a hermeneutic phenomenological approach were conducted with caregivers of children who attended a hub. Third, three theographs depicting children's schooling were created. Quantitative data showed that 2/11 KS2 and 10/28 KS3 children successfully reintegrated into mainstream secondary school after attending an assessment hub. The remaining children were in alternative provision, either permanently or awaiting an EHC plan for specialist provision. Three themes were developed through thematic analysis of the interviews: a perfect storm; it's not rocket science; and hang on. The caregivers needed confidence in the ability of mainstream secondary schools to provide the right support at the right time in the right environment. The study found that the assessment hubs were effective in building positive relationships and supporting caregivers to understand reasons for their children's behaviours. In some cases, the assessment hubs effectively secured the most appropriate provision to meet children's needs. Most of the children needed to remain in AP permanently or await an EHC needs assessment to secure a place in specialist provision.

ABSTRACT

The patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is widely utilized in assessing individuals' depression levels. Nevertheless, research regarding its factor structure and measurement invariance remains inadequate. The aim of this study was to delve into the factor structure of the PHQ-9 and to further investigate its measurement invariance across gender and age as a prerequisite for its use in cross-group comparisons. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on 7422 Chinese students to assess the best-fitting factor structure of the PHQ-9. Furthermore, a serial CFA was undertaken to investigate measurement invariance across genders and age groups. CFA confirmed the two-factor model with the three items “sleep disturbance,” “fatigue,” and “appetite change” loading on somatic factor, and the other items loading on cognitive/affective factor as the best-fit structure. Findings demonstrated that the PHQ-9 had measurement invariance across gender and age. CFA and measurement invariance results support the application of the PHQ-9 for assessing an individual's depression.

ABSTRACT

The patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is widely utilized in assessing individuals' depression levels. Nevertheless, research regarding its factor structure and measurement invariance remains inadequate. The aim of this study was to delve into the factor structure of the PHQ-9 and to further investigate its measurement invariance across gender and age as a prerequisite for its use in cross-group comparisons. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on 7422 Chinese students to assess the best-fitting factor structure of the PHQ-9. Furthermore, a serial CFA was undertaken to investigate measurement invariance across genders and age groups. CFA confirmed the two-factor model with the three items “sleep disturbance,” “fatigue,” and “appetite change” loading on somatic factor, and the other items loading on cognitive/affective factor as the best-fit structure. Findings demonstrated that the PHQ-9 had measurement invariance across gender and age. CFA and measurement invariance results support the application of the PHQ-9 for assessing an individual's depression.

ABSTRACT

Background

The Needs Assessment Framework (NAF) stimulates awareness of care staff to consider perspectives of clients with intellectual disabilities in decisions on involuntary care. We explored the effect of implementers' participation in a Virtual Community-of-Practice (VCoP) for designing implementation plans, on NAF implementation and staff awareness.

Method

A quasi-experimental design was used to compare implementation and awareness by care staff (n = 54) between organisations that implemented NAF with VCoP participation (N = 4) and organisations that implemented NAF as usual (N = 3). The ItFits toolkit work routine in the VCoP was qualitatively analysed to understand choices regarding implementation plans.

Results

No statistical differences in implementation and awareness among care staff were found between the intervention and control groups. Implementers evaluated collaboration on implementation and the ItFits toolkit as helpful.

Conclusions

Evaluation of implementation effectiveness and process are both needed to offer unique insights for iteratively changing daily practice around involuntary care.