Redéfinir et développer des compétences d’accueil de la petite enfance

The competences expected from early childhood education and care professionals have evolved significantly in our Western countries following the transformation of services and the affirmation of their educational function. This article is based on action research projects carried out in the Wallonia Brussels Federation (FWB) which integrate an analysis of other education and training systems (France, Flanders, England, Sweden and Quebec). It presents a reflection on the development of professional competencies and their acquisition from the initial training in a holistic approach to education. It notes that a diversity of formations coexists, leading to an absence of clear view on professional skills and profiles. In response to this observation, it proposes a modeling that articulates organizational, relational and reflexive competencies that are needed for the development of a professional posture. That modeling is presented as a grid of analysis that can enable better understanding of the complexity of early education and care in its many dimensions (working with children, families, professionals and the local community). It can be considered as a tool to globally rethink initial and continuing education and training in a systemic perspective.Les compétences attendues chez les professionnels de l’accueil de la petite enfance ont fortement évolué dans nos pays occidentaux suivant la transformation des services et l’affirmation de leur fonction éducative. À partir des recherches-actions menées en Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles (FWB) qui intègrent l’analyse d’autres systèmes éducatifs et de formation (France, Flandre, Angleterre, Suède et Québec), le présent article présente, dans une approche holistique de l’éducation, une réflexion sur le développement des compétences d’accueil et de leur acquisition dès la formation initiale. Il relève le manque de lisibilité des profils et des compétences dans les systèmes où une multiplicité de formations coexiste. En réponse à ce constat, il propose une modélisation qui articule compétences organisationnelles, relationnelles et réflexives nécessaires au développement d’une posture professionnelle. Cette modélisation se présente comme une grille d’analyse susceptible de mieux faire comprendre la complexité de l’activité d’accueil dans ses multiples dimensions (travail avec les enfants, les familles, les professionnels, la communauté locale). Elle peut être considérée comme un outil pour repenser globalement la formation initiale et continue dans une perspective systémique

Familial aggregation of lung cancer in a high incidence area in China

To investigate whether lung cancer clusters in families in a high incidence county of China, an analysis was conducted using data on domestic fuel history and tobacco use for family members of 740 deceased lung cancer probands and 740 controls (probands' spouses). Lung cancer prevalence was compared among first-degree relatives of probands and of controls, taking into account various factors using logistic regression and generalised estimating equations. First-degree relatives of probands, compared with those of controls, showed an excess risk of lung cancer (odds ratio (OR)=2.05, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.68–2.53). Overall, female relatives of probands had a greater risk than did their male counterparts, and the risk was 2.90-fold for parents of probands as compared with parents of spouses. Female relatives of probands had 2.67-fold greater risk than female controls. Lung cancer risk was particularly marked among mothers (OR=3.78, 95% CI: 2.03–7.12). Having two or more affected relatives was associated with a 2.69–5.40-fold risk increase. The risk elevation was also found for other cancers overall. Results confirm previous findings of a genetic predisposition to lung cancer, and also imply that lung cancer may share a genetic background with other cancers

Not-reached Items: An Issue of Time and of test-taking Disengagement? the Case of PISA 2015 Reading Data

peer reviewedMany low-stakes assessments, such as international large-scale surveys, are administered during time-limited testing sessions and some test-takers are not able to endorse the last items of the test, resulting in not-reached (NR) items. However, because the test has no consequence for the respondents, these NR items can also stem from quitting the test. This article, by means of mixture modeling, investigates heterogeneity in the onset of NR items in reading in PISA 2015. Test-taking behavior, assessed by the response times on the first items of the test, and the risk of NR item onset are modeled simultaneously in a 3-class model that distinguishes rapid, slow and typical respondents. Results suggest that NR items can come from a lack of time or from disengaged behaviors and that the relationship between the number of NR items and ability estimate can be affected by these non-effortful NR responses