Wellness Model of Supervision: A Comparative Analysis

This quasi‐experimental study compared the effectiveness of the Wellness Model of Supervision (WELMS; Lenz & Smith, 2010 ) with alternative supervision models for developing wellness constructs, total personal wellness, and helping skills among counselors‐in‐training. Participants were 32 master's‐level counseling students completing their internship requirements in a counseling program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Results of a split plot analysis of variance indicated that participants in the WELMS condition increased their personal definitions of wellness and total wellness while developing their counseling skills at a similar level when compared with participants receiving other models of supervision.     

Reading the water table: The interaction between literacy practices and groundwater management training in preparing farmers for climate change in South India

This article focuses on farmers’ use of literacy for individual decision-making on crop-water management and crop choices and investigates how farmer participants perceive the usefulness of Farmer Water School (FWS) training. It draws upon a study conducted with farmers of Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India. This study has demonstrated that literacy skills, while valued, are not a prerequisite for all farmers to improve their groundwater and crop management, as long as training includes (1) the presence of at least some literate farmers, (2) activities that involve learning by doing, and (3) learning in small mixed groups of literate and non-literate participants. The study outcomes are of increasing relevance in the context of climate change and variability, as small and marginal farmers constitute over 87 per cent of Indian farmers. Their inability to cope with consequences of climate change could adversely affect the food security in the country.     

A model of women’s educational factors related to delaying girls’ marriage

Delaying girls’ early marriage is a critical public health and education goal in developing countries, in which their own or their mothers’ education may play an important role. This paper reviews the existing evidence of any relationship between girls’ schooling or women’s literacy education and delayed marriage for themselves or their daughters. The majority of research reports focus on the correlation between girls’ schooling and brides’ age at first marriage. But it is conceivable that adult women’s/mothers’ literacy education also has considerable influence on the age at which their daughters are married. Since this aspect has hitherto not been explicitly investigated, the authors propose a model – based on relevant research about the outcomes of girls’ schooling and women’s literacy education – of the mechanisms that mediate between women’s education and delayed marriage for their daughters. The authors argue for research that will inform policy makers interested in helping girls complete secondary schooling about the potential contributions of adult women’s literacy education to this goal.     

Enhancing the transition of commencing students into university: an institution-wide approach

The importance of the first year experience (FYE) to success at university is well documented and supported with the transition into university regarded as crucial. While there is also support for the notion that a successful FYE should have a whole-of-institution focus and models have been proposed, many institutions still face challenges in achieving institution-wide FYE program implementation. This paper discusses the origins, theoretical and empirical bases and structure of an institution-wide approach to the FYE. It uses a case study of the Transitions In Project (TIP) at the Queensland University of Technology to illustrate how institution-wide FYE program implementation can be achieved and sustained. The TIP had four interrelated projects focusing on at-risk students, first year curriculum, learning resources and staff development. The key aim of TIP was to identify good practice and institutionalise it in a sustainable way. The degree of success in achieving this is evaluated.     

Training Paraprofessionals to Support Students with Disabilities: A Literature Review

The purpose of this literature review is to describe intervention research studies in which paraprofessionals received training applicable to student with disabilities. Thirty studies were systematically reviewed to identify (a) characteristics of study participants and settings, (b) characteristics of paraprofessional training and paraprofessional-implemented intervention evaluated within these studies, (c) quality of the studies, and (d) implications for practice and areas for future research. Overall, paraprofessional training and subsequent intervention with students yielded positive outcomes. Training sessions typically were delivered by workshops, lectures, or classes and classroom-based training. However, numerous studies failed to demonstrate characteristics of study quality.     

Student Communities and Individualism in American Cinema

Hollywood films partially construct how Americans think about education. Recent work on the representation of schools in American cinema has highlighted the role of class difference in shaping school film genres. It has also advanced the idea that a nuanced understanding of American individualism helps to explain why the different class genres are shaped as they are. This article attempts to refine this theoretical approach by focusing on the paradox of individualism, which suggests that individualism must always be dependent on community. We examine 5 films (Rushmore 1988, The Breakfast Club 1985, Mona Lisa Smile 2003, School of Rock 2003, and Stand and Deliver 1988) and argue that, although the values of individualism are certainly celebrated, these films also show, perhaps unwittingly, that the achievements of individualism require robust student communities. We describe how student communities function in these films, what achievements they make possible, and what obstacles they face.     

A Comparison of the English Vocabulary Used by Children of Non-American Ancestry in Hawaii before they Reach the Age of Seven Years with that of Kindergarten Children in Continental United States

The authors investigated 2 issues concerning the power of latent growth modeling (LGM) in detecting linear growth: the effect of the number of repeated measurements on LGM's power in detecting linear growth and the comparison between LGM and some other approaches in terms of power for detecting linear growth. A Monte Carlo simulation design was used, with 3 crossed factors (growth magnitude, number of repeated measurements, and sample size) and 1,000 replications within each cell condition. The major findings were as follows: For 3 repeated measurements, a substantial proportion of samples failed to converge in structural equation modeling; the number of repeated measurements did not show any effect on the statistical power of LGM in detecting linear growth; and the LGM approach outperformed both the dependent t test and repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in terms of statistical power for detecting growth under the conditions of small growth magnitude and small to moderate sample size conditions. The multivariate repeated-measures ANOVA approach consistently underperformed the other tests.