University Credits as a Measure of Teachers’ Pre-service and In-Service Training: A Longitudinal Approach Using Swedish Data

In this study, we accessed information about the university credits of all teachers born after 1971 in Sweden as a means of ascertaining the development of their subject knowledge. We examined the university credits they earned during pre-service and in-service training. Data comes from registers Gothenburg Educational Longitudinal Database (GOLD) and the teacher register. We linked GOLD to the teacher register in order to describe the knowledge development of teachers in compulsory school 1998–2014. Special focus was on Swedish language and mathematics. Multiple regression and multilevel growth modeling were used as our main methods. Results show an increase in pre-service credits during the time period and more credits in Swedish language than in mathematics. To analyze teachers’ in-service training, we followed the development of their university credits over time. Teachers with higher prerequisites in terms of grade point average tended to gain more credits in-service. The study included discussions on ideas and the implications for future research.

Person–Environment Fit Approach to Trajectories of Cognitive Function Among Older Adults Who Live Alone: Intersection of Life-Course SES Disadvantage and Senior Housing

Objectives Drawing from life course and environmental perspectives, we examined the trajectory of cognitive function and how senior housing moderates the effects of life-course socioeconomic status (SES) disadvantage among older people living alone over time. Method Six waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used with multilevel growth modeling to analyze developmental patterns of cognitive function over time and how various forms of life-course SES disadvantage affect cognitive function depending on senior housing residency status. Results At baseline, we found a positive role of senior housing in four subgroups: SES disadvantage in childhood only, unstable mobility pattern (disadvantage in childhood and old age only), downward mobility (no disadvantage in childhood, but in later two life stages), and cumulative disadvantage (all three life stages). Over time, the positive role of senior housing for the unstable and the most vulnerable group persisted. Discussion Our findings provide a much-needed practical and theoretical underpinning for environmental policy-making efforts regarding vulnerable elders who live alone.

Adjusting after stroke: Changes in sense of purpose in life and the role of social support, relationship strain, and time

It is unclear how the onset of a major health condition, such as a stroke, may impact sense of purpose long-term and whether social factors influence this change. We examined changes in purpose in 716 stroke patients ( Mage = 72.09 years, 52.5% female) who participated in the Health and Retirement Study between 2006 and 2014. Multilevel growth modeling indicated that recent stroke patients’ sense of purpose declined over time relative to pre-stroke purpose, whereas those suffering stroke prior to baseline demonstrated relative stability. Furthermore, social support was associated with initial levels but not change in sense of purpose.

Growing Up With A Food Insecure Adult: The Cognitive Consequences of Recurrent Versus Transitory Food Insecurity Across the Early Elementary Years

To investigate how kindergarteners cognitively developed in a family with an adult who experienced recurrent versus transitory food insecurity, a sample of 1,040 kindergarteners (mean age = 5.6 years) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 was analyzed using multilevel growth modeling. Results indicated that kindergarteners from homes with an adult who experienced recurrent food insecurity (twice within a 24-month period; n = 490) initially had slower growth in reading relative to their counterparts who were in homes with an adult who was food insecure only once over the same time period ( n = 550). However, this initial disadvantage diminished over time. As a result, the recurrent group’s reading trajectory converged with that of their transitory peers by second grade. These findings highlight the value of adopting more temporal view of food insecurity and its developmental consequences.

A Multilevel Multiset Time-Series Model for Describing Complex Developmental Processes

The authors sought to develop an analytical platform where multiple sets of time series can be examined simultaneously. This multivariate platform capable of testing interaction effects among multiple sets of time series can be very useful in empirical research. The authors demonstrated that the multilevel framework can readily accommodate this analytical capacity. Given their intention to use the multilevel multiset time-series model to pursue complicated research purposes, their resulting model is relatively simple to specify, to run, and to interpret. These advantages make the adoption of their model relatively effortless as long as researchers have the basic knowledge and skills in working with multilevel growth modeling. With multiple potential extensions of their model, the establishment of this analytical platform for analysis of multiple sets of time series can inspire researchers to pursue far more advanced research designs to address complex developmental processes in reality.