Interrater reliability of the original and a revised scoring system for the developmental test of visual-motor integration

This study investigated the interrater reliability of teachers' and school psychology ex-terns' scoring of protocols for the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI). Previous studies suggest that the scoring criteria of the VMI are ambiguous, which when coupled with raters' lack of scoring experience, as well as limited knowledge of testing issues, contributes to low rater reliability. The original manual scoring system was used by four trained teachers with no VMI experience and by four experienced raters. A VMI scoring system, revised to eliminate ambiguous scoring criteria, was used by an additional four teachers inexperienced with the VMI and by four experienced raters. High reliability coefficients (>.90) were found for all raters, regardless of the scoring system employed. The influence on interrater reliability of factors such as training, nature of the training setting, characteristics of the raters, and ambiguity of scoring criteria is discussed.     

Comparing preservice,elementary, and junior high teachers' perceptions of school psychologists: Two decades later

One hundred eighty-one experienced teachers (elementary and junior high), and 189 preservice teachers were surveyed regarding their perceptions of school psychologists. The survey instrument used essentially the same categories as Styles in 1965, including: (a) level of training, (b) effectiveness, (c) qualifications for tasks, and (d) usefulness in specific duties. Analysis of the survey data showed there were significant differences between preservice and experienced teachers' effectiveness ratings of school psychologists on eight tasks typically performed by school psychologists. Significant differences also were found between preservice and experienced teachers on their ratings of school psychologists' qualifications to undertake specific tasks, although almost half of the experienced teachers were unable to rate the effectiveness of school psychologists. There was a small, but significant, negative relationship between the amount of contact with the school psychologist and the perceived effectiveness. Limitations inherent in survey methodology and the need to foster greater teacher awareness of the school psychologist's role are discussed.     

Perceived professional needs of Korean science teachers majoring in chemical education and their preferences for online and on‐site training

In this study, we investigated the perceived professional needs of Korean science teachers majoring in chemical education, and examined their preferences for online and on‐site inservice teacher training programmes. The results were also compared with those of preservice teachers. Participants were 120 secondary school teachers and 67 preservice teachers, whose majors were either chemical education or science education with emphasis in chemistry. A questionnaire consisting of a modified Science Teacher Inventory of Need and a section concerning respondents’ demographic information and their use of the Internet was administered. In contrast to previous studies, the perceived needs of Korean inservice and preservice teachers were found to be very strong in all 30 needs assessment items, and their prominent needs were from all seven categories. Preservice teachers indicated significantly greater needs than inservice teachers on several items. Korean teachers generally tended to prefer online inservice to traditional on‐site training programmes, although they still preferred on‐site types of programmes in areas such as conducting laboratory sessions and demonstrating manipulative skills. Preferences for online programmes tended to be stronger among preservice teachers than inservice teachers, and among non‐veteran teachers than in veteran teachers. Educational implications are discussed.     

Inclusion: identifying potential stressors for regular class teachers

This research investigates the potential stressors for teachers during inclusion. The study reports findings from 571 Queensland primary school teachers who were involved with including a child with a moderate or severe intellectual disability in their regular classrooms. Teachers who responded to the Teacher Stress and Coping Questionnaire (TSC) did not appear to be overly stressed by inclusion. Issues that related to a teacher's professional competence and the behaviour of the child with the intellectual disability were the most stressful for teachers. Female teachers reported greater stress than their male counterparts when coping with classroom issues. An increase in number of years involved with inclusion and participation in formal training were associated with a reduction in stress. Discussion focuses on the need to identify potential stressors during inclusion to enable more appropriate preservice and inservice training and support to be provided.     

The impact of inservice training on teacher behaviour

Nowadays, a considerable amount of time, money, and energy is invested in inservice education or training (INSET). Yet, our knowledge of design features and implementation conditions in schools that make INSET effective, is still limited. To examine the outcomes of inservice activities the impact ratings of a sample of teachers and principals who participated in individual-based and school-focused INSET were regressed on school characteristics, features of inservice programs, implementation characteristics, and types of inservice activity. Findings from this study suggest that some school characteristics, features of inservice programs, and implementation characteristics contribute to the impact of inservice training. Variables like external support, hours spent on INSET activities, degree of participation,. teacher educators' competence, implementation conditions, and the use of principal's steering functions are subject to alteration to increase inservice training effectiveness.     

THE USE OF EVIDENCED‐BASED PRACTICES IN THE PROVISION OF SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AMONG SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

This study aimed to explore school psychologists’ use of evidence‐based practices (EBP), specifically in the area of social skills training, for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 220 school psychologists practicing in public school settings who provided social skills training to students with ASD. Participants were recruited through e‐mail solicitations and completed surveys administered on‐line. Results indicated that 47% of the participants reported that their graduate program did not provide courses including content addressing social skills training for students with ASD, and 58% did not receive training on the topic during their internship. The most and least frequently endorsed EBP reported were the provision of clear and measurable treatment objectives and regular communication with parents, respectively. Greater use of EBP was reported when school districts perceived implementing EBP as important. Implications of findings for training programs of school psychologists, school districts, and individual school psychologists are discussed, as well as implications for future research.     

Training inservice teachers' competencies in classroom management. A quasi-experimental study with teachers of secondary schools

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program for inservice secondary school teachers in classroom management. In a non-randomized pre-post-design, 19 teachers participated in a newly developed training (the intervention group) and 18 teachers participated in a control training (the control group). All participants reported better knowledge of classroom management after training. However, hypothesized positive effects on teachers' competencies and increased student engagement occurred only in the intervention group. These findings are supported by participants' reported high subjective validity of the training. Further research is needed to study sustainability of the observed effects.     

Integration in the Federal Republic of Germany: experiences related to professional identity and strategies of teacher training in Berlin

School organisation is changing in respect of social integration since school models of integrating handicapped pupils were introduced from 1975. Three basic models are being implemented; differentiating instructional objects; peripatetic teacher system and cooperative schools. The concepts of professionalisation in pre‐ and inservice teacher training focus upon the teachers as key‐persons of the social environment as well as of the learning process; this results in the change of the professional identity of teachers.     

Science teaching self-efficacy in a primary school: A case study

Bandura's theory of self-efficacy predicts that teachers with high, self-efficacy should persist longer, provide a greater academic focus in child-centred classrooms and exhibit different types of feedback than teachers who have lower self-efficacy. This paper reports on the science teaching self-efficacy in a group of teachers at a state primary school. The research was conducted in two stages using firstly the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (STEBI-A) to identify cases, and secondly, a semistructured interview coupled with classroom observations. Thirty seven teaching staff were surveyed with the STEBI-A instrument. The five highest and five lowest scoring teachers on the personal science teaching self-efficacy subscale of the STEBI-A were interviewed. The analysis of interviews and observations indicated that teachers with high personal science teaching self-efficacy have had a long interest in science and a relatively strong background of formal science studies with opportunities for exploring out of school activities. Although they may have experienced negative science experiences in their own schooling other ameliorating factors existed which maintained their interest. Their instructional strategies in science lessons were more child-centred than those reported by teachers with lower personal science teaching self-efficacy. The implications of the results for the inservice training of teachers are discussed.     

我国中小学心理教师的角色模糊及其深层次原因剖析

本文对我国中小学心理教师的角色模糊现象及其体制的原因进行了理论探讨。心理教师的角色模糊主要表现为心理教师与管理者、与德育教师及与普通教师的混淆。造成这一混淆的根本原因在于心理健康教育在德育和管理框架内运作,缺少与特殊教育的联系,现存殊教育范围的狭窄及其与主流教育的脱节等。解决混淆的根本途径在于深化目前的德育与管理体制的改革,在特殊教育框架内,以特殊儿童的服务为核心,重新整合心理健康教育资源,使心理辅导与心理测评发挥其应有作用。     

School consultation: The training needs of teachers and school psychologists

This paper describes the roles of teachers and school psychologists and presents an overview of current and prospective methods of providing services to special needs children. On the basis of the literature and professional experience, it is suggested that changes are needed in the provision of special education services. The consultative relationship between teachers and school psychologists is viewed as the key to successful classroom intervention for special needs children. Although each profession brings expertise into the consultative relationship, better training is needed for teachers and school psychologists to ensure that effective intervention strategies are developed.     

Development and Effectiveness of a Dairy Foods Curriculum Packet and Inservice and the Assessment of Barriers to Dairy Foods Education

ABSTRACT: A Dairy Foods Curriculum Packet and inservice training were provided to South Dakota high school agricultural education instructors. Instructors rated barriers to implementation of teaching dairy foods as "small to medium barriers." After curriculum distribution and inservice training, more than half of instructors indicated an increase in class time spent on dairy foods instruction. More than half of instructors taught a greater variety of dairy foods topics after receiving the curriculum. More than 1/3 of instructors who increased dairy foods instruction attributed 75% or more of their increase to the packet and inservice. High school dairy foods education can be enhanced by providing curriculum and training to instructors. Dairy foods education is necessary to ensure high school graduates are educated about dairy products and exposed to potential dairy science careers.     

Exploring the Use of Computer Simulation to Evaluate the Implementation of Problem-Solving Consultation

The purpose of this study was to examine how school psychologists implemented the problem-solving consultation process within a computer-simulated school environment. Four school psychologists were recruited to complete three simulated consultation cases. The school environment was computer generated and all of the teachers and target students (clients) were computer generated. A qualitative case study design coupled with interviews was used in this study. Three themes emerged from the data analysis including (a) behavioral approach to problem conceptualization, (b) individualized approach to intervention design, and (c) minimal attention to plan evaluation. Implications for problem-solving consultation training as well as use of computer simulation are discussed.     

Critical review of the TEMAS: A step within the development of thematic apperception instruments

The TEMAS (acronym for Tell‐Me‐a‐Story)—an objectively scored, projective thematic personality instrument for children and adolescents—is analyzed, reviewed, and critiqued with regard to theoretical underpinnings and rationale for development, administration, scoring, psychometric properties, and research to date. The TEMAS appears to be an improvement over existing projective personality measures used by school psychologists. Although it requires more training than other projective techniques, competency in administration, scoring, and interpretation can be achieved within a one semester course in personality assessment. The test has evidence of reliability and validity, and it is a multicultural alternative to the TAT and other thematic apperception instruments. The use of the TEMAS by psychologists may achieve more accurate assessment of Black and Hispanic children. Limitations include geographically limited standardization samples and little research conducted by individuals other than the authors. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Factors affecting the impact of inservice courses for teachers: Implications for policy

A central component of government strategies for improving the quality of education and the implementation of new programs and policies is often the short inservice course. The context for this particular study was the National Computer Education Program in the State of Victoria, Australia. Week-long courses were provided from 1984 to 1986 for over 2,000 teachers on the applications of microcomputers in schools at a cost of approximately $2m. Policy-makers within the State Program had a second agenda: that course participants would act as “change-agents” when they returned to their schools. Teachers were surveyed up to 2 years after attending the course about the extent to which they had implemented course objectives. What had been done varied greatly from school to school and the factors which mainly accounted for this variation were the levels of administrative support and follow-up assistance teachers received after their course. The study indicates that returns from investments in inservice education by school systems will be limited if the need for such support and assistance is not anticipated; that is, if planning for policy implementation goes no further than the provision of inservice courses alone, without the orchestration of follow-up support, both from within the school and from external sources.     

An investigation into the effectiveness of collaboration between Greek secondary EFL teachers and specialist providers for dyslexia issues

This paper investigates the collaboration of Greek secondary school teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) with psychologists and advisers for dyslexia issues. Data were collected through audio recorded observations and interviews with head teachers and teachers. Taking a Vygotskian approach to learning, activity theory is applied to analyse the contradictions that emerge around the collaboration of teachers and head teachers with specialist provision for dyslexia issues from data in interviews and field notes across two schools. The analysis shows that contradictions are created when the participants try to achieve their goals for dyslexia support by the absence of ‘what’ artefacts – such as knowledge on dyslexia – and ‘how’ artefacts – processes and procedures such as collaboration with a counsellor – to support the collaboration of EFL teachers with EFL and special educational needs advisers and psychologists, the lack of staff at diagnostic centres and lack of funding for training. This finding indicates that the collaboration between psychologists, advisers and teachers to exchange information on pedagogy needs to be established through meetings and in‐service training of teachers.     

美国学校心理学家职业特点分析

学校心理学家是受过专门培训的职业工作者,他们运用心理学和教育学专业知识和技能,与教育者、家长及其他心理健康专业人员协调行动,为学生创设安全、健康和支持性的学习环境。本文从学校心理学家的界定,工作角色与职责,服务机构、对象与内容以及学校心理学家的培养等方面对美国学校心理学家的职业特点进行分析。了解和研究美国学校心理学家的职业特点对构建我国学校心理健康教育体系具有实践指导意义。     

Examiner scoring of ambiguous WISC-R responses

Fabricated test protocols were used to study how effectively examiners agree in scoring ambiguous WISC-R responses. Clinical and school psychologists (N = 62) and graduate students (N = 48) scored WISC-R Similarities, Comprehension, and Vocabulary responses obtained in a group administration procedure. From over 15,000 responses obtained, only unusual, atypical, or ambiguous responses were selected; 726 responses were scored, with 11 groups of 10 raters each scoring 66 responses. Considerable scoring disagreement occurred. Unanimous agreement (within each group of 10 raters) was found on only 13% of the responses, while 80% of the raters agreed on 44% of the responses. Rates of scoring agreement were not related to level of rater experience, but were related to specific subtests. Higher rates of agreement were found on the Similarities and Comprehension subtests than on the Vocabulary subtest for both experienced and inexperienced raters. The results suggest that even with the improved WISC-R manual, scoring remains a difficult and challenging task.