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Justice issues in early childhood education contexts abound; these include substandard developmental opportunities and resource inequalities that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. However, "interpersonal" justice matters are often underexplored in both conceptual and empirical scholarship. It is essential to prioritize how children's voices and views of justice are engaged in their educational environments, alongside questions of which communities' views and values are endorsed. This article focuses on US reading intervention programs, where efforts are made to expand freedoms and develop literacy as a pathway to greater autonomy. To better understand justice requirements for children in these programs, the authors introduce the cases of Adriana, Jason, and Gisela (pseudonyms)--all participants in case studies of young children's motivation to read in mandated reading intervention programs. The children's accounts examined within this article suggest that their intervention programs may undermine their developing capacities for autonomy and violate their rights to an open future, specifically as related to an appreciation for reading.

The Supports Intensity Scale--Children's Version (SIS-C) was translated into Italian using a committee approach to translation. Latent modeling approaches enabled the leveraging of the large standardization sample from the U.S. (n = 4,015) to generate translation-specific norms from data collected in Italy (n = 435) for children and youth ranging ages 5-16 years placed in six evenly distributed age groups by country. Findings indicated the structure of the SIS-C (i.e., seven support need domains organized under an overall support needs construct), was supported in the Italian context. However, there were age-related differences in the U.S. and Italian samples. In the Italian sample, norms were established for the 5-8 years, 9-10 years, and 11-16 years age groups. Moreover, the Italian sample also differed from other European samples and SIS-C translations. The importance of understanding cultural contexts in interpreting findings from the SIS-C is discussed, along with ways in which SIS-C findings can be used to inform policy and practice in the Italian context.

Introduction and Methods: We do not have an accurate count of the number of teachers of students with visual impairments working in the field, and it is a difficult number to estimate. As part of a national survey, states were contacted to estimate how many teachers of students with visual impairments are working in the United States and compared to the estimate developed by the National Plan for Training Personnel to Serve Children with Blindness and Low Vision (NPTP) in 2000. Results and Discussion: The estimate calculated from this process is very similar to the estimate from NPTP (2000), indicating that there are roughly the same number of teachers of students with visual impairments in the field now as there were 20 years ago.

Background: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents of children with developmental disabilities (DDs) in health and early learning systems are largely understudied. Inclusive, affirming services are critical to timely identification and intervention for DDs. This literature review aimed to establish whether LGBTQ parents experience structural bias and discrimination when accessing care for their children in health and early learning systems. Methods: PubMed, ERIC, and Scopus were searched for empirical research from 1990 to 2020 on: LGBTQ; parents, children, families; bias, disparities, discrimination; and health and early learning services. Themes were analyzed by conceptual model bias levels, participant type, and setting. Results: The search yielded 1,872 unduplicated records (three through hand search). Twenty-nine articles representing 26 studies in health and early learning in eight countries met the inclusion criteria. Biases common across sectors included challenges surrounding LGBTQ status disclosures; lack of acknowledgment of non-biological parents; and heterosexist forms. Knowledge gaps and negative attitudes about LGBTQ families were found among some professionals and students. Conclusion: Some LGBTQ parents experienced bias and discrimination while accessing care for their children in health and early learning systems. Policies and programs to implement and monitor LGBTQ-inclusive health education and evaluate practice changes are recommended to improve professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Multilevel workforce development (e.g., accreditation standards, organizational audits, and training) is needed to create and sustain LGBTQ-affirming health and education environments. Honoring LGBTQ family diversity and reducing health and early learning inequities are critical for improving children's health and education outcomes.

With the use of computerized testing, ordinary assessments can capture both answer accuracy and answer response time. For the Canadian Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) numeracy and literacy subtests, person ability, person speed, question difficulty, question time intensity, fluency (rate), person fluency (skill), question fluency (load), pace (rank of response time within question), and person pace were assessed. Undirected Gaussian Graphical Model networks of the measures based on partial correlations were predictive of the measures as nodes. The population-based model extrapolated well to individual person estimations. Finally, it was shown that the "training" Canadian model generalized with minor differences to four other English-speaking PIAAC assessments (USA, Great Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand). Thus, the undirected network approach provides a heuristic that is both descriptive and predictive. However, the model is not causal and can be taken as an example of "mutualism."

Pretend play is an important, universal activity of early childhood, but research to date contains multiple inconsistencies in definitions and measurement of pretend play. To begin to resolve this issue, we conducted a first study of the multiple different behaviors of pretend play in the preschool years (3-5 years), and investigated their developmental progression. Pretend play can be defined by five core behaviors, theorized to develop in this order: object substitution, attributing pretend properties, social interactions, role play, and metacommunication. We created a new observational measure to capture all five simultaneously for the first time, and used this measure in 34 hours of naturalistic observation of preschoolers (N = 73) engaged in play. Children's age was a significant, positive predictor of engagement in the higher-level pretense behaviors (social interactions, role play, metacommunication), and of engagement in multiple behaviors simultaneously. This study provides initial support for the theorized developmental progression of pretend play and provides a framework for future research.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the globe have been exposed to large amounts of statistical data. Previous studies have shown that individuals' mathematical understanding of health-related information affects their attitudes and behaviours. Here, we investigate the relation between: (1) basic numeracy; (2) COVID-19 health numeracy; and (3) COVID-19 health-related attitudes and behaviours. An online survey measuring these three variables was distributed in Canada, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) (n = 2032). In line with predictions, basic numeracy was positively related to COVID-19 health numeracy. However, predictions, neither basic numeracy nor COVID-19 health numeracy was related to COVID-19 health related attitudes and behaviours (e.g. follow experts' recommendations on social distancing, wearing masks etc.). Multi-group analysis was used to investigate mean differences and differences in the strength of the correlation across countries. Results indicate there were no between-country differences in the correlations between the main constructs but there were between-country differences in latent means. Overall, results suggest that while basic numeracy is related to one's understanding of data about COVID-19, better numeracy alone is not enough to influence a population's health-related attitudes about disease severity and to increase the likelihood of following public health advice.

Researchers have been interested in students' transition to calculus since the early 1900s. One line of inquiry highlights students' understandings of high school mathematics as impeding or supporting their successful transition to university mathematics. This paper addresses an underlying question in this line of inquiry: does school mathematics provide opportunities for students to develop productive meanings for calculus? This article reports on U.S. calculus students' responses to items that assessed students' variational reasoning, meanings for average rate of change, and representational use of notation--ideas ostensibly addressed in school mathematics. To make sense of students' difficulty on these items we sought to understand the opportunities students had to reason with these ideas prior to calculus. We use two data sources to understand the likelihood that students have opportunities to construct productive meanings for function notation, variation, and average rate of change in their secondary mathematics education: meanings for these ideas supported by precalculus textbooks and meanings secondary teachers demonstrated. Our analysis revealed a disconnect between meanings productive for learning calculus and the meanings conveyed by textbooks and held by U.S. high school teachers. We include a comparison of meanings held by U.S. and Korean teachers to highlight that these meanings are culturally embedded in the U.S. educational system.

An innovation in developing the Supports Intensity Scale--Children's Version (SIS-C) was the adoption of latent variable modeling approaches to norm development. In regard to translated versions of the SIS-C, the latent modeling approaches provided opportunities to leverage the large standardization sample generated in the United States (n=4,015) to generate translation-specific norms from data collected on smaller samples in other countries and enable future cross-cultural analyses. In this study, data were collected on children in Iceland who received special education services (as defined and delivered in Iceland), a more diverse group of children with disabilities than the U.S. sample. This provided a unique context to explore cross-cultural differences. Findings indicated the structure of the SIS-C (i.e., seven support need domains organized under an overall support needs construct), was supported in the Icelandic context. However, findings also suggested that supports planning teams in Iceland must consider specific age-related factors that differ from other cultural contexts

A large and growing population of students with autism is increasingly pursuing higher education. Yet, the field has a remarkably small literature base from which to glean actionable insights that might enhance postsecondary success for this population. The examination of 13,000 items published in sixteen journals over a sixteen-year period revealed only 21 articles on the topic; none were published in mainstream higher education journals. The explication of this literature maps the contours of the emerging body of literature on college students with autism, uncovers problematic patterns within that literature, identifies important questions that remain unanswered, and provides explicit guidance for future research on the topic.

Background: The number line task assesses the ability to estimate numerical magnitudes. People vary greatly in this ability, and this variability has been previously associated with mathematical skills. However, the sources of individual differences in number line estimation and its association with mathematics are not fully understood. Aims: This large-scale genetically sensitive study uses a twin design to estimate the magnitude of the effects of genes and environments on: (1) individual variation in number line estimation and (2) the covariation of number line estimation with mathematics. Samples: We used over 3,000 8- to 16-year-old twins from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Russia, and a sample of 1,456 8- to 18-year-old singleton Russian students. Methods: Twins were assessed on: (1) estimation of numerical magnitudes using a number line task and (2) two mathematics components: fluency and problem-solving. Results: Results suggest that environments largely drive individual differences in number line estimation. Both genes and environments contribute to different extents to the number line estimation and mathematics correlation, depending on the sample and mathematics component. Conclusions: Taken together, the results suggest that in more heterogeneous school settings, environments may be more important in driving variation in number line estimation and its association with mathematics, whereas in more homogeneous school settings, genetic effects drive the covariation between number line estimation and mathematics. These results are discussed in the light of development and educational settings.

Inclusive education of students with disabilities in general education contexts has been a global movement for at least 30 years. We completed a systematic review of articles published in English- and Spanish-language peer-reviewed journals to obtain an international perspective on the status of inclusive education research and practice regarding students with disabilities, as reflected in the literature from 2002 through 2016. Our literature search, which involved two parallel searches to compare and contrast articles published in the English and Spanish professional literature, yielded 2380 articles which were categorised into seven categories: theory, descriptive, attitudinal, literature review, intervention, and non-inclusive. For both the English and Spanish literature, the most two common article types were theory and descriptive. The number of intervention articles, with findings on the efficacy of interventions to promote inclusive practices, was drastically lower in the Spanish literature. Implications for advancing future research and practice are discussed.

This essay shares impressions from French and German higher education through a comparative US lens, with a special focus on internationalization and mobility. The author integrates the theoretical lens of Gert Biesta's Pedagogy of Interruption to posit that international experiences facilitate encounters with otherness that spark new ways of seeing and thinking. These disruptive experiences can be particularly generative in education, which fosters reflective practice, and for teacher educators themselves. Key questions for considering international approaches to teacher education touch on themes such as global citizenship, relationality, student diversity and transnational partnership.

Justice is a term increasingly used in rural studies and agri-food systems research. In this article, we examine how rural studies can gain by more directly integrating food justice and its focus on transformative intervention. First, we identify existing gaps in discussions about social justice in relation to rurality in the United States. Second, we analyze prominent food justice literature and its main conceptualizations, characteristics, and gaps in relation to rurality. Drawing on existing gaps and opportunities in rural studies and food justice, we discuss why and how critical analyses of race/white supremacy, intersectionality, and engaged scholarship can strengthen the study of injustices in rural settings. In prioritizing these aspects, rural scholars might adopt powerful lenses for interrogating the ongoing hegemonies of rural communities while also facilitating greater engagement in social justice within and outside our disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nearly half of American adults have hypertension (HTN), and non-Hispanic Black patients are diagnosed at a higher rate than others. Local Problem: Our local clinic population reflected disproportionate rates of uncontrolled HTN among Black patients. Methods: A quality improvement pre-/postintervention design was used to evaluate an educational intervention to reduce blood pressure (BP) and improve self-monitoring of BP in Black patients using the Chronic Care Model. Interventions: A team-based approach was used to redesign clinic workflows and patient education, prescribe self-paced videos from an electronic health record (EHR) patient portal, and provide home BP cuffs. Results: Black participants (n = 79) improved viewing of prescribed videos (7.9% to 68.5%), knowledge scores (67.9 to 75.2), and mean systolic BP (−20.3 mm Hg; P >.001). Conclusions: This team-based approach enhanced patient engagement, self-monitoring skills, EHR-reported BP, and overall BP control for a cohort of Black patients with uncontrolled BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become universally known that Americans as a nation have fallen behind other nations in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). According to the National Science and Engineering Indicators, produced by the National Science Foundation in 2006, the United States has one of the lowest STEM to non-STEM degree rates in the world. Efforts to combat the well-documented problem have recently taken on a new momentum. In this study, the authors seek to determine what factors, if any, might serve as indicators of successful matriculation of first-time freshmen students enrolled in STEM majors in a large emerging public institution in Texas. They also seek to disaggregate the data based on gender, ethnicity, county of origin, and high school ranking, as well as track a cohort of students through a seven-year continuum to determine if the students drop out of the university completely, switch from one major to another and/or graduate. Furthermore, the analysis is conducted for the three largest majors (based on enrollment) at this university, STEM, Business and Education, to determine if the factors are contingent upon the selected major. While the findings of this study demonstrate statistical significance, more research should be conducted, specifically addressing the needs of STEM students in years four and five of their program. (Contains 9 figures and 4 tables.)

A multiple family discussion group program was implemented and evaluated by school counselors working with families of young children referred by their teachers for aggression and attention problems. The logic guiding construction of the program and the program's unique aspects are described. Outcome data revealed that the program was effective in reducing the children's hyperactive, defiant, and aggressive behavior and improving the parents' management skills. The advantages of school counselors conducting this program are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Data from 949 children and adolescents with intellectual disability ages 5 to 16 for whom the Supports Intensity Scale-Children's Version-Catalan Translation was completed was used, in combination with data from the U.S. standardization sample, to examine measurement invariance and latent differences in the Catalonian sample. Results suggest that the same set of items can be used to measure support needs across U.S. and Catalonia samples and that there are age-related differences in support needs in the Catalonia sample, particularly between children ages 5 to 10 and 11 to 16 years of age. This differs from findings with the U.S. sample, where differences were found in a greater number of age cohorts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

This comparative study explores the experience of two first-year teachers in starkly different school systems, one in a small city on the northern plains and the other in a Midwest urban community. Using this comparative method, the authors looked at the similarities and differences of two different educational settings to collect data regarding the practices that best support first-year teachers. The individuals in this study are brothers, and both were employed as first-year teachers in middle school settings. Josh is an eighth grade social studies teacher in a small midwestern city with a population under 80,000, and Dan is a seventh grade English teacher employed in a large district in a Midwest metropolitan area of approximately 3 million. Josh observed the different experiences, strategies, and attitudes that existed over a three-day site visit at his brother's urban middle school. During this visit, he interviewed his brother regarding specific elements of support, as well as structural and conceptual approaches of the Midwest middle school. He also conducted several situational (informal) interviews with Dan's peers.

Background: Despite findings that support physical activity (PA) as an effective means of improving health and quality of life, PA levels among girls tend to decline with age. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess changes pertaining to PA commitment following a curriculum-based running program designed for 3rd-to-5th-grade girls. Methods: Participants (n=196) were given paper-and-pencil surveys containing an adaptation of the "Feelings about Physical Activity Scale" in addition to items related to demographics, PA behaviors, and curriculum content. Results: Paired-sample t-tests revealed statistically significant differences in overall commitment to PA (p=0.006) and attitudes regarding PA (p=0.001) from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Results also suggest increases in value of PA. Discussion: The study's findings have important implications for those public health education professionals who develop PA programs for female children and adolescents. Prior to initiating programs to promote PA for girls, it is important to include educational programs that promote positive attitudes toward exercise, the value of PA, and the behaviors necessary to sustain PA. Translation to Health Education Practice: Programs that are designed only to initiate PA among young girls may not be addressing sustainability. It is through regular and sustained PA that associated health benefits can be achieved. (Contains 3 tables.)

Background: African American women are at greater risk for cervical cancer incidence and mortality than White women. Up to 90% of cervical cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPVs) infections. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) co-developed HPV self-test kits to increase access to screening, which may be critical for underserved populations. Purpose/Research Design: This mixed methods study used the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine attitudes, barriers, facilitators, and intentions related to receipt of cervical cancer screening and perceptions of HPV self-testing among church-affiliated African American women. Study Sample/Data Collection: Participants (N = 35) aged 25–53 participated in focus groups and completed a survey. Results: Seventy-four percent of participants reported receipt of cervical cancer screening in the past 3 years. Healthcare providers and the church were supportive referents of screening. Past trauma and prioritizing children's healthcare needs were screening barriers. Concerns about HPV self-testing included proper test administration and result accuracy. Conclusions: Strategies to mitigate these concerns (e.g., delivering HPV self-test kits to the health department) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite known surgical volume reductions in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, no studies have quantified the impact of the pandemic on the number of inpatient anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA), reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) and hemiarthroplasty cases. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on aTSA, rTSA and hemiarthroplasty case volumes in the United States. The Premier Health-care Database was used to identify adults undergoing primary inpatient aTSA, rTSA and hemiarthroplasty from January 2017 to December 2020. Patients undergoing revision total shoulder arthroplasty surgery were excluded. The monthly case volume variance in 2020 was calculated by subtracting the 2017-2019 monthly mean from each respective monthly mean in 2020. Differences in patient and hospital characteristics between subgroups were analyzed using analysis of variance for continuous variables and chi-squared for categorical variables. All statistical analysis was done using STATA (version 17BE; StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA). A total of 127,496 cases were identified using the Premier Healthcare Database from January 2017 to December 2020. Anatomic TSA accounted for 30.67% of all cases, rTSA represented 63.55%, and hemiarthroplasty accounted for 5.78%. A precipitous decline in cases was observed in March and April of 2020, with aTSA declining by 97%, rTSA declining by 83% and hemiarthroplasty declining by 77% from their prepandemic monthly averages. Cases rebounded in May and peaked by June (rTSA and hemiarthroplasty) or July (aTSA). Cases slightly declined in August, rebounded in September, and declined again at the end of the year. The average length of stay in 2020 was slightly longer for aTSA (1.87 to 2.12 days, P <.0001) and hemiarthroplasty (2.08 to 2.49 days, P =.0021), but slightly shorter for rTSA (1.92 to 1.64 days, P <.0001). We estimated that a total of 29,951 cases were performed in 2020, representing a 7.8% decrease compared with the average from 2017 through 2019, with roughly 2564 patients either delayed or unable to undergo arthroplasty in 2020. Based on data from the Premier database, COVID-19 had a negative impact on the case volume of inpatient shoulder replacement (aTSA, rTSA and hemiarthroplasty) surgery in the United States. By the end of 2020, rTSA cases had returned to its monthly average in the years preceding the pandemic, while aTSA and hemiarthroplasty recovered to roughly 75% of their prepandemic case volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, I focus on examples of controversial early members of communities of women religious in the United States, particularly their founders, whose significance (and, in some case, even existence) was deliberately obscured or removed from "approved" or "authorized" congregational histories. There are numerous such examples; here, I focus on four (though others figure briefly): Theresa Maxis Duchemin (Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), St. Andrew Feltin (Sisters of Divine Providence), Margaret Anna Cusack (Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace), and Wilhelmina Bleily (Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon). In recounting and analyzing their stories, I hope to explain why so many founders (or, at least, their significance) were silenced or repudiated, even by sisters themselves, and what their "rediscovery" in the past half century or so tells us about religious renewal in the post-Vatican II era. To what extent do their experiences derive from particularized circumstances and contextual factors? To what extent do their stories collectively inform us about important kyriarchal conditions during this formative period in apostolic women's religious life? Moreover, despite often aggressive efforts to erase their stories or to deny their contributions, why was their influence never completely eradicated? What does this tell us about "official" and "unofficial" history, particularly for what it reveals about women's responses to patriarchy? These accounts challenge us to see beyond a prescriptive or hagiographic understanding of women's religious life and to appreciate the complexity of its reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since William Alexander's (1963, 1995) call for attention to the need for specialized middle level teacher preparation in 1963, 45 states have created requirements for middle level certification, licensure, or endorsement (Association for Middle Level Education [AMLE], 2014) which have led to institutions of teacher preparation creating routes designed to prepare candidates to teach grades 5--9. Because of questions raised about content and consistency of these programs, this study systematically documents components of undergraduate middle level teacher preparation programs in 1,324 institutions from 50 states and the District of Columbia. The findings reveal that even though 45 states have explicit mandates for middle level certification, licensure or endorsement, almost half of the institutions preparing teachers for grades 5-9 do not offer courses or experiences specific to middle level education or young adolescents.

This year, we crossed a watershed--for the first time, more digital cameras than film cameras were sold in the United States. Soon the majority of American families will own a digital camera. The spread of a ubiquitous technology throughout society offers an opportunity for schools. In some instances, digital cameras facilitate instructional uses of images in the curriculum that previously could be accomplished only with great difficulty or expense. In other instances, digital cameras make it practical to address instructional objectives that were heretofore not possible.

Gun violence in American and Canadian schools is an ongoing tragedy that goes substantially beyond its roots in the interlocking emotional and behavioral issues of mental health and bullying. In light of the need for effective policy development, Dianne T. Gereluk, J. Kent Donlevy, and Merlin B. Thompson examine gun violence in schools from several relevant perspectives in this article. The authors consider the principle of "standard of care" as it relates to parents, teachers, and community members in a particular school's context. They posit that normative principles may provide a procedural mechanism appropriate for policymakers and practitioners when contemplating and implementing heightened security measures. Finally, they propose Rawlsian reasonableness as an effective and deliberative democratic process that reduces emotional, reactive responses to school shootings. Through these overlapping concepts, the authors advocate for purposeful discussions regarding gun violence in schools based on the unique pragmatic, educational, social, political, and contextual circumstances of individual schools and their surrounding communities.

OBJECTIVE: Social needs interventions in clinical settings can improve child health outcomes; however, they are not routinely delivered in routine pediatric care. The electronic health record (EHR) can support these interventions, but parent engagement in the development of EHR-based social needs interventions is lacking. The aim of this study was to assess parent perspectives on EHR-based social needs screening and documentation and identify family-centered approaches for screening design and implementation. METHODS: We enrolled 20 parents from four pediatric primary care clinics. Parents completed a social risk questionnaire from an existing EHR module and participated in qualitative interviews. Parents were asked about the acceptability of EHR-based social needs screening and documentation and preferences for screening administration. A hybrid deductive-inductive approach was used to analyze qualitative data. RESULTS: Parents identified the benefits of social needs screening and documentation but expressed concerns related to privacy, fear of negative outcomes, and use of outdated documentation. Some felt self-administered electronic questionnaires would mitigate parent discomfort and encourage disclosure of social needs, while others felt face-to-face screening would be more effective. Parents stressed the importance of transparency on the purpose of social needs screening and the use of data. CONCLUSIONS: This work can inform the design and implementation of EHR-based social needs interventions that are acceptable and feasible for parents. Findings suggest strategies such as clear communication and multi-modal delivery methods may enhance intervention uptake. Future work should integrate feedback from multiple stakeholders to design and evaluate interventions that are family-centered and feasible to implement in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent police brutality and related violence against Black people, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has further evidenced the disproportionate impact of systemic racism in our institutions and across society. In the United States, the alarming mortality rates for Black people due to police violence and COVID-19 related deaths are clear demonstrations of inequities within a long history of disparate outcomes. In understanding systemic racism, it is essential to consider how it is embedded within society and across socio-ecological levels. The Social-Ecological Model (SEM) is used to examine conditions within the environment that maintain systemic racism, including within our field and discipline. A behavioral-community approach for examining racism aids in determining points of intervention across multiple ecological levels that may contribute to behavior change, including with behaviorists. The science of behavior is well-suited to help examine the contingencies governing behaviors within and across systems, which is pivotal for addressing operant behaviors to influence long-term behavior change. This paper calls on the behavioral community to address systemic racism within our environments and systems of influence to contribute to a more equitable community. Systemic racism, including within the context of anti-Blackness, is examined by considering behavior change strategies that can be supported by behaviorists across socio-ecological levels. Tools for collaborative action are provided to support behaviorists in demonstrating the skills needed across a continuum of behaviors from allyship to anti-racism to actively address systemic racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a framework used to analyze the extent to which assessments (i.e., chapter tests) accompanying three published elementary grades 3-5 curricula in the United States provide students with opportunities to engage with key mathematical processes. The framework uses indicators for five criteria to assess the processes of reasoning, communication, connections, and representation. The results from coding over 100 tests indicate that students had the most opportunities to engage with connections, and the fewest opportunities to engage with reasoning. The results suggest the need for more efforts to ensure that assessments focus not only on what students learn (i.e., the content) but also on how they learn (i.e., mathematical processes). (Contains 2 tables, 10 figures and 2 footnotes.)

Given the persistence of health inequities in the United States, scholars and health professionals alike have turned to the social determinants of health (SDH) framework to understand the overlapping factors that produce and shape these inequities. However, there is scant empirical literature on how frontline health and social service workers perceive and apply the SDH framework, or related movements such as the right to health, in their daily practice. Our study seeks to bridge this gap by applying constructs from the sociological imagination and structural competency (an emerging paradigm in health professions' education) to understand the perspectives and experiences of social work case managers, community health workers, legal advocates, and mental health counselors at a maternal and child health center in a large US city. This frontline workforce displayed strong sociological imagination, elements of structural competency, and engagement with the principles of the right to health. Workers shared reflections on the SDH framework in ways that signaled promising opportunities for frontline workers to link with the global movement for the right to health. We offer a novel approach to understanding the relationships between frontline worker perspectives on and experiences with the SDH, sociological imagination, structural competency, and the right to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the influence of psychocultural variables (e.g., acculturation, enculturation, ethnic identity) and personality characteristics in relation to educational expectations among 345 Latino middle school students in the U.S. Results from a path model indicate that 24.4% of the variance of educational expectations was accounted for by all predictor variables included in the model. Age, acculturation, and conscientiousness had statistically significant direct effects on educational expectations. Findings also show that elements of ethnic identity and conscientiousness mediated the association from acculturation and enculturation to educational expectations. Implications of the findings for counselors are addressed.

Labour force participation maybe particularly problematic for single-mothers. By working, mothers increase their family's financial capital and consequently make more money available for educational resources. However, employment often results in the parent having less time to interact with their child and participate in school activities. This is particularly problematic for single-mothers. While abundant research has been conducted on the impact of maternal employment on educational outcomes in the United States, very little international and cross-national research exists. This study draws upon the PISA 2000 data to examine the association between maternal employment, family structure, and reading literacy achievement. The results indicate that in some of the countries, students with full-time and part time working single mothers had an educational advantage over single mothers who did not work. In some countries, this was still the case after accounting for economic resources.

Gender differences among contributing student leadership development resources were examined within the context of theory-based perspectives of leadership-related attributes. The findings suggest that students' increased engagement with institutional constituencies cultivates an environment conducive to students' cognitive development toward leadership. Implications of the findings for subsequent research on student leadership development are presented. (Contains 2 tables.)

In order to ensure that American students are competitive with students in other countries, since the 1980s, U.S. policymakers have been trying to improve the K-12 public school system. Recent reform efforts have led to the current high-stakes testing movement, which measures student achievement and school effectiveness mainly by standardized test scores. In this article, the authors explain how the current high-stakes testing movement has harmed African American students through (1) instructional practices that have not resulted in widespread higher test scores; (2) increasing student apathy; (3) more punitive discipline policies and pushing more youth into the prison pipeline, and also by (4) creating a narcissistic education system that strives to make schools "look good," even if students are not really learning information that will help them improve the quality of their lives. The authors conclude with recommendations that can improve the schooling experiences of African American youth.

Non-formal learning for urban youth has a long history in the United States; it remains a source of innovation. This essay draws on literature about organizations that use community ties to encourage cognitive development and identity formation. It then describes how one youth organization in Camden, New Jersey uses presentations to the community of its in-house business projects as springboards into further development. Such non-formal learning structures can have wide application to other sites of learning.

The California Psychological Inventory's Dominance scale was investigated for inconsistencies in item-trait associations across four samples (one American normative and three culturally dissociated manager groupings). The Kim, Cohen, and Park procedure was used, enabling simultaneous multigroup comparison in addition to the traditional differential item functioning focus on paired-group contrasts. Framing comparisons within Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Dominance construct-item association inconsistencies were predicted to occur across Indian manager responses (when contrasted relatively with U.S. and U.K. responses). Results are consistent with the Hofstede predictions and have particular implications for empirically keyed assessments, multigroup contrasts, the cross-cultural expression of individual differences, and the generalizability of trait definitions across cultures. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Student outcome data were examined for 35 teacher education candidates working toward special education certification who used an iterative differentiated instruction process over a 5-week period. Data were analyzed across a range of content areas and ages. Results indicated statistically significant and noteworthy effects across students regardless of whether teachers were working in an elementary, middle, or high school in a number of content areas. Qualitative data support a conceptual shift in how teacher education candidates use outcome data to inform their teaching, providing support for the social validity of this approach to implementing differentiated instruction. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

The article presents a theoretical framework, "institutional phase theory", that charts the process by which higher education faculties in the USA were broadened by race, gender, and to a certain extent class over the past 40 years. Drawing upon institutional ethnographies of three very different universities--a top-ranked private university, a comprehensive urban university, and a top-ranked public university, the authors provide examples from the third, the University of Michigan. By taking a historical and institutional approach, the authors chart the movement from accepting "exceptional" women and faculty of colour on male terms to measurable changes in overly rigid structures and institution-wide policies; expanded visions and boundaries in traditional disciplines; interdisciplinarity as a mark of the university; and transformed scholarly research in selected disciplines. (Contains 18 notes.)

Recognizing that textbooks play a prominent role in fostering students' understanding of reasoning and proof, the authors conducted a study to examine the extent to which textbooks used in U.S. high schools provide opportunities for students to encounter proof-related reasoning and how the nature of proof-related reasoning in textbooks varies by course and publisher. Because proof has been taught primarily in high school geometry courses in the United States and there is very little research about the nature or extent of proof in other courses, the authors examined books intended for use in nongeometry courses. Specifically, they analyzed students' opportunities to learn to reason mathematically in 20 textbooks. In this article, the authors share key aspects of the framework that they used to analyze textbooks, samples of the kinds of proof-related reasoning that they found, and highlights of the quantitative results of their research. They also suggest some instructional implications, including ideas for teachers on how to use their framework to increase students' opportunities to engage with proof. (Contains 1 table.) [Bibliography of Textbook Resources is appended.]

Unlike most immigrants, who come to host countries after being granted legal permanent residency, refugees are forced to leave their homelands, often abruptly, due to threats to their personal safety. Refugees enter their host countries with no prior arrangements in place (e.g., housing, financial support of relatives, opportunities to start studying the local language) to assist them in the process of relocating. Perhaps one of the most important issues for refugee families is how to ease the transition to the new nation for their loved ones, especially their children. This article shares knowledge gained through a study of the views of African refugee parents and Head Start teachers regarding the early education of African refugee children in American schools. The authors also discuss how teachers of young children can more effectively collaborate with increasing numbers of African refugee families.