The Relationship Among Parenting Styles, Home Environments, and Children\u27s Curiosity

In this research, the relationships of parenting styles, attitudes, and child-rearing environments with children\u27s curiosity, the relationships of parenting styles and attitudes with child-rearing environments, and the indirect relationships of parenting styles and attitudes with children\u27s curiosity through child-rearing environments were explored. Seventy-four parent-child dyads were recruited from area day care centers. Oldest children between 3 and 6 years old were studied. Parents were administered a demographic information questionnaire, the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory--Revised (HOME), and the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR). Children were administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised (PPVT-R), the Complexity Task, the Preference for the Unknown Task, the Drawer Box Task, and the Curiosity Box Task. Parenting styles were characterized as authoritative vs. authoritarian, and attitudes were represented by parental affect and enjoyment of the parental role. Results indicated that no parents endorsed the authoritarian style. The somewhat authoritative parenting style, as opposed to the strongly authoritative parenting style, was associated with higher curiosity in children. Attitude alone was not related to curiosity. The strongly authoritative parenting style, as opposed to somewhat authoritative parenting style, was associated with child-rearing environments that included high stimulation of learning and exploring through materials and experiences; encouragement of maturity and autonomy; and less physical, more communication­ oriented punishment for children. The same aspects of the child-rearing environment were significantly related to children\u27s curiosity: More positive, stimulating, autonomy- and communication-enhancing child-rearing environments were associated with higher curiosity in children. These results suggest that parenting styles and child-rearing environments make important contributions to children\u27s curiosity, which has been demonstrated in previous research to be a useful marker for healthy adjustment and development. Future research with a longitudinal design would further elucidate the interactions among parenting styles, child-rearing environments, and children\u27s curiosity. Using this model, researchers may identify vulnerability for developmental difficulties and may implement corrective measures in many areas of influence on a child\u27s development. Resilience and strengths may be augmented to ensure healthy adjustment of children throughout the developmental cycle

Testing the Impact of Higher Achievement's Year-Round Out-of-School-Time Program on Academic Outcomes

Presents findings from a multiyear evaluation of an intensive long-term OST program's effect on low-income middle school students' academic performance, attitudes, and behaviors. Outlines implications for financially strapped districts

Summer Snapshot: Exploring the Impact of Higher Achievement's Year-Round Out-of-School-Time Program on Summer Learning

Assesses the impact of a multiyear, intensive, academically focused OST program for motivated but underserved middle school students on test scores, summer program participation, and summer learning loss. Examines contributing factors and implications

The Wizarding World of Resilience

Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. In recent years, there has been a marked decrease in resilience in young adults. In higher education, this decline has resulted in increased anxiety and depression among college students. Record numbers of college students are attending counseling and taking medication. They report struggling to complete their coursework, interact with peers, or develop a clear sense of self. This presentation describes a pscho-educational and experiential group therapy approach to teaching resilience to college students with mental illness using popular culture, particularly the wizarding world of Harry Potter

Making a Difference in Schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study

School-based mentoring is one of the fastest growing forms of mentoring in the US today; yet, few studies have rigorously examined its impacts. This landmark random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring is the first national study of this program model. It involves 10 agencies, 71 schools and 1,139 9- to 16-year-old youth randomly assigned to either a treatment group of program participants or a control group of their non-mentored peers. Surveys were administered to all participating youth, their teachers and mentors in the fall of 2004, spring of 2005 and late fall of 2005.The report describes the programs and their participants and answers several key questions, including: Does school-based mentoring work? What kinds of mentoring experiences help to ensure benefits? How much do these programs cost? Our findings highlight both the strengths of this program model and its current limitations and suggest several recommendations for refining this promising model-recommendations that Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country are already working to implement

Making a Difference in Schools: The Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study Executive Summary

Serving almost 870,000 youth nationwide, school-based mentoring is one of the fastest growing forms of mentoring in the US today. Making a Difference in Schools presents findings from a landmark random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring -- the first national study of this program model. This executive summary highlights nine key findings from the full report and outlines several recommendations for policy and practice

Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time

With support from The Wallace Foundation, the Harvard Family Research Project and P/PV conducted a study of almost 200 out-of-school-time (OST) programs in six cities to better understand how they promote sustained participation among older youth.The resulting data indicated that two of the most important practices distinguishing high-retention programs were: ample leadership opportunities for youth and high levels of staff efforts to keep informed about participants' lives outside the programs. The study also compares and contrasts effective practices for middle school- versus high school-aged youth, noting the shortcomings of "one-size-fits-all" strategies. Finally, Engaging Older Youth details the influence of city-level OST initiatives on programs and identifies the types of city-level services that likely support participation

Androgyny and Sex-Role Measurement: A Personal Construct Approach

Recent research into sex roles has been heavily influenced by androgyny theory, and by the development of the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bern, 1974). Psychological androgyny is the combination, in one individual, of both culturally defined masculine and feminine personality traits. The Sex-Rep, a new instrument for assessing sex role which is aimed at rectifying certain problems associated with the BSRI, was then described. The Sex-Rep, the BSRI (Bern, 19 34), the Texas Social Behavior Inventory (TSBI; Spence & Stapp, 1974), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, Beck, 1967), and a self-concept thermometer, were given to 100 male and 108 female undergraduates. Results indicated that the BSRI and the Sex-Rep are both valid sex-role instruments, insofar as they both discriminate between males and females. They tend to measure nonredundant components of sex role as indicated by a lack of overlap between their sex-role classifications. The present study did not find any support for the balance model of androgyny which suggests that high masculinity and high femininity interact by balancing each other to produce a healthier, more behaviorally flexible individual. BSRI masculinity (M) was strongly related to adjustment in both sexes, but BSRI femininity (F) had little impact. This relationship between BSRI M and adjustment was described as probably resulting from measurement artifact since (&) only socially desirable traits are included on the BSRI, (b) removing self-esteem effects from the BSRI M scale enhanced its ability to discriminate between the sexes, (c) Sex-Rep masculinity was not related to adjustment for women, and its linkage to adjustment for men was less strong than BSRI M, (d) women rated their feminine constructs as more desirable than their masculine constructs, and (e) there were no actual self-esteem differences between males and females. Thus, findings from the BSRI regarding the relationship between sex role and adjustment must be called into question. Furthermore, since there is little overlap between genderrelated personal construals and social stereotypes, it is important to discover the effects of personal gender identity on personality and behavior

Session 1B: An Exploration of the Factors that Motivate Gifted and Talented Students from Underrepresented Populations to Engage in STEM

The purpose of this study is to examine rural Presenters at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy to identify their motivation to engage in STEM education. Dr. Adrienne Coleman, the Multicultural Education Specialist at IMSA, was the primacy researcher, along with five IMSA Presenters, who conducted a qualitative study. According to research, rural Presenters are less likely to attend selective colleges and can lose interest in STEM during the transition from middle to high school. Also, rural communities face the additional obstacles of poorly funded school operations, as well as poverty, higher cost of living, geographic remoteness, and drug use and violence. In order to entice talented youth to take over hard-to-fill jobs in these communities, this study sought to use IMSA rural Presenters\u27 motives in pursuing STEM to inform the development of STEM enrichment programs for URP Presenters. Besides gathering Presenter perspectives in focus groups, we interviewed IMSA alumni and parents of rural origins about their thoughts on STEM motivation and achievement. By learning about factors that push disadvantaged Presenters to engage in math and science, we can increase inclusivity and enhance URP Presenters\u27 motivation at IMSA, as well as at National Consortium of Specialized STEM Schools (NCSSS) affiliates