This study explores sex-differences in (a) rates and profiles of autism symptoms as well as in (b) the contribution of intellectual quotient (IQ) to autism symptom presentation in Down syndrome (DS). Participants were 40 males and 38 females with DS, aged 6 to 23 years. Autism symptoms were rated through the Autism Diagnostic Observation…

Identifying and describing children's play behaviours is an important component of evaluating child development. The Behaviour Mapping Schedule is a direct observational tool which aims to describe and quantify children's play behaviours but is yet to undergo reliability testing. This study aimed to determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability…

In a highly systematic literature, researchers have investigated the manner in which people make feature inferences in paradigms involving uncertain categorizations (e.g., Griffiths, Hayes, & Newell, 2012; Murphy & Ross, 1994, 2007, 2010a). Although researchers have discussed the implications of the results for models of categorization and…

How do explaining and prior knowledge contribute to learning? Four experiments explored the relationship between explanation and prior knowledge in category learning. The experiments independently manipulated whether participants were prompted to explain the category membership of study observations and whether category labels were informative in…

Objective: Limited time and resources necessitate the availability of accurate, inexpensive and rapid diagnostic aids for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII) was developed for this purpose, but its psychometric properties have not yet been fully established. Method: The clinician-rated ABII, the…

The New Mexico Public Education Department developed the Kindergarten Observation Tool (KOT) as a multidimensional observational measure of students' knowledge and skills at kindergarten entry. The primary purpose of the KOT is to inform instruction, so that kindergarten teachers can use the information about their students' knowledge and skills…

This article analyzes the relation of the epistemological beliefs of students and teachers and the actions deployed in the classroom. The framework is the study of personal epistemology, which was developed, among other researchers, by Hofer, Pintrich and Schommer. The research method was, within the qualitative paradigm, through case studies,…

The Vygotsky Blocks Test assesses problem-solving styles within a theoretical framework for the development of higher mental processes devised by Vygotsky. Because both the theory and the associated test situate cognitive development within the child's social and linguistic context, they address conceptual issues around the developmental relation…

Education is in the process of transforming traditional print-based instruction into digital formats. This multi-case study sheds light on the challenge of coping with the old and new in literacy teaching in the context of technology-mediated instruction in the early years of schooling (7-8 years old children). By investigating the relation…

The purposes of this study were to: 1) Examine the effect of RMS learning model towards critical thinking skills. 2) Examine the effect of different academic abilities against critical thinking skills. 3) Examine the effect of the interaction between RMS learning model and different academic abilities against critical thinking skills. The research…

In an educational landscape where teacher evaluation methods are increasingly discussed and scrutinized in research offices, legislatures, and school buildings, the differences in policy and instrumentation among states and school districts can paint a confusing picture of these varying methods and their impacts. To help assess the picture in…

Background: Self-injuring acts are among the most dramatic behaviours exhibited by human beings. There is no known single cause and there is no universally agreed upon treatment. Sophisticated sequential and temporal analysis of behaviour has provided alternative descriptions of self-injury that provide new insights into its initiation and…

Since 2000, and especially during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD 2005-2014), many universities have begun offering educational programmes on sustainability. Over this span, the level and type of diversity among students have only increased. This begs the question: How does university student diversity…

This study investigates the comparability of two item response theory based equating methods: true score equating (TSE), and estimated true equating (ETE). Additionally, six scaling methods were implemented within each equating method: mean-sigma, mean-mean, two versions of fixed common item parameter, Stocking and Lord, and Haebara. Empirical…

A hierarchical cluster analysis of the time course of the videotaped reactions of 75 Chinese 2-4-year olds to mothers' toy-removal identified Distress, Low Anger, and High Anger behavior clusters. Anger often begins at low intensity; some children then escalate. The face-validity of Low and High Anger-cluster classifications was supported in that…