COMMUNITY-SERVICE ACTIVITIES VERSUS TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES IN AN INTERGENERATIONAL VISITING PROGRAM

ABSTRACT

The impact of traditional activities (e.g., playing board games) were compared with community-service activities (e.g., making first aid kits for a homeless shelter) during a monthly intergenerational visiting program. The participating seniors (n = 19) gave high ratings to both types of activities. However, they felt that they had helped others more during the community-service activities, and they expressed greater interest in community-service activities for future intergenerational visits. Intergenerational programs should be supported by the public as well as by funding agencies, as these have great potential for benefiting not only the participants but also others in the community.     

INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUES: A TESTED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN

Children's attitudes about growing old and about the elderly themselves are in large part influenced by negative images projected by the media and through lack of actual experience in interacting with older people. To counter this situation and to provide an opportunity for positive attitude shift, an educational program has been developed for 10‐ and 11‐year‐old students. Growing Up — Growing Older is a developed unit of instruction relying on a package of software including films and printed support materials. A strong experiential component is provided through structured intergenerational dialogues, facilitated by visiting older volunteers.

The program was field tested using both a treatment and control population. Survey methodology was used to determine pre‐ and post‐experience stages of attitude awareness and understanding of the elderly. Although the study population did not demonstrate the level of negative attitude we had anticipated from the literature, post‐experience testing indicated a positive shift. More significant is the demonstrated increase in level of awareness of aging issues and of older persons as a result of the educational experience. Finally, the treatment population increased significantly the percentage of old people they interacted with outside the classroom. This increased familiarity and awareness of the elderly can be expected to continue to produce attitudes based more on fact than on fancy.     

PREDICTORS OF ACHIEVEMENT IN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT RISK FOR ACADEMIC FAILURE: THE ROLES OF ACHIEVEMENT VALUES AND BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT

The achievement gap between African American and European American youth is a pervasive problem in the United States. This study explored how achievement values and behavioral engagement affect the academic attainment of an academically at‐risk sample of 167 African American youth in late elementary school. Results indicate that achievement values do not have a significant influence on engagement or achievement in late elementary school. However, behavioral engagement significantly influenced math achievement from Grades 4 to 5. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

EFFECTS OF AN INTERGENERATIONAL FRIENDLY VISIT PROGRAM ON THE ATTITUDES OF FOURTH GRADERS TOWARD ELDERS

This article describes the effects of an intergenerational friendly visit program on the attitudes toward the elders of one fourth grade class. Students visited with their elder "special friends" at a nursing home every week for five months. In-class lessons regarding students' knowledge and attitudes toward elders prepared students for the visits. The results of this qualitative study indicated that students gained a raised level of awareness regarding elders and the aging process. Their attitudes revealed a realistic view of both the positive and negative aspects of aging. Their attitudes toward their "special friends" were consistently positive and their empathy increased during the course of the study.     

A LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT OF ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AN UPWARD BOUND SUMMER PROGRAM

This study is a longitudinal assessment of an Upward Bound program's success in increasing college attendance and academic achievement. Although as a whole the data appear to indicate no significant gains in reading and spelling, a “ceiling effect” was noted to be the confounding variable. Hence, the total program results did indicate significant achievement in both language arts and quantitative skills. The results indicate Upward Bound is still meeting its goals.     

GIFTED ADOLESCENTS: AT RISK FOR SUICIDE

The high rate of suicide among adolescents is an ever present concern to those who work with troubled youth. It has commonly been thought that adolescents of high intellectual ability are sheltered from the everyday stresses that lead their peers to commit suicide. However, researchers are discovering that giftedness carries with it special stresses that may make the gifted adolescent vulnerable to emotional distress, leading to suicidal behaviour. This paper will investigate the exceptional vulnerabilities of the gifted adolescent, and show how the practitioner may recognize the warning signs in this population. In addition, recommendations will be made regarding prevention and intervention strategies.

     

THE USE OF THE BASC‐2 FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF FEMALE ADOLESCENTS AT RISK FOR DEVELOPING AN EATING DISORDER

Eating disorders, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction prevalence rates are on the rise among adolescent females. The present study examined the potential use of a commonly used social–emotional instrument, the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐Second Edition (BASC‐2), for detecting the presence of possible eating disorders in adolescent females in a school setting. Participants included 65 female adolescents aged 13 to 17 years from Midwestern public middle and high schools. The Eating Disorder Inventory‐Third Edition was used to determine eating disorder risk and level of body dissatisfaction. Those adolescents at risk for developing an eating disorder differed significantly on 12 of the 16 BASC‐2 scales, whereas four of these scales were also in the clinically significant range according to the BASC‐2 normative sample. A common profile of a female adolescent at risk for developing an eating disorder was explored. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

CHILDREN'S ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ELDERLY: AN INTERGENERATIONAL TECHNIQUE FOR CHANGE

This investigation examined changes in children's perceptions of the elderly following an intervention in the frequency of contact that school‐aged children had with old people. Elderly persons served as tutors in a reading tutorial program for a period of two months. Pre‐and postintervention measures of attitudes and reading skills were taken from the children; measures of morale were obtained among the elderly sample. Evaluations of the program were also provided by the elderly, the children, school principals, and teachers. An analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction effect of group by test, suggesting that even a relatively brief intervention can modify children's perceptions of the aged. Although there were no significant changes in the responses of the elderly subjects as measured by objective questionnaires, the majority of the tutors reported that they were happier and felt more involved in the community while working in the program.     

EVALUATION OF A TRUANCY DIVERSION PROGRAM AT NINE AT‐RISK MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Many schools are faced with the prospect of soaring absenteeism rates, despite the use of traditional truancy courts and other legal interventions. A recent trend in the literature has been to explore alternative, hybrid, and multidisciplinary approaches to address the underlying obstacles to school attendance. These programs are often integrated into schools to reduce stigma and transportation burdens on families. The present study involved an evaluation of a truancy diversion program in nine at‐risk middle schools in an ethnically diverse sample. Graduates from the program demonstrated significant declines in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. In addition, participants and their parents expressed high levels of perceived improvement in academic performance. Academic tutoring was found to differentiate program graduates from nongraduates. Results are preliminary but discussed within the context of the role of school attachment in truancy diversion programs.     

ACADEMIC CREATIVITY UNDER NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: FOUNDATIONS FOR AN INVESTIGATION

A bstract .  In this essay, Simon Marginson focuses on self-determining academic freedom in universities, and especially the conditions and drivers of the radical-creative imagination that is manifest in sudden intellectual breaks in knowledge. Marginson's objective is to establish foundations in political philosophy for a sociological study of the effects of the new public management (NPM) on academic self-determination and radical creativity. After discussing the radical-creative imagination, Marginson identifies the core elements of academic self-determination as agency freedom, freedom as power, and freedom as control. He then annotates each of the particular administrative and financial practices fostered by NPM in the light of these constituents of freedom, explores the implications for the radical-creative imagination, and identifies possible lines of empirical inquiry for further sociological study.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FRIENDS FOR LIFE PROGRAM IN PORTUGUESE SCHOOLS: STUDY WITH A SAMPLE OF HIGHLY ANXIOUS CHILDREN

The FRIENDS for Life program is a cognitive–behavioral group program that targets anxiety in children. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the Portuguese version of the FRIENDS for Life Program, which was implemented in schools to reduce anxiety problems in a group of highly anxious children. The study used a quasi‐experimental research design with two groups of children, an intervention (n = 17) and a wait‐list control group (n = 21), aged 8 to 12 years old. The impact of the program in reducing anxiety symptoms as assessed by children and mothers was analyzed through the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders‐Revised (SCARED‐R). The results show a statistically significant post intervention effect on anxiety symptoms evaluated by the child, but not by the mother. The implications of these results for the prevention of anxiety disorders in Portuguese schools are discussed.     

A CASE FOR PROPHYLACTIC COUNSELLING WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN: AN EXAMINATION OF GENDER DIFFERENCES

Children leaving school for higher education face many stresses. It is suggested that teachers, parents and other counsellors can help prevent the worst effects of these. Previous research has indicated that girls are more likely to be stressed than boys. The present study suggests this finding may be unduly influenced by the presence of mature students for when mature students are not included girls are no more stressed than boys. It is suggested the two sexes should be treated equally and the labelling of girls as more stressed can be harmful. The main areas of potential stress were Internal needs and financial problems. Examination stress took a lower position than in other studies. It is suggested counselling should involve attitude change rather than Information giving.     

CHANGING STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF AGING: THE IMPACT OF AN INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE LEARNING COURSE

Ten individuals over the age of 55 were awarded scholarships in order to enroll in an intergenerational service learning course. Through class participation and community service activities, the traditional-age students and senior adult students shared experiences and learned about the processes of aging. A pretest-posttest design using a control group and experimental group (N = 44) was employed in order to assess the effectiveness of this pedagogical method. The results, both quantitative and qualitative, indicate that the course helped to create more realistic views of aging and foster more positive attitudes toward the elderly. Implications of the findings are discussed and include a recommendation for additional intergenerational programs that include senior adults in the classroom.     

PERSPECTIVES ON ACADEMIC LIFE: AN APOLOGIA FOR MESO‐QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

The point of this article is to suggest that there are worthwhile but hitherto largely unexploited opportunities for research on higher education in the style which the author defines as meso‐qualitative investigation. Some examples of the genre are given as is also a consideration of characteristic methods and techniques as well as of associated difficulties, validity, data analysis, and presentation. A discussion of the rationale behind the development of middle‐range grounded theories follows, including a justification for such work in terms of the intrinsic satisfaction which it imparts to the researcher himself, its contribution to the state of knowledge about higher education, and its practical utility. Some suggestions for future research in terms of topics and possible lines of approach are given. Although studies of this sort cannot be replicated in the strictly scientific sense, this apparent limitation is, in humanistic terms, in fact, a strength which indeed becomes even stronger if such studies are given an international scope.     

PREDICTING ACADEMICS VIA BEHAVIOR WITHIN AN ELEMENTARY SAMPLE: AN EVALUATION OF THE SOCIAL,ACADEMIC, AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR RISK SCREENER (SAEBRS)

This study examined the extent to which teacher ratings of student behavior via the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS) predicted academic achievement in math and reading. A secondary purpose was to compare the predictive capacity of three SAEBRS subscales corresponding to social, academic, or emotional domains of behavior. Universal screening was conducted to evaluate 1,058 elementary students’ performance in both reading and math, which were then combined to form a composite estimate of overall academic performance. Results indicated that the SAEBRS composite scale and all three subscales each individually predicted academic performance. Results further indicated that the SAEBRS Academic Behavior subscale was the best predictor of academic performance. Furthermore, the SAEBRS Social Behavior scale was found to function as a net suppressor variable, enhancing the capacity of Academic Behavior to predict academic performance via the suppression of variance irrelevant relative to academic performance. Follow‐up path analyses suggested Academic Behavior also served as a mediating variable, as it partially accounted for the relationship between Social Behavior and academic performance. Implications for educators and limitations of this study are discussed.     

MEASURING KINDNESS AT SCHOOL: PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF A SCHOOL KINDNESS SCALE FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

In this study, we sought to create and validate a brief measure to assess students’ perceptions of kindness in school. Participants included 1,753 students in Grades 4 to 8 attending public schools in a large school district in southern British Columbia. The School Kindness Scale (SKS) demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure and adequate internal consistency. The pattern of associations of the SKS to a corpus of theoretically relevant constructs obtained via student self‐reports (classroom supportiveness, optimism, happiness, prosocial and social goals, satisfaction with life, and academic self‐efficacy) provided evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, the SKS was significantly and positively associated with teacher reports on students’ empathy, social skills, and peer acceptance. Analyses by gender and grade indicated that girls perceived significantly higher levels of kindness in school than did boys, and that students’ perceptions of kindness in school decreased from fourth to eighth grade, with fourth‐grade students reporting the highest levels of kindness in school and eighth‐grade students reporting the lowest levels. The theoretical importance of investigating students’ perceptions of kindness in the school context and the practical implications of this research for informing educational efforts to promote social and emotional competencies in school communities are discussed.     

THE LIFE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL MODEL

The question of what is uniquely possible for the older adult learner is seldom asked by adult educators. Dealing with a population whose educational experiences are largely pedogogical, instructional programs have often attempted to continue this model of teacher‐selected content and methodology. This paper is a review of an experimental educational program designed to provide experiential activities related to learning needs and potentials of the older adult. The nature of the format allowed participants maximum opportunity to. identify and achieve personal learning goals. Evaluation procedures were designed to test the hypothesis that older adults respond meaningfully to programs designed to meet their needs rather than the educator's preconceptions. Results of the study indicate successful achievement of the goals of the project and an expanded level of psychosocial functioning of the older adults.     

THE VALIDITY OF ACADEMIC PREDICTORS FOR BLACK AND WHITE STUDENTS AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE UNIVERSITY1

High school grades and both the verbal and mathematical scales of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-V and SAT-M, respectively) were examined as predictors of college grade point average in groups divided by race and sex. Results indicated that high school grades were not correlated as highly with college grades for black males as for the other three groups, although there were no significant differences in the correlation of either SAT-V or SAT-M with college grades. Moreover, the multiple regression equation for the black male group differed from the equations for the other groups in that SAT-V is the predictor of primary importance rather than high school grades. Weights derived on a random sample of the student body caused substantial shrinkage of the multiple R only in the black male sample. Both black males and black females were significantly overpredicted by such weights. The importance of separate prediction equations for race-sex groupings was emphasized.     

ATTITUDES OF OLDER WOMEN TOWARD CONTINUING ADULT EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAM CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Current low rates of participation by elderly people in formal learning situations may be improved by developing programs that consider their attitudes, learning interests, and needs. This study was conducted to examine the attitudes of potential participants in continuing education programs concerning (1) factors that would reduce anxiety and (2) appropriate educational experiences given the abilities and learning needs of the target group.

Twenty‐seven white predominantly upper middle‐class, highly educated women aged 65 years and over were given a questionnaire concerning attitudes toward continuing education. Most (89%) indicated an interest in taking humanities classes (i.e., history, literature, music, languages, and current affairs). In addition, 55% preferred the lecture format; 81% preferred mixed ages in classes; 48% reported interest in having a companion enroll with them; and 65% reported that family members did not suggest that they enroll.

Highly educated elderly women appear interested in taking universitylevel classes. Future research should examine whether there is an increase in enrollment in programs specifically designed to meet their needs and interests. Caution is advised in generalizing results of need and attitude assessment of highly educated old people to less economically, occupationally, and educationally privileged elderly.