Freedom: Toward an Integration of the Counseling Profession

Freedom is presented as an overarching paradigm that may align and bring together the counseling profession's diverse counseling theories and open a doorway to a new generation of counseling techniques. Freedom is defined and discussed in terms of its 4 modalities: freedom from, freedom to, freedom with, and freedom for. The long‐standing problem of theoretical integration of counseling and psychotherapy is explored in combination with the phenomenon of therapeutic change in the context of freedom. The new paradigm generates new and possibly more effective counseling techniques by aligning and incorporating freedom with such ideas as agency, self‐determination, metacognition, mindfulness, and often unexamined Asian therapeutic techniques from yoga and Buddhism.     

Toward an Understanding of Authentic Learning: Student Perceptions of an Authentic Classroom

Advocates of educational reform often describe classroom instruction as inauthentic. That is, most classroom learning activities are structured around artificial contexts for learning, and students only engage in tasks and remember information at superficial levels. Some teachers are attempting to break traditional classroom practices by creating authentic contexts for learning. To date, most of the research on authentic classrooms has described the processes teachers have used to develop the classroom environment (learning activities, resources, etc.); however, few have examined authentic classrooms from the students' perspective: “What do students think about authentic classrooms?” The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a unique learning environment at a large, Midwest high school to understand how students perceived that environment. Most of the students reported a positive experience and described the classroom as fun and exciting with real-world relevance. However, there were several students who did not share these views, and many students were not successful.

     

试论弱势群体问题的社会整合

弱势群体是社会转型期的客观存在，本从社会整合作为一种解决的手段更作为一条重要的社会规律阐述了对解决弱势群体问题的作用，并从社会整合的应用即社会政策、产权重构、社会救助等方面作了论述。解决弱势群体的问题关键在于产权重构即明晰农民的土地产权与工人的劳动力产权和财产产权。     

Toward an Understanding of Unusually Successful Programs for Economically Disadvantaged Students

A conceptual framework based on prior research was used to study unusually successful compensatory programs in 4 schools (3 elementary schools and 1 middle school). The framework included 4 interrelated constructs: program effectiveness standards, school culture, curriculum, and teaching. Site visits were made to each of the 4 schools. During these visits, written documents were examined, interviews were conducted, and classroom observations were made. All 4 schools were characterized by clear purpose and high performance standards (program effectiveness standards); shared leadership, strong community support, and talented, hardworking teachers (school climate); opportunity to learn and curriculum integration (curriculum); and concern for students and nonacceptance of failure (teaching). Analyzing the data in terms of the framework enabled the researchers to describe the complex nature of success as well as the interplay among the constructs in producing it. It also allowed them to move beneath the surface differences among schools to the deeper level of similarities.     

Toward an Understanding of How Threads Die in Asynchronous Computer Conferences

Previous computer conferencing research has been concerned with the organizational, technical, social, and motivational factors that support and sustain online interaction. This article studies online interaction from a different perspective. Rather than analyze the processes that sustain discourse, the following research examines how and why discussions shut down. A computer simulation of asynchronous threaded interaction suggests that certain common online habits, when practiced by many people, can adversely affect the lifespan of some threads. Specifically, the widespread practice of focusing attention on unread notes during computer conferencing sessions can produce a starvation condition that hastens the death of some threads and reduces the likelihood that inactive threads will become active again. The longevity of a thread, therefore, is partially affected by the kinds of routines that online participants follow when they use a computer conferencing interface. The educational implications of this finding are discussed, and strategies are presented for limiting adverse educational effects.     

论特奥运动对智障人士社会融合的促进作用

文章对特奥运动宗旨及其所设项目进行深入分析,指出特奥运动在促进智障人士身心健康的同时,还发挥着促进智障人士社会融合的社会性功能;智障人士的社会融合是构建和谐社会的重要组成部分,体现着社会进步和人文关怀.