Family therapy: A case for training for school psychologists

This article presents both a rationale and methodology for family involvement by school personnel and underscores the need for school psychology training programs to respond programmatically to the training of their students in understanding and working with families. A family systems approach is adopted by the authors and is presented in the form of key questions concerning some important family dynamics. Five applications of this framework in the school setting are discussed.     

Human lung-on-chips: Advanced systems for respiratory virus models and assessment of immune response

Respiratory viral infections are leading causes of death worldwide. A number of human respiratory viruses circulate in all age groups and adapt to person-to-person transmission. It is vital to understand how these viruses infect the host and how the host responds to prevent infection and onset of disease. Although animal models have been widely used to study disease states, incisive arguments related to poor prediction of patient responses have led to the development of microfluidic organ-on-chip models, which aim to recapitulate organ-level physiology. Over the past decade, human lung chips have been shown to mimic many aspects of the lung function and its complex microenvironment. In this review, we address immunological responses to viral infections and elaborate on human lung airway and alveolus chips reported to model respiratory viral infections and therapeutic interventions. Advances in the field will expedite the development of therapeutics and vaccines for human welfare.     

Teaching Students to Critically Evaluate Web Pages

Arguments regarding the need for reading skills in career and technical education exist, but far less attention has been given to teaching strategies that can help support vocational students’ growth as readers. Based on a review of literature, this article highlights the importance of reading literacy in career and technical education, and argues that students from the various content areas in vocational education can benefit greatly from teachers incorporating reading instruction into the curriculum. This article also provides educators with six powerful, practical strategies to use in classrooms to facilitate students’ reading comprehension.     

From Parental Involvement to Children's Mathematical Performance: The Role of Mathematics Anxiety

This study examined whether children's mathematics anxiety serves as an underlying pathway between parental involvement and children's mathematics achievement. Participants included 78 low-income, ethnic minority parents and their children residing in a large urban center in the northeastern United States. Parents completed a short survey tapping several domains of parental involvement, and children were assessed on mathematics anxiety, whole number arithmetic, word problems, and algebraic reasoning. Research Findings: The results indicated that parents influence children's mathematics achievement by reducing mathematics anxiety, particularly for more difficult kinds of mathematics. Specifically, the mediation analyses demonstrated that parental home support and expectations influenced children's performance on word problems and algebraic reasoning by reducing children's mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety did not mediate the relationship between home support and expectations and whole number arithmetic. Practice or Policy: Policies and programs targeting parental involvement in mathematics should focus on home-based practices that do not require technical mathematical skills. Parents should receive training, resources, and support on culturally appropriate ways to create home learning environments that foster high expectations for children's success in mathematics.     

FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF DISPLACED NEGRO CHILDREN

This article examine how students from different class backgrounds at vastly different colleges interpret the role of social class in their past and future. It begins with a review of previous research findings based on freshmen and sophomore year interviews (2002–2004) with three groups of students: low income students at a state college; low income students at an elite private college (Little Ivy), and affluent students at the same elite private college. During a period of relative quiescence on college campuses, all three groups of students tended to look at their own lives in individualistic, non-structural ways, and generally downplayed the role of their own class backgrounds. Many of the students were interviewed again during their senior year to determine what, if any, changes had occurred in their overall outlook. Both groups of students at Little Ivy had become less politically progressive and active as they approached graduation; State College students had verbally moved to the Left, but without corresponding activism. Occupational goals for each of the three groups differed. The affluent students anticipated positions with the most power and prestige, while the State College students aimed for entry and middle level statuses. Not surprisingly, the low income Little Ivy students expected to obtain positions below their affluent peers, but higher than the State College students. The meaning of these findings in the context of the current historical period and the power of social reproduction is discussed.     

“The Way We Hear Ourselves is Different from the Way Others Hear Us”: Exploring the Literate Identities of a Black Radio Youth Collective

How do black students acquire academic literacy skills without being severed from their cultural and historical identit(ies)? In this article, the author presents instances of literacy events in an out-of-school program called Youth Voices that serves to create opportunities for development of a strong sense of historical and cultural identity. An examination of Youth Voices provides insight into African American adolescent language and literacy learning at the intersection of youth media production and civic engagement.     

Reflections From One Community College Leader

Research on gender provides a framework for understanding what it means to be a woman working within the community college; however, the voice of experience helps to add meaning to what it means to live as a woman leader of color within these institutions. Dr. Green provides a reflection on her career leading up to her presidency, and she outlines key areas of consideration to support women's advancement within the college system.     

Roots and Wings Community Mentoring: An Evaluation of the Manchester Pilot

This article is a continuation of the exploration started by Sylvia Ashley in Mentoring and Tutoring, Autumn 1994, of the ‘Roots and Wings' mentoring initiative. The Roots and Wings programme is a Business in the Community initiative using the principles of community group mentoring. Sylvia Astley reported on the London and Bristol pilots. We follow this through with a digest of the evaluation of the Manchester pilot. In this pilot the British Telecom Personal Communications division offered mentoring support to the pupils from a Manchester high school. The evaluation attempted to capture the experiences of the mentors and mentees and the perspectives of the teaching staff involved. Recommendations were made with a view to expanding the scheme into other schools and businesses.