Intervening with school problems: A family systems perspective

Viewing children's behavior from a systems perspective allows the school-based consultant an expanded perception of the contextual function of the behavior. The two key systems in a child's life, home and school, often overlap, and what occurs in one system can affect the child's behavior in the other system. By considering the relationships of the child to both home and school, a more holistic view of the child is obtained, and greater opportunity for family involvement is provided. This article explains the differences between systemic and linear approaches to behavior, and provides examples of how the school-based consultant can intervene from a systems perspective, using interviews, short-term family counseling, and teacher consultation. Issues and cautions about using a systemic approach are presented, and the need for data-based research is explored.     

Mediating stress: Survival of the hardy

The present study explored variation in individual personality characteristics, termed “hardiness,” among female elementary teachers who had differing levels of burnout despite high levels of occupational stress. One hundred thirty-four female elementary teachers completed the Teaching Events Stress Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, The Allienation Test, and the Internal-External Control Scale. Data also were collected on demographic variables, incidence of stress-related physical and mental illness, and coping activities. Teachers with high stress and low burnout were less alienated than were teachers with high stress and high burnout. The low burnout teachers chose more active types of coping activities than did the high burnout teachers. Incidence of stress-related physical illness was significantly correlated with level of stress, emotional exhaustion (burnout), and alienation. Implications for future research and school district interventions are discussed.     

Habit Formation and Story Telling: A Theory for Guiding Ethical Action

This article proposes retrospective narrative justifications combined with classical concepts of habit formation as a theory of ethics appropriate for practicing technical communicators. To explicate the theory, the article draws on Alasdair Maclntyre's ethical theory, which involves habit formation and narrative theory; on apologia and account-giving theory; and on traditional ethical stances, such as the teleological and deontological doctrines. Special attention is given to the ends-means relationship and the tension between individual and corporate identity in technical communication environments.     

Comparison of Most-to-Least Prompting to Flexible Prompt Fading for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study compared most-to-least prompting to flexible prompt fading for teaching four children with an autism spectrum disorder various expressive tasks. Using a parallel treatment design nested into a multiple probe design, researchers taught each participant how to expressively label six pictures with most-to-least prompting and six pictures with flexible prompt fading. The researchers evaluated effectiveness, maintenance, efficiency, and performance across both prompting conditions and across all participants. Results indicated that both prompting procedures were effective across all four participants. Results also indicated that flexible prompt fading led to a higher percentage of independent correct responding during teaching trials. For three of the participants, flexible prompt fading was also a more efficient procedure. Results were mixed in terms of maintenance across the four participants.     

Outcomes of Home-Support Consultation on the Maintenance of Bicycle-Riding Skills for Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Bicycle riding is a functional motor skill that increases physical activity opportunities, social interaction, and independence. However, bicycle riding is difficult for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to learn. This study examined the effectiveness of home-support consultation (HSC) on increasing the maintenance of independent bicycle riding following initial skill acquisition. Fifty-one youth with a confirmed ASD diagnosis learned to ride a two-wheeled bicycle during a training camp. Twenty-nine riders enrolled in a HSC intervention to promote distributed practice of the learned skill. The control cohort (N = 22) was exempt from the HSC intervention. One year following initial skill acquisition, 62.07% of the HSC cohort compared to 36.36% of the control cohort still reportedly displayed the skill. Within the HSC cohort, riders who reported at least 8 weeks of practice following acquisition on average maintained the skill. Implications of home consultation are discussed.     

Socio-Cultural Analysis of Two Cases of Distance Learning in Secondary Education

Virtual Schooling for primary and secondary students is becoming increasingly common across the United States. Although distance education has typically been used to address the needs of adult U.S. learners, its use with schoolchildren has been limited. The rapid development and diffusion of ICT has prompted advances in the use of distance education to serve these students educational needs—particularly those in remote rural settings. In this paper we analyse and contrast two case-studies that were gathered to inform researchers and practitioners of online schooling—a case in which two rural schools ‘coordinated’ the use of two-way interactive video to provide live synchronous learning, and a school ‘replacement’ model that provided an interactive online course for dispersed students with periodic live interactive synchronous learning sessions. Analysis drew on Cobb and his colleagues’ (2003) techniques to delineate communities of practice and Wenger’s (1998) work on boundary encounters, brokers, and boundary objects.