Preparing for re-entry; A program for the sojourning student

A visitor to a new country is assaulted by many changes, both environmental and cultural. Expecting things to be different the visitor is shocked by what he/she finds, thus the term culture shock. A second shock, possibly more traumatic, awaits the international sojourner upon his or her arrival home. The experiences of the returnee typically do not match his or her expectations. Frequently, the individual returning home is not anticipating adjustment difficulties. Compounding the problem is the fact that re-entry has not been widely recognized or researched and thus, little has been done to help individuals to prepare for it.Focusing on international students, who by definition return home, this paper refers to a wide range of social, cultural, political, educational and professional difficulties. The many variables which determine the extent of re-entry shock are identified and discussed. A group program is suggested as one strategy for assisting those about to return home. The results of a pilot study of such a program illustrate how it can be a powerful force to minimize the disorientation and shock of re-entry.This paper serves as a challenge to all those who are responsible or work with international students. Re-entry preparation is also a prerequisite if individuals, institutions, corporations, home countries and host countries are to maximize the benefits and minimize the problems of studying or working abroad.     

Measuring perceived social presence in distributed learning groups

Social presence—the degree to which ‘the other’ in a communication appears to be a ‘real’ person—has captured the attention of those dealing with learning in groups through computer-supported collaborative learning environments. The concept is important because it affects participation and social interaction, both necessary for effective collaboration and knowledge construction. This article reports on the construction and validation of a self-reporting (Dutch-language) Social Presence Scale to determine perceived social presence in distributed learning groups using computer-supported collaborative learning environments. The result is a one-dimensional scale consisting of five items with an internal consistency of .81. We used a nomological network of similar constructs for further validation. The findings suggest that the Social Presence Scale has potential to be useful as a measure for social presence.     

Principal Recruitment: An Empirical Evaluation of a School District’s Internal Pool of Principal Certified Personnel

Applicant pools for principal vacancies are shrinking nationwide. This shortage of job applicants requires school districts to evaluate their internal pools of principal certified personnel. In this study, 194 certified individuals from a large school district responded to a survey measuring attraction to the job of principal, current job satisfaction versus expected satisfaction in the job of principal, barriers to pursuing the job, and recommended changes in the job. Few participants intended to apply for principal vacancies due to age (median=51), lack of self-reported capability to do the job, and satisfaction with the current job. Participants perceived their job satisfaction would decrease on assuming the job of principal relative to factors such as time with family and job security, and increase relative to factors such as salary and opportunity to experience varied activities. Implications for principal recruitment and recommendations for restructuring the job are discussed.     

Sameness-difference judgments inSaimiri sciureus based on volumetric cues

The rationale was to apply Piaget’s theory and methods to the study of the phylogenetic development of cognitive abilities. It was asked whether squirrel monkeys have the prerequisite skills for conservation of quantity, and, specifically, whether they might respond differentially to equivalent and unequivalent volumetric cues. All monkeys responded significantly and differentially to pairs of identical objects or pairs of objects similar only in volume vs. pairs of objects which differed in volume. It was concluded that squirrel monkeys have the prerequisite skills for the conservation of quantity. Discussion included methodological problems associated with demonstrating conservation in nonhumans as well as the potential usefulness of Piaget’s theory for phylogenetic studies of intelligence.     

Practicum Placement in a Counseling-Employment Agency for Disadvantaged Youth

In order to emphasize the development of skills in helping the culturally disadvantaged, graduate students were given practicum placement in a Department of Labor-financed agency which gave counseling and employment training to disadvantaged youth. Students attended staff meetings, interviewed staff members concerning the work they performed, and discussed client contacts with caseworkers, in addition to interviewing agency clients. Increased awareness of problems, broadened conceptualizations, and expansion of interpersonal skills were seen as advantages of the practicum. Limitations included some lack of goal clarity and inefficiency of time use in dealing with this clientele.     

The Impact of an SES-Based Model on a College's Undergraduate Admissions Outcomes

In Grutter vs. Bollinger, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of race as one factor, among many in admissions decisions is constitutional. It is not known, however, whether future legal opinions will continue to uphold the use of affirmative action policies. Some have argued that class-based preferences can achieve many of the same goals as in affirmative action while being more likely to withstand legal challenges. To date, no empirical studies have been conducted on the potential impact of a class-based admissions policy if implemented at an undergraduate institution. This paper reports on a study at a selective public college and compares a number of outcomes under three admissions models: the original admissions decisions, a purely academic model, and an socio-economic status (SES)-based model. The findings showed that use of the SES-based model would have led to a more academically qualified class than in the original admitted class while maintaining substantially greater student diversity that was found under the academic model. An admissions policy based on preferences for socio-economically disadvantaged applicants appears to hold promise for other colleges and universities with similar institutional and applicant characteristics. The ideas and research design reported in this paper are based on the doctoral dissertation study of the second author, Undergraduate Admissions Models Incorporating Socioeconomic Factors (Johnson, 2000).