Academic Well-Being in Higher Education: A Cross-Country Analysis of the Relationship Between Perceptions of Instruction and Academic Well-Being.

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between university students' perceptions of the overall quality of instruction (PQI) they experienced since COVID-19 and their academic well-being. This relationship was examined in the context of a moderated moderation with students' household income and the cultural value of power distance (PD), which measures the extent to which less powerful members of an organization expect and accept that power is unequally distributed. Two countries with societally moderate levels of PD (South Africa and the United States) were assessed. Moderated moderations between PQI, income, and PD were found for the academic well-being of students from both the United States and South Africa. The patterns of interactions were in some ways similar and other ways different, highlighting the complexity of how students may react to potential stressors in their academic environment. Potential explanations and implications of these results are discussed.

The attitudes of typically developing adolescents towards their sibling with autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Understanding how the cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of sibling attitudes interact with one another at various stages of a sibling's lifespan will allow clinicians to provide better support to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. However, no research exists which focusses on describing the attitudes of adolescent siblings of children with ASD within the South African context towards their sibling with an ASD. The primary aim of this study was to investigate how typically developing adolescents recall their past attitudes and describe their present attitudes towards their sibling with an ASD. METHODS: Thirty typically developing adolescents who have siblings with ASD were selected to complete the survey instrument, the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale, using a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: Results indicate that the measure has internal consistency within this sample. Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests were used to test for significant differences between the mean values for the two self-reported time periods. Friedman analysis of variances (ANOVAs) was used to test for significant differences in the three components of attitudes, namely affect, behaviour and cognition. Results indicate that participants held more positive attitudes towards their siblings with ASD as adolescents compared with when they were younger and that adolescents rated their current emotions towards and beliefs about their sibling with ASD to be more positive than their current interaction experiences. CONCLUSION: As siblings' attitudes appear to change over time, clinicians should use a lifespan approach to sibling attitudes when designing and implementing supports for siblings of children with ASD.

Household size is associated with unintelligible speech in children who have intellectual disabilities: A South African study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether four socioeconomic factors, namely caregiver age, caregiver education, family income and/or household size were related to the presence of motor delays or unintelligible speech in South African children with intellectual disabilities. METHODS: Caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities completed a biographical questionnaire regarding their home environments. Other items on the questionnaire queried whether their children experienced co-occurring developmental impairments of motor delays or unintelligible speech. RESULTS: A total of 145 caregivers were included in the analyses. Two logistic regressions were run with the set of four socioeconomic factors as predictors, and motor delays and intelligible speech as the outcome variables. Household size was a statistically significant predictor of whether children evidenced intelligible speech. CONCLUSION: Children living in dwellings with more people were less likely to have intelligible speech. The processes through which large household size might influence children's language are discussed.

Children's voices--Differentiating a child perspective from a child's perspective.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to discuss differences between having a child perspective and taking the child's perspective based on the problem being investigated. METHODS: Conceptual paper based on narrative review. RESULTS: The child's perspective in research concerning children that need additional support are important. The difference between having a child perspective and taking the child's perspective in conjunction with the need to know children's opinions has been discussed in the literature. From an ideological perspective the difference between the two perspectives seems self-evident, but the perspectives might be better seen as different ends on a continuum solely from an adult's view of children to solely the perspective of children themselves. Depending on the research question, the design of the study may benefit from taking either perspective. In this article, we discuss the difference between the perspectives based on the problem being investigated, children's capacity to express opinions, environmental adaptations and the degree of interpretation needed to understand children's opinions. CONCLUSION: The examples provided indicate that children's opinions can be regarded in most research, although to different degrees.

Teacher-student relationship climate and school outcomes: implications for educational policy initiatives.

In recent discussions regarding concerns about the academic achievement of US students, educational policy makers have suggested the implementation of certain teacher policies. To address the limited empirical research on the putative educational impact of such policies, this study used multilevel structural equation models to investigate the longitudinal associations between teacher evaluation and reward policies, and student mathematics achievement and dropout with a national sample of students (n = 7,779) attending one of 431 public high schools. The student sample included an equal number of boys and girls averaging 16 years of age, and included a White (53%) majority. This study examined whether associations between teacher policies and student achievement were mediated by the teacher-student relationship climate. Results of this study were threefold. First, teacher evaluation policies that allowed students to evaluate their teachers were associated with more positive student reports of the classroom teaching climate. Second, schools with teacher reward policies that included assigning higher performing teachers with higher performing students had a negative association with student perceptions of the teaching climate. Lastly, schools with better student perceptions of the teaching climate were associated with lower student dropout rates by students' senior year. These findings are discussed in light of their educational policy implications.

Self-concept development and measurement in children with mild intellectual disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: Using a multi-trait-multi-method technique, self-concept was analysed as a function of chronological age in children with mild intellectual disabilities. Also, relations between reading achievement and self-concept were measured. METHODS: Participants were assessed on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised, the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance and the Self-Description Questionnaire I--Individual Administration. RESULTS: A median split was run to divide participants into younger and older groups; older participants evidenced coefficients that revealed more multidimensionality, stability and discriminant validity. Also, a significant canonical correlation was found between the Harter Pictorial Scale at Time 1 and WRMT-R at Time 2, chi(2)(8) = 17.99, r = 0.62, p = 0.02. CONCLUSION: As a whole, these results suggest that children with intellectual disabilities evince self-concept development similar to what would be expected in typically-developing children.