Mary E. Stafford

Temperament and Vocational Preferences: Age, Gender, and Racial-Ethnic Comparisons Using the Student Styles Questionnaire.

Relationships between temperament and vocational interests are examined for a large, nationally stratified sample of children ages 8 through 17 years. Reliable relationships between temperament and vocational interests are observable in children as young as 8 to 10 years. Those with extroverted styles are interested in being a rock star. Those with introverted, intuitive, and feeling styles are interested in being a writer. Those with thinking styles are interested in being a mechanic. Those with feeling styles are interested in being a counselor. Those with flexible styles are interested in being a jet pilot. Age, gender, and racial-ethnic differences also are examined.

Reliability and Validity of the Career Influence Inventory: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this psychometric study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Career Influence Inventory (CII), an instrument designed to assess perceived influences on career development and planning. The CII was administered to 564 undergraduates from several southwestern United States universities. Results of the exploratory factor analysis with an oblique rotation revealed that six constructs comprised the CII: parent, teacher, and friend influences, negative social events, high school academic experiences and self-efficacy, and ethnic-gender expectations. Findings indicate that the negative social events factor should be viewed as an emerging construct in comprehending career development and planning. The Cronbachs alphas for the six factors ranged from .74 to .91. The moderate correlations among most CII factors suggest the dynamic nature of career influences.

The "city migrant" dilemma: Building community at high-mobility urban schools

At many urban schools, city migrants—students who move numerous times throughout the year from school to school within the same district or between neighboring districts—are a growing problem. Little is known about schools that experience the city migrant challenge; in particular, the kinds of programs and practices these schools use to build stronger community links with families have not been examined. Using data from a survey of 174 elementary school principals from a southwestern urban area and through interviews and observations at three high-mobility schools, this study compares schools with different levels of student mobility and examines how schools with higher levels of mobility attempt to “build community.” Schools with high levels of mobility implemented many programs and practices that would help families, such as access to counseling services and adult education classes; they also provided many opportunities for parent involvement. However, although schools with higher levels of mobility make many attempts to build community, these attempts do not translate into greater involvement from families.

School Personnel's Perceptions of Effective Programs for Working with Mobile Students and Families

Interviews with 18 participants (principals, counselors, social workers) from 18 schools in 7 urban districts were used to examine elementary school interventions perceived to address the challenges related to high student mobility. Intervention/program descriptions were also obtained from observations and written documents. In examining these interventions, we used a framework focused on the antecedents of mobility, its effects on school processes, and its consequences for students and families. The results indicated that schools experiencing high mobility had a diverse network of programs that provided the following curricular and extracurricular services: academic support, personal development of students, family support, and activities that established strong affiliations between families and schools. Many school personnel believed that these interventions addressed either the causes or effects of mobility. Directions for future research are discussed.

Validity of Temperament Constructs Using the Student Styles Questionnaire: Comparisons for Three Racial-Ethnic Groups

Studies establishing the validity of a test used with persons from different ethnic groups are necessary for understanding the extent to which the test adequately and consistently reflects the qualities it is designed to measure. The present study examined the construct and content validity of the Student Styles Questionnaire (SSQ) for three racial-ethnic groups (i.e., African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Anglo Americans). The SSQ is a temperament measure for students aged 8 through 17. Comparative construct validity results indicate that a high degree of factor similarity exists across racial-ethnic groups; factor similarity is less strong when Hispanic Americans living in New York and Texas are compared. Differential item functioning studies reveal similar response patterns for Hispanic Americans when compared to both African Americans and Anglo Americans; however, differences occur on 25% of items when African and Anglo Americans are compared.

BENEFITS AND RISKS OF INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAM PARTICIPATION BY SENIOR CITIZENS

This study investigated changes in senior citizens who participated in a school-based intergenerational program with students. Over 8 weeks, 71 seniors taught 1 of 2 life-skills training programs. Participating seniors had significantly higher levels of positive psychosocial change at posttest time compared to nontrainers. Further analyses revealed sharply different outcomes based upon which life-skills training program the seniors taught. These results underscore the importance of not assuming positive outcomes for all seniors who participate in intergenerational programming. Suggestions are made regarding ways to maximize positive outcomes while avoiding unintended negative effects in seniors who participate in such programs.

Public School Uniforms: Effect on Perceptions of Gang Presence, School Climate, and Student Self-Perceptions.

This study attempts to clarify the relationships between public school uniforms and some of their intended results: student self-worth and student and staff perceptions of gang presence and school climate. The instruments used in the study included a questionnaire on gang presence and identity, the National Association of School Principals Comprehensive Assessment of School Environments, and the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children. Participants consisted of 415 urban public middle school students and 83 teachers. Findings indicate that, although perceptions did not vary for students across uniform policy, teachers from schools with uniform policies perceived lower levels of gang presence. Although the effect size was small, students from schools without uniforms reported higher self-perception scores than students from schools with uniform policies. Student and teacher perceptions of school climate did not vary across uniform policy.

Prediction of reading by Ga and Gc specific cognitive abilities for low‐SES white and hispanic English‐speaking children

Based on previous findings (McGrew, Flanagan, Keith, & Vanderwood, 1997) that auditory processing (Ga) predicts reading decoding, and crystallized intelligence (Gc) predicts reading comprehension beyond the prediction of reading by g(broad general intelligence), this study examined the cross-ethnic predictive validity of Ga and Gc for reading achievement among low-SES English-speaking White and Hispanic students. Subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R) cognitive subtests were used to measure Ga and Gc, and the WJ-R achievement subtests were used to measure basic reading skills and reading comprehension. Results indicated that there are no differences between ethnic groups in the prediction of reading ability, and that phonetic coding and crystallized intelligence together are strong predictors of reading achievement.

Hispanic Children's Recognition of Languages and Perceptions about Speakers of Spanish, English, and Chinese.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions that Spanishand English-speaking Hispanic students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have about speakers of Spanish, English, and Chinese. The extent to which reactions of monolingual and bilingual Englishand Spanish-speakers differ according to age/grade levels and prior exposure to the languages in question was examined Chinese speech samples were included to gain information about perceptions of a language that was likely to be unfamiliar and to provide a diversion to the focus on attitudes toward Spanish and English. Results indicate that the greater the prior experiences students have with a language, the more favorable are their attitudes toward the language, solidarity with speakers of the language, and perceptions of status associated with the language. Developmental effects were found only for English speakers. Both English and Spanish monolingual speakers expressed more favorable attitudes toward English than toward Spanish and Chi...

The Construct and Measurement of Intelligence among Brazilian Children An Exploratory Study

This study examines intelligence among Brazilian students on two levels: conceptual and test-related. Data was collected on 214 students ranging in age from 5 to 11. The study found that intelligence correlates significantly with socioeconomic status, achievement, grade repetition, family size and health and school absences. Among the 24 variables examined, the three that measure intelligence form a distinct factor. Support exists for a construct of intelligence that is separate from other variables reflecting social class and other family qualities. Both intelligence and SES variables have a substantial influence on achievement, suggesting that parent qualities exert at least as strong an influence on achievement as does intelligence. However, the interpretations of these results also should consider that the existing literature on intelligence among Brazilian children is meagre and the measures used in the research were developed in the US and UK, which differ considerably from Brazil with regard to linguistic, economic, cultural and educational variables, and cultural traditions.