Definitions of learning disabilities in Canadian provinces and territories.

Canadian definitions of learning disabilities (LD) traditionally have varied interprovincially, and the authors have compiled current provincial and territorial policy information related to LD. Special education definitions of LD are summarized, and an overview of funding mechanisms for special education services for students with LD is provided. In the majority of provincial and territorial policies, the concept of LD as a discrepancy between intelligence test scores and achievement has been retained from previous policies as a defining feature. Seven provinces have adopted either the official version or part of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (2002) LD definition, which characterises LD as a cognitive processing disorder or condition with processing deficits. The use of IQ scores and the vague conceptualization of processing disorder are major difficulties with the current definitions. These findings of policy definitions of LD with more detailed identification criteria contrast with current noncategorical provincial funding mechanisms for learning disabled students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilevel exploration of the influence of teacher efficacy and burnout on response to student problem behavior and school-based service use.

There is an increasing concern about teacher factors, such as burnout or low efficacy, which have been hypothesized to influence student outcomes like achievement or discipline problems. The current study examined how burnout and efficacy relate to student disciplinary actions (e.g., referrals to the principal and suspensions) and referrals for school-based support services (e.g., student support and special education), while adjusting for school-, teacher-, and student-level variables. Data were collected during the fall and spring of a single school year from 491 teachers regarding 9,795 students at 31 elementary schools. Contrary to expectations, having low teacher efficacy in the fall was associated with a reduction in student referrals to the student support team. Also unexpectedly, teachers with high burnout in the fall were less likely to have students who received an out-of-school suspension by the spring. These findings enhance our understanding of the teacher factors that influence student outcomes and may inform the development of screenings and teacher-targeted interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Support levels of psychology departments offering graduate programs in 1969-1970.

Conducted a 2nd annual survey of psychology departments having graduate programs, with 152 departments responding. Comparative data were obtained on 28 variables related to budgetary and personnel support characteristics of the departments (faculty salary, departmental budgets, support personnel, student/faculty ratios, etc.). Data were analyzed in terms of geographic regions, type of institution (private vs. Public), size of university, and type of graduate degree programs offered (master's degree only vs. Doctoral degree). Data show both discriminable differences among universities on some variables and wide variability. The survey results may provide (a) a comparative base for departmental chairmen, students examining graduate programs, candidates interviewing for academic positions, and accrediting agencies; and (b) a base line for further annual studies to reflect changes in support of higher education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating the academic achievement of adolescents with learning disabilities: A structural modeling approach.

Although academic performance is a primary component of the federal definition of learning disabilities (LD), there have been few investigations of factors that influence academic growth among adolescents with LD. The focus of the present study is parental attitudes, their effects on adolescents with and without LD and on the academic achievement of those students. The estimated model accounted for 72% and 74% of the variance in academic achievement for the groups of students with and without LD, respectively. The findings support the position that parental expectations and perceptions of parental expectations are instrumental in raising the academic expectations and the achievement of adolescents with and without LD. The comparison between the students with and without LD showed that the most important factors were the same for both groups, suggesting the model worked in the same way for the two populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Where have all the students gone? Positions of psychologists trained in clinical/services programs.

This article presents a variety of findings derived from two outcome studies of psychologists who received their doctorates from clinical/services training programs supported by the National Institute of Mental Health in the years 1968-1980. Comparative data are presented regarding the initial positions and geographical distribution of graduates during this period. Despite some erosion in the market for academic faculty positions, the results show a consistent and extraordinary degree of employment consonant with training and virtually no unemployment. Two thirds of the graduates have jobs in a range of organized settings for service, and over 22% of the remainder are in academic or research positions. The most recent study enables analyses of certain factors influencing the initial location of graduates. Particular attention is paid to three topics of national concern. Criteria are developed for designating rural/small town service providers, and evidence is presented showing that programmatic implementation of this priority in training yields results. The issue of clinical research is discussed; the scope of such research and the extent to which students may be engaged in it are examined. Data are provided on the recruitment of minority students, and factors affecting minority student retention and completion of training are discussed. Outcomes of master's-level training programs are presented separately, and characteristics of training at that level are contrasted with those in doctoral programs. In a concluding section, the findings are discussed in the context of changes in psychology graduate education during the past generation, some current value dilemmas that affect education are explored, and certain implications of the revised national policies for support of clinical training in mental health are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the link between large high schools and student victimization an illusion?

To determine whether larger high schools have more student victimization than smaller schools, this study examined a statewide sample of approximately 7,431 ninth-grade students and 2,353 teachers in 290 Virginia high schools participating in the Virginia High School Safety Study. School size was distinguished from the proportion of students receiving free or reduced-price meals, percentage of minority students, ethnic diversity (heterogeneity), and urbanicity. In larger schools, teachers and students reported that they perceived more bullying and teasing taking place, but student self-reports of being a victim of bullying were not associated with school size. Additionally, school discipline records showed that although the total number of incidents was higher, the rate of bullying offenses was lower in larger schools. Similar results were found for measures of student threats and physical assaults. These findings raise the possibility that the link between larger schools and higher student victimization is an illusion based on perceived frequency rather than rates of victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and race differences in learning disabilities classrooms.

Poor reading performance is the primary reason for assignment of learning-disabled (LD) students to special education classrooms. Such classrooms typically contain a majority of Whites and males. The present study investigated whether or not differences by sex or race occurred in placement, teacher contacts, assignment practices, and student learning behaviors in LD classrooms. 105 6–12 yr old LD students were administered a battery of tests that included the Level I Reading Subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test and the Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales. Results reveal differences in placement, similarity of teacher treatment and student behavior, and similarity of the effects of such behaviors on test performance. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family factors and student achievement: An avenue to increase students' success.

Reviewed research findings with regard to family influences on student achievement. Five family and home environmental factors that affect student achievement and the effects of which may be altered through intervention were identified: parent expectations and attributions, structure for learning, home affective environment, discipline, and parent involvement. Researchers have used different instruments, data collection and data analysis procedures, and have defined family factors differently. There is convergence in the family factors critical for students' success. Recommendations are provided for school psychologists to increase student opportunity to learn by providing families with direct and indirect services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Normal and psychopathological personality characteristics of individuals in alcohol rehabilitation.

Relations between normal and psychopathological personality characteristics were investigated in 72 inpatient male alcoholics, who were administered the Personal Styles Inventory (PSI) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results support the PSI circumplex model for normal personality traits. All PSI scales correlated significantly with one or more MMPI scales, including the basic MMPI orthogonal factors Anxiety (r?=?.55) and Repression (r?=?-.47), showing a relation between normal and pathological personality attributes. The mean MMPI profiles for subjects categorized by normal (PSI) personality traits corresponded significantly to basic MMPI profile types identified in previous research. Implications for counseling alcoholics and developing treatment programs using information from a broader based personality assessment approach are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential trends in law grades of minority and nonminority law students.

Studied 3-yr trends in the law averages awarded to nonminority students and to 2 principal minority groups—Black students and Chicano students—in 2 sets of law schools that enrolled more than 900 Black students and more than 300 Chicano students. In 18 of 21 law schools, Black students showed greater improvement than White students when 3rd-yr grades were compared with 1st-yr grades. In 10 of 21 schools the improvement of Black students was significantly greater, statistically, than that of White students. Chicano students, who generally showed less prior educational disadvantage than Black students, exhibited differential improvement in 6 of 9 schools, but a statistically significant improvement in only 1 school. Various reasons for the differential improvements in grades are considered, including statistical artifacts (ceiling and floor effects, changes in criterion reliability, and unequal units of measurement in the grading of minority and nonminority students) and substantive factors such as course selection patterns, differences in the academic demands of each law school year, and support systems available to disadvantaged students. The implications of the findings are discussed for counseling students, for academic dismissal and probation policies, and for the study of effective institutional support services. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional ratings of teaching effectiveness by students from different academic settings and their relation to student/course/instructor characteristics.

Students' responses to the Students' Evaluation of Education Quality (SEEQ) survey were collected in 4,471 graduate and undergraduate courses, and these courses were separated into groups representing diverse academic disciplines and settings. Separate factor analyses of 6 groups of courses each clearly identified the evaluation factors that SEEQ was designed to measure, demonstrating the replicability and generality of the factors. The SEEQ factors were then correlated with a set of 16 student/course/instructor characteristics (e.g., class size, expected grades, teacher rank) in each group of courses. These correlations were typically small, and proportion of variance in the ratings that could be predicted by the combined set of characteristics (based on stepwise multiple regression) varied between .08 and .20 in the 6 groups of courses. Most of the predictable variance in each group of courses could be explained by the same 4 characteristics; more favorable ratings were associated with higher prior subject interest, higher expected grades, higher levels of workload/difficulty, and a higher percentage of students taking a course for general interest. Discussion indicates that the interpretation of these effects as a bias to student ratings is unwarranted, and alternative approaches are presented. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical issues in the instruction of the learning disabled.

This article addresses several issues and trends relevant to the instruction of the learning disabled (LD). Although the concept of LD has received some support as a diagnostic category, limited data exist that demonstrate the effect of different instructional methods on the academic deficits of LD students. In this review, attempts to remediate LD are examined according to the adequacy of the theoretical context that guides the instruction and the efficacy and validity of the remediation procedures. Selected studies representative of medical, psychoeducational, neuropsychological, behavioral, linguistic, and cognitive treatment approaches are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third and -Fourth Edition predictors of academic achievement in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

IQ and achievement scores were analyzed for 678 children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 6-16 years of age, IQ≥80) administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; n=586) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV, n=92). Approximately 76% of children in both samples were identified with a learning disability (LD). LD in written expression was more common than in reading or math. For both the WISC-III and the WISC-IV, full-scale IQ was the strongest single predictor of achievement in all areas. The verbal subtests comprising the Freedom from Distractibility/Working Memory Index (FDI/WMI) and Verbal Comprehension Index were more highly correlated with achievement scores than the nonverbal subtests on both the WISC-III and WISC-IV. The most powerful predictors of LD, however, were the FDI/WMI and Processing Speed Index (PSI) subtests. These findings suggest that verbal intelligence is more influential in determining level of academic achievement, whereas cognitive abilities assessed by FDI/WMI and PSI are more important in determining LD in children with ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Components analysis of cognitive strategy instruction: Effects on learning disabled students' compositions and self-efficacy.

The viability of self-instructional strategy training among learning disabled (LD) students exhibiting composition deficiencies was investigated. Furthermore, the theoretically proposed incremental effects of explicit self-regulation procedures were examined in terms of writing performance measures at posttest, maintenance, and generalization, and in terms of Ss' self-efficacy. Ss were 22 LD and 11 normally achieving students in the 5th and 6th grades. Results indicated that self-instructional strategy training produced meaningful and lasting effects on Ss' composition skills and a significantly heightened sense of self-efficacy. Explicit self-regulation procedures did not significantly augment strategy-instruction effects for either writing performance or self-efficacy. Composition performance after instruction among LD Ss did not differ significantly in terms of story grammar elements from that of a contrast group of normally achieving, competent writers. However, normally achieving students' compositions were longer and received significantly higher quality ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observed classroom quality during teacher education and two years of professional practice.

The aims of the present study are to investigate whether and how teachers change in their observed classroom quality (emotional and instructional support, classroom organization, and students' engagement; measured with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System observation measure for secondary school [CLASS-S]; Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2006) during their teacher education year and the first 2 years of professional practice, as well as the effects of personal characteristics and contextual factors on observed classroom quality. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) with a reduced number of indicators per a priori construct fitted the data well. Using factor scores in 3-level multilevel models for change (376 lesson segments 20 min in duration nested within 10 time points, within 17 teachers), we found more variability over time than within lessons and the least variability between teachers. Emotional support showed an inverted U-shaped change over time, whereas classroom organization increased linearly over time. Emotional support was lower for older students, and students were more engaged in larger classes. A higher level of classroom organization during lessons was related to less variability in student engagement, but variability of instructional support was unrelated to variability of student engagement within each lesson. The findings are discussed within the context of teachers' supported transitions into professional practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)