An investigation of listening and listening‐while‐reading accommodations on reading comprehension levels and rates in students with emotional disorders

Researchers used alternating treatment designs to investigate the effects of listening‐while‐reading (LWR) and listening interventions on comprehension levels and rates in four middle school students with emotional disorders. During LWR, students were instructed to read passages silently along with experimenters. During the listening condition, we did not give students a printed copy of the passage but merely instructed them to listen as an experimenter read the passages aloud. The control condition consisted of students reading passages silently. After each condition, students answered 10 comprehension questions without referring back to the printed passage. Although neither intervention resulted in comprehension levels consistently superior to those of the silent reading control condition, LWR and listening resulted in higher rates of comprehension than the silent reading control condition across all four students. However, listening appeared to improve reading comprehension rates in only two students. These results suggest that LWR may be an efficient procedure for enhancing comprehension across content areas with groups of students who have heterogeneous reading skills. The discussion focuses on future applied research with students with disabilities. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 39–51, 2005.     

Water Babies: an evolutionary parable

The nineteenth-century Anglican theologian Charles Kingsley was immediately impressed by Darwin's Origin of Species. Whilst many in Victorian Britain reacted against the idea of natural selection, Kingsley saw in the contingency of selection a divinely ordained imperative for human endeavour, not least the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Here, Kingsley believed, was a crucial insight into the seemingly indifferent laws of nature, one that humankind could use to elevate themselves to ever-greater heights. Kingsley chose to teach these lessons about the moral nature of evolution through 'Water Babies', one of the most charming and enduring of children's fairy tales.     

Evaluating a university’s investment in arts programming on student arts participation

ABSTRACT

An individual’s level of education has the strongest relationship with his or her arts participation. What is unclear, however, is why high-educated individuals are more likely to participate in the arts. Economic models indicate that price, income, and background are relevant to attendance, but the role these factors play among high-educated groups, like college students, remains underexplored. This study sheds light on what makes college students more likely to participate in the arts by evaluating a university’s investment in arts programming on campus. We analyse data from an experiment in which a university made substantial investments in arts programming largely centred on increasing access to the arts by providing more free programmes. Using pre- and post-intervention survey data, we analyse changes in students’ reported level of arts participation and barriers to arts involvement. The results from our analyses show that background, such as familiarity and experience in the arts, is the strongest predictor of increased arts participation among college students when prices are reduced.     

Community College Students With Criminal Justice Histories and Human Services Education: Glass Ceiling,Brick Wall,or a Pathway to Success

In spite of open access to community college education, specifically human service associate degree programs, students with criminal justice histories do not necessarily have an unobstructed pathway to obtaining the degree and admission to the baccalaureate programs in human services and social work that are almost always selective. The first obstacle may arise when a student must be placed in the field internship. This may mark the first time in a student’s educational career where he or she must disclose his or her ex-offender status. While higher education plays a well-documented role against recidivism, students who are ex-offenders who are enrolled in community college programs and also have their sights set on transfer, professional credentialing, and professional employment, may face similar barriers. There is a paucity of research related to students in community college with criminal justice histories and a clear need for qualitative and quantitative study in the area. The author calls for more active advocacy and community education roles for community college professionals in this arena as well.     

The leadership crisis – can Action Learning Questions provide any answers?

This article provides a reflective account of the author's experience over the past 12 years of introducing a structured approach to accredited action learning to corporate organisations. The generic Action Learning Question method is outlined and specific examples of programmes in the financial services/banking and education sector are described. Included is an example of how Action Learning Facilitators have been developed. It is proposed that this approach has a place in supporting leadership development in a period of great uncertainty and change.