PERSONNEL NEEDS IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY: A 10‐YEAR FOLLOW‐UP STUDY ON PREDICTED PERSONNEL SHORTAGES

Concerns regarding whether a sufficient supply of school psychologists exists have been evident for decades. Studies have predicted that school psychology would face a critical personnel shortage that would peak in 2010, but continue into the foreseeable future. The current study is a 10‐year follow‐up investigation based on previously published personnel shortage projections. Data derived from the National Association of School Psychologists 2009–2010 national study were used to examine current personnel shortages as well as to project the extent to which personnel shortages are likely to continue. Findings indicate that the field of school psychology continues to experience a personnel shortage that will continue through 2025. Additionally, greater rates of retirements are projected for the field for school psychologists who are males, who possess a doctoral degree, and for university faculty. Analyses based on the U.S. Census Regions indicate that notable differences are likely to occur in the match between the supply of and demand for school psychologists based on geographical location. Implications are discussed relating to the recruitment and retention of school psychologists and to the services they deliver.     

International University Education: An Australian Perspective

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities' websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the university context, however. It is argued that those institutions that have a strong distinctive image will be in a better position to face a changing future. Employing a multistage methodology, the web pages of 20 UK universities were investigated by using a combination of content and multivariable analysis. Results indicated ‘traditional values’ such as teaching and research were often well communicated in terms of online brand but ‘emotional values’ like social responsibility and the universities' environments were less consistently communicated, despite their increased topicality. It is therefore suggested that emotional values may offer a basis for possible future online differentiation.     

Ratios of h-cores,h-tails and uncited sources in sets of scientific papers and technical patents

Five ratios R_H, R_T, S_H, S_T and S_Z derived from the three-part division of a set of sources in h-core, h-tail and uncited sources are defined. Dynamic changes in the three independent ratios R_H, S_H and S_Z are studied for six selected topics. Data about these topics are obtained from the Web of Science for scientific papers and Derwent Innovations Index for technical patents. It is observed that all R_H- and S_H-values decrease when the time span widens, while S_Z stays the same or increases; and that all R_H- and S_H-values for papers are larger than the corresponding values for patents. The shifted Lotka distribution is used in a theoretical interpretation of these empirical phenomena.     

The Relationship between Students’ Characteristics and Their Impressions of Online Courses

This study explored relationship between students’ conscientiousness and motivation, their impressions of the online environment, and their learning. Also examined were relationships between their impressions of the online environment and their sense of community and their interactions with others. Questionnaires were completed by 84 students at a private college. Students who were more conscientious and intrinsically motivated had more favorable impressions of online courses. They were engaged, and perceived value in the course, and were less anxious or frustrated when taking online courses. Those students who perceived a sense of community, or social presence, also had more favorable impressions. These relationships and their implications are discussed.     

Fading procedure effects on a visual pattern discrimination reversal in the albino rat

Two groups of albino rats were trained on a simultaneous pattern discrimination task, one with a classical procedure in which the discriminanda remained invariant throughout training, and the other with a fading procedure in which the final task was approached through a series of graduated steps. In a subsequent reversal stage, during which the initial positive stimulus became negative and vice versa, each group was subdivided so that half of the subjects in each original group received reversal training with the same procedure as during acquisition and the other half with the other method. Fading procedures yielded a more proficient performance on every occasion, independently of experimental stage or previous learning history. Results are analyzed in terms of favorable conditions offered by the procedure itself and of beneficial influences exerted over subsequent learning.     

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relations Among Professional Development,Educators’ Beliefs and Perceived Skills,and Response-to-Intervention Implementation

ABSTRACT

Professional development is a critical systems-level intervention thought to facilitate Response-to-Intervention (RtI) implementation. The current study examined the relations between professional development, educator outcomes, and problem-solving implementation within an RtI framework using growth curve modeling. School leadership teams from pilot schools (n = 34) participated in 3 years of training. Pilot schools also received job-embedded coaching. Comparison schools (n = 27) provided a referent group. Results indicated that problem-solving implementation increased faster at pilot schools (β = 0.10, SE = 0.05, t = 2.03, p < .05). In addition, beliefs regarding data-based decision-making (β = 0.36, SE = 0.17, t = 2.13, p < .05) and perceived problem-solving skills applied to academics (β = 0.30, SE = 0.10, t = 3.07, p < .01) positively related to implementation. Implications include the needs to further explore professional development activities and for consultants to utilize evidence-based professional development principles when supporting RtI implementation.     

Early-grade reading support in rural South Africa: A language-centred technology approach

International Review of Education - This article describes a short-term longitudinal study conducted in low-performing rural primary schools in South Africa. The authors were involved in developing...