Beyond the ‘classic’ nurture group model: an evaluation of part‐time and cross‐age nurture groups in a Scottish local authority

This study begins to explore ways in which the principles underpinning the traditional ‘nurture group’ model could be altered and age ranges extended while continuing to deliver the proven success of nurture groups in promoting children's social and emotional development. Part‐time nurture groups were established in four different primary schools within the same council area. A total of 25 pupils ranging from age four to ten years attended the nurture groups for the 2006/7 school session and a control group was established within each school. All fifty children were tested using the Boxall Profile, literacy, numeracy and motor skills baseline assessments at pre‐, mid‐ and post‐nurture group intervention. Analysis of the results showed that for the children who had received a part‐time nurture group experience, statistically significant gains were made in the areas of development assessed by the Boxall Profile. Gains were also made in the areas of literacy, numeracy and motor skills; however, these gains were not at a statistically significant level. Results also show that the younger the pupil accessed the nurture group, the more significant gains were made in the measures used.     

Teaching about Electronic Records in an Online Learning Environment

The author, a senior lecturer at Edith Cowan University in Australia, discusses the literature used to teach macroappraisal of electronic records through distance education techniques within an environment rooted in the Australian records continuum. In this context, students are given a sound grounding in systems analysis and design, as well as functional appraisal and the importance of metadata. A key teaching element is the International Standards Organization's Information and Documentation—Records Management (ISO 15489), which she demonstrates has strong parallels to the principles of systems analysis and design.     

HIV/AIDS Education for Counselors: Efficacy of Training

This article discusses the efficacy of an intensive model of HIV/AIDS counselor training. Positive changes in knowledge and attitudes were reported at the posttraining stage and were sustained over time.     

A QUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR MEASURING SEX “BIAS” IN STANDARDIZED TESTS1

The item content of eight standardized tests was examined for sex imbalance as well as for stereotyped representations of women. A quantitative method for classifying tests with respect to sex imbalance was devised which depended upon the frequency counts of male and female nouns and pronouns. Applications of this method revealed that all eight of the standardized tests exhibited considerable sex imbalance and, further, that this sex imbalance was not due to the language restrictions of English. For 19 of the 27 batteries analyzed, males are referred to more than twice as often as females. For only one battery, females were referred to more often than males. Test constructors, editors, and publishers are invited to make use of the index to measure sex imbalance in new, as well as already published testing materials. In this way, the undesirable reinforcement of discriminating sex-role stereotyping can be curtailed, and the preponderance of male noun and pronoun references can be eliminated.     

Multicultural Counselor Training: Students' Perceptions of Helpful and Hindering Events

Counselor trainees perceptions during a multicultural counseling course highlighted the importance of experiential activities and ethnically diverse speakers to the development of awareness and knowledge.     

Environmental Education Researchers as Environmental Activists

This article is a reflective account of a researcher's journey whilst embarking on a study which was political in its intentions and participatory in its orientation. Learning from feminist writings, where researchers have shared stories and explored notions of insider/outside, academic/activist, the central argument of the article is the development of an activist approach to environmental education research. The article draws on a doctoral research study which was a critical ethnography of a school and community engaged in a socially critical approach to environmental education.     

Enhancing Research Training for Counseling Students: Interuniversity Collaborative Research Teams

This article presents the development of an interuniversity research team that addressed factors related to research productivity as well as a preliminary evaluation of this innovative method of enhancing research training.