“Students Should not be Your Friends”: Testimonio by a Latina on Mothering One's Own,Othermothering, and Mentoring Students in the Academy

This article is an autoethnographic account of how I negotiated intersectional identities as a Latina, mother, and professor, mentoring students of color. Specifically, I examine the ways mothering shaped my relationships with the students I mentored. I engaged in “othermothering” and utilized “pedagogies of the home” by creating reciprocal relationships of caring and nurturing. Utilizing critical race theory (CRT) and testimonio, I argue that my identity as a mother of color successfully negotiating the tenure track impacted the ways in which I mentor(ed) students of color.     

ICTs and Internet adoption in China's tourism industry

The fast development of information communication technologies (ICTs) and the expansion of the Internet have changed industry structures around the world. New technologies have been adopted in the tourism industry in Europe and America for more than 30 years, and the trend is likely to continue into the future. China, as a fast-growing developing country in Asia, is gaining importance in the international tourism market for its historical and cultural attractiveness as a destination. It is also becoming a booming tourism source country as its population starts travelling overseas. This study examines how the ICT and Internet gradually change the tourism industry structure in China; how important such changes are, and to where such changes will lead China's tourism industry. This exploratory research is conducted based on information collected from several tourism organisations, such as airlines, hotels, tour operators, visitor attractions and the tourism authorities within China.     

Freshman Year Dropouts: Interactions Between Student and School Characteristics and Student Dropout Status

Data from a large school district in the southwestern United States were analyzed to investigate relations between student and school characteristics and high school freshman dropout patterns. Application of a multilevel logistic regression model to student dropout data revealed evidence of school-to-school differences in student dropout rates and school-to-school differences in the relation between student characteristics and student dropout status. Investigation of the school differences revealed that school organization and schools' social context were statistically significant predictors of several of the dropout outcomes. Evidence of school context and school practice effects on student dropout outcomes suggests that school personnel may need to consider how characteristics of the school environment interact with the background characteristics of students when developing and focusing dropout prevention strategies. Implications for school policy and practice are discussed.     

Imagery use in elite youth sport participants: reinforcing the applied significance of achievement goal theory

This study examined the motivational profiles of elite youth athletes to determine whether individual differences in goal orientation corresponded with differential levels of imagery use. Two hundred ninety male (n = 88) and female (n = 202) young athletes (M = 16.6 years, SD = 1.48) completed the Perceptions of Success Questionnaire (POSQ, Roberts, Treasure, & Balague, 1998) to assess dispositional goal orientations and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998) to assess frequency and function of imagery use. A two-stage cluster analysis on the POSQ scores revealed a three-cluster solution with a multivariate analysis of variance indicating significant differences among cluster groups in imagery use. Athletes in Cluster 3 (higher task/higher ego) used significantly more imagery, regardless of the function than athletes in Cluster 1 (lower task/moderate ego) or Cluster 2 (moderate task/lower ego). These findings are discussed with reference to the role of achievement motivation in influencing young athletes' behavioral investments in mental strategies.     

Counselor Educators' Experiences Preparing Preservice School Counselors: A Phenomenological Study

The authors conducted a phenomenological study to explore the experiences of 32 school counselor educators preparing preservice school counselors. Analysis of data from 3 focus groups revealed 3 themes: breadth versus depth, balancing specialties and professor partiality, and preparation versus practice. These results highlight the need for collaboration across counseling specialties at the preservice level.     

Pre-kindergarten teachers’ use of transition practices and children's adjustment to kindergarten

This study describes pre-kindergarten teachers’ use of kindergarten transition practices and examined the extent to which these practices were associated with kindergarten teachers’ judgments of children's social, self-regulatory, and academic skills upon their entry into kindergarten. Participants were 722 children from 214 pre-kindergarten classrooms participating in the National Center for Early Development and Learning's (NCEDL) Multi-State Pre-kindergarten Study. Of nine transition practices intended to promote children's adaptation to kindergarten, pre-kindergarten teachers reported implementing, on average, six transition practices, with notable variation across pre-kindergarten classrooms. Children were judged by their kindergarten teachers to have more positive social competencies and fewer problem behaviors when they attended pre-kindergarten classrooms in which more transition activities were implemented and, specifically, in which teachers discussed curricula or specific children with kindergarten teachers. In addition, positive associations between kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of children's social competence and pre-kindergarten transition activities (total number of activities and activities that children experience directly) were stronger for children who experienced social and economic risks. Implications of these findings related to alignment across the pre-kindergarten to kindergarten settings to improve children's school readiness are discussed.     

Designing Curriculum-Based Mathematics Professional Development for Kindergarten Teachers

This study examines the influence of a year-long mathematics professional development program on Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs, content knowledge, instructional practices, and their students’ achievement. The professional development program is grounded in the theoretical construct of learner-centered professional development and focuses on supporting teachers’ integration of standards-based pedagogies aligned with the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. Data analysis included examining 15 Kindergarten teachers’ mathematics content knowledge, their beliefs about mathematics, their enactment of student-centered pedagogies, and student achievement on curriculum-based assessments. Findings indicated that teachers adopted more student-centered pedagogies and embraced more student-centered beliefs about mathematics teaching during their time in the project. Further, Kindergarten teachers also demonstrated gains in their mathematical content knowledge, and those content knowledge gains were linked to gains in student achievement.