Academic productivity of African Americans in criminology and criminal justice

This study explores the productivity of African American scholars in the field of criminology during the period of 1987 through 1998. Issues about the relative benefits of mentoring are explored. The impact of external and internal barriers with respect to authorship are also addressed. Journals included in the study were randomly selected from a list of criminology and criminal justice journals. Authorship order is also identified, that is, we look at primary, secondary and tertiary authorships by African American faculty as well. Findings provide empirical evidence that the contributions of African American faculty do not appear in many mainstream journals. The reasons behind the under representation are explored.     

Who mentors undergraduate student researchers? An analysis of faculty involvement at a four-year university

ABSTRACT

In this study, we investigated a profile of faculty who mentor undergraduate researchers at a four-year Hispanic-serving, public research university. Six variables were investigated: ethnicity, gender, age, tenure status, teaching evaluations, and research productivity. Data were compiled from institutional databases. Findings showed a greater percentage of tenured faculty mentoring undergraduate researchers while the percent of minority UR faculty mentors was consistent with institutional percentages. Additionally, findings included a higher percentage of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Undergraduate Research (UR) underrepresented minority faculty mentors compared to STEM Institution (INST) underrepresented minority faculty. For research productivity, UR faculty mentor funding comprised 28.0% of all external grant awards and 36.0% of all external funding during the sampling period. The majority funding for INST and UR faculty were found to be in the STEM disciplines. These findings provide evidence of potential predictors to describe UR faculty mentor profiles and can be considered important information for determining future educational policies and practices.     

Environmental Education at Post-Secondary Levels in Canada

Abstract

Personal interviews with elementary teachers were conducted to identify and determine the relative importance of barriers to environmental education (EE) in Palouse-region public schools. Results indicated that lack of time (both in the school day and for preparation) was the most important barrier. Other important logistical barriers were lack of instructional materials and lack of funding. Conceptual barriers included a nearly exclusive focus on science and an emphasis on the cognitive aspects of EE. Another barrier stemmed from teachers' misgivings about their own competence to teach EE. Although teachers generally had positive attitudes toward EE, most lacked the commitment to actually teach EE. Recommendations for reducing these barriers are presented, as are specific recommendations for future research.     

The Influences of Faculty on Undergraduate Student Participation in Research and Creative Activities

Using data collected from surveys of college juniors and seniors and faculty members in related academic departments, this study examined whether faculty teaching and research orientations, as well as faculty external funding, had any impact on undergraduate student participation in research and creative activities. The results of the study indicated that faculty research orientation and external funding were indeed positively related to student participation in research activities. However, faculty members’ teaching orientation was not significant. Further analyses indicated that faculty teaching and research orientations had different impacts on a range of research and creative activities by undergraduate students. The findings from this study provide insight on ways of improving college teaching and learning as well as informing the development of institutional academic policies related to faculty and undergraduate education. Shouping Hu is Associate Professor of Higher Education at Florida State University. He received his M.S. degree in Economics and Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University. His research and scholarship focus on college access and success, student engagement, and higher education policy. Kathyrine Scheuch is the Deputy Director of Research and Evaluation in the Division of Community Colleges, Florida Department of Education. She received her Ed.D. in Higher Education from Florida State University. Her research interests include undergraduate research activities and minority student issues. Joy Gaston Gayles is Associate Professor of Higher Education at North Carolina State University. She received her Ph.D. in Higher Education from Ohio State University. Her research interests include the college student experience and its impact on student development and learning.     

African American perspectives on racial disparities in child removals

BackgroundAfrican American children are overrepresented in foster care at twice to three times the rate of white children. Scholars argue that racism and oppression underlie disproportionality (Križ & Skivenes, 2011).ObjectiveThis study explored disproportionality as seen through the eyes of African American parents in the child welfare system. The aim was to understand why African American families are over-represented in child custody statistics and to improve family and parenting support for African American communities.Participants & SettingParticipants included twenty-one African Americans--12 women and 9 men, two of whom were foster parents and 19 of whom were parents involved with child welfare services. All participants reside in two impoverished areas in southern United States. Focus groups were used to collect data and were conducted at a community center.MethodsThe method of analysis was constant comparison analysis (Strauss) and thematic analysis of the focus group discussions in the context of institutional policy.FindingsSix themes (profound lack of trust; overwhelming trauma; severe and persistent poverty; health and mental health; socio-economic conditions; and sense of social isolation were identified, along with three participant suggestions to improve child welfare services (family support services, economic revival, and better communication).ConclusionsIn the current study we note the strong link between poverty, child maltreatment, and child removal and conclude with an exploration of practice and policy implications with recommendations for a way forward. The need for culturally competent and trauma informed child welfare services is also discussed.     

美国研究型大学国际化评估指标、策略及对我国的启示

2001年和2006年,美国教育委员会（ACE）先后两次对美国研究型大学的国际化现状进行了全国范围的问卷评估。评估内容涉及明确承诺、专业提供、组织架构、外部资金、大学对师资的投入、国际学生和学生项目等六个维度。评估报告总结了高度活跃的研究型大学的国际化策略选择,为活跃度低的研究型大学的工作改善提供了建议与借鉴。其评估指标具有以下特点：遵循分类指导的原则;内容指向学校的组织策略;体现了品质与绩效兼容并蓄的价值取向及对研究型大学国际化的改善功能。对我国大学国际化评估指标的构建具有启示作用。     

Educational cosmopolitanism and collaborative inquiry with Chinese and US teachers

ABSTRACT

As the world becomes more interconnected, educators have opportunities to collaborate across cultures. Using the theory of educational cosmopolitanism and the pedagogy of collaborative inquiry, this collective case study explores how Chinese and American teachers perceive the assets and challenges of conducting collaborative inquiry with their students across cultures, and how they collaboratively planned in order to conduct these inquiries. Results demonstrated both assets (i.e. promotion of global citizenship and interpersonal skills) and challenges (i.e. digital access and the need for sustainable external support). Additionally, results on how the teachers collaborated revealed the four dimensions of educational cosmopolitanism (i.e. hospitality, reflexivity, intercultural dialogue, and transactions of perspectives) were in play, although to varying degrees. The research sheds light on how educational cosmopolitanism holds promise as a potential theoretical lens for conducting collaborative inquiry with culturally and geographically diverse teachers and students.     

Facilitators and barriers to African American high school students' self-determination skill expression

We conducted four focus group interviews with 24 high school youth to examine facilitators and barriers to African American high school students' expression of various self-determination skills (e.g., choice/decision making, self-advocacy, goal setting, and attainment etc.). The majority of our research participants were African American, with one student identifying as multiracial (African American and White). Key findings revealed that personal (e.g., desire to graduate from school) and contextual factors (e.g., school counselor and teacher support) influenced the participants' expression of multiple self-determination skills. We also found that some of the participants' motives for utilizing or not utilizing specific skills were influenced by what they perceived as racist, punitive, and restrictive school practices (e.g., teachers holding negative perceptions about African American students and school counselors restricting their access to advanced courses). Findings from this study support ongoing calls for educators to consider students' cultural backgrounds and lived experiences when promoting their expression of self-determination skills.     

Extending classrooms through teacher collaboration in Virtual Learning Environments

ABSTRACT

This paper explores arrangements and conditions enabling and constraining teacher collaboration to extend classrooms through Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). It draws implications from a participatory action research project in three small, rural Finnish schools funded by the European Social Fund (2015–2017). Data were mainly collected through discussions and interviews with five teachers. The theory of practice architectures serves as a theoretical and analytical framework. The collaboration challenged and enabled cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements on three levels. On a classroom level, the VLE enabled new teaching practices (e.g., student collaboration, formative assessment). However, a lack of digital competence among teachers and students hindered the cross-classroom collaboration. On a school level, the school leaders enabled or constrained the arrangements depending on the provided support or lack thereof (e.g., schedules, faculty involvement). On a regional level, the infrastructure (e.g., transportation) for collaboration would require arrangements developed in dialogue with the schools (e.g., digital systems). The paper concludes that changing teaching practices in relation to VLEs requires slowly evolving previous and new architectures simultaneously on all three levels.     

Mentorship Efforts to Support Part-time Social Work Faculty Members

Social work faculty experience increasing demands to develop and maintain a research portfolio that includes external funding and publications. Given the increase in research expectations, more part-time instructors are needed to teach courses. In addition to the literature review, we briefly describe a pilot part-time faculty mentorship project developed by our school to build a strong, connected, and consistent part-time faculty team. However, we also wanted to examine mentorship programs at other schools/departments of social work; as a result, we conducted an exploratory research study with social work deans and directors nationwide. Findings suggested that while schools of social work are more likely to employ greater numbers of faculty overall, departments tend to have higher teaching expectations for full-time tenure-track faculty. Despite variability among responses, most schools and departments provide some form of support to part-time faculty members; a lack of resources was given as the primary reason for limited mentorship activities.     

Perinatal promotive and protective factors for women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect

BackgroundIntegrative research summarizing promotive and protective factors that reduce the effects of childhood abuse and neglect on pregnant women and their babies’ healthy functioning is needed.ObjectiveThis narrative systematic review synthesized the quantitative literature on protective and promotive factors that support maternal mental health and maternal-infant bonding among women exposed to childhood adversity, including childhood abuse and neglect.MethodsUsing a comprehensive list of key terms related to the perinatal period, childhood adversity, and protective/promotive factors, 8423 non-duplicated articles were identified through database searches in PsychInfo and Web of Science, and references in retrieved articles. Thirty-seven full text articles were inspected; of those 18 were included.ResultsProtective and promotive factors fell into three categories: a) women’s internal capacities (e.g., self-esteem, coping ability), b) external early resources (e.g., positive childhood experiences) and c) external contemporaneous resources (e.g., social support). Although all three categories were associated with more resilient outcomes, external contemporaneous factors, and specifically, social support, were the most commonly-studied protective and/or promotive factor. Social support from family and romantic partners during the perinatal period was particularly protective for women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect and was examined across several dimensions of support and contexts.ConclusionsThe presence of women’s internal capacities, and external early and contemporaneous resources help to foster more positive outcomes during the perinatal period for women with histories of childhood adversity. Future research should study co-occurring multilevel promotive and protective factors to inform how they integratively deter the intergenerational transmission of risk.     

Correlates of Work-Life Balance for Faculty Across Racial/Ethnic Groups

Very few studies have examined issues of work-life balance among faculty of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Utilizing data from Harvard University’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education project, this study examined predictors of work-life balance for 2953 faculty members from 69 institutions. The final sample consisted of 1059 (36%) Asian American faculty, 512 (17%) African American faculty, 359 (12%) Latina/o faculty, and 1023 (35%) White/Caucasian faculty. There were 1184 (40%) women faculty and 1769 (60%) men faculty. The predictors of worklife balance included faculty characteristics, departmental/institutional characteristics and support, and faculty satisfaction with work. While African American women faculty reported less work-life balance than African American men, the reverse was true for Latina/o faculty. In addition, White faculty who were single with no children were significantly less likely to report having work-life balance than their married counterparts with children. Faculty rank was a significant positive predictor of work-life balance for all faculty. Notably, the findings highlight the importance of department and institutional support for making personal/family obligations and an academic career compatible. Institutional support for making personal/family obligations and an academic career compatible was consistently the strongest positive predictor of perceived work-life balance for all faculty. In addition, satisfaction with time spent on research had positive associations with work-life balance for all faculty, highlighting how faculty from all racial/ethnic backgrounds value being able to spend enough time on their own research.     

Culturally Responsive Consultation Among Practicing School Psychologists

ABSTRACT

School-based consultation has garnered increasing attention relevant to culturally responsive practice in school psychology. Although prior research has investigated school psychologists’ experiences with supporting culturally diverse youth through school-based consultation, few studies have utilized an established framework to understand school psychologists’ experiences. We utilized specific components of Ingraham’s Multicultural School Consultation framework to examine fifteen school psychologists’ experiences with providing culturally responsive consultation. Constant comparative analysis revealed the various strategies used by practitioners to support culturally diverse students throughout the consultation process (e.g., involving multiple people in decision-making, using non-confrontational approaches to educate school personnel about cultural dynamics, providing messages of support and encouragement to diverse students and families) and the socio-contextual barriers to their practice (e.g., cultural minimization, lack of administrative support). Implications for research, training, and school-based practice are discussed.     

Transition from a teaching institution to a research institution: An African American female perspective

According to Mooney (1993), the proportion of tenured faculty has shrunk as the overall size of the professoriate has expanded. However, this expansion has not included African American and other faculty of color. Professional and personal isolation, lack of supportive collegiality, and unique challenges in establishing research records are among factors contributing to the shortage of African Americans initiated and accepted into the professoriate (Bowen & Schuster, 1986; Lopez, 1991; Sorcinelli & Billings, 1992). Consequently, the revolving door syndrome experienced by many faculty of color (Blackwell, 1988) is sustained by such factors. Additionally, according to Lagowski (1992) the requirements of a research culture are basically incompatible with the demands of undergraduate teaching (p. 42). This paper provides a review of the status of African American females in academe, describes career success at teaching and research institutions, presents dynamics of transition from teaching to research institutions, and offers coping strategies useful during transition.Myra Womble is an assistant professor of business education in the Department of Occupational Studies at the University of Georgia. She received her B.S. in Business Education; her M.A. in Vocational Education; and her Ed.D. in Training and Development. Dr. Womble's most recent research activities include examining career development and school-to-work transition issues relative to students economically, socially, and academically at-risk.     

A Program for Counseling and Campus Support Services for African American and Latino Adult Learners

This study describes counseling and support services for African American and Latino adult learners that reduce barriers to graduation. Procedures adapted traditional counseling by (a) using faculty counselors and (b) including gender‐, culture‐, and adult‐based perspectives in individual and group counseling and peer support. Support relevant to the learners' needs is effective in retaining adult learners, thereby making higher education accessible to a student body inclusive of adult learners.     

A National Analysis of Noncredit Community College Education: Enrollment,Funding, Accountability,and Contextual Issues

ABSTRACT

Noncredit community college enrollment accounts for approximately 40% of all enrollment in the two-year sector, or five million students (American Association of Community Colleges, 2016). Yet, this population is seldom discussed in the higher education literature due to inconsistent definitions, funding, and data reporting at the state level. Many of the structural elements (e.g., funding, enrollment) have not been documented recently or completely. This study used data from the 2015 Survey of Access and Finance Issues, administered annually to the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. The authors calculated noncredit enrollment by function and frequencies on funding mechanisms, funding by function, noncredit data reporting, and the measures captured at the state level. The study also employed polychoric and polyserial correlations examining the relationships among structural, contextual, and perspective-based items. This was done to capture the national landscape on this important community college function through the lens of state-level community college leaders.     

Role of Brokerage in Evolving Innovation Systems: A Case of the Fodder Innovation Project in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper looks at brokerage functions in a project on building innovation capacity through improved networking. Innovation capacity influences how actors respond to changes in their environments. In such dynamic environments well connected sets of actors are at an advantage in that they can combine skills to address the emerging opportunities and challenges. However, policy and cultural barriers especially in African innovation systems raise the transaction costs of networking leading to weak connectivity among actors thus poor innovation capacity. This paper uses case studies from West Africa to illustrate that actors that play brokerage functions are critical in navigating around or dismantling the barriers and thus enhance innovation capacity. This paper assumes that innovation capacity rather than innovations per se is lacking in African agriculture. The paper is a product of an action research based study of Key Partner Organizations and the coalitions of stakeholders they formed around fodder innovation themes in Nigeria. We show that brokerage negotiates innovation barriers and improve networking. The paper concludes that brokerage roles are context-specific; policies that facilitate eclectic brokerage functions are critical. This paper is shedding light on the broadened scope for actors playing boundary roles, e.g. extension organizations under more relaxed organizational and policy contexts. There are few studies on brokerage and boundary work particularly in African agriculture. This study is a grounded discussion on the brokering functions in African rural development. It uses data from similar programmes to qualify observations and conclusions from the Fodder Innovation Project (FIP) case study.     

Remembering the forgotten victims: Child-Related themes in domestic violence fatality reviews

BackgroundThe needs of children exposed to domestic violence have been historically overlooked. One way in which service provision for children exposed to this violence can be explored is through an examination of Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams (DVFRT's), who review cases of fatal domestic violence to identify possible areas for improvement.ObjectiveThis study explored key themes relative to children exposed to domestic violence and homicide published by DVFRT's in order to identify the services that exist for children exposed to domestic violence, barriers to providing these services, and recommendations for improvement.Participants and SettingThis study reviewed annual reports from three DVFRT jurisdictions with regular annual reports from 2004 to 2016.MethodsA generic thematic analysis was performed by the primary author, in consultation with the second author, in order to identify dominant themes present in the DVFRT annual reports. The analysis utilized a codebook that was created beforehand in order to capture pertinent information within the reports. Trustworthiness of the data was established through a consistent application and thorough reporting of the coding procedures.ResultsThe analysis highlighted key barriers to child-specific service provision among agencies involved (e.g., lack of professional training and public awareness), recommendations for enhanced intervention (e.g., enhanced child-specific services) and promising practices (e.g., policy and legislation development).ConclusionsThe three DVFRTs identified several gaps in service provision for children affected by fatal domestic violence that will require increased engagement and resources targeting these vulnerable children.     

A Synchronous Online Social Work PhD Program: Educational Design and Student/Faculty Response

ABSTRACT

Faculty and students evaluate the curriculum design and delivery of a synchronous online PhD program in social work that prepares scholar-practitioners in social work research, education, and organizational practice. The designers envision a collaborative community of scholars and leaders nurtured by a cohort-based, sequenced curriculum, and intentional faculty mentoring. This teaching and learning platform provides an opportunity to engage with a globally diverse population of doctoral students while fostering both relationships and quality learning outcomes. Educational design and pedagogical features of the program are described and analyzed through the collaborative thinking and learning platform of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model’s interdependent elements–teaching, cognitive, and social presence. Eighteen students and ten faculty evaluated the strengths and limitations of the online program across each dimension of the model through student course evaluations, focus-group reflections, and qualitative faculty survey data. Student and faculty respondents specified the benefits of synchronous presence across all three dimensions. They also identified significant barriers, particularly in the areas of teaching and social presence. Implications and recommendations are based on a review of findings that inform pedagogical decisions and design options for online PhD education in social work.     

African American Counselor Educators: Their Experiences,Challenges, and Recommendations

This study examined tie career experiences of African American counselor educators in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Results indicated that African American counselor educators perceived publishing, colleagues' racism, and lack of mentoring as major barriers to the attainment of promotion and tenure. Implications for future research are presented.