Taking a Line for a Walk: Including School Refusers

This article explores the experience of a group of young people who experienced difficulty attending school. Young people's reasons for not attending school and the support provided for them by their teachers are examined. Finally, an analysis based on a shift in identity from school refuser to effective learner is offered as an explanation for the students' success in coping with school. The authors draw on Paul Klee's metaphor of art as a development that can go forwards, backward, up and down as similar to the processes of working with such young people. They argue that to expect linear progress is both unrealistic and sets unfair expectations on students and their teachers.     

An Analysis of Sex-related Differential Item Functioning in Attitude Assessment

This study analyzes and classifies items that display sex-related Differential Item Functioning (DIF) in attitude assessment. It applies the Educational Testing Services (ETS) procedure that is used for classifying DIF items in testing to classify sex-related DIF items in attitude scales. A total of 982 items that measure attitudes from 23 real data sets were used in the analysis. Results showed that sex DIF is common in attitude scales: more than 27% of items showed DIF related to sex, 15% of the items exhibited moderate to large DIF, and the magnitudes of DIF against males and females were not equal.     

THE CONCURRENT VALIDITY OF STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT TESTS BY CONTENT AREA USING TEACHERS' RATINGS AS CRITERIA

To assess the concurrent validity of standardized achievement tests using teachers' ratings (and rankings) of pupils' academic achievement as criteria, 42 teachers evaluated each of their students (n = 1,032) in each of five major curricular areas prior to the administration of a battery of standardized achievement tests. The teachers were directed to rate each student's proficiency disregarding attendance, attitude, deportment, and so on. Within-class correlation coefficients were computed to eliminate rater leniency bias. The standardized achievement tests were found to have substantial concurrent validity in reading, math, language arts, science, and social studies. The normalized teacher ranks yielded significantly higher validity coefficients than did the ratings, although the magnitude of the difference was small. The concurrent validity coefficients for language arts, reading, and math were significantly higher than those in science and social studies.     

Preparation of the Elementary School Counselor: 1972

This is the fourth in a series of quadrennial surveys begun in 1960 to determine the extent and nature of counselor preparation at the master's and doctoral levels in the field of elementary school guidance and counseling. Nearly 90 percent (325) of the 367 counselor education departments in the U.S. responded to this survey. The main finding is the great acceleration of programs which provide specialization since 1968. Generic programs (n = 132), however, are still common. Major emphasis in specialized programs rests in laboratory and practicum experiences. Counselor educators in elementary school guidance and counseling are still mainly people who have not taken their advanced work in the field of elementary school guidance and counseling.     

Systematic Group Counselor Training: A Mastery Model

We had previously identified specific cognitive and experiential group counselor training objectives; this study represents a systematic attempt to plan, develop, and evaluate a training model using those objectives. The mastery learning model was identified as best suited for carrying out the training. At the beginning of the training (carried out as two concurrent graduate courses in group counseling), the students were presented with the objectives, a time plan, and evaluation criteria. The training model consisted of 15 graduate students, 11 at the doctoral and 4 at the master's level. Evaluations of course content and course objectives by experimental and comparison groups of trainees indicated the overall success of this exploratory study.     

The History of Supervision: A Critical Review

Leddick and Bernard review the counseling literature and describe the historical evolution of the practice of supervision from a polarized state to its current trend toward collaboration. The authors analyze several therapy models, and describe direct and indirect supervision activities. This article concludes by calling attention to assumptions in the counseling and supervision literature that have yet to receive the benefit of evaluation and research.