EXPERIENCE OF RETIREMENT By Robert S. Weiss

A survey was conducted in the 1989‐1990 academic year of 421 American Psychological Association (APA) approved programs offering graduate study at the doctoral level in psychology and associated fields. The purpose was to provide continuing documentation of opportunities for doctoral training in adult development and aging. Results were compared to similar surveys conducted in 1975 and 1984. From 1975‐1984 there was dramatic growth in programs offering specialized training in adult development and aging. For the 1984‐1990 time period, growth proceeded at a much slower rate. Additional survey results indicate that most programs offering specialized training in adult development and aging are located in developmental psychology programs in general psychology departments. In addition, respondents were asked to provide information about opportunities for professional experiences offered doctoral students specializing in adult development and aging. Approximately 50% of programs with specialized doctoral training offer students some combination of teaching, research, or practicum/internship experiences. The need for continued growth in programs offering doctoral students specialized training in adult development and aging is discussed.     

GRADUATE TRAINING IN EDUCATION AND AGING: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY; PART 1

The graduate departments of adult education at 88 universities in the United States were surveyed for information pertinent to their programs in and about aging. Results show that 55% of the departments offer no courses dealing exclusively with education and aging. Only one department offers a program concentration per se in educational gerontology. Those adult education academic programs that have a seeming interest in education and aging typically offer only an isolated course or two. Much needs to be done if adult education programs are to begin preparing people to meet the learning needs of older adults.     

DOCTORAL TRAINING IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING

The report on the “Older Boulder” Conference contained a number of recommendations for doctoral specializations in the psychology of adult development and aging. The current status of specializations was assessed by a survey of 361 psychology‐related doctoral units in the United States. There has been a clear increase from 1975 to 1984 in the number (and a qualified increase in the percentage) of psychology‐related academic units with specializations in adult development and aging. Specializations in adult development and aging are most frequently located in developmental programs in general psychology departments. Developmental psychology is the area most frequently offered for integration with a specialization in adult development and aging. Among academic units with specializations, 41% provide teaching assistantships, 56% provide research assistantships, and 46% offer internship/practicum experiences pertaining to adult development and aging. It was suggested that academic units expand opportunities for integrating adult development and aging with the clinical, community, counseling, engineering, neurological, educational, and industrial/organizational areas     

Relationships between colleague ratings and faculty compensation

Rankings of graduate and professional programs have become commonplace since Cartter's study for the American Council on Education was published in 1966. Much of the research up to the present has focused on discovering proxy variables, such as departmental size, which correspond to departmental ratings, as well as observing how the ratings of departments change over time. This study examines the relationship between the peer ratings reported by Roose and Andersen in 1970 and resource allocation patterns, represented by average salary figures, among fifty major American universities. It also shows the relationship of these ratings and other resource allocation measures within one of the fifty institutions. Results indicate that among the fifty universities, average salaries are higher at the highly rated institutions than at the lower rated ones, with senior professors being the chief beneficiaries of the higher wage scales. Similarly, within one institution the senior professors of higher ranked departments are better paid, compared to their junior colleagues, than those of lower rated departments. The higher rated departments share commonalities as to proportion of senior professors and teaching load assignments as well. Both across and within universities, departments found to be prestigious by Roose and Andersen do tend to exhibit common characteristics concerning resource allocation procedures.Presented at the Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Houston, Texas, May 1978.     

The Future of Educational Psychology and the Content of the Graduate Program in Educational Psychology

Leaders in educational psychology are pointing out increasing opportunities for careers in educational psychology or in education-related work in universities and other settings. A program of graduate education in educational psychology is essential for preparing the current generation of graduate students for these careers. This article presents a procedure for determining the content of local graduate programs and suggests the desirability of identifying a common core of content to be included in all graduate programs. The future of educational psychology is assumed to depend on how well educational psychologists are prepared.     

Development and validation of ageist myths in a psychotherapy questionnaire (AMPQ): professional ageism among psychology graduate students

ABSTRACT

Ageism is a problem in aging societies. Clinical psychologists and undergraduate psychology students have shown negative attitudes toward older adults. However, no speci?c measure against ageist myths in the psychotherapeutic context is available. This study aims to develop and present the psychometric properties of the Ageist Myths about Psychotherapy Questionnaire (AMPQ).

These issues were examined by surveying 222 psychology graduates at higher education institutions about their attitudes and behaviors concerning psychotherapy with older adults, negative stereotypes toward aging, and attitudes toward dementia.

Using principal components analysis, 10 items were retained and one factor was obtained with an acceptable reliability index. Signi?cant associations were found between the AMPQ and negative stereotypes toward aging, and attitudes toward dementia.

Results revealed that universities and colleges with psychology programs have an ageist bias. Implications for college formation in aging, and older adults with mental health problems, are discussed and presented.     

Institutional factors in time to the doctorate

The aim of this study was to delineate departmental differences in the length of time that doctoral students take to receive their degrees and the institutional characteristics linked with it. Variables describing graduate departments in three disciplines (chemistry, English, and psychology) and their parent universities were obtained from available records. In analyses of departments in each discipline, a relatively small set of institutional variables correlated with average time to the doctorate for the department, after controlling for characteristics of students in the department, and these relationships differed from discipline to discipline. The clearest and most extensive findings emerged for psychology: the institutional variables identified primarily concerned faculty accessibility (student/faculty ratio and department size)—a longer time to the doctorate for departments with many students per faculty member or many students.     

School psychology graduate education retention research characteristics: Implications for diversity initiatives in the profession

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the school psychology workforce has been a concern since the profession's inception. One solution is to graduate more racially and ethnically diverse individuals from school psychology programs. This structured review explored the characteristics of studies published from 1994 to 2017 that investigated graduate student retention and school psychology. An electronic search that included specified databases, subject terms, and study inclusion criteria along with a manual search of 10 school psychology journals yielded two published, peer‐reviewed studies focused primarily on graduate student retention and school psychology over the 23‐year span. Two researchers coded the studies using a rigorous coding process with high inter‐rater reliability. Findings suggest that mostly Black and White individuals served as participants, undergraduate students represented the largest group sampled, and key school psychology stakeholders’ views were missing. Additionally, programs interested in retaining racially and ethnically diverse students should have a commitment to multicultural issues, expose students to diverse professional networks and mentorship, and cultivate an inclusive program environment. Implications point to a need for more studies focused on school psychology graduate student retention in general and in specific relation to retaining racial and ethnic minoritized students.     

CORRESPONDENCE INSTRUCTION FOR THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTITIONERS IN THE FIELD OF AGING

Institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada are demonstrating an increasing interest in the field of social gerontology. However, many practitioners already working in the field find it difficult, if not impossible, to enter “full‐time” formal programs of graduate study. Correspondence instruction could prove to be one of the most effective means of providing educational opportunities about aging to individuals either working or contemplating working with the aged. This paper summarizes the results of a study conducted to determine what is available in the field of aging through correspondence instruction at accredited institutions in the United States and Canada. There were 85 institutions offering correspondence instruction surveyed; 51 of these institutions (60%) offer correspondence instruction courses that are related, in one way or another, to the field of aging. A total of 99 aging or aging‐related correspbndence courses are identified.     

School psychology trainers' identification of current stressors in the work lives of urban practitioners. A comparison study

The focus of this study is to investigate school psychology trainers' identification of current stressors in the work lives of practitioners. Surveys rating 40 stressors on a Likert‐type scale were completed by 161 school psychology graduate faculty, members of the School Psychology Educators Council of New York State. Survey results were compared to the job‐related stressors identified by New York City Psychologists using an almost identical questionnaire. While there appears to be general agreement between faculty trainers and practitioners on the identification and relative ranking of work‐related stress, the faculty trainers consider those events to be more stressful than do the practitioners. Faculty's recognition of the environmental forces that negatively impact upon the experience of school psychologists should provide impetus for the development of graduate programs that address stress prevention and/or coping strategies. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

GERONTOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES IN ACADEMIC PROGRAMS IN HOME ECONOMICS IN THE UNITED STATES

Some 360 home economics units throughout the U.S. were surveyed in an effort to obtain information concerning the extent to which gerontology has been incorporated into home economics programs. Looked at were such factors as number of courses taught with geron‐tological content, number of qualified instructors and their respective academic backgrounds, and the number of active research programs in which gerontology is a focus. Of the 164 respondents, 141 (86%) reportedly offer academic courses with some gerontological content. Approximately one‐half of the responding institutions offer graduate programs and about 60% were state supported. Eighty‐five of the respondents have at least one faculty member with a minimum of gerontology background, and a total of 57 active research endeavors were listed. Results indicate that gerontology and its related areas are being taught to a large extent in'home economics programs. The diverse nature of gerontology and its applicability to home economics are discussed.     

Problematic students of NASP‐approved programs: An exploratory study of graduate student views

This study reports the findings of an electronic exploratory survey of National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Student Representatives. The purpose of the survey was to gather information about the perspective of graduate students concerning problematic peers and their experiences with them in school psychology training programs. Findings suggest that (a) students are unsure whether or not their training programs have an official procedure in place for dealing with problematic students; (b) the problems they observe most commonly involve poor interpersonal skills; (c) consistent with other mental health programs, school psychology graduate students most often talk with their peers or avoid contact with the problematic peer when they have concerns rather than go to faculty; (d) the majority (49.4%) of the respondents feel that faculty or training directors have the most responsibility for the identification of problematic peers but that students have an ethical duty to provide information to the teaching staff if they feel they have a reason to believe there is a problem of which the faculty is unaware. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A National Survey of Counselor Education Departments: Course Offerings on Marriage and Family

In this article the authors summarize information gathered in a national survey of the course offerings and programs in marriage and family counseling offered by 244 counselor education departments. Approximately two-thirds of those departments offered such courses, which typically included: family counseling, family counseling practicum, human sexuality, family theory, couples counseling, and marriage and family dynamics. Approximately 90% of the departments supported marriage and family course offerings in counselor education departments. Implications for programming in marriage and family counseling are discussed.     

Mixed methods research in school psychology: A mixed methods investigation of trends in the literature

This article illustrates the utility of mixed methods research (i.e., combining quantitative and qualitative techniques) to the field of school psychology. First, the use of mixed methods approaches in school psychology practice is discussed. Second, the mixed methods research process is described in terms of school psychology research. Third, the current state of affairs with respect to mixed methods designs in school psychology research is illustrated through a mixed methods analysis of the types of empirical studies published in the four leading school psychology journals between 2001 and 2005. Only 13.7% of these studies were classified as representing mixed methods research. We conclude that this relatively small proportion likely reflects the fact that only 3.5% of graduate‐level school psychology programs appear to require that students enroll in one or more qualitative and/or mixed methods research courses, and only 19.3% appear to offer one or more qualitative courses as an elective. Finally, the utility of mixed methods research is illustrated by critiquing select monomethod (i.e., qualitative or quantitative) and mixed methods studies conducted on the increasingly important topic of bullying. We demonstrate how using mixed methods techniques results in richer data being collected, leading to a greater understanding of underlying phenomena. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Intervention research productivity from 2005 to 2014: Faculty and university representation in school psychology journals

The purpose of this study was to identify authors and training programs making the most frequent contributions to intervention research published in six school psychology journals (School Psychology Review, School Psychology Quarterly, Journal of School Psychology, Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology International, and Journal of Applied School Psychology) over the 10‐year period from 2005 to 2014. A total of 310 articles were identified as intervention articles; 919 unique authors, representing 289 universities or organizations, contributed to these publications. Top‐ranked authors and universities were identified based on authorship rating and total publications, respectively. This evaluation highlights key contributors to the primary intervention research in school psychology, as well as themes of the publications of top‐ranked individuals and programs.     

Graduate student cohort data for individual advising and resource allocation

Data of use to students in making plans concerning entry into graduate programs are also likely to be of use to administrators faced with resource allocation decisions. Included are such relatively available data as the percent of students entering a degree program who emerge with degrees, average length of time between entrance to the University and receipt of a graduate degree, and the extent to which sex differences exist in terms of degree completion rate or time required to complete a graduate degree. Average length of time to a degree can be useful in making individual plans and in comparing departments in the efficiency with which they produce degree holders. If these data are available for all degree holders, they allow the individual to make plans for his education and could allow him to compare departments in different universities. If such data are augmented to include all semesters of registration, by those who do not earn degrees as well as those who do, they can be used to yield efficiency indices. Combined with cost data, they can yield figures on the relative costs of the degrees awarded by departments within an institution. The present report summarizes a set of data designed to cast light on the comparative performance of the academic departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the production of graduate degrees and focuses on the methodology involved in developing statistical reports useful for such purposes.Paper presented at the Fifty-Ninth Annual Meeting of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Los Angeles, California, April, 1973.     

No Downturn Here: Tracking E‐business Programs in Higher Education*

As the fortunes of e‐businesses fluctuate, what is the state of e‐business educational offerings? The present study attempted to explore this question by investigating the number and nature of e‐business programs available in colleges and universities. Results were compared to previously published findings on e‐business education. Data were collected from program web sites. Master's and bachelor's degree programs based in North America and elsewhere in the world were examined. Despite the “dot‐bomb” economy, the present data suggested large increases in all foreign and North American bachelor's programs between the start of the fall semester of 2000 and November 2001. The number of North American master's programs appeared to increase dramatically during the year 2000 and at a lesser rate afterward. Findings also suggested that bachelor's and foreign master's programs involved more technical e‐business courses than the North American master's programs. The educational and economic factors possibly underlying these trends are discussed.     

TWO OUT OF THREE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ARE SUCCESSFUL ON THEIR FINAL EXAMINATIONS

Two out of three Swiss and foreign students enrolled in Swiss higher education institutions pass their final examinations and graduate before leaving their universities, or so was the conclusion of a study undertaken of 9,800 persons born in 1956. Those programmes of study leading to specific careers have higher success rates than those for which professional opportunities are less precise, like programmes in musicology and in art history. The statistics accumulated on the one‐third who have not graduated indicate among other things that very few (3%) can be qualified as perpetual students. Some have prolonged their studies by taking interdisciplinary courses or by changing study subjects or universities. Others arc still enrolled because they began their university studies having worked several years after their high school graduation. Many of the students in these categories will eventually graduate. Of the actual drop‐outs, few are outright failures. Some have simply continued their studies outside Switzerland; others have entered employment, having acquired the necessary practical knowledge‐specialists in computer science, for instance. A few will re‐enroll and graduate. Some students leave because of personal or financial crises. Finally, however, one cannot deny that the process of selection continues throughout the whole period of one's formal education, including university studies.

     

Embedding resilience within the tertiary curriculum: a feasibility study

Mental health problems can significantly impact on the ability of university students to both meet their individual potential and contribute positively within society. This study evaluates the feasibility of embedding a strength‐focused resilience‐building seminar within a university curriculum. Participants were 247 students enrolled in an undergraduate psychology subject. The Staying on Track seminar, consisting of six building blocks for resilience, was delivered within a normal lecture period. Students completed post‐measures on satisfaction and usefulness, as well as follow‐up reflective journals entries noting changes made as a result of seminar participation. The seminar received high scores for satisfaction and 90% of students reported at least one of the six building blocks as being useful to them. Satisfaction also translated into self‐reported positive behaviour change for many students. Implications for the role of curriculum‐based resilience‐building programs within universities are discussed.     

No regrets? Measuring the career benefits of a psychology placement year

We report an analysis of whether a psychology placement provides significant benefit to graduates’ careers. Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey data six months post‐graduation suggested that placement programme graduates across the university are significantly more likely to be (1) in work and (2) in graduate‐level jobs. For psychology, the association between graduates’ placement status and employment status at the same time was not significant overall. However, when analyses were split by degree classification obtained, it was shown that amongst those graduates with 2.1 degrees reporting themselves as working, more placement vs. non‐placement programme graduates had obtained graduate‐level jobs (63% vs. 33%). In 2.2 classified graduates there was no significant association. This pattern persisted in the data from a survey of psychology alumni (from 18 months to six and a half years post‐graduation). Psychology placement programme alumni were also more satisfied with their careers. Although placement graduates earned marginally more, this difference did not reach statistical significance. This study was therefore able to show some measurable and persistent effects of a psychology placement year, although whether the benefits can be claimed to outweigh the costs is inconclusive. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.