'I Travelled Among Unknown Men': basic skills tutors' perceptions of the National Probation Service as a foreign culture and the implications of this for cross-cutting policy

This article uses the case study of basic skills specialists' perceptions of the National Probation Service (NPS) as a foreign culture, to discuss some issues in developing and implementing cross-cutting policy on basic skills in the NPS. The article draws on three sources of qualitative data, collected as part of the evaluation of the NPS basic skills pathfinder. As educators, tutors experienced the following aspects of NPS culture as alien: its language, values and priorities, environment, and working with offenders. A typology of tutors as explorers, tourists and the stay-at-home type is used to present the extent to and ways in which tutors coped with the NPS. Possible implications of tutors' perceptions for policy development and research on basic skills in the NPS are discussed. The article concludes by relating the case study to broader issues in cross-cutting policy.     

Does shame influence nonsuicidal self-injury among college students? An investigation into the role of shame,negative urgency,and brooding

College students experience high levels of life stress that put them at increased risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). It is important to understand which vulnerabilities put students most at risk, in order to inform treatment in college counseling centers. This study investigated the joint contributions of specific vulnerabilities to lifetime history and frequency of NSSI among a sample of undergraduates (50% reported a history of NSSI). Results showed shame-proneness was uniquely associated with NSSI frequency beyond other negative emotions. Negative urgency and brooding exacerbated this effect. This study provides insights into the contributions of specific vulnerabilities to NSSI and implications for practice.     

College Students’ Appreciative Attitudes Toward Atheists

Atheists are often marginalized in discussions of religious and spiritual pluralism on college campuses and beyond. As with other minority worldview groups, atheists face challenges with hostile campus climates and misunderstanding of their views. The present study used a large, multi-institutional sample to explore predictors of non-atheist college students’ appreciative attitudes toward atheists. Substantial differences were found across identities; secular and spiritual worldview groups hold the most positive views, whereas Christians and Muslims have the most negative attitudes. Interactions with worldview diversity—but not general religious/spiritual engagement—consistently predict more positive attitudes, and these relationships sometimes vary based on students’ own worldviews. These results suggest that colleges and universities can create more inclusive environments for atheists, who constitute a sizable minority group on today’s college campuses.     

Forming the Mentor-Mentee Relationship

A positive mentor–mentee relationship is essential for the mentee’s development of teaching practices. As mentors can hold the balance of power in the relationship with preservice teachers, how do mentors develop positive mentor–mentee relationships? This multi-case study involved: (a) written responses from over 200 teachers involved in a mentoring professional development program, (b) nineteen mentor teachers with written responses and audio-recorded focus groups, and (c) two pairs of mentors and mentees with audio-recorded interviews. Findings revealed that positive relationships required the achievement of trust and respect by sharing information, resources, and expectations and by being professional, enthusiastic, and supportive with collaborative problem-solving. A model is presented that outlines ways in which mentors can form positive mentor–mentee relationships.     

Evolution of self-reporting methods for identifying discrete emotions in science classrooms

Emotion researchers have grappled with challenging methodological issues in capturing emotions of participants in naturalistic settings such as school or university classrooms. Self-reporting methods have been used frequently, yet these methods are inadequate when used alone. We argue that the self-reporting methods of emotion diaries and cogenerative dialogues can be helpful in identifying in-the-moment emotions when used in conjunction with the microanalysis of video recordings of classroom events. We trace the evolution of our use of innovative self-reporting methods through three cases from our research projects, and propose new directions for our ongoing development and application of these methods in both school and university classrooms.     

Increasing interest in social studies: Social perspective taking and self-efficacy in stimulating simulations

This study examined the potential of simulations to bolster interest in middle school social studies classrooms. Using a pre–post-design, we examined 305 middle school students (49% female) who participated in the web-based GlobalEd simulation. In contrast to the motivation declines middle school students usually experience, participants in this simulation became more interested in social studies. We investigated four hypotheses as to why these increases may have occurred. We found no support for the possibility that, (a) students’ interest in a particular issue area or (b) their increased valuing of the subject matter, were related to their increased interest. However, results suggested that, (c) the challenging nature of the activity and (d) students’ increased propensity to engage in social perspective taking may have bolstered their interest in social studies. The discussion explores future research directions and whether implications for classroom teachers are warranted given the correlational nature of the research.