Competent Consultation: Developing Self-Efficacy for Process and Problem Aspects of Consultation

ABSTRACT

Using samples of novice and advanced consultants in training (CITs), this study explored the development of consultation self-efficacy (CSE) for both process-oriented and problem-oriented aspects of consultation. Regardless of experience level, self-efficacy in both domains increased with training. However, significantly greater gains were made by novice CITs as compared to their advanced counterparts. In addition, feedback collected from consultees was generally favorable, and consultants received high ratings on items that reflected both process- and problem-focused skills. Implications for consultation training are discussed.     

Traditional Assessment,Consultation, and Intervention Practices: Urban School Psychologists' Use,Importance, and Competence Ratings

This article examines the practices of school psychologists who work within an urban school district. Participants (N = 86) rated 20 specific practices on their current use, their importance, and their level of competence. Overall the school psychologists rated their involvement in traditional assessment activities as significantly more common than consultation/collaboration and prevention/intervention; however, they indicated consultation and prevention/intervention activities as significantly more valued than traditional assessment practices. Participants also noted prevention, intervention, and functional assessment as their top priorities for professional development. Thus, a practice gap was noted with regard to what this group of school psychologists' value and what they do. Results are discussed within the context of current educational reform initiatives.     

Consultation Training Program for School Counselors

In order to increase counselors' effectiveness in cooperative and systemic approaches to problem solving, a large school district offered an in-service consultation program. Two successive training designs were piloted and evaluated. Evaluation of the first training model led to a shortened, revised model that was more efficient and as highly rated by counselor trainees as the earlier, lengthier model. This training program was associated with significant increases in counselor collaboration with faculty and staff. Several recommendations are proposed for further improvements in the training design.     

远程学习者自我效能感探析

基于文献分析法,对远程学习者的自我效能感进行了定位,分析了影响远程学习者自我效能感的内源性因素和外源性因素。针对内源性影响因素,可以增加学习者远程学习的成功体验、替代性经验和正确的归因训练等;针对外源性影响因素,可以建立全面的远程教育激励机制、评价机制和学习支持等。这样可以全方位培养和提高远程学习者的自我效能感。     

沈阳地区初中生英语自我效能感测量工具的编制

以588名初中生学生为被试,检验了自编的《初中生英语自我效能感问卷》,同时考察了初中生英语自我效能感的特点。结果显示:该问卷具有很好的信效度指标;可以用来作为初中生英语自我效能感的测量工具。     

Specificity of Reading Self-Efficacy Among Primary School Children

We investigated the specificity of reading self-efficacy among second- to fifth-grade children in Finland (N?=?1,327). Bandura (1997 Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman. [Google Scholar]) theorized that efficacy beliefs can be assessed at different levels of specificity; however, empirical support for this view is scarce among young children. Efficacy beliefs targeting reading-related activities were assessed at three specificity levels (general, intermediate, and specific). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that these specificity levels are separable, but correlated, and the structure was invariant across gender and grade level. Self-efficacy factors were positively associated with reading fluency, but the strength of these associations varied according to specificity level. Findings suggest that reading self-efficacy in primary grades can and should be assessed at different specificity levels according to research aims.     

高中生父母教养方式对一般自我效能感的影响

为进一步探明高中生一般自我效能感的发展特点及高中生父母教养方式对一般自我效能感的影响,该研究采用分层整群抽样法从渭南市两所中学共抽取855人进行了《一般自我效能感量表》和《父母教养方式量表》的施测,通过对数据的统计分析,结果表明:(1)高中生一般自我效能感的发展处于中等水平且个体间差异较大;(2)不同性别、不同学校类型、不同生源地及是否独生子的高中生一般自我效能感水平差异显著,而不同年级之间差异不显著;(3)一般自我效能感水平高分组和低分组的高中生父母教养方式在多个维度存在显著差异;(4)父亲情感温暖、理解维度和母亲过分干涉、过度保护维度正向预测一般自我效能感,且联合解释变异量达9.9%。     

School Consultation to Counter Stereotype Threat

ABSTRACT

Perceptions teachers have regarding their students are associated with their students’ school performance. Similarly, students’ psychoeducational and psychosocial functioning are partly shaped by their beliefs about teachers’ opinions of them. Psychoeducational performance and psychosocial interactions are linked with perceived stereotype threats. Stereotype threat refers to how a person’s fear or anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype associated with being a member of a stigmatized group undermines their performance in evaluative contexts. This work offers a theoretical and practical prevention and intervention teaching and learning framework to ameliorate stereotype threat. We describe the stereotype threat interruption model (STIM) as a consultation model that delineates stereotype threat and provides teacher-focused, student-centered, and environment-applied consultation strategies to abrogate its effects. STIM is applicable in graduate training and in the professional environment. It highlights a prevention science teaching and learning framework that proactively encourages healthy student development and efficient consultation services.     

Elementary School Teachers' Sense of Efficacy for Character Education

Abstract

In this study, the authors describe the efficacy beliefs of practicing elementary school teachers regarding character education. The Character Education Efficacy Belief Instrument, developed and validated by the authors, was completed by a sample of 254 elementary school teachers in a large midwestern suburban school district. The results suggest that elementary school teachers feel efficacious about most aspects of character education and that teachers who earned their undergraduate degrees from private, religiously affiliated universities have a greater sense of efficacy for character education. Further research into the nature and effectiveness of programs that exist in private, religiously affiliated institutions may suggest methods for developing teachers' abilities to provide character education in schools.     

The School Counselor Alumni Peer Consultation Group

School counseling literature indicates that school counselors experience isolation and frustration and that partnership projects between counselors and counselor educators are potentially valuable. The author describes the school counselor alumni peer consultation group, which provides (a) support and networking opportunities for new counselors and (b) a forum for studying counseling issues and for developing strategies to solve problems. This innovative strategy for professional development and collaboration has implications both for counselor educators and for school counselors.     

Examining School Psychologists' and Teachers' Application of Approaches Within a Response to Intervention Framework

Approaches consistent with a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework are becoming increasingly prominent. The present study is a preliminary investigation aimed at gaining a greater understanding of educators' knowledge of RTI and application of RTI principles. It serves as the first step toward understanding educators' preparation to implement these mandated changes. Educators (308) completed an online study to assess their knowledge of tasks inherent in RTI procedures. Respondents were asked to rate their familiarity with RTI principles. Then, respondents were asked to interpret graphical data that were consistent with RTI screening and progress monitoring approaches. Overall, results indicated that the majority of educators perceived themselves as having the knowledge to implement RTI practices. However, when asked to apply RTI-consistent principles, not all were successful. Specifically, school psychologists were better at interpreting and making decisions based on graphical data relative to general and special education teachers. There may be a disconnect between the expectations inherent in an RTI model and teachers' ability to meet these expectations. School psychologists may be positioned to support teachers in this area. The implications of these results for implementing RTI practices and developing professional development programs for general and special educators in elementary schools are discussed.     

Teleconsultation: Application to Provision of Consultation Services for School Consultants

ABSTRACT

In this article, we provide critical information on previous research and offer recommendations for establishing and implementing teleconsultation services within a school setting. Specifically, we review (a) the history behind teleconsultation, (b) previous applications of technology and teleconsultation within the school setting, (c) recommended equipment for completing teleconsultation, (d) previously identified benefits of using teleconsultation, (e) previously identified concerns regarding the use of teleconsultation, and (f) the best practices for providing teleconsultation services. Important considerations from current research in the area of teleconsultation are highlighted.     

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.     

Sense of School Community for Preschool Teachers Serving At-Risk Children

Research Findings: Challenging the development of high-quality preschool education is the instability of the preschool teacher workforce, blamed in part on workplace conditions including isolationism, perceived lack of career reward, and lack of preparation. Little attention has been given to whether a preschool's organizational climate can mitigate these challenges, despite demonstrated workplace climate effects on teachers' attitudes, commitment, and practices in kindergarten–Grade 12 teachers. This study investigated preschool teachers' perceptions of a positive workplace climate (i.e., sense of school community); predictors of these perceptions (teacher qualifications and organizational features); and relationships among teachers' sense of community, classroom teaching quality, and attitudes toward teaching in a sample of 68 preschool teachers serving at-risk 4-year-olds. Overall, teachers provided high ratings for their sense of school community, although moderate interprogram variability and moderately large to large intraprogram variability existed. Teacher qualifications and preschool affiliation did not predict teachers' sense of community, but preschool size predicted perceptions of collegial support. Perception of collegial support and program influence was significantly related to positive attitudes toward teaching; only perceptions of program influence were related to classroom quality. Practice or Policy: We discuss the potentially important role of work environment in bolstering the quality and stability of the preschool teacher workforce.     

学校归属感研究述评

学校归属感是学生对学校的认同和投入,体现了学生对自己学校生活的评价和体验。研究者们从不同角度探讨了学校归属感的概念、结构、测量及影响因素等。然而,已有研究依然存在许多问题：概念不清,性质不确定;研究对象范围有待扩展;测量工具信度不高,结构混乱;形成及作用机制有待深入研究。     

论中学生语感的培养

语感是人们对语言的直觉 ,有良好的语感的人 ,能快速准确地理解别人的语言 ,表达自己的思想情感。培养学生高层次的语感是当今语文教学的关键。可以从丰富生活体验 ,扩大语言实践 ;强化语境概念 ,联系语境培养语感 ;加强诵读训练 ,增加词语积累 ;学习语言知识 ,增加文化修养 ,提高语感层次 ;联系思维训练 ,提高语感水平等五个方面来培养学生的语感     

Consultation for Gifted Hispanic Students: 21st-Century Public School Practice

The authors offer a consultation approach that grew from a review of literature on the differential participation rates of various U.S. demographic groups in programs for gifted and talented children and from two small evaluation studies of consultation efforts to increase the number of Latino English language learners in gifted and talented education (GATE) programs. The authors suggest the efficacy of combining consultation models (i.e., administrative, case, and conjoint behavioral consultation) to achieve greater equity in the identification of Latinos for GATE programs. The apparent link between family factors, especially socioeconomic status, and participation in GATE suggests the efficacy of using findings from consultation research to implement programs in public schools that support the exceptional success of diverse young people.     

Entry Strategies in School Consultation (Book)

In this analogue study, which builds upon our previous research on confrontation in consultation, we investigated the relation of type of confrontation (direct or indirect) and the stage of consultation (entry, diagnosis, implementation, and disengagement) in which confrontation occurs on consultees' perceptions of the use of confrontation. Thirty-eight graduate trainees in consultation viewed and then rated the consultant's use of confrontation in 8 videotaped scenarios of a consultative interaction representing combinations of the independent variables. Participants rated each scenario on a scale containing 9 dimensions of consultant effectiveness. The results indicated that, as predicted, direct confrontation was rated as more effective in the disengagement stage of consultation, and indirect confrontation was rated significantly higher in the entry stage. However, direct confrontation was not rated as more effective for the diagnosis and implementation stages of consultation. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of effective practices and suggestions for future research initiatives.     

School Counselor Consultation Preparation: A National Study

The authors examined trends in school counselor consultation preparation using data collected from 238 program websites, 73 program survey responses, and 57 syllabi. The results indicated an emphasis on consultation content related to theories, stakeholders, and topics, rather than experiential practice. The findings suggest a need to incorporate and assess more application-specific consultation activities and assignments.