Concurrent validity of the Woodcock-Johnson tests of cognitive ability with the WISC-R: EMR children

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) were administered in a counterbalanced order to 30 children referred for a three-year reevaluation. All children were currently placed in an educable mentally retarded (EMR) program. The children ranged in age from 8-0 to 12-5 years, with a mean of 10-6. The correlation coefficient between the WISC-R and WJTCA was observed to be .72. Significant mean differences were found between the WISC-R and WJTCA full scale standard scores. The implications of the findings are discussed relative to the placement of children in classes for the mentally retarded. Explanations for the mean differences between the WJTCA and WISC-R also are explored.     

Differences in school psychological report writing as a function of doctoral vs. nondoctoral training

This study was designed to examine differences in the report-writing skills of doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists. Fourteen doctoral level and 13 specialist level public school psychologists provided the 50 school psychological reports used in this study; 25 reports were written by doctoral level school psychologists and 25 were written by specialist level school psychologists. The reports were categorized according to the referral problem: mental retardation, learning disability, reading problem, emotional difficulty, and behavior problem. The psychological reports were rated by a panel of educators using an 18-item rating scale. The results indicated no significant differences between the ratings of the doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists' reports. Educators did, however, consistently rate reports that analyzed mentally retarded children's evaluations better than any of the other four report categories, regardless of the degree level of the school psychologist. Results indicated that both specialist level and doctoral level school psychologists are capable of meeting the needs of educators in the area of report writing.     

九个好习惯,练就职场达人

既然三月有一个属于女性的节日,那么就让我们一起来关注这个话题.美国一项研究调查发现,如果一位女性拥有某些重要特质,无疑将有助于其获得更多晋级和提升的机会,这些特质包括了自信,坦率,实力,竞争力,是否能够清晰、大胆地表达自己的需求,甚至有些阳刚之气的女性都更易获得职场成功! 如果你想深入发掘职场潜能,拓展成功机会,就要主动出击.     

Support for Students with Hidden Disabilities in Universities: A Case Study

More students with disabilities are accessing the tertiary sector with many disabilities not easily observed (or hidden), because there are no physical indicators. These “hidden” disabilities affect a variety of cognitive processes and may be developmental or acquired. To ensure students with hidden disabilities can enrol, engage in and benefit from tertiary education, universities generally provide a range of supports. Typically these supports and any reasonable adjustments are negotiated with students taking into account a number of factors including, where available, any supporting documentation that they might be able to provide. This case study reports efforts within one large Australian university to support higher education students with hidden disabilities on campus. Perceptions on the use of and barriers to support available were collected from seven undergraduate students who self-identified as having hidden disabilities and from eight support staff. Results indicated that students found their informal networks to be their most effective supports, closely followed by clear, caring and flexible lecturers and tutors. There were mixed positive and negative perceptions reported on the universal and disability-specific supports available. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Exemplifying a Continuum of Collaborative Engagement: Raising Literacy Achievement of At-Risk Students in New Zealand

This article reports different ways researchers work with stakeholders in national projects targeted at raising achievement of students. Specifically, New Zealand has a persistent high performance–low equity profile in international tests, with indigenous Māori students and immigrants from the Pacific Islands most at risk of underachievement and of leaving school without qualifications. Policy has aimed to address this issue largely through provision of high-quality professional development to enhance effectiveness of practice. The notion of a continuum of collaboration is proposed; examples are presented that are positioned at different points in terms of the ideal of coconstructed, evidence-based judgments and decisions. The examples represent models or ways of working and the analysis captures both the varied nature of the interface that researchers have with policy makers, ministry officials, deliverers of professional development, and schools, and the affordances and tensions that accompany each model. Student achievement outcomes are identified.