This paper concerns the influence of age of acquisition (AoA) in word reading and other tasks, and attempts to develop a number of issues raised by Zevin and Seidenberg (2002). Analyses performed on both rated and objective measures of AoA show that the frequency trajectory of words is a reliable predictor of their order of acquisition, which…

Translation and cultural adaptation of rating scales are two critical components in testing culturally and/or linguistically heterogeneous populations. Despite the proper use of these scales, challenges typically arise from respondents' language, culture, ratiocination, and characteristics of measurement processes. This study investigated factors…

This paper explores the emotional resources generated by working class mothers to support their children at school. Analysis of material from qualitative interview research with a range working class mothers will focus on specific accounts of children's school lives to reveal how situated meanings can clash with institutional expectations. By…

This study examined linkages between divorce, depressive/withdrawn parenting, and child adjustment problems at home and school. Middle class divorced single mother families (n=35) and 2-parent families (n=174) with a child in the fourth grade participated. Mothers and teachers completed yearly questionnaires and children were interviewed when they…

This paper examines the extent that material, social, and cultural resources and schools account for the relationship between socioeconomic background and student achievement among 15-year-olds in 30 countries. Generally, cultural factors play a more important role in most countries although in a small minority of countries, material resources…

Absence of culturally relevant measures of Black children's strengths inhibits psychometrically sound strength-based assessment, research, and appropriate use of strengths as scaffolds or targets for clinical intervention. Moreover, the sparse research literature on Black children is primarily deficit focused. Beginning to address these problems,…

This paper describes two attempts to introduce grammar teaching into New Zealand schools. The first case study describes the work of the 6th and 7th form English Syllabus Committee in the 1980s which proposed the uniquely New Zealand solution of using examples from Maori as well as from English to demonstrate grammatical points. The response to…

Why are students who have special educational needs at greater risk of bullying than their peers when educated in mainstream settings? This case study of one mainstream secondary school describes the various facets of the peer group dynamics that underpinned social aggression and exclusion towards students who were hearing impaired. These students…

This article addresses the democratic rhetoric taught in a Costa Rican High School and the ways in which that rhetoric clashed with school practices that revealed hierarchies based on race, ethnicity, class, and religion. This contradiction was rendered visible through student elections, the Independence Day celebration, and civic acts. Through…

To provide an array of perspectives on the future direction of foster care, five experts across various disciplines and backgrounds were asked to respond to this question: "How can the child welfare system be improved to better support families and promote the healthy development of children in foster care?" This article presents their responses…

The superfluous man became a prominent literary figure in Russia during the 19th century. This article makes a comparison of the superfluous experience to the "celebutante" phenomenon, as reflected in the media. It also includes a discussion on the impact that the celebutante influence may have on the dreams, values and meaning-making…

Purpose: This study considers the recently established higher vocational education reforms with Swedish advanced vocational education (AVE) and Finnish polytechnics in terms of organisational structure, the design of workplace learning, and furthermore, what kind of practical implications these new models of learning at work have resulted in.…

This chapter reviews the research on school composition and peer effects from three comparative perspectives--Catholic and public schools, single-sex and coeducational schools, and small and large schools. Most of the research is sociological, focuses on high schools, and draws on national samples. The chapter seeks to discern cumulative trends in…

Though the continuum of care model has been adopted in HIV/AIDS intervention, there is little empirical work documenting the experiences of caregiving families. Addressing this gap, a study on family caregiving and care receiving was undertaken in Mumbai, India. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven seropositive caregivers, seven…

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become basic ingredients of, and competitive tools in, the information-intensive tertiary/higher education sector. Their increased and specialised use in teaching and learning, research, academic administration, institutional management and information provision translates into greater access…