The summer break will soon be over, and students will be returning to their classrooms. Here are some story ideas and Texas A&M University experts who can address some of the educational issues of concern to many parents and educators. if you need additional assistance, contact Tura King at (979) 845-4670 or tura-king@tamu.edu.
Parent and Family Involvement
Parent and family involvement in a student?s education is key to his or her academic success. Gwendolyn Webb-Hasan, associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development, can speak to the importance of parents and family taking an active part in their child?s learning and ways they can help. She can be reached at (979) 458-3973 or gwebbj@tamu.edu.
Recommendations for Dealing with Aggressive Children
?Unfortunately, bullying is a common problem in schools from kindergarten through high school that may have negative long-term effects on the victim,? says Texas A&M educational psychologist Jan N. Hughes. Parents should also know bullies tend to pick on children who are lonely or socially isolated and who do not pose a risk of retaliation. therefore a victim?s parents can help their child develop friendships in the classroom, Hughes advises. for example, inviting well-accepted classmates who are more socially connected within the peer group to go on fun outings is one way to help a child to build a social support system that protects him or her from being bullied. some victimized children benefit from special instruction in social skills. the school psychologist may offer such instruction or be able to recommend someone to provide this instruction. Hughes can be contacted at (979) 862-1093 or jhughes@tamu.edu.
A related study by Hughes shows that a warm, close relationship between a child at risk for behavioral problems and his or her teacher reduces the chances of aggressive behavior in the future. unfortunately, such supportive teacher-student relationships are missing for many children with conduct problems, Hughes says. in contrast, teacher-student interactions characterized by high levels of conflict and controlling interactions and low levels of warmth and acceptance may serve to increase a child?s risk for aggressive behavior. She can be contacted at (979) 845-2324 or jhughes@tamu.edu.
Bullying Among Girls
Considerable research suggests girls are more likely to engage in relational bullying than physical or verbal bullying. Researchers at Texas A&M have been paying more attention recently to cyber-bullying, a digital form of relational bullying (e.g., gossiping/character defamation/sending embarrassing photos through cell phone texts or by posting on social networking sites/webpages). the Texas A&M study is headed by Jamilia Blake, director of the Peer Relations and Adjustment Lab and assistant professor in educational psychology. Blake is a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) and is certified in School Crisis Response. Her research interests concern children?s peer relations. Specifically, she is interested in peer-directed aggression in ethnic minority populations and females and the relation between peer-directed aggression and children?s psychological/social adjustment and academic achievement. Blake can be reached at (979) 862-8341 or jjblake@tamu.edu.
School Fitness, Health and Nutrition
Lisako McKyer is knowledgeable about programs and resources for combating childhood obesity, having recently established the Child and Adolescent Health Research Lab at Texas A&M. She also is working on behalf of Texas A&M on the Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation project, a collaboration with the Dell Center at the University of Texas School of Public Health and the Texas Department of State Health Services. McKyer can be reached at (979) 845-9280 or .edu.
Susan Wagner, a health and kinesiology professor at Texas A&M who teaches future physical education teachers, has insight into children?s balance and fitness. She says recent increases in injuries among children are natural consequences of their indoor-oriented lifestyles and reduced emphasis on exercise. She can be reached at (979) 845-2063 or swagner@tamu.edu.
As children get older and begin participating in team sports and gym classes, proper exercise techniques can be important to avoid injury. Denise Chapman, an exercise science instructor at Texas A&M, can talk about common mistakes people make when exercising, such as using cardio and weight equipment before learning how to use them and wearing improper clothing. Chapman can be reached at (979) 575-1748 or .edu.
Jamilia Blake, assistant professor of school psychology, is conducting research that shows students can lose calories by using ?standing? desks. She is part of a team that conducted a pilot study in first-grade classrooms measuring the effects of using standing-height desks. their findings indicate higher levels of calorie expenditure in students with the standing desks, as well as increased attentiveness. Students in classrooms with the standing-height desks are choosing to stand more than two-thirds of the time and are burning an average of 17 percent more calories overall than their classmates in traditional seated classrooms. Overweight and obese students are burning 32 percent more calories while working at standing desks than their peers who work in traditional seated classrooms. Contact Blake at (979) 862-8341 or jjblake@tamu.edu.
Reading Problems
As director of the Texas A&M Reading Clinic, Erin McTigue assists struggling readers every day. She can provide information about how parents can help their children address reading difficulties, spark more interest and gain confidence in reading. She can be reached at (979) 862-3590 or emctigue@tamu.edu.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
ESL students face special challenges in learning English while also working to stay on top of required class material. Rafael Lara-Alecio, director of bilingual educational programs, is knowledgeable about the issues confronting ESL students, and he has ideas about what actions parents of ESL students can take to increase their success. Lara-Alecio is available at (979) 845-3467 or a-lara@tamu.edu.
Language Development
Jorge E. Gonzalez and Sharolyn Pollard-Durodola, assistant professors in Texas A&M?s Department of Educational Psychology, will evaluate the effectiveness of WORLD (Words of Oral Reading and Language Development) ? a language-building intervention program developed for preschool-age children ? in select student populations in Texas. they are part of a team that will test WORLD and its net positive impact in schools with high concentrations of students with low socio-economic status and ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds, primarily Hispanic. Gonzalez is at (979) 845-2324 or jegonzalez@tamu.edu and Pollard-Durodola is at (979) 862-4663 or
Emotional Intelligence (EI) can Help Determine Career Success
Conventional wisdom has indicated a person?s IQ is a dominant factor in determining career success, but new research is now showing that a person?s emotional intelligence (EI) may be equally or even more important. the findings by Fredrick Nafukho and Helen Muyia of Texas A&M?s Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development, respectively, have been published in a special issue of the journal Advances in Developing Human Resources. ?People with high emotional intelligence and IQ tend to do better over the course of their lives than people with just a high IQ,? Nafukho says. Fredrick Nafukho can be reached at (979) 862-3395 or fnafukho@tamu.edu.
Four-Day School Week
Four-day school weeks are becoming more popular, but Kathryn McKenzie, an associate professor in educational administration, says each school system must weigh the pros and cons of adopting such a schedule. the tactic can help save jobs and reserve fiscal resources, but before making any changes, the educational programs must be assessed, McKenzie says. She can be reached at kmckenzie@tamu.edu.
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