Basic Counselor Skills Training and Counselor Cognitive Complexity

This study examined the relationship between basic counselor skills training and cognitive complexity levels in counseling trainees. Data from graduate counseling trainees enrolled in basic skills training courses and a control group were collected (N = 72). Cognitive complexity levels were measured using the traditional 2‐person form of the Role Category Questionnaire (B. R. Burleson & M. S. Waltman) in a pre‐ and posttest design. Participants exposed to the basic skills training course showed a significantly higher cognitive complexity level than the control group when posttest means were compared.     

Influencing the Future Through Innovations in Environmental Engineering Education

Global scenarios for the next 30 years indicate increasing population, greater demand for higher standards of living, and more consumption, leading to increased air, water and land pollution; climatic change; and the depletion of and competition for natural resources. To avoid global catastrophes and conflicts, sustainable systems are required that integrate cultural and technological change. Engineers and technologists have a key role not only in developing sustainable technologies but also in promoting the cultural changes needed. High quality environmental education and training is essential if engineering professionals are to become pro-active rather than reactive, to influence the future. This paper describes examples of innovative educational and training systems, partnerships and networks with regional, national and international objectives.     

Comparing England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: The case for 'home internationals' in comparative research

The differences among the four education systems of the UK are often perceived as a nuisance by comparative researchers. This paper argues that they are also an opportunity. It describes the four systems and summarises their similarities and differences. It then presents five reasons for giving 'home international' comparisons a more prominent role in comparative research. These are, respectively: their potential contribution to theoretical debates; specific differences among the four systems, which touch on core problems of educational research; the practical value of home international comparisons; their potential for policy learning; and the relative ease of conducting them.     

The effect of an intermittent,high-intensity warm-up on supramaximal kayak ergometer performance

It has previously been shown that the metabolic acidaemia induced by a continuous warm-up at the 'lactate threshold' is associated with a reduced accumulated oxygen deficit and decreased supramaximal performance. The aim of this study was to determine if an intermittent, high-intensity warm-up could increase oxygen uptake (V02) without reducing the accumulated oxygen deficit, and thus improve supramaximal performance. Seven male 500 m kayak paddlers, who had represented their state, volunteered for this study. Each performed a graded exercise test to determine V02max and threshold parameters. On subsequent days and in a random, counterbalanced order, the participants then performed a continuous or intermittent, high-intensity warm-up followed by a 2 min, all-out kayak ergometer test. The continuous warm-up consisted of 15 min of exercise at approximately 65% V02max. The intermittent, high-intensity warm-up was similar, except that the last 5 min was replaced with five 10 s sprints at 200% V02max, separated by 50 s of recovery at ~55% V02max. Significantly greater (P<0.05) peak power (intermittent vs continuous: 629 ± 199 vs 601 ± 204W) and average power (intermittent vs continuous: 328±39.0 vs 321 ±42.4 W) were recorded after the intermittent warm-up. There was no significant difference between conditions for peak V02, total V02 or the accumulated oxygen deficit. The results of this study indicate that 2 min all-out kayak ergometer performance is significantly better after an intermittent rather than a continuous warm-up.     

A modified incremental shuttle run test for the determination of peak shuttle running speed and the prediction of maximal oxygen uptake

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of subject drop-out on a multi-stage shuttle run test and a modified incremental shuttle run test in which speed was increased by 0.014m.s-1 every 20-m shuttle to avoid the need for verbal speed cues. Analysis of the multi-stage shuttle run test with 208 elite female netball players and 381 elite male lacrosse players found that 13 (+/-3) players stopped after the first shuttle of each new level, in comparison with 5 (+/-2) players on any other shuttle. No obvious drop-out pattern was observed on the incremental shuttle run test with 273 male and 79 female undergraduate students. The mean difference between a test-retest condition (n= 20) for peak shuttle running speed (-0.03+/- 0.01m.s-1) and maximal heart rate (0.4+/- 0.1 beats.min-1) on the incremental test showed no bias (P > 0.05). The 95% absolute confidence limits of agreement were 0.11m.s-1 for peak shuttle running speed and +/-5 beats.min-1 for maximal heart rate. The relationship (n= 27) between peak shuttle running speed on the incremental shuttle run test (4.22+/- 0.14m.s-1) and VO2max (59.0+/- 1.7ml.kg-1.min-1) was r=0.91 (P< 0.01), with a standard error of prediction of 2.6ml.kg-1.min-1. These results suggest verbal cues during the multi-stage shuttle run test may influence subject drop-out. The incremental shuttle run test shows no obvious drop-out patten and provides a valid estimate of VO2max.     

Why was the QAA Approach to Teaching Quality Assessment Rejected by Academics in UK HE?

This article will review and evaluate the response of academics working in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK to the experience of teaching quality review. It will do so by gathering the viewpoints and opinions of academics from a particular source over a specific time period: the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) between January and August of 2001. Before presenting and then evaluating these viewpoints, the paper will discuss the development of teaching quality assessment methodologies in UK HE within the context of the increasing importance and embededness of quality assurance and enhancement values and processes within the practices of HEIs. It is argued that this is both a recent and contested phenomenon. The article finds that the concerns of academics with the teaching quality review exercise fall under a number of headings: (1) administrative/cost burden; (2) grade inflation/gamesmanship/ organisational learning; (3) elitist bias within the system; (4) system impact of quality review; (5) reliability of the system; and (6) philosophical objections to the system. The implications of these concerns are discussed. The article's conclusion is that if academics are not convinced of, or do not actively support, the values and methodologies associated with teaching quality review, then there is little chance that these will either produce accurate or meaningful assessments of teaching quality, or act as a spur to the quality enhancement of this aspect of individual and institutional activity. This is an important point within the context of the recent review of the Quality Assurance Agency's Subject Review methodology, and the new institutional audit methodology.     

Perception of Counselor Behavior and Current Intergenerational Family Relationships

In this study, significant relationships were found between several dimensions of intergenerational family relationships and supervisor ratings of counselor behavior.     

Unsettling the State — How 'Demand' Challenges the Education System in the US

'Demand' in the education system has traditionally been articulated almost entirely in terms of access to more, better, and higher-status opportunities within the traditional public school system, rather than for alternatives to the standardised, highly-regulated opportunities provided by the state. This is changing, in the U.S. and elsewhere, as households and groups increasingly articulate demands that cannot easily be accommodated by the existing system. These new demands include calls for schooling that more fully reflects the linguistic, religious, or cultural preferences of specific communities. They represent a fundamental challenge to the assumption of collective interests pursued through public institutions that underlie contemporary public school systems. This article explores the character of this challenge and presents an assessment of the ways in which the U.S. education system is changing in its response.     

COMPUTERIZED DIAGNOSTIC TESTING

Efforts to use computers for diagnostic testing in education require appropriate psychometric and technological strategies and, equally important, good theoretical foundations as to what constitutes a diagnosis and how it is to be discerned in an examinee's performance. Although at present this combination is infrequent in education, for some years it has been in evidence in computer-managed diagnosis in medicine. For comparable success in the field of education, it is argued that artificial intelligence algorithms may provide a suitable avenue for developing diagnostic testing further.