The role of counseling in developing countries

Development is an important goal for developing countries. This goal cannot be achieved without the growth of human potential. Counseling is one of the effective means for developing human potential. Yet counseling has been evolving slowly in developing countries. Reports show that counseling and guidance have been started in the schools in some of these countries; they rarely show that counseling has been implemented in other settings. The purpose of this paper was to examine the obstacles for implementing counseling services in developing countries, to discuss a working definition of counseling and to propose the settings in which counseling may be implemented.Paper Presented at the meeting of the Thirteenth International Round Table for the Advancement of Counseling, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, August 14–18, 1988.     

The emergence of unique elective identities in the professional identity development research in the counseling profession

In this study, a qualitative content analysis of the professional identity development research in counseling was conducted to describe elements of the development of “elective identities” of leader, research, counselor educator, and social justice practitioner. Predisposing, process, and outcome codes reveal experiences and contexts that influence this development in students, educators, and counselors.     

People with disabilities and the changing labor market: Some challenges for counseling practice and research on workplace counseling

Nearly a quarter of the entire population of the EU has a disability. Disabled employees have become increasingly integrated into the labor force. According to a national survey and an international literature review, disabled people's experiences enrich the cultural diversity of the workplace. The purpose of the present paper is to present current research trends and identify future research needs in terms of occupational counseling for disabled employees. Research in this area poses many challenges, and there is a clear need for an interdisciplinary approach. Counseling-oriented, work-oriented and manager-based models are discussed in this paper. Counseling can promote collaboration with various agencies, such as family organizations, educators and managers, thus laying the foundations for developing the competencies needed in the labor markets of the future. The paper goes on to discuss the role of empowerment, self-advocacy and social relations over the life span.     

涉检信访类型化终结机制研究

人民检察院是法律监督机关,面临的信访案件呈现复杂多样、处理难度大的特点。涉检信访终结机制应采取分类终结模式,对司法性的涉检信访,采取司法化模式,对于行政性的涉检信访,采取三级终结形式,对国家赔偿类涉检信访,采取报告备案方式。同时,建立相应的保障协调机制,确保信访者权利能够得到实现、终结涉检信访案件有效退出。     

The mediating role of mindfulness on stress and counseling self-efficacy

The authors explored how mindfulness influenced the relationship between perceived stress and counseling self-efficacy (CSE) among 187 counseling students. Results suggest mindfulness mediated the relationship, diminishing the negative impact of stress on CSE. Implications address how counselor educators can promote mindfulness as an avenue to enhance counselor development by increasing CSE and reducing stress in counseling students.     

The genetic and environmental origins of learning abilities and disabilities in the early school years

Despite the importance of learning abilities and disabilities in education and child development, little is known about their genetic and environmental origins in the early school years. We report results for English (which includes reading, writing, and speaking), mathematics, and science as well as general cognitive ability in a large and representative sample of U.K. twins studied at 7, 9, and 10 years of age. Although preliminary reports of some of these data have been published, the purpose of this monograph is to present new univariate, multivariate, and longitudinal analyses that systematically examine genetic and environmental influences for the entire sample at all ages for all measures for both the low extremes (disabilities) and the entire sample (abilities). English, mathematics, and science yielded similarly high heritabilities and modest shared environmental influences at 7, 9, and 10 years despite major changes in content across these years. We draw three conclusions that go beyond estimating heritability. First, the abnormal is normal: Low performance is the quantitative extreme of the same genetic and environmental influences that operate throughout the normal distribution. Second, continuity is genetic and change is environmental: Longitudinal analyses suggest that age-to-age stability is primarily mediated genetically, whereas the environment contributes to change from age to age. Third, genes are generalists and environments are specialists: Multivariate analyses indicate that genes largely contribute to similarity in performance within and between the three domains--and with general cognitive ability--whereas the environment contributes to differences in performance. These conclusions have far-reaching implications for education and child development as well as for molecular genetics and neuroscience.     

The role of parental expectations in understanding social and academic well-being among children with disabilities in Ireland

This paper draws on longitudinal data to examine the extent to which parents’ educational expectations shape academic development and changes in self-concept among young people with different types of disability. The analysis is based on the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study, which tracked 7423 children between the primary to secondary school years, 21% of whom were identified with one of four main disability types. Our conceptual framework assumes that parental expectations at age 9 will be influenced by both the child’s disability and child’s academic achievement at that stage, as well as being influenced by other factors such as parent’s own education, family economic vulnerability, family relationships and family structure. Therefore, we take these factors into account in tracing the consequences of parental expectations at age 9, on academic and social outcomes at age 13 after the transition to secondary education. Among young people with a disability, poorer self-concept at age 13 is partly explained by lower parental expectations, particularly for those with general learning and emotional/behavioural disabilities. Similarly, parental expectations are a significant influence on children’s academic outcomes and partly explain the effects of disability status on academic development. Parents’ beliefs about their children’s abilities have a strong influence on achievement and self-concept, raising important issues around the need to promote equality of opportunity, raising awareness of the educational opportunities available, promoting positive expectations and engagement with school and the importance of promoting a range of opportunities for achievement.     

The role of managed mental health care in counseling gifted children and families

This study examined the role of managed mental health care in the counseling of gifted children and families. When gifted children and their families experience difficulties resulting from giftedness, they have the option of choosing a private provider, although cost is often prohibitive. Moreover, when insurance is used to offset the cost, most mental health insurance policies have a managed care component. One requirement of managed care is that services be medically necessary to alleviate a recognized mental illness diagnosis. Problems resulting from giftedness may not be recognized as a mental illness. As a result, insurance may not pay for these counseling costs. However, this does not have to be the case because of the flexibility managed care case managers have to make judgments. 40 managed care case managers were surveyed to address this issue. 14 of the case managers consented to individual interviews. The results indicate that some case managers would approve reimbursement and others would not. The study describes criteria and conditions that need to be met for reimbursement.     

Students with disabilities in higher education: a biographical-narrative approach to the role of lecturers

This article presents an analysis of how lecturers respond to students with disabilities, the initial question being: do lecturers aid or hinder students? Findings pertain to a broader research project being developed by a multidisciplinary team employing a non-usual research methodology in higher education (HE) research and students with disabilities: biographical-narrative methodology. The general aim is to analyse – by listening to the students themselves – barriers and support identified as affecting access, academic performance and overall perception of the HE experience. The present paper analyses lecturer-centred data to focus specifically on one of the objectives of our research project: the role that lecturers play in the inclusive education of students with disabilities. Unlike other international research, this article explores the barriers and support differentiating between five fields of knowledge: health sciences, experimental sciences, social sciences (law and education), engineering and technology and humanities. Findings are organized in four topic areas: lecturer attitudes, practices in the classroom, curricular adaptations and faculty training. Key findings are discussed in the conclusions section, together with a discussion of contributions made by earlier studies.     

Improving the compositions of students with learning disabilities using a strategy involving product and process goal setting.

This study was conducted to determine if a planning and writing strategy would improve the essay writing of students with learning disabilities. Four participants were taught a strategy designed to facilitate the setting of product and process goals, generation and organization of notes, continued planning during writing, and evaluation of goal attainment. Training effects were investigated using a multiple probe design across subjects. Strategy instruction had a positive effect on students' essay writing performance and knowledge of the writing process, and effects were maintained over time.     

The adult outcomes of children with learning disabilities

The results of four follow-up studies of learning-disabled children are reviewed. A comparison of results among the studies and of analyses of individual variation within the studies suggest some factors associated with long-term outcomes. It is argued that in many cases learning disabilities are not a lifelong handicapping condition, especially if adequate treatment is provided during childhood.     

The accuracy of academic self-evaluations in adolescents with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to document the degree of overestimation of academic skills among students with learning disabilities (LD) and to evaluate the role of reference group and metacognitive awareness in such overestimation. High school students with (n = 52) and without (n = 49) LD in Grades 9 through 12 completed a self-concept scale and a survey requiring them to rate their own academic skills in 17 specific skill areas. Students were further asked to predict their performance on two academic tasks prior to actually performing the tasks. The students' mothers or fathers, their English teachers or academic advisors, and (in the case of the students with LD) their special education case managers also completed the skill rating inventory and predicted student performance on the two tests. Despite reporting significantly lower academic self-concepts, students with LD overestimated their academic skills relative to the ratings of others and to their actual test performance. Such overestimation was less pronounced among the students without LD. All participants reported using similar reference groups in making their judgments. Analyses of item-by-item accuracy judgments from the two tests revealed evidence of group differences in metacognitive awareness that may be related to the overestimation. These findings have implications for realistic goal setting and effective self-advocacy.     

Online career counseling success: the role of hardiness and psychological capital

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Online career counseling is an important new horizon for vocational guidance. The present study investigates the role of online...     

Comprehension of humor in children with nonverbal learning disabilities,reading disabilities,and without learning disabilities

The normal development of humor in children has been well documented with a predictable course that is tied to social, cognitive, and linguistic development in children. This study explored humor comprehension in children with nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD). Children with NVLD were compared with children with reading disabilities and a comparison group of children with no learning disabilities to assess their comprehension of humor. The humor test was composed of a joke and cartoon section. No group differences in humor comprehension were found when the NVLD group was defined as having visual–spatial and visual reasoning deficits. However, when the NVLD group was divided into children with and without social perceptual difficulties as defined by a direct measure of social comprehension, significant group differences were found in the levels of humor comprehension. These results support the association of humor comprehension with social perception and lend tentative support to the hypothesis that children with NVLD may not be a homogenous group. Future study directions include further exploration into the nature of the association between humor comprehension and social perception as well as closer examination of the heterogeneity of NVLD.