A survey of school psychologists' knowledge and training in child psychopharmacology

A national sample of 320 school‐based, practicing members of the National Association of School Psychologists provided information on (a) their caseloads receiving medications, (b) types of school psychopharmacology training opportunities available and perceptions of their current training in child psychopharmacology, and (c) information about consultative efforts in monitoring medication effects on school functioning. Results indicated that almost one of every four cases seen by survey participants were being treated with psychotropic medications; nearly all respondents have engaged in consultation related to medication evaluations. Professional workshops and independent reading were the most utilized training opportunities, and participant responses indicated an overwhelming need for basic educational training to improve knowledge and consultation in this area. Implications of these findings on training in evidence‐based interventions and current practice are discussed as school psychologists experience legislative pressure to diminish their collaborative involvement in medication treatment consideration and evaluation. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 623–633, 2006.     

The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Social Problems of Boys With Developmental Delays

Parents and teachers reported that 6- to 8-year-old boys with developmental delays were less able to regulate their emotions than nondelayed boys matched on chronological age. Compared to nondelayed boys, boys with developmental delays had more social problems, which persisted and increased over a 3-year period. Children's ability to regulate their emotions explained significant variance in their social problems after controlling for their developmental status. In addition, emotion regulation partially mediated the relationship between children's developmental status and their social problems. These results suggest that emotion regulation plays a significant role in the social problems of boys with developmental delays. Furthermore, increasing the emotional competence of these children may facilitate their peer relationships and, ultimately, their school adjustment.     

Student and teacher co-navigation of a course: following the natural lines of academic enquiry

Using the mountaineering metaphor of ‘natural lines’ this article describes the co-navigation of an honours course by students and teachers. It suggests the benefits and possibilities of going beyond the confines of conventional teaching and learning wisdom (as canonised in the notion of constructive alignment) and offering just and joyful ways for students to explore disciplinary knowledge. We openly explore issues of power between students and teachers in the construction of so-called partnerships, recognising the inherent challenges in moving beyond the prevailing mainstream. We suggest that a natural lines approach enables students to act as genuine co-navigators and to experience disciplinary knowledge in authentic ways and provides rich opportunities for personal reflection and development.     

The impact of body image and Afrocentric appearance on sexual refusal self-efficacy in early adolescent African American girls

Research examining the association between body image and sexual risk-taking has been mostly limited to clinical and/or White female samples. It is unclear whether body image plays a role in sexual risk-taking among African American early adolescent females. Moreover, research has neglected to consider body image within a cultural and ethnic framework. A positive sense of Afrocentric appearance may influence, either positively or negatively, sexual attitudes and behaviors among African American early adolescent girls. The purpose of this study, conducted with 156 urban African American early adolescent females, was to examine the relationships among body image, Afrocentric appearance, and sexual refusal self-efficacy. Results found no significant association between body image and sexual refusal self-efficacy. However, structural equation modeling found that a positive sense of Afrocentric appearance significantly predicted increased sexual refusal self-efficacy. Implications of this study in regard to culturally-based teenage pregnancy prevention and education initiatives are discussed.     

Intellectual property in cyberspace: The use of protected images on the World Wide Web

The growth of the Internet has created a host of thorny legal issues that range from defamatory postings on computer bulletin boards to “spamming”; (unwanted email) and invasion of privacy rights. This study reviewed 400 student‐authored World Wide Web pages to assess the use of intellectual property. A review of these pages found that 43.8 percent appropriated images that would likely qualify as protected intellectual property, and that the students who used images averaged three such uses per page. The final section briefly discusses three of the more troublesome implications of these findings.