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Children's failure on equivalence problems (e.g., 5 + 4 = 7 + __) is believed to be the result of misunderstanding the equal sign and has been tested using symbolic problems (including "="). For Study 1 (N = 48), we designed a nonsymbolic method for presenting equivalence problems to determine whether Grade 2 children's difficulty is due to the presence of symbols or to a more fundamental misunderstanding of equivalence. Children's superior performance on nonsymbolic versus symbolic problems suggests that children fail to map their understanding of equivalence onto problems presented with the symbols of arithmetic. For Study 2 (N = 32), we implemented a within-subject design to assess whether experience with nonsymbolic problems would facilitate performance on symbolic problems. This hypothesis was confirmed. Exposure to nonsymbolic problems may have enabled children to map their successful concepts and strategies to symbolic equivalence problems. (Contains 6 figures and 1 table.)

The authors explored the relationship between measures of self-belief, behavioural development, and academic achievement in Canadian Aboriginal children. Standardized measures of intelligence are unable to consistently predict academic achievement in students from indigenous populations. Exploring alternative factors that may be both predictive and amenable to improvements with interventions is therefore important in order to address the growing educational disparity in Canadian Aboriginal children. In this study, significant correlations were found between the Self-Perception Profile for Children rating of behavioural conduct and close friendships, the Behavior Assessment Scales for Children ratings of leadership and study skills, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test measures of academic achievement. A school environment that provides opportunities for developing social skills and creating friendships as well as culturally appropriate interventions that support the development of leadership and study skills may provide Canadian Aboriginal children with the tools they need to achieve academically. (Contains 4 tables and 3 notes.)

Background: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder known to be associated with behavioural and academic difficulties. Several treatment options are available for children with ADHD, such as medication and behavioural therapy. Although researchers have examined the efficacy of these approaches, much less is understood about how teacher factors, including attitudes and beliefs about ADHD and treatment options, can influence students' behavioural and learning outcomes. Purpose: The goal of this review was to summarise the small set of relevant literature on the influence of teacher factors on academic and behavioural outcomes among children with ADHD, for the purpose of enhancing various outcomes for students with ADHD; to acknowledge the importance of teacher factors on student success; and to encourage additional research in this important domain. Design and methods: We searched for relevant research articles using medical (MEDLINE, 1966 to April 2008), educational (ERIC, 1966 to April 2008), and psychological (PsycInfo, 1985 to April 2008) databases. All English sources, including peer-reviewed articles, dissertation abstracts, review and opinion papers, and conference presentations or posters, were screened to determine whether they fit the predictor and dependent variables. Teacher factors were considered the predictor, or independent variables, and included search terms for factors such as attitudes, beliefs, tolerance and training. Student outcomes, including leadership, academic achievement, social skills and depression were considered the dependent variables. The population of interest was North American elementary school-aged children (grades 1 to 5-6 inclusive, with approximate ages of 5 to 12 years old) with ADHD (also searched as ADD, AD/HD, attention disorders, Attention-deficit Disorder, Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and hyperkinetic disorders). Study design was not specified, and we accepted case studies, large-sample experimental studies and descriptive educational projects. Conclusions: Teacher factors can have profound impacts on various outcome measures. For instance, gesture use by teachers can influence performance on certain academic puzzles by students with ADHD, and teachers' opinions about specific treatment options can impact student behaviour and the types of interventions implemented in the classroom. Teachers who demonstrate patience, knowledge of intervention techniques, an ability to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team, and a positive attitude towards children with special needs can have a positive impact on student success. The ways in which these results relate to clinical practice, particularly considering the influential role of teachers in diagnosis and treatment efficacy, are discussed.

The principle of inversion--that a + b - b must equal a--requires a sensitivity to the relation between addition and subtraction that is critical for understanding arithmetic. Use of inversion, albeit inconsistent, has been observed in school-age children, but when use of a computational shortcut based on inversion emerges and how awareness of the inversion principle relates to other mathematical or numerical skills remain unclear. Two possibilities were explored in 3-year-olds by adapting a method used previously with older children involving the addition and subtraction of blocks differing in length. These children were significantly more accurate on inversion than standard problems, this difference was observed even in children who did not count well, and performance did not differ between formats that afforded qualitative or quantitative solutions. Thus, 3-year-olds appear to develop an early sensitivity to quantitative inversion. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

Objective: The authors examine how many Aboriginal children attending two reservation-based elementary schools in Northern Alberta, Canada, would demonstrate symptoms associated with ADHD using standardized parent and teacher questionnaires. Method: Seventy-five Aboriginal children in Grades 1 through 4 are tested. Seventeen of the 75 (22.7%) Aboriginal children demonstrated a match on parent and teacher forms, with T-scores greater than 1.5 standard deviations from the mean on the Conners' ADHD Index, "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (4th ed.; "DSM-IV") Hyperactive/Impulsive Index, "DSM-IV" Inattentive Index, and/or "DSM-IV" Total Combined T-score. Results: The number of Aboriginal children found to have symptoms associated with ADHD is significantly higher than expected based on prevalence rates in the general population. Conclusion: These findings suggest either a high prevalence of ADHD in Aboriginal children or unique learning and behavioral patterns in Aboriginal children that may erroneously lead to a diagnosis of ADHD if screening questionnaires are used. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Mother Earth's Children's Charter School (MECCS) was established in response to the need for a culturally compatible and positive educational experience for Indigenous children in north central Alberta. Before the school's opening in 2003, researchers from the University of Alberta were invited by the MECCS administration, parents, and the Vice-Chief of the Assembly of First Nations to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of change in measures of behavior, academic achievement, self-perception, and health in children who attend the school. Data were collected and analyzed from 86 research participants who attended the school during its first three years of operation. All measures significantly declined or showed no significant change during the study period. Possible explanations for the observed declines include transfer of higher-performing students out of the school after their initial enrollment, an unexpected and high enrollment of special-needs students, and a lack of adjustment time for the school to begin operations before testing began. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a three-year longitudinal evaluation of Mother Earth's Children's Charter School, the only Canadian charter school focused upon the education of Aboriginal children, by the University of Alberta. The research incorporated the guidelines for community-based participatory research and indigenous research methodology to evaluate the mental health and educational attainment of indigenous children offered a cultural-based education alternative to Euro-centered education.

The article discusses the case where the characteristics of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be adaptive and accepted in the classroom. There are no treatments that work equally well with all children diagnosed with ADHD, due to some that exhibit hyperactive behaviors and some mainly inattentive. Based from analysis, to have a positive thinking about these disorders and recognizing all the unique strengths of children is important to help them achieve their potential.

We examined the role of deictic (i.e., point) and symbolic (i.e., imagistic) gestures in advanced Spanish-English second-language learners to determine whether the role of gestures is consistent with that of intermediate second-language learners (i.e., Gullberg, 1998). Participants (10 L1 Spanish and 10 L1 English) watched two short cartoons and re-told the stories in both of their languages to native-speaking listeners who had never seen the film. Gestures were coded and analyzed in relation to word types from the verbal narratives. We found that participants used more deictic gestures in their second language, similar to the trend noted in previous research. Contrary to research with low or intermediate proficiency participants, however, symbolic gestures did not appear related to proficiency. Possible reasons for the differences in gesture use by proficiency are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]