Teacher Preparation for Community/Junior Colleges

Abstract

A questionnaire was sent to the presidents of 24 Texas community/junior colleges, 22 of whom responded (91.66%). The five parts of the instrument dealt with specific teacher preparation topics, internships and salaries for the interns, and the number of graduate hours of preparation one should have completed in a discipline in order to teach it.

The respondents endorsed several specific topics for preparation programs, and the majority also supported an internship program. Evidently, the subject matter and activities listed in the questionnaire constitute a workable part of a program to prepare community/junior college teachers. A minimum salary of $450 per month is recommended for an intern required to teach three sections of a specific discipline, and a higher salary is very desirable where possible.     

Investigating Supervisory Relationships and Therapeutic Alliances Using Structural Equation Modeling

The authors used structural equation modeling to examine the contribution of supervisees' supervisory relationship levels to therapeutic alliance (TA) scores with their clients in practicum. Results showed that supervisory relationship scores positively contributed to the TA. Client and counselor ratings of the TA also differed.     

Tests in Life and Learning: A deathly dialogue

This article is an imaginary Socratic dialogue between J. S. Mill and Michel Foucault, principally concerning educational assessment.     

History,crisis, and social panic: Minority resistance to privatization of an urban school system

While privatization is not new on the American scene, privatized management of a complete urban public school system is. This article takes an in-depth look at the first such instance in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The city's history and that of its schools are examined to determine the context for privatization and its implications for citizen participation. It is seen that this context contains the ingredients of intergroup responses to loss of dominance and urban decline. From this standpoint, the coming of Boston University and the resistance offered by Chelsea's Latinos to the takeover of the schools is examined. Finally, the implications of this case for minority politics and educational reform are analyzed.     

The Reconstruction of Primary Teachers' Identities

Primary teachers have had to reconstruct their identities in response to the reconstruction of the education system. The holism, humanism and vocationalism of the old Plowden self-identity has been challenged by a new assigned social identity signalled in the assault on child-centred philosophy, the diminution of elementary trust, and changes in the teacher role. These challenges have thrown up new dilemmas for teachers, and represent 'fateful moments' in the careers of their identities. In trying to resolve the dilemmas, teachers have engaged in identity work, characterised mainly by identity talk, and a number of emotional and intellectual strategies. The result has been a partitioning of the old Plowden self-identity, with the 'real self' being largely withheld from the new personal identity and the sense of vocationalism being set to one side. The new personal identity in teaching represents a more instrumental and situational outlook, with the substantial self finding more expression elsewhere. Identity work is still in progress and seems set to continue while teachers have to find ways of relating to two or more competing discourses.     

A content analysis of research published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 1985 through 1989

To determine if actual practice was consistent with commonly recommended research methods and procedures, this study examined 130 studies reported over a 5-year period in three volumes of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST). The results were consistent with similar previous analyses (Shaver & Norton, 1980a, 1980b; Wallen & Fraenkel, 1988a) and indicate that appropriate generalizations beyond the confines of the reported studies may be impossible for most (64%) of the JRST studies surveyed. The findings also show that replication studies, which could be employed to offset deficiencies in generalizability, were not commonly encountered (3%) in these 130 reports. In addition, the study results indicate that many researchers (48%) do not properly restrict their conclusions based on the limits imposed by the accessible populations and samples used; nor do they typically provide possible alternative explanations for the outcomes obtained (76%). These findings prompt the following recommendations: 1. A greater awareness and use of replication as a check on generalizability should be encouraged by the science education community. 2. Clearly defined populations (target and accessible) and fully described samples warrant increased attention as report components from authors, reviewers, and editorial board members of JRST. 3. In light of the difficulties inherent in effecting random selection in educational settings, a greater emphasis should be placed on recognizing the limits that the underlying assumptions of inferential statistics place on research conclusions. The results of this study indicate that the methodological quality of published science education research should remain a concern for both practitioners and readers.     

Discrimination reversal learning in newts

The results of field research suggest that, contrary to being behaviorally inflexible, some amphibians may have the ability to respond effectively to changing environments. The performance of seven newts (Triturus viridescens) was studied across 20 successive reversals of a spatial discrimination problem in a dry T-maze. Submersion in shaded water served as reinforcement for correct responses. The subjects showed a decrease in mean errors across reversals and across ordinal trials within sessions. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of using biologically relevant methodologies in the study of comparative animal learning.     

Differences in Career Aspirations,Influences, and Motives as a Function of Class Standing: An Empirical Evaluation of Undergraduate Criminal Justice Majors

The purpose of this study was to determine whether career aspirations, influences, and motives differ by class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior). A cross-sectional analysis of surveys completed by 204 criminal justice majors revealed a negative correlation between class standing and student interest in a law enforcement career (i.e. freshman and sophomores showed greater interest in a law enforcement career than juniors and seniors). Further analysis indicated that television and movies had a greater impact on the career aspirations of underclassmen, whereas teachers and professors had a greater impact on the career aspirations of upperclassmen. Motivational factors did not differ by class standing, however: students, regardless of class standing, reported that helping others and the interesting nature of the subject matter were their two strongest motives for seeking a criminal justice career and wearing a uniform and power were the two weakest motives for seeking a criminal justice career.     

A note on attrition among college presidents, 1971–1974

Returning to the same stratified random sample of American colleges and universities studied by Cohen and March (1974) during the 1969–1970 academic year, the authors explore the extent to which theoretical estimates of attrition rates presented by Cohen and March predict recent presidential departures within their sample. They find that in the past four years (1971–1974) there has been little change in the attrition pattern among college presidents in this national sample. If there has been any change it is very small and in the direction of slightly longer tenure among presidents of large universities.