Training Outcomes of Field Instructors in the Evidence-Based Practice Process Model

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated a continuing education training program designed to increase field educators’ capacities to support students in their application of the evidence-based practice (EBP) process. A cohort of social work field instructors and task supervisors from agency-based settings (N = 186) attended a 1-day interactive skill-based training. Pre- and postsurveys assessed learning outcomes. Findings reveal a significant improvement from pre- to posttraining in the social work educators’ familiarity, t(179) = 22.8; attitude, t(180) = 12.73; and intentions, t(178) = 11.89, regarding EBP. Results indicate that skill-based training in the EBP process model via continuing education is feasible and acceptable.     

The effect of activity type on the engagement and interaction of young children with disabilities in inclusive childcare settings

The engagement and adult and peer interaction of 37 young children with a range of disabilities was measured in free play, group, and meal-routine activities in inclusive childcare settings. A significant effect for activity type was found for total engagement, active engagement, and passive engagement, with the children being more engaged in free-play and meal-routine activities than group activities. Free-play and meal-routine activities provided better opportunities for active engagement than did group activities, but children were more actively engaged during meal-routine activities than during free play. Passive engagement was more commonly observed during group activities. Children interacted more with their peers during free play. When children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder were compared with children with other disabilities, they were found to be significantly less engaged during free play and interacted less with their peers. The implications of these findings for inclusive practice in childcare settings are discussed.     

Teaching Visual Design Principles for Computer Science Students

Computing has become highly visual as interactive programs become increasingly prevalent. Computer science students need to be able to create effective visual displays as part of interface implementation. This paper describes a course covering graphic design topics relevant to computer science students. In this course, students learn the basic visual elements, the visual organizational principles and how to use them in the context of the digital page. The other topics of this paper are the presentation of course information to the computer science student, the implementation of the course information as praxis, course project construction, and a method for critiquing student projects. Curriculum Integration will also be discussed as a feature towards achieving a seamless and collaborative experience.     

State Education Finance and Governance Profile: Maryland

The preceding articles in this issue of the Peabody Journal of Education have focused on preparation for and entry into professional positions in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). This article shifts the focus from professional positions to STEMM support occupations, focusing on the preparation necessary for entrance into this alternate STEMM field. As a group, STEMM support occupations feature shorter periods of formal training for entry, lower requirements for advanced study, and more flexibility in regard to the timing and entry into the workforce. Many of the young adults who eventually entered a STEMM support occupation did not make that decision until later along the educational pathway than did students who became STEMM professionals. Beyond the general features of the support occupations, an initial analysis also points to important differences between support occupations related to medicine and support occupations related to other areas of science and technology.     

Progressive Education,After-School Programs and their Impact on the Lives of African American Males: An Introduction

This edition of the Peabody Journal of Education analyzes the historical and contemporary role of after-school programs in the development of African American males. In this introduction, the author places after-school programs within an historical context of progressivism, progressive education and social change in 19th-century America. As these new ideas of children and childhood were conceptualized, four significant social changes in America—industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and an “American reformation”—sparked the implementation of remedies for social ills within urban settings. This article suggests that the early 20th-century focus on after-school programs for African Americans were the results of lessons learned from early “remedies” targeting “new” immigrants. Moreover, the later desire to assist African American youth through these national and local youth development organizations was spurred by the rapid migration of African Americans to the urban northeast and Midwest during the first quarter of the 20th century. Moreover, the failed efforts of African Americans to acquire decent housing, the resulting crowding into segregated neighborhoods, and the deteriorating conditions of these urban, African American neighborhoods drew the attention of progressives, both African American and White, who were knowledgeable of and/or serving immigrant communities to provide similar services in urban, African American communities. ¹ This statement does not suggest that the African American community lacked interest in the development of organizations to serve their youth; however, these conditions did spark the interest of the larger community to act. View all notes     

Revisiting educational equity and quality in China through Confucianism, policy, research, and practice

The promotion of educational equity and improvement of educational quality in China are contextualised in tenets of Confucianism and policy directives, inspiring educational research and practice. In this paper, we first explore the historical and cultural roots of educational equity and quality through Confucianism and elaborate on the current policy priority that aims to address educational equity and quality. We then present an overview of research on equity and quality in Chinese education. Informed by Confucianism, policy, and research, we pose a framework to structure our investigation and analysis of three illustrative examples, namely the Special Post Teacher Plan, amalgamation of rural schools, and schooling of floating children. Drawing insights from Confucianism, policy, research, and practice, we conclude that the promotion of educational equity through high quality provision of education for disadvantaged groups can help to narrow the gap in educational quality currently existing in China.     

Building purposeful action: action methods and action research

Examination of a piece of psychodramatic work indicates there are similarities, as well as differences between action methods (AM) and action research (AR). It appears that connections between AR and AM could be strengthened for mutual benefit. The article builds on this and introduces AM to action researchers and proposes some ways AM could be used in AR. These include AM's focus on building the spontaneity and creativity of groups in the here and now, the systemic portrayal of situations with the ability for efficient and dynamic iterations of the action research cycle, and the integration of the individual within themselves (thoughts, feelings and action), while at the same time engaging with others     

Teachers and the State: forming and re‐forming ‘partnership’

Teachers in the English and Welsh State education system have experienced a changing and turbulent relationship with the State in recent decades. This article adopts a historical analysis and argues that the concept of ‘partnership’ is key to understanding the relationship between teachers and the State in the period since the Second World War. Initially a partnership based on a commitment to welfarist values, professional autonomy and collective bargaining; this has been systematically dismantled and reconstructed as a ‘social partnership’ based on teacher union involvement in workforce reform coupled with a significantly more managerialist conception of professional accountability. Re‐engineering the terms of its partnership with teachers has been central to the State’s restructuring of public education along neo‐liberal lines.     

Monitoring Classroom Behavior in Early Childhood: Using Group Observation Data to Make Decisions

Monitoring and evaluating classroom behavior in early childhood for the purpose of improving teaching and learning is critical. There is a clear link between social behavior and academic learning. Classrooms where students are following expectations, engaging academically, and transitioning effectively between activities are classrooms where students spend more time accessing instruction. In order to make efficient and effective decisions for class-wide supports, data should be collected on the class as a whole. With accurate data, interventions can be implemented for the whole group that will increase instructional time. In this paper we propose quick and efficient data collection methods for three key behaviors: following expectations, engaging academically, and transitioning amongst activities. With minimal disruption and effort, teachers can collect data that will enable them to support appropriate behaviors, ensure that students understand behavioral expectations, maintain an organized environment, improve positive interactions, and decrease the number of students needing intensive, individualized supports.