The ability to reason scientifically and communicate research appropriately is central to psychological literacy. Scientific research has little value unless scientists are able to convey results and their consequences clearly to others. In this study, we outline a method of assessing the development of psychological literacy in undergraduate students. Data from three cohorts undertaking assessed interviews as part of a final year research project unit are examined. This assessment evaluated students’ ability to explain the purposes and findings of their research to a lay audience, to articulate the conceptual basis and methodological background to their approach, and to reflect on their own development during the research process. Analysis of marks and feedback from the assessment suggests it provides a reliable means of evaluating skills that contribute to psychological literacy in a manner that is both educationally acceptable to students and a valid indicator of their general level of course performance.

Child-centered learning in music programs foryoung children can foster their emotional, social, cognitive, and musical development.he music education profession has long recognized the importance of early childhood music. Due to the recent explosion of research in neural development and its connection to early childhood music, the media is reporting on research studies that support a link that music educators have long suspected-exposure to music at an early age benefits children's musical and cognitive development. While it is exciting to read research and news reports on the discovery of the "Mozart effect," early childhood music practitioners must not lose sight of a long-standing early childhood education philosophychild-centered learning.Child-centered learning has been advocated by such notable practitioners and thinkers as Rousseau, Froebel, Montessori, and Pestalozzi, among others, and is the basis of many preschool curricula. It is as vital to children's musical growth as it is to their cognitive, social, and emotional development. The purpose of this arti-Mark E. Turner is an early childhood music specialist at the Sharon G. Halpin Early Childhood Center in Houston, Texas.One of the music center's activities includes the opportunity for children to explore a chime set. cle is to provide a general background on child-centered learning and then suggest ways in which early childhood music practitioners might use childcentered practices in their existing music programs to help their students experience increased musical growth. What Is Child-Centered Learning?Accepting the idea that early learning experiences are best guided by children's natural curiosity and desire to understand their world, early childhood theorists have developed models MUSIC EDUCATORS JOURNAL

The Training and Development Agency sets national standards in the UK for qualified teacher status. These standards set out the areas of knowledge and skills that aspiring teachers should acquire during their training. One of these areas of knowledge and skills concerns the identification and teaching of pupils with special educational needs yet the effectiveness of current training routes for teachers in this area remains a matter of ongoing debate. In this article, Nicola Barber, a senior educational psychologist working in Medway, and Mark Turner, who runs an online training company and is a part-time tutor at the University of East London and senior educational psychologist in Medway, focus on the experiences of newly-qualified teachers during their induction and first year of teaching. These authors sent out questionnaires to newly-qualified teachers working in primary schools in two local authorities and received 60 responses. Their results suggest that these teachers, during this opening phase of their careers, experienced an increase in confidence in relation to special educational needs and report that they feel more skilled in this area at the end of their first year of teaching. Nicola Barber and Mark Turner analyse the factors that contribute to this scenario and begin to draw out implications for future approaches to the training and induction of teachers with regard to special educational needs and inclusio

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Recently, members of postsecondary music education institutions have warned of an impending shortage of trained music specialists in the United States (Tomatz, 2002). Colleges,