Search

In this study, we analyze in-depth interviews conducted with 26 Dutch third-graders as well as interviews with one of each child's parents. The children attended one of six schools, each with a relatively large population of families with a low socioeconomic status, where home-based literacy assignments aimed at increasing children's enjoyment of reading were distributed for a duration of 3 years. The aim of this study is to gain knowledge of distinctive interaction characteristics of child-parent dyads regarding at-home literacy, to learn how these characteristics can help educational professionals and researchers answer to the needs of children and parents when designing and distributing at-home reading assignments. Based on the attitudes towards reading and the skillset of child and parent(s), we distinguished three reader-profiles: (1) Autonomously motivated readers, (2) Incompatible readers, and (3) Generational non-readers. The practical implications of our research are that, to be appealing, at-home reading assignments should be differentiated, nonrepetitive, and concrete, complete, and structured. Prerequisite implications are that both children and parents value regular positive feedback on their at-home literacy activities and that, in approaching parents, it appears to be advisable to take them for what they are: parents, not substitute teachers.

The increased use of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication by children has led to growing concerns. In a previous study, we found that many of the teachers that were interviewed about ADHD spontaneously associated ADHD with medication. The present study is a qualitative reanalysis of what precisely these 30 primary school teachers had spontaneously said about medication in our previous semi-structured interviews on ADHD. Almost all respondents had experience with pupils taking ADHD medication. The majority of spontaneously mentions medication as the treatment of ADHD. Attitudes towards ADHD medication use by pupils are mainly ambivalent, but more positive than negative effects of medication are reported. However, what teachers say about ADHD medication is often not based on sound information; their attitudes tend to be formed by personal experiences rather than founded on professional and scientific sources. We conclude from our analysis that it will be in the interest of reducing the number of children on ADHD medication that teachers have good access to verified and up-to-date information on ADHD and medication so that they are better supported in making evidence-based pedagogical judgments.

This article discusses the narratives of Dutch schoolchildren from varied cultural-ethnic backgrounds discussing experiences of being betrayed by a friend, and the lessons they learned from the experience. In line with earlier social constructivist research in western societies, the authors found that peers and friends acted as highly emotional forums for moral learning. Revealing intimate information led to awareness of two moral issues: the issue of norms of "true" friendship and the issue of the dilemma between conforming to group norms and asserting personal opinions. To develop a personal morality in the context of Dutch schools, the children needed trustworthy friends with whom to share intimate information in order to protect them from the peer group pressure to conform. Although both girls and boys constructed shared norms of real friendship and conformed to group norms to avoid being teased, disclosing intimate information seemed to evoke more emotional chaos in girls than it did in boys. (Contains 2 tables and 1 note.)

This article discusses a study of children's perspectives on disciplinary conflicts with their foster parents. Most children accept parental authority, but they also defend their personal autonomy and loyalties to peers. In this study, only birthchildren told real-life stories about fierce resistance to get their own way. Fierce resistance among foster children was motivated by inner conflicts and confusion. Obedience among foster children often derived from fear of punishment or a feeling of impotence. The authors discuss the theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings.

To implement, and learn. The implementation and subsequent lessons of a module aimed at enhancing home-based parental literacy involvement With this study, we (a) analyze the implementation of the parental involvement module of Success for All aimed at enhancing home-based parental literacy involvement in the first, second, and third Grade, and (b) draw lessons from that implementation. For three school years, seven Dutch elementary schools with relatively many students from low socio-economic backgrounds, have implemented the parental involvement module. Afterwards, in-depth interviews with 22 professionals have been conducted. Based on the interview data, two dimensions of implementation have been analyzed: the level of structural implementation and the process of implementation. We distinguished three levels of structural implementation: low, medium, and high. Our analyses reveal that one school obtained a medium level of structural implementation, and the other six a low level. With knowledge of the process of implementation, we interpreted this outcome. Our analyses show that a higher level of structural implementation relies on (1) how the innovation is embedded in the school's organizational structure, (2) whether or not a program champion (who is supported by coworkers and supervisors) is present, (3) the necessity felt for successful implementation of core elements of the module, (4) the enthusiasm of the school's staff for the innovation, (5) asking the help of external experts in order to, with joint forces, help solve a blockage in the implementation process and (6) active involvement of parents and positive parental responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order for out-of-school science activities that take place during school hours but outside the school context to be successful, instructors must have sufficient pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to guarantee high-quality teaching and learning. We argue that PCK is a quality of the instructor-pupil system that is constructed in real-time interaction. When PCK is evident in real-time interaction, we define it as Expressed Pedagogical Content Knowledge (EPCK). The aim of this study is to empirically explore whether EPCK shows a systematic pattern of variation, and if so whether the pattern occurs in recurrent and temporary stable attractor states as predicted in the complex dynamic systems theory. This study concerned nine out-of-school activities in which pupils of upper primary school classes participated. A multivariate coding scheme was used to capture EPCK in real time. A principal component analysis of the time series of all the variables reduced the number of components. A cluster revealed general descriptions of the components across all cases. Cluster analyses of individual cases divided the time series into sequences, revealing High-, Low-, and Non-EPCK states. High-EPCK attractor states emerged at particular moments during activities, rather than being present all the time. Such High-EPCK attractor states were only found in a few cases, namely those where the pupils were prepared for the visit and the instructors were trained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]