Neophyte Counselor Attire and College Student Perceptions of Expertness,Trustworthiness, and Attractiveness

Strong (1968) proposed that counseling can be viewed as a two-phase process. During the first phase, counselors use various techniques to enhance client perceptions of counselor expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. These perceptions result in influence-power and have an effect on outcome. According to Strong, clients use reputational, behavioral, and evidential cues to assess counselor credibility and attractiveness. Previous research has indicated, however, that counselor attire is not used as an evidential cue when counselors display expert verbal and nonverbal behavior. It was hypothesized that counselor attire is an evidential cue for expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness of the inexperienced neophyte counselor-in-training. To test this hypothesis college students participated in group counseling sessions with either a formally or informally attired neophyte counselor. It was found that the informally attired counselor was perceived as more expert, trustworthy, and helpful.     

Reading motivation,perceptions of reading instruction and reading amount: a comparison of junior and senior secondary students in Hong Kong

This study examined the relations between students' reading motivation, perceptions of reading instruction and reading amount, together with grade differences, in a Chinese educational context. A total of 1,146 students from 19 secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily responded to a questionnaire that measured these three sets of variables. The study's findings indicated that students' intrinsic motivation was most strongly related to their reading amount. Students' perceptions of the reading instruction they received in their Chinese language class were significantly related to their reading motivation, but were only indirectly related to their reading amount, being mediated through reading motivation. Consistent with previous studies, significant grade differences were found in all types of reading motivation, students' perceptions of reading instruction and students' reading amount. The findings indicated that junior secondary students had better self‐efficacy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and social motivation than senior secondary students. The largest grade difference was in students' self‐efficacy. Junior secondary students also perceived the reading instruction in their Chinese language class as more mastery‐oriented and read more frequently than senior secondary students. The implications of these findings for understanding Chinese students' reading motivation and for planning effective reading instruction to enhance their motivation are discussed.     

CUE SYSTEM UTILIZATIONS AMONG OLDER READERS

The effects of writing style upon mature older readers’ reading comprehension are considered. Two narrative historical selections, the first emotive and abstract and the second nonemotive and concrete, were employed. Miscue analysis was used to evaluate the efficiency with which each reader used reading strategies across the five systems that cue meaningful comprehension. Miscues were analyzed at the word, clause, sentence, and intersentence levels. In addition, interview schedules were employed to identify readers’ perceptions of preferred reading strategies and to permit a comparison with actual performance. The findings indicate that mature older readers are consistent in cue system utilization. A preference for the word cue system influenced both the use of cues from other systems and comprehension. Use of the word‐level cue system is inversely related to the use of the other available cue systems. Preference for cues within words also appears to be inversely related to comprehending effectiveness. The subjects’ perceptions of the reading process and their actual reading performance appeared to determine patterns of cue system use more clearly than did the differences in materials. As a result, those developing materials intended for use in programs with older persons should not only be concerned with the content and quality of those materials but also the skills and perceptions of those who will use the materials.     

Unionization and Perceived Control Among Community College Faculty

The research reported in this paper examined what role working in a union or nonunion college has in influencing faculty perceptions of control over their work. Using data from the 1993, 1999, and 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, this study explored the relative importance of variables in influencing perceived control among full-time teaching faculty in unionized and nonunionized community colleges. Union status was not found to be predictive of perceived control.     

Age and Sex Differences in Perceptions of Networks of Personal Relationships

In this study, 549 youths in the fourth grade, seventh grade, tenth grade, and college completed Network of Relationship Inventories assessing their perceptions of their relationships with significant others. The findings were largely consistent with 7 propositions derived from major theories of the developmental courses of personal relationships. In particular, mothers and fathers were seen as the most frequent providers of support in the fourth grade. Same-sex friends were perceived to be as supportive as parents in the seventh grade, and were the most frequent providers of support in the tenth grade. Romantic partners moved up in rank with age until college, where they, along with friends and mothers, received the highest ratings for support. Age differences were also observed in perceptions of relationships with grandparents, teachers, and siblings. Finally, age differences in perceived conflict, punishment, and relative power suggested that there was a peak in tension in parent-child relationships in early and middle adolescence. Discussion centers around the role various relationships are perceived as playing at different points in development.     

Mother-child interaction at age two years and perceived difficult temperament

The current study investigated a hypothesized link between early child temperament and later problem behavior. Early temperament was assessed at ages 6, 13, and 24 months via mother ratings on age-appropriate versions of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire. The 24-month form was developed in this study. Factor analyses of the questionnaire indicated a clear difficultness factor that was similar in content across all 3 ages. The 6-, 13-, and 24-month difficultness factors were correlated with home observation measures of mother-toddler interaction at age 24 months. Home observation indexes focused on situations where the mother tried to control the toddler's "trouble" behavior. Children rated by their mothers as difficult at 24 months were found to approach "mild trouble" more frequently than children perceived as easy or average. Furthermore, their mothers used intrusive control tactics more frequently than mothers of easy or average children. Analysis of behavior sequence variables showed that difficult children resisted their mothers' control attempts significantly more often than easy or average children, that is, had more conflict with the mothers. The 6- and 13-month difficultness scores predicted both the 2-year-old difficultness rating and the observed conflict indexes. It is suggested that the conflict observed in the interaction between the difficult 2-year-olds and their mothers is conceptually similar to the conflictual behavior characteristic of older, clinically referred, socially aggressive children and their mothers. Thus, the conflicted interactions found at age 2 years may represent an empirically based link between difficult infant temperament and the development of childhood problem behavior.     

The Role of Department Head in Australian Universities: changes and challenges

The role of the academic departmental head in Australian universities has been little explored. This article reports a study of the role by comparing key demographic data with a similar American‐based study, and examining the role in terms of personal, professional, and organisational variables, and their relationships with the generic measures of role‐conflict and role‐ambiguity. Results indicate differences in the role classified by gender, type of initial appointment, age and willingness to serve (among other variables), and on such dimensions as job satisfaction, work stress, role‐conflict and ambiguity, and publications record. Findings indicate a job where stress appears manageable, satisfaction is in short supply and maintaining an appropriate publications record is an ongoing pressure.     

A prospective investigation of teacher preference and children's perceptions of the student–teacher relationship

This study investigated teacher preference, the degree to which a teacher likes a specific student, as a predictor of students' perceptions of teacher preference as well as conflict and support in the student–teacher relationship. Child and teacher reports of teacher preference and child reports of conflict and support were provided in the fall and spring of one academic year. Participants included 1,104 fourth‐grade students in 10 schools. Results indicated that teacher preference predicted change in children's perceived teacher preference. In addition, lower levels of teacher preference directly predicted higher subsequent levels of conflict, but not support. Because teacher preference and children's perceptions of teacher preference were related, lower levels of teacher preference also indirectly predicted higher levels of conflict and lower levels of support. Discussion focuses on the implications of the findings from a dyadic systems conceptualization of student–teacher relationships. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Men Teachers in Public Elementary Schools

Abstract

This theoretical study examines teacher satisfaction, effectiveness, and conformity; it relates these variables to teachers' perceptions of the degree of bureaucratization within secondary schools and teachers' local or cosmopolitan orientation.

Seven hypotheses were formulated, and the data were interpreted on the basis of symmetric correlation, analysis of variance, and t-tests (one-tailed, .01 level).

The results indicated: cosmopolitans scored higher on satisfaction, effectiveness, and conformity variables than locals; locals who perceived low bureaucratization scored lowest on the three variables; the criterion variables were evaluated similarly by subjects within each subgroup; cosmopolitans who perceived high bureaucratization received highest scores; the degree to which bureaucratic elements were perceived varied greatly within each school; teachers tend to be more cosmopolitan than local.     

Stress and Burnout in Teachers

The purpose of this study was to determine causes of, and differences in, stress and burnout in 405 middle, upper, high school and sixth form college teachers in one Local Education Authority in England. Stress and bumout were generally low, but individual, e.g. locus of control, stability of personality; environmental, e.g. too much work, taking extra‐curricular activities, taking work home to do more often; and psychological, e.g. role conflict, role ambiguity; variables correlated with stress and burnout. Multiple regression analyses showed that high anxiety, spending more hours on work at home each time it was taken home and high role conflict collectively predicted stress, and high anxiety and high role conflict collectively predicted bumout. Role conflict, locus of control, stability of personality and anxiety were among the variables that accounted for significant differences in stress and bumout. There were no significant differences between headteachers and subject teachers or men and women on stress or bumout. Results indicated that although individual stress and burnout management is important, elimination of stress and burnout will not be possible without action to reduce/ eliminate environmental Stressors. Further studies could include case studies of a particular school, or studies of stress in students to determine whether it is possible to anticipate who is more likely to experience stress and burnout.     

An eye tracking comparison of external pointing cues and internal continuous cues in learning with complex animations

Two experiments used eye tracking to investigate a novel cueing approach for directing learner attention to low salience, high relevance aspects of a complex animation. In the first experiment, comprehension of a piano mechanism animation containing spreading-colour cues was compared with comprehension obtained with arrow cues or no cues. Eye tracking data revealed differences in learner attention patterns between the different experimental conditions. The second experiment used eye tracking with synchronized and non-synchronized cues to investigate the role of dynamic direction of attention in cueing effectiveness. Results of Experiment 1 showed that spreading-colour cues resulted in better targeting of attention to thematically relevant aspects and in higher comprehension scores than arrow cues or no cues. For Experiment 2, superior comprehension after the synchronized version together with eye tracking data indicated that cue effectiveness depended on attention direction being spatially and temporally coordinated with onsets of animation events having high thematic relevance to the learning task. The findings suggest the importance of perceptual cues and bottom-up processing.     

A multilevel analysis of student perceptions of school climate: The effect of social and academic risk factors

This multilevel study examines the extent to which individual‐ and school‐level variables are predictive of three aspects of students' perceived school climate (order, safety, and discipline; fairness and clarity of school rules; and teacher‐student relationship) by using a nationally representative sample. A wide range of social and academic risk factors at the individual level are examined. The results show that individual‐level predictors, such as having behavior problems at school, being held back a grade, coming from a single‐parent family, parents' education level, gender, and ethnicity (e.g., Hispanic and Asian), play a significant role in student perceptions of school climate. The results suggest that these relationships between the individual‐level predictors and students' perceived school climate are fairly robust across schools. School‐level variables, such as attending a private or a Catholic school, are also significant predictors of students' perceived climate. Furthermore, the study reveals significant interaction effects among the predictors and provides more accurate interpretations of the findings. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

GRE candidates' perceptions of the importance of graduate admission factors

This study examines the perceptions of a representative sample of GRE test takers who were asked to indicate their views of the importance of eight widely considered factors in graduate admissions. Overall, candidates perceived undergraduate grades as the most important factor in graduate admissions. Recommendations and one's undergraduate field were rated as somewhat less important than undergraduate grades, and GRE Aptitude Test scores were rated even less important. GRE Advanced (Subject) Test scores were perceived as considerably less important than any other factor. Analyses by subgroup revealed that candidates' perceptions differed markedly according to the graduate field they intended to enter. Perceptions also differed by ethnic group (blacks versus whites) but not by sex or age.     

Role stressors,engagement and work behaviours: a study of higher education professional staff

The study used data provided by 349 professional staff employees from 17 different US higher education institutions to assess aspects of their working conditions that could influence their own work engagement and the work-related behaviours of their colleagues. Relationships among three role stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload), work engagement, organisational citizenship behaviours, and in-role behaviours were examined using correlation, regression and relative weight analyses. The higher participants’ perceptions of role ambiguity, conflict and overload, the lower were the levels of their own work engagement and organizational citizenship and in-role behaviours of their colleagues. Work engagement partially mediated the relationships between role ambiguity, conflict and overload and both organizational citizenship and in-role behaviours. The analysis indicated that role ambiguity had the strongest relationship with work engagement, organisational citizenship and in-role behaviours, followed by role conflict and then by role overload. Practical implications are discussed and managerial interventions suggested.     

Conflict and Ambiguity over Work Roles: The Impact on Child Care Worker Burnout

This study looks at the child care workplace from the viewpoints of occupational stress and social support as they relate to staff burnout. Subjects included 188 child care workers from licensed child care centers in predominantly rural areas of Pennsylvania. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the contribution of work role conflict and work role ambiguity (two forms of occupational stress) to predictions of three facets of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment). In addition, the buffering effect of social support on the relationship between these variables was assessed. The results show that both work role conflict and work role ambiguity predict a significant portion of the variance in all three facets of burnout. In addition, support is provided for the hypothesis that social support buffers the effect of work role conflict and work role ambiguity on perceived emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The results are discussed in terms of changes that could be made to improve child care as an adult work environment.     

The mediating role of teacher self-efficacy in the relation between teacher–child race mismatch and conflict

The far-reaching impacts of the teacher–child relationship, including academic achievement and social/behavioral adjustment, have been well-documented. At the same time, literature also suggests that teacher perceptions of teacher–child relationships are impacted by the race/ethnicity match or mismatch between teacher and child, with matching related to more positive teacher perceptions. However, limited work has focused on children who are at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) or tested the mechanisms that mediate the relation between a mismatch in the race and teacher-perceived conflict. Thus, the current study used multilevel structural equation modeling to test whether a higher proportion of race mismatch between children in the classroom with problem behavior and teachers was related to teachers' classroom management self-efficacy and, in turn, teacher-perceived conflict with children among 148 teachers and 354 preschool-aged children. Results indicated that among students most at-risk for EBDs, a higher proportion of race mismatch between teachers and children significantly predicted less teacher classroom management self-efficacy and, in turn, significantly predicted teachers' greater perceived conflict with children. Furthermore, this mediation pathway was significant. Findings highlight the importance of teacher training and support that focused on increasing self-efficacy to improve relationships between teachers and children.     

The bibles of the research scientist

Considerable attention has been focused on the relationship between nonverbal communication behavior and student perceptions of the teacher. One important observation is that teachers frequently emit nonverbal messages that contradict their verbal ones, but the effects of this modal discrepancy are not well understood. In the present study, vocal cues are isolated as the nonverbal behavior for study. The interaction of vocal cues and verbal messages is examined with respect to its impact on teacher credibility. The results indicate that the students’ perceptions of sociability are influenced by perceived discrepancy between words and attitudes. Perception of competence, on the other hand, appears to be dependent on positive vocal cues.     

Conflict and Ambiguity over Work Roles: The Impact on Child Care Worker Burnout

This study looks at the child care workplace from the viewpoints of occupational stress and social support as they relate to staff burnout. Subjects included 188 child care workers from licensed child care centers in predominantly rural areas of Pennsylvania. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the contribution of work role conflict and work role ambiguity (two forms of occupational stress) to predictions of three facets of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment). In addition, the buffering effect of social support on the relationship between these variables was assessed. The results show that both work role conflict and work role ambiguity predict a significant portion of the variance in all three facets of burnout. In addition, support is provided for the hypothesis that social support buffers the effect of work role conflict and work role ambiguity on perceived emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The results are discussed in terms of changes that could be made to improve child care as an adult work environment.     

Context Cues in Early Reading

An investigation was carried out to examine any significant differences in the use of four types of context cues by good and poor readers in the early stages of their reading development. Sentences incorporating proactive and retroactive syntactic, and proactive and retroactive semantic cues were presented in the form of deletions at three levels of difficulty. Sixty-four subjects, 32 of each sex, were drawn equally from the six to seven and seven to eight year age levels and subdivided into groups of good and poor readers. Results indicated that all groups other than the youngest poor readers found the proactive semantic cues the most useful and made miscues displaying semantic associations across cue types. Implications for an understanding of strategies employed in early reading and approaches for instruction are discussed.     

Ageism and Gender among Social Work and Criminal Justice Students

Undergraduate sociatl work and criminal justice students completed 1 of 4 vignettes that were identical with the exception of the age and gender of the vignette's subject. In each vignette, the subject interacted with an opposite-sex 24-year-old waiter or waitress. Following each vignette, respondents answered 20 items relating to the age, gender, and perceived sexual behavior of the vignette's subject. The multivariate general linear model was significant (F = 174.572, p = .000) by the Wilk's Lambda Criterion. Tests of between-subjects effects yielded 17 significant item variables that focused on perceptions of the age appropriateness of the behaviors, perceptions of the sexual behaviors of the vignette's characters, perceptions of the affability of the vignette's characters, perceptions of characters being lonely, perceptions regarding the waiter's/waitress' financial gain/incentive, and perceptions of social acceptance for the vignette's main character and his/her affiliation with the younger service person. The findings suggest that male characters were perceived as sexually interested more often than female characters. Older characters are more likely to be perceived as nonsexual, particularly older women. Sexual behaviors in older characters were perceived as a gender transgression. While perceptions may be negative surrounding older males who engage in sexual behaviors, judgments appear harsher for older women.