Educating the Child‐centred Practitioner: Innovations and dilemmas

The education of child‐centered early childhood practitioners involves issues of content, pedagogy, relationships and context. Recent insights on the nature of child‐centered teaching generated by collaborative research with teachers, has highlighted its complexity and suggests that new ways of thinking about teacher education are needed. But developing a more learner‐centered approach to early childhood teacher education will be difficult, given the instrumentalist orientation in many institutions and in societies at large. This paper discusses the broad issues surrounding the development of a more learner‐centered approach to early childhood teacher education and describes several initiatives the authors have been involved in, in Australia and the United States.     

Toward cultural competency in diagnosis

Most counselors recognize the importance ofcultural competence in their work. As part ofeffective treatment, skills in accuratelydiagnosing clients from diverse backgrounds areessential, yet specific techniques addressingcultural differences to aid in the diagnosisprocess are underrepresented in the counselingliterature. The purpose of this article is tooffer one step toward the development ofdiagnostic methods suitable for an increasinglydiverse client base. The importance ofcultural competency during the diagnostic phaseof counseling is discussed, the nature ofculture and its influence on diagnosis isreviewed, and a practical conceptual frameworkthat can assist counselors in makingsystematic, culturally sensitive diagnosis ispresented.     

Identification of Alcohol by Smell among Preschoolers: Evidence for Early Socialization about Drugs Occurring in the Home

This study tested preschoolers' ability to provide accurate verbal associations to alcoholic beverage odors and whether this ability was related to parental drinking patterns and motivations. Older preschoolers performed better than younger preschoolers; photographic cues improved performance; children who correctly identified a substance by smell had socially appropriate knowledge of the culturally appropriate users of the substance; children reported liking substances that are used mainly by children and adults, and generally reported disliking substances whose use is legally limited to adults only; children were better at identifying substances they commonly use, but success at recognition of alcoholic beverages was related to heavier parental drinking and use of alcohol for escape reasons. Findings have implications for theories of socialization to drug use and for models of prevention.     

Predicting transition and adjustment to college: biomedical and behavioral science aspirants’ and minority students’ first year of college

The purpose of this study is to explore key factors that impact the college transition of aspiring underrepresented minority students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, in comparison with White, Asian students and non-science minority students. We examined successful management of the academic environment and sense of belonging during the first college year. Longitudinal data were derived from the Higher Education Research Institute’s (HERI) 2004 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey and the 2005 Your First College Year (YFCY) Survey. Using a reformulation of the integration model (Nora, Barlow, and Crisp, 2005), we find concerns about college financing, negotiating family support and responsibility, and campus racial dynamics (perceived and behavioral) affect student adjustment and sense of integration in the first year. This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Number 1 RO1 GMO71968-01. This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by the sponsor.