The CBM maze task is used in education to indicate and monitor the progress in reading proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the CBM maze and reading...Show moreThe CBM maze task is used in education to indicate and monitor the progress in reading proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the CBM maze and reading comprehension. To examine this relationship the scores between the CBM standard maze (a maze that follows the standard rules) and the scrambled maze (a maze with distorted coherence) were compared. Furthermore, the effects of standards of coherence and genre on the difference in scores between the CBM standard maze and scrambled maze were examined. Expected was that the scores on CBM maze would reflect reading comprehension. A group of 40 Dutch bachelor-students participated in the study. The data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. The repeated measures ANOVA consisted of two within factors (type maze: CBM standard maze vs scrambled maze and genre: expository vs narrative) and one between factor (standards of coherence: high vs low). The results show a significant difference in scores between the CBM standard maze and the scrambled maze F(1, 38) = 103,349; p = < .001, η2 = .731 with scores on the CBM standard maze being higher than the scores on the scrambled maze, suggesting that scores on the CBM standard maze reflect text-level reading comprehension. No influence of standards of coherence, F(1, 38) = ,340; p = ,563, or genre, F(1, 38) = ,340; p = ,563, was found on the difference in scores between the CBM standard maze and the scrambled maze. A limitation of this study is its limited generalizability to the target group of the CBM maze. A study in which children are participants is recommended.Show less
More than a quarter of the Dutch society claim to have experienced discrimination. Research shows that prejudice and discrimination have many negative effects on both individuals and society. In...Show moreMore than a quarter of the Dutch society claim to have experienced discrimination. Research shows that prejudice and discrimination have many negative effects on both individuals and society. In order to avoid these negative effects, it is important to investigate the underlying mechanisms of prejudice and discrimination. According to existing literature, social categorization is a factor associated with the emergence of discrimination and prejudice. Social categorization in young children is influenced by their environment, for example by (ethnic) socialization of parents. The present study examined whether there was a difference between ethnic socialization in the majority group and the minority group. This was also examined for social categorization based on ethnicity for these two groups. In addition, it was examined whether there was a relationship between ethnic socialization of the mother and social categorization based on the ethnicity of the child. Finally, it was examined whether the ethnicity of the child was a moderator for the relationship between ethnic socialization and social categorization based on ethnicity. Mother's ethnic socialization was measured by a picture book task. Social categorization was measured by the child's segregation preference through a grouping task. The study was conducted in mother-child pairs from the majority group (White-Dutch) and the minority group (Turkish-Dutch and Afro-Dutch). Two independent t-tests showed that there were no differences. No significant difference in ethnic socialization between the majority and minority groups was found. Also, no significant difference in social categorization based on ethnicity was found between the majority and minority groups. A simple regression showed that there was no significant relationship between ethnic socialization and social categorization based on ethnicity. Finally, no significant moderation effect of ethnicity was found. For further research it is advised to extend the measurement method for ethnic socialization and social categorization, so that more detailed measurements can be done.Show less
Children construct their conceptions of gender at an early age. At about 24 months, they begin to define themselves as either a “boy” or a “girl” (Kohlberg, 1966). About one percent of children do...Show moreChildren construct their conceptions of gender at an early age. At about 24 months, they begin to define themselves as either a “boy” or a “girl” (Kohlberg, 1966). About one percent of children do not feel at home in their birth genders to varying degrees and in different ways. What are the effects of parental emotions and parental gender stereotype concerning the parents and the social transitioning that children are undergoing to conform to their preferred gender? The current research investigated to what extent children’s social transition status mediates the relationship between the psychosocial functioning of children and their parents’ emotional response to gender(variance) and gender stereotyping. The results showed that children undergoing a complete social transition differ significantly from children undergoing an incomplete social transition, but only in terms of their parents’ emotional response to gender(variance). Second, the research considered whether the psychosocial functioning of children can be predicted based upon their parents’ emotional response toward gender(variance) and their gender stereotyping. The study also investigated whether children’s social transition status mediates a possible correlation. The results showed that the parents’ gender stereotyping rather than the children’s social transition status determines the psychosocial functioning of transitioning children. To support these children as much as possible in their search for identity, it is important that research examine the short- and long-term factors that influence psychosocial functioning in the development of children. It is especially important to follow children longer to investigate whether the various variables change over time and, if so, how they change.Show less
Motivation within the educational system has been a subject with a wide range of attention for many years. Still, there are no clear guidelines teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic...Show moreMotivation within the educational system has been a subject with a wide range of attention for many years. Still, there are no clear guidelines teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic motivation of their students. The goal of this literature review was to provide concrete guidelines that teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic motivation of their primary school students. This was done firstly by identifying concrete actions that teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic motivation of their students, according to the selfdetermination theory. Secondly literature research focused on how big the effect sizes matching with these concrete actions were. A systematic search yielded five studies that were eligible. However there were studies included in the study that had a different student population than primary school students, which were highschool- and university students. The results indicated that there were no huge differences in the outcomes of the studies with different student populations. Results of the concrete actions teachers can use to contribute to their students' intrinsic motivation can be categorised by the basic needs of the selfdetermination theory. When it comes to autonomy, this research indicates that teachers should give their students valuable choices during their learning process. The bond or relationship can be improved by showing affection, respect and by being understanding. The research also indicates that teachers should try to match teaching with the personal interest of the students. When it comes to competence, research indicates that teachers should offer activities to their students that match their current competence. Communication, expectations and positive feedback are also key, when it comes to competence, according to the literature research.Show less
To examine the relationship between alexithymia and digital problem behaviour, a systematic review was conducted. Problematic internet use, problematic use of social media and problematic gaming...Show moreTo examine the relationship between alexithymia and digital problem behaviour, a systematic review was conducted. Problematic internet use, problematic use of social media and problematic gaming behaviour are included as types of digital problem behaviour. The main research question is: How is alexithymia related to problematic use of internet, social media and videogames? To examine the relationship, a systematic research was conducted. After having executed the research 266 articles were selected. However, after excluding all of the identical articles only 167 were left. Out of the 167 studied, 23 studies were included. Studies were excluded if they were not labelled as empirical, written in another language than English or Dutch; and lastly, if they had a clinical sample besides alexithymia. The selected studies were double coded on the methodological features: chosen study design, sample size, and used research instruments. Combining all 23 studies a total of 41.274 participants was established. The median of all these studies was 429 participants. From the 23 studies, 14 were about problematic internet use, 3 about problematic use of social media and 6 about problematic gaming behaviour. 20 of the 23 studies found a positive significant relationship between alexithymia and problematic internet use, problematic use of social media and problematic gaming behaviour. However, the reliability of the results is questionable. Due to the fact that the cross-sectional design and sample size of all studies do not allow to draw strong conclusions. Furthermore, the use of only self-report does not contribute to the quality of the studies. Follow-up research of better quality will be necessary to draw valid conclusions about the relationship between alexithymia and digital problem behaviour.Show less
The Preventive Intervention Trajectory (Preventief Interventie Team; PIT) is a project which intervenes preventively in children who have a risk of future criminal behavior. Interventions focus on...Show moreThe Preventive Intervention Trajectory (Preventief Interventie Team; PIT) is a project which intervenes preventively in children who have a risk of future criminal behavior. Interventions focus on reducing externalizing problem behavior in these children. It is important to know which factors have an influence on the effectivity of the PIT. Current research focused on the association between self-worth and externalizing problems. Previous research is inconsistent, which suggests there is a possibility that the association between self-worth and externalizing problems is a quadratic association. Current research examined the possibility that children with average self-worth would have less externalizing problems at timepoint one than children with high and low self-worth. Children with low, average and high self-worth were compared on (reduction of) externalizing problems before treatment, on the short term (six months), and on the long term (twelve months). Results showed that there is was no significant linear association between self-worth and externalizing problems before treatment, which supports the suggestion that there might be a quadratic association. However, ANOVA-analysis revealed that there was also no significant quadratic or linear relation. Externalizing problems in children reduced significantly on the short and long term. However, no significant linear or quadratic relation between self-worth and the reduction in externalizing problems on the short and long term was found, indicating that there is no association between self-worth and (the reduction of) externalizing problems. Future research should include a larger sample to verify the current findings.Show less
While reading a text, the reader makes a mental representation of this text to understand it. Reading comprehension is one of the most important tasks in primary school. It is important for success...Show moreWhile reading a text, the reader makes a mental representation of this text to understand it. Reading comprehension is one of the most important tasks in primary school. It is important for success in all subjects in school, but it is also important in daily life. The aim of this study is to investigate if readers a text understand better if they are interested in the subject of the text than when they are less interested. In addition, it is investigated whether the difference is different for low-motivated readers than for highly-motivated readers. The following research question has been formulated: ‘Do readers understand a text better when they are very interested in the subject of a text than when they are uninterested in the subject of the text? And is the difference non-identical for highly intrinsically motivated readers and low intrinsically motivated readers?’ To answer the research question, the reader has completed a reading task and a questionnaire about reading motivation. The reader has chosen three interesting topics and three uninteresting topics to read. After reading the text, the reader was asked to answer three literal questions and three inference questions about the text. In this way, it could be investigated whether interest in a specific text plays a role in text comprehension. The reader also completed a questionnaire about reading motivation to investigate whether the difference is different for highly motivated readers than for low-motivated readers. In this research, attention is only paid to intrinsic motivation. The research has shown that interest has no influence on text comprehension and there is no difference for highly motivated readers and low-motivated readers. Despite these results, it is still recommended to look for texts that arouse the interest of children. According to the literature, interest and motivation are effective factors for text comprehension.Show less
