Relations between measures of Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll (CHC) cognitive abilities and mathematics achievement across the school‐age years

Cognitive clusters from the Woodcock‐Johnson III (WJ III) Tests of Cognitive Abilities that measure select Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll broad and narrow cognitive abilities were shown to be significantly related to mathematics achievement in a large, nationally representative sample of children and adolescents. Multiple regression analyses were used to predict performance on the Math Calculation Skills and Math Reasoning clusters from the WJ III Tests of Achievement for 14 age groups ranging in age from 6 to 19 years. Comprehension‐Knowledge (Gc) demonstrated moderate relations with Math Calculation Skills after the early school‐age years and moderate to strong relations with Math Reasoning. Fluid Reasoning (Gf), Short‐term Memory (Gsm), and Working Memory generally demonstrated moderate relations with the mathematics clusters. Processing Speed (Gs) demonstrated moderate relations with Math Reasoning during the elementary school years and moderate to strong relations with Math Calculation Skills. During the earliest ages of the analysis, Long‐term Retrieval (Glr) demonstrated moderate relations with the mathematics clusters, and Auditory Processing (Ga) demonstrated moderate relations with Math Calculation Skills. Visual‐Spatial Thinking (Gv) generally demonstrated nonsignificant relations with the mathematics clusters. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 155–171, 2003.     

Teaching as an Immortality Project: Positing Weakness in Response to Terror

Teaching as a profession can be read as an immortality project, a form of compensation to help resolve a certain kind of existential terror. Terror management theory can help us understand the ways teachers might compensate for their limitedness as humans by imposing prescribed attributes on their students. In response to the freighted reality of teaching as quasi‐missionary work, we suggest a new orientation, namely that the profession embrace the terror of the future that it cannot know. Through a theoretical engagement with Weak Theology in the context of Eugene Thacker's philosophical ‘doomcore’, we hope to re‐orient the educational project into one with lower stakes, a shift from immortality to more ‘goodness’. The desired result is to refocus on the relationships we develop with other humans as well as with the planet.     

Researching the views of pupils with multiple and complex needs. Is it worth doing and whose interests are served by it?

Because of what are perceived by some as potential challenges it is still commonplace for research to fail to seek the opinions of pupils with multiple and complex needs. While many such pupils do have significant communication difficulties, along with other disabilities, which are undoubtedly a constraint, it is crucial in order to be inclusive, that methods of fostering pupil voice are sought. This piece of practitioner‐based research seeks to do this by focusing on the introduction of an aided communication system, Talking Mats? , for pupils with multiple and complex needs in a mainstream secondary school setting. The study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the introduction of Talking Mats. The notion of ‘research’ with this group of pupils is considered and the key issues of reliability, validity and ethics discussed. The paper concludes by reflecting on the findings and gives a number of practical ideas for future practitioner researchers.     

Sexual Intimacy in Counselor Education and Supervision: A National Survey

The incidence and effect of sexual intimacy in graduate education reported by randomly selected female Association for Counselor Education and Supervision members are analyzed. Discussion includes implications for counselor educators and supervisors.     

Modern Languages in the School Curriculum: a philosophical view

This article is based on an analysis of two types of argument, called utilitarian and educational respectively, which are commonly used to justify the teaching of modern/foreign languages in schools. Serious flaws are identified in the utilitarian arguments often employed to defend the teaching of modern languages and different educational arguments which might be offered as justification for their inclusion in the school curriculum are distinguished and appraised. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of the foregoing analysis for the place of modern languages in the school curriculum.     

Professional Identity: A Classic Case of Avoidance

A relationship is suggested between the national image of the American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA) and its membership requirements of graduate counseling programs. Citing the total absence of APGA membership requirements in training programs of one state, growing professional problems for APGA are predicted if the national perspective includes similar absences. I propose that counselor educators initiate the integration of APGA membership criteria with accreditation of graduate programs to enhance APGA's status as a national professional organization.