Sex Role Orientation and Self-Disclosure Flexibility in Counselor Training

Several studies have suggested that counselor response effectiveness may not be merely a function of instruction in basic counseling skills. This study examined the impact of the sex role orientation and level of self-disclosure flexibility of 44 counseling students on their ability to demonstrate counseling skills and their overall counseling response effectiveness during and after counseling skills training. Using a factorial analysis, sex role orientation and level of self-disclosure flexibility accounted for approximately 30% of the variance in quality of counseling skills. These findings lend support to the importance of trainee perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral flexibility in the acquisition and use of counseling skills. Suggestions for altering counseling skills training and further research are provided.     

Supporting the Vulnerable Child: Engaging Fathers in the Home–School Dimension of Pastoral Care

Drawing on findings from a recent study of pastoral care within a primary school, this article highlights the role of fathers as a key factor in a range of successful interventions. While gains can be made in work with vulnerable children, the home–school dimension of pastoral care deserves far greater attention by schools, educationalists and researchers than it has so far received. The English government has a strategy to promote a closer relationship between parents and primary schools: much depends upon the resources available to schools and the commitment of staff.