No abstract

This investigation employed exploratory methods to examine career aspirations in 141 students in Grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 from an international school in Bangkok. Students specified the jobs that they were most likely to pursue as adults, rated the importance of potential influences in making career decisions, and drew a picture of themselves in their future occupations. Students aspired to a range of careers and viewed their own abilities and interests as being of primary importance in choosing a career track. Also important were advice from parents, gender issues, and factors related to globalization, including their proficiency with second languages, experiences with other cultures, and interests in traveling. Students' drawings revealed knowledge about desired job responsibilities. Developmental differences were present in several features of the data, including increasing attention to advanced technology and a progressively differentiated understanding of job duties.

Previous research has suggested the use of corporal punishment is widely endorsed in our society (Straus, 2000; Straus & Stewart, 1999). Furthermore, perceptions of what constitutes corporal punishment vary. The present study examined social dominance orientation (SDO) and age of child as potential factors that may influence perceptions of what is viewed as corporal punishment versus physical abuse. The sample consisted of 206 undergraduate students enrolled at a Rocky Mountain University. A series of regressions were used to examine the relationships between SDO and six forms of punishment. Findings suggest, higher levels of SDO are significantly related to more ratings of physical punishment versus physical abuse. The primary findings of the present study showed SDO was significantly related to how an individual perceives corporal punishment. These results have important implications by serving as a stepping-stone into further understanding what factors may have an influence on perceptions of corporal punishment.

Recommendations for teachers' work with children were identified in eleven popular textbooks focused on child development. Coding yielded 2,200 recommendations. Recommendations emphasized cognition, behavioral learning, and social-emotional development; generally transcended a single age level; and typically did not refer to an underlying theory. Specific age levels were represented distinctively. Consensus practices found in six or more books concentrated on cognitive development, social-emotional development, family and community motivation, management, and self-regulation more so than on foundational principles, research and assessment, physical development, or language and literacy. Limitations and implications for future research and the preparation of teacher candidates are examined.