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Descriptors:
Enrollment; Competition; Public Schools; Foreign Countries; Neighborhoods; Private Schools; Academic Achievement; Educational Improvement; Surveys; Correlation; Civil Engineering

Abstract:
Using data from the survey of the Ministry of Education, Nepal-2005 for school leaving certificate (SLC) exam, this paper attempts to estimate the impact of private school competition on public school performance for the case of Nepal. The study uses the number of private schools in the neighborhood as a measure of competition. The identification problem is that private school enrollment is likely to be correlated with public school performance. To address this, the study uses the existence of a motorable road within an hour's walking distance from the sample school as an instrument for number of private schools in the neighborhood. The OLS results show no significant relationship. In contrast, the IV method indicates a positive and significant impact of private school competition on public school performance, which holds true for the continuous and binary measure of private school competition. (Contains 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Females; Social Justice; Cultural Pluralism; Well Being; Foreign Countries; Social Change; Correlation; Freedom; Gender Differences; Guidelines; Personal Narratives; History; Cultural Context; Sex Fairness

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to understand historically and contextually the well-being and agency of selected female teachers in Turkey. The paper develops a justice model based on the capability approach to build on the relation between freedom and equality, and to take gender and cultural diversity as a key element. The research draws on results from in-depth biographical narratives of 15 participants from west Turkey, examining the real freedoms and opportunities of three different generations of female teachers through constructing a gendered look into women's lives. The study begins by developing a framework linking women's opportunities and freedoms drawing its normative compass from Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach. It explores how female teachers' well-being can be understood in relation to key capabilities that individuals, communities and society have reason to value and how these capabilities and functionings can be expanded or constrained. The paper argues for the significance of thinking about capabilities in the professional lives of teachers who work for social change. Through a historical and generational sequence, it captures the egalitarian aspects of the capability approach, and strengthens its emphasis on freedoms of women. The findings of this enquiry indicate that there are persistent economic, cultural, ethnical, structural and gendered inequalities in women's lives, but that women also have agency to bring changes in their lives and through their teaching. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Brain Hemisphere Functions; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Child Behavior; Brain; Neurology; Inhibition; Executive Function; Infants; Check Lists; Short Term Memory; Diagnostic Tests; Correlation; Young Children; Cognitive Processes; Emotional Response; Planning; Age Differences; Predictor Variables; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Background: Neuroimaging findings have provided evidence for a relation between variations in brain structures and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, longitudinal neuroimaging studies are typically confined to children who have already been diagnosed with ADHD. In a population-based study, we aimed to characterize the prospective association between brain structures measured during infancy and executive function and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems assessed at preschool age. Methods: In the Generation R Study, the corpus callosum length, the gangliothalamic ovoid diameter (encompassing the basal ganglia and thalamus), and the ventricular volume were measured in 784 6-week-old children using cranial postnatal ultrasounds. Parents rated executive functioning at 4 years using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version in five dimensions: inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and planning/organizing. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems were assessed at ages 3 and 5 years using the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: A smaller corpus callosum length during infancy was associated with greater deficits in executive functioning at 4 years. This was accounted for by higher problem scores on inhibition and emotional control. The corpus callosum length during infancy did not predict Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problem at 3 and 5 years, when controlling for the confounders. We did not find any relation between gangliothalamic ovoid diameter and executive function or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problem. Conclusions: Variations in brain structures detectible in infants predicted subtle impairments in inhibition and emotional control. However, in this population-based study, we could not demonstrate that early structural brain variations precede symptoms of ADHD. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Psychopathology; Risk; Public Health; Diagnostic Tests; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Genetics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Body Weight; Siblings; Prenatal Influences; Environmental Influences; Correlation; Attribution Theory; Molecular Structure; Autism; Hazardous Materials; Disadvantaged Environment; Intervention; Drug Therapy

Abstract:
Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its possible causes still attract controversy. Genes, pre and perinatal risks, psychosocial factors and environmental toxins have all been considered as potential risk factors. Method: This review (focussing on literature published since 1997, selected from a search of PubMed) critically considers putative risk factors with a focus on genetics and selected environmental risks, examines their relationships with ADHD and discusses the likelihood that these risks are causal as well as some of the main implications. Results: No single risk factor explains ADHD. Both inherited and noninherited factors contribute and their effects are interdependent. ADHD is familial and heritable. Research into the inherited and molecular genetic contributions to ADHD suggest an important overlap with other neurodevelopmental problems, notably, autism spectrum disorders. Having a biological relative with ADHD, large, rare copy number variants, some small effect size candidate gene variants, extreme early adversity, pre and postnatal exposure to lead and low birth weight/prematurity have been most consistently found as risk factors, but none are yet known to be definitely causal. There is a large literature documenting associations between ADHD and a wide variety of putative environmental risks that can, at present, only be regarded as correlates. Findings from research designs that go beyond simply testing for association are beginning to contest the robustness of some environmental exposures previously thought to be ADHD risk factors. Conclusions: The genetic risks implicated in ADHD generally tend to have small effect sizes or be rare and often increase risk of many other types of psychopathology. Thus, they cannot be used for prediction, genetic testing or diagnostic purposes beyond what is predicted by a family history. There is a need to consider the possibility of parents and siblings being similarly affected and how this might impact on engagement with families, influence interventions and require integration with adult services. Genetic contributions to disorder do not necessarily mean that medications are the treatment of choice. We also consider how findings might influence the conceptualisation of ADHD, public health policy implications and why it is unhelpful and incorrect to dichotomise genetic/biological and environmental explanations. It is essential that practitioners can interpret genetic and aetiological research findings and impart informed explanations to families. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Identification; Pregnancy; Adolescents; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Empathy; Females; Behavior Disorders; Correlation; Early Parenthood; Personality Problems; Antisocial Behavior; Diagnostic Tests; Neurology; Control Groups; Aggression; Emotional Response; Rewards; Cognitive Processes

Abstract:
Background: Conduct disorder (CD) in female adolescents is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including teenage pregnancy and antisocial personality disorder. Although recent studies have documented changes in brain structure and function in male adolescents with CD, there have been no neuroimaging studies of female adolescents with CD. Our primary objective was to investigate whether female adolescents with CD show changes in grey matter volume. Our secondary aim was to assess for sex differences in the relationship between CD and brain structure. Methods: Female adolescents with CD (n = 22) and healthy control participants matched in age, performance IQ and handedness (n = 20) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Group comparisons of grey matter volume were performed using voxel-based morphometry. We also tested for sex differences using archive data obtained from male CD and control participants. Results: Female adolescents with CD showed reduced bilateral anterior insula and right striatal grey matter volumes compared with healthy controls. Aggressive CD symptoms were negatively correlated with right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex volume, whereas callous-unemotional traits were positively correlated with bilateral orbitofrontal cortex volume. The sex differences analyses revealed a main effect of diagnosis on right amygdala volume (reflecting reduced amygdala volume in the combined CD group relative to controls) and sex-by-diagnosis interactions in bilateral anterior insula. Conclusions: We observed structural abnormalities in brain regions involved in emotion processing, reward and empathy in female adolescents with CD, which broadly overlap with those reported in previous studies of CD in male adolescents. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foster Care; Attention Deficit Disorders; Executive Function; Disadvantaged Environment; At Risk Persons; Children; Correlation; Residential Institutions; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Diagnostic Tests; Task Analysis; Adoption; Inhibition; Attention Control

Abstract:
Background: Children reared in deprived environments, such as institutions for the care of orphaned or abandoned children, are at increased risk for attention and behavior regulation difficulties. This study examined the neurobehavioral correlates of executive attention in post institutionalized (PI) children. Methods: The performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) of 10- and 11-year-old internationally adopted PI children on two executive attention tasks, Go/No-go and Flanker, were compared with two groups: children internationally adopted early from foster care (PF) and nonadopted children (NA). Results: Behavioral measures suggested problems with sustained attention, with PIs performing more poorly on Go trials and not on No-go trials of the Go/No-go and made more errors on both congruent and incongruent trials on the Flanker. ERPs suggested differences in inhibitory control and error monitoring, as PIs had smaller N2 amplitude on Go/No-go and smaller error-related negativity on Flanker. Conclusions: This pattern of results raises questions regarding the nature of attention difficulties for PI children. The behavioral errors are not specific to executive attention and instead likely reflect difficulties in overall sustained attention. The ERP results are consistent with neural activity related to deficits in inhibitory control (N2) and error monitoring (error-related negativity). Questions emerge regarding the similarity of attention regulatory difficulties in PIs to those experienced by non-PI children with ADHD. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Psychopathology; Child Abuse; Cognitive Ability; Risk; Anxiety; Depression (Psychology); Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Diagnostic Tests; Mental Disorders; Ethnicity; Physiology; Reinforcement; Decision Making; Health Behavior; Correlation; Children

Abstract:
Background: Childhood maltreatment is strongly associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorder. Previous neuroimaging studies have reported atypical neural structure in the orbitofrontal cortex, temporal lobe, amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum in maltreated samples. It has been hypothesised that these structural differences may relate to increased psychiatric vulnerability. However, previous studies have typically recruited clinical samples with concurrent psychiatric disorders, or have poorly characterised the range of maltreatment experiences and levels of concurrent anxiety or depression, limiting the interpretation of the observed structural differences. Methods: We used voxel-based morphometry to compare grey matter volume in a group of 18 children (mean age 12.01 years, SD = 1.4), referred to community social services, with documented and well-characterised experiences of maltreatment at home and a group of 20 nonmaltreated children (mean age 12.6 years, SD = 1.3). Both groups were comparable on age, gender, cognitive ability, ethnicity and levels of anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms. We examined five a priori regions of interest: the prefrontal cortex, temporal lobes, amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum. Results: Maltreated children, compared to nonmaltreated peers, presented with reduced grey matter in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and the left middle temporal gyrus. Conclusions: The medial orbitofrontal cortex and the middle temporal gyrus have been implicated in reinforcement-based decision-making, emotion regulation and autobiographical memory, processes that are impaired in a number of psychiatric disorders associated with maltreatment. We speculate that grey matter disturbance in these regions in a community sample of maltreated children may represent a latent neurobiological risk factor for later psychopathology and heightened risk taking. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Factor Analysis; Reliability; Learning Motivation; Foreign Countries; Construct Validity; Factor Structure; Chinese; Measures (Individuals); Academic Achievement; Correlation; Self Concept; Asians; Networks; Cross Cultural Studies; High School Students; Mastery Learning

Abstract:
The aim of this study is to assess the cross-cultural applicability of the Chinese version of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM; McInerney & Sinclair, 1991) in the Hong Kong context using both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation. The ISM measures four types of achievement goals: mastery, performance, social, and extrinsic goals. A total of 697 high school students participated in the study. Results of the within-network test showed that the ISM had good internal consistency reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized four-factor structure. In addition, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses showed factorial invariance across students of different genders, year levels, and school types. The between-network test indicated that the achievement goals assessed by the ISM correlated systematically with different aspects of students' self-concepts. These findings provide evidence of the applicability of the ISM among Hong Kong Chinese students. Implications for cross-cultural research are discussed. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure, and 3 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Homework; Self Management; Secondary School Students; Grade 8; Affective Behavior; Student Attitudes; Grades (Scholastic); Teacher Student Relationship; Feedback (Response); Correlation; Television Viewing; Gender Differences; Surveys

Abstract:
The authors examined empirical models of variables posited to predict homework management at the secondary school level. The participants were 866 eighth-grade students from 61 classes and 745 eleventh-grade students from 46 classes. Most of the variance in homework management occurred at the student level, with affective attitude and homework interest appearing as 2 significant predictors at the class level. At the student level, homework management was positively associated with learning-oriented reasons, affective attitude, self-reported grade, family homework help, homework interest, teacher feedback, and adult-oriented reasons. On the other hand, homework management was negatively associated with time spent watching television. In addition, Black girls, compared with Black boys, were more likely to manage their homework assignments. (Contains 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Self Efficacy; Measures (Individuals); Principals; Job Satisfaction; Foreign Countries; Work Attitudes; Personal Autonomy; Administrator Attitudes; Correlation; Questionnaires; Internet; Context Effect; School Districts; Program Evaluation

Abstract:
The purpose of the present study was to explore relations between principals' self-efficacy, perceived job autonomy, job satisfaction, and perceived contextual constraints to autonomy. Principal self-efficacy was measured by a multidimensional scale called the Norwegian Principal Self-Efficacy Scale. Job autonomy, job satisfaction, and contextual constraints to autonomy were measured by three scales developed for the purpose of this study. Perceived contextual constraints to autonomy were comprised of financial and administrative constraints, employee participation, municipal authority, and national evaluation programs. Participants in the study were 1,818 principals from the population of Norwegian principals. Data were collected by means of an electronic questionnaire. A theoretical model was tested by means of SEM analysis for latent variables using the AMOS 18 program. The model had acceptable fit to data. The results revealed a positive relation between principal self-efficacy and perceived job autonomy. Principal self-efficacy and perceived job autonomy were positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to contextual constraints. Contextual constraints to autonomy were negatively related to job satisfaction. The present study highlights important relations between principals' self-efficacy, perceived job autonomy, job satisfaction, and contextual constraints to autonomy. The results of the study are discussed together with limitations and suggestions for further research. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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