The present study assessed the relations between basic motor abilities in kindergarten and scholastic, social, and emotional adaptation in the transition to formal schooling. Seventy-one five-year-old kindergarten children were administered a battery of standard assessments of basic motor functions. A year later, children's adjustment to school…

This paper examines the changing use of policy levers in the English postcompulsory education and training system, often referred to as the learning and skills sector (LSS). Policy steering by governments has increased significantly in recent years, bringing with it the development of new forms of arms-length regulation. In the English context,…

Few studies have examined the ability of individuals with learning disabilities, in general, or with Down syndrome, specifically, to discriminate speech. The purpose of this study was compare the speech discrimination abilities of eight children with Down syndrome (aged 5.7 to 12.8 years) to seven nonverbal mental-age matched controls (aged 4.0 to…

We tested categorical perception and speech-in-noise perception in a group of five-year-old preschool children genetically at risk for dyslexia, compared to a group of well-matched control children and a group of adults. Both groups of children differed significantly from the adults on all speech measures. Comparing both child groups, the risk…

Creating a new generation of leaders and managers has been the task of the innovative U.K. Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Regardless of the extremely subtle acoustic changes that are perceptible within almost all perception research studies, it is the total overall effect that generally occupies each individual listener. A long line of research indicates that many subtle "music changes" are often not perceived accurately and are actually mistakenly identified.…

Failure to attain handwriting competency during the school-age years often has far-reaching negative effects on both academic success and self-esteem. This complex occupational task has many underlying component skills that may interfere with handwriting performance. Fine motor control, bilateral and visual-motor integration, motor planning,…

The author studied children's (aged 5-16 years) and young adults' (aged 18-22 years) perception and use of facial features to discriminate the age of mature adult faces. In Experiment 1, participants rated the age of unaltered and transformed (eyes, nose, eyes and nose, and whole face blurred) adult faces (aged 20-80 years). In Experiment 2,…

The authors conducted a study to determine (a) the incidence of dual-certified vision professionals (professionals certified as both teachers of the visually impaired and orientation and mobility specialists) in Texas, (b) the degree to which these professionals worked in both roles between 2003 and 2006, (c) the reasons vision professionals…

Students have specific learning style preferences, and these preferences may be different between male and female students. Understanding a student's learning style preference is an important consideration when designing classroom instruction. Therefore, we administered the visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic (VARK) learning preferences…

Part-time faculty members at community colleges are customarily understood from an institutional perspective that is based on traditional conceptions of the community college as a component of a tiered educational system. This conception places the community college in the role of either a junior college or a training school. However, the…

This paper is based on research on the role of UK qualifications suppliers in providing qualifications and accreditation in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the context of rather different engagements with liberalisation, structural adjustment and globalisation. Sri Lanka's economic liberalisation and growth since the late 1970s has had a "de…

This article traces a decline in CCCC sessions on language along with a shift toward more reductive definitions. It analyzes early CCCC treatment of language issues, the Students' Right document, changes in demographics and linguistics, and shifts within English departments that have left us overdue for professional reexamination of our role as…

In this study, eight mothers of pre-term infants under the care of nursing staff and neonatologists in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Children's Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, were observed and interviewed about their birth experience and their images of themselves as mothers during their stay. Patterns and themes in the…

This article considers the impact of recent policy designed to define the roles and responsibilities of special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCos). The international drive towards the inclusion of children with special educational needs within the mainstream has led many schools to reconsider their structures and practices. In the UK, the…