Deck 11: Appendix A: Sample Write-Up for Infant and Early Childhood Motor Development Tests

Question 1

In what ways do the developmental functions of friendship differ across early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence?

Answer 1

Response should describe the function of friendship in early childhood to maximize interest in play and to organize behavior during arousal. Middle childhood friendships function to aid in acquiring knowledge about behavioral norms and help children learn the skills necessary for successful self-presentation and impression management. Adolescent friendships serve to assist individuals in their quest for self-exploration and identity formation and to help them integrate logic and emotions.

Question 2

Summarize the findings of researchers regarding the association of friendship and adjustment.

Answer 2

Response should describe research results that demonstrate that having a friend is associated with/can promote positive adjustment, especially during transition, times of stress and peer difficulties. Similarly, having a mutual best friend has been found to protect youth from the internalizing and externalizing problems often associated with peer victimization.

Question 3

Compare social network analysis and the social cognitive map technique as methods for studying peer groups.

Answer 3

Response should describe social network analysis as a measurement of frequencies of self-reported friendship nominations by children that assigns membership in one of four social network positions: group member, liaison, dyads, and isolate. The social cognitive map technique assesses peer groups more directly by asking children to report on known group memberships that are then used to generate clusters of groups based on similar group-membership profiles.

Question 4

Which of the following systems theories most directly informs Eccles and Roeser's conceptualization of schools as central contexts for development?

A) Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Theory
B) Jochen Brandtstädter's Action Theory
C) Paul Baltes' Life-Span Theory
D) Glen Elder's Life-Course Theory

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an assumption of Eccles and Roeser's contextual model of schooling?

A) Cognitive and social development is most effective within the context of public schools
B) The context of schooling involves multiple nested levels of organization
C) The study of development in school contexts is also the study of cultural diversity and issues of equity in education
D) Acts of teaching and learning involve and affect "whole persons"

Question 6

Eccles and Roeser's contextual model of schooling acknowledges that the outcomes of education:

A) Include non-subject matter aims as self-regulation and conflict resolution skills
B) Cannot be separated from the goals of social and political agendas
C) Can be directly and precisely measured by classroom teachers
D) Are often set too high for most children to attain them

Question 7

Eccles and Roeser's contextual model of schooling acknowledges that children co-construct their educational lifepaths throughout school through:

A) Their own agency and characteristics
B) The influence of peers, teachers, and parents
C) Reflecting intentionally upon errors in academic performance
D) Involvement with co-curricular activities such as sports or musical groups

Question 8

According to Eccles and Roeser, developmental research has found that involvement in sports is associated with:

A) Lower school dropout rates for high school students
B) Increased rate of drug and alcohol use among adolescents
C) Higher rates of college attendance for blue-collar male athletes
D) Both negative and positive educational and behavioral outcomes

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT included among Eccles and Roeser's levels of the context of schooling?

A) Media and advertising targeting children
B) Groups and activity structures
C) Teachers, instruction, and classroom climate
D) Academic tracks and curricular differentiation

Question 10

Which of the following outcomes associated with school transitions has been empirically supported?

A) Students experience similar problems during the transition from elementary to middle school and the transition from middle school to high school
B) Children experience the initial entry into elementary school as more difficult than the transition to middle or high school
C) High school teachers perceive themselves to be more effective than elementary school or junior high school teachers
D) Students experience twice as many problems on average during the transition to middle school compared with the transition to high school

Question 11

Summarize the seven functions of children's peer groups and how they relate to the development of self-regulation skills.