AN EVIDENCE‐DRIVEN,SOLUTION‐FOCUSED APPROACH TO FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT REPORT WRITING

School‐based practitioners are to implement and report functional behavior assessments (FBAs) that are consistent with both the research literature and the law, both federal and state. However, the literature regarding how best to document the FBA process is underdeveloped. A review of applied behavior analytic and school psychology literature as well as legislation and case law informs FBA reporting practices regarding (a) required content, (b) graphing of data, (c) organization of reports, and (d) clarity of language. The purpose of FBA reports is discussed, and this discussion explicitly informs the use of a solution‐focused approach to improve clarity in report writing. Recommendations for best practices in FBA report writing are provided, and future research needs are highlighted.     

Overview of counseling and information services for adult learners

Counseling and information services for adult learners exist in technologically developing and developed countries. Counseling services are performed by professional counselors, by adult education administrators and teachers, by practitioners in related agencies, and by paraprofessional counselor aides. Information services include mediated and interpersonal marketing and recruitment activities performed by administrators, teachers, and public information specialists. In developing countries, adult education programs and related counseling services tend to be concentrated on categories of adults whose personal development has high priority in national development plans. In developed countries, a wider range of adult education sponsors serves a higher proportion and a more representative cross section of the adult population.There has been increasing recognition throughout the world that counseling and information services for adult learners are important but inadequate. Most counseling of adult learners is provided by people who are not professional counselors. In developing countries, counseling related to adult education is seldom provided by professional counselors, tends to be associated with literacy, employment, and health programs and uses few support materials. Adult education tends to be related to national development goals. In developed countries, counseling related to adult education uses support materials and assessment procedures for planning regarding a wide range of topics and adult life roles. Adult education emphasizes personal development and postsecondary education.The societal context of adult education is reflected in service provision. In developing countries, the extended family performs some functions that in developed countries are performed by counseling personnel. In developing countries, information services to encourage adult education participation rely on word-of-mouth, convenient locations, and inclusion in other activities. In developed countries, recruitment procedures include mail brochures and television announcements.Organizational arrangements for counseling adult learners tend to be more formalized in developed than in developing countries, as reflected in the establishment of community-based educational counseling centers for adults. Inadequate preparation of counselors is a recurrent theme. Comparative analysis and evaluation of counseling and information services for adult learners can yield findings of use throughout the world.

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Zusammenfassung Bildungsberatungs- und Informationsdienste für Erwachsene gibt es sowohl in technisch entwickelten als auch in Entwicklungsländern. Beratung wird durch professionelle Berater, Erwachsenenbildungs-Administratoren und Lehrer, Mitarbeiter in entsprechenden Organisationen und halb-professionelle Beratungsassistenten erteilt. Zu den Informationsdiensten gehören mittelbares und direktes Marketing und Anwerbung durch Administratoren, Lehrer und Experten des öffentlichen Informationswesens. In Entwicklungsländern konzentrieren sich die Erwachsenenbildungsprogramme und die damit verbundenen Beratungsstellen meistens auf diejenigen Kategorien von Erwachsenen, deren persönliche Entwicklung von vorrangiger Bedeutung für die nationalen Entwicklungspläne ist. In entwickelten Ländern steht für die Beratung und Information eines grösseren und repräsentativeren Bevölkerungsanteils ein ausgedehnterer und vielseitigerer Kreis von Erwachsenenbildungs-Förderern zur Verfügung.Auf der ganzen Welt wächst die Erkenntnis, dass Beratung und Information in der Erwachsenenbildung wichtig aber unzulänglich sind. Grösstenteils werden die Erwachsenen von Nicht-Professionellen beraten. In Entwicklungsländern wird diese Beratung nur selten von professionellen Beratern erteilt; ausserdem bezieht sie sich meistens auf Alphabetismus-, Beschäftigungs- und Gesundheitsprogramme und verwendet wenig Hilfsmaterial. Erwachsenenbildung wird oft nur auf nationale Entwicklungsziele bezogen. In entwickelten Ländern benutzen die Beratungsstellen Hilfsmaterialien sowie Bewertungsverfahren für die Planung eines reichen Angebots an Themen und Erwachsenenrollen. Die Erwachsenenbildung legt Nachdruck auf persönliche Entwicklung und höhere Bildung.Der soziale Kontext der Erwachsenenbildung spiegelt sich im Angebot wider. In Entwicklungsländern übernimmt die Familie einige Funktionen, die in entwickelten Ländern von Beratungspersonal ausgeübt werden. Die Informationsdienste in Entwicklungsländern verlassen sich darauf, dass die Bevölkerung durch Hörensagen, günstige Lage und Einschluss in andere Aktivitäten zur Teilnahme an Erwachsenenbildungsprogrammen angeregt wird. Die entwickelten Länder benutzen Werbungsverfahren einschliesslich durch die Post versandter Broschüren und Fernsehansagen.Die Organisation der Erwachsenenbildungs-Beratung ist in entwickelten Ländern meistens formeller als in Entwicklungsländern. Dies zeigt sich u.a. in der Errichtung von Gemeindeberatungszentren für Erwachsene. Immer wieder kommt jedoch die unzureichende Ausbildung der Berater ins Gespräch. Eine vergleichende Analyse und Evaluation der Beratungs- und Informationsdienste für Erwachsenenbildung könnte Befunde ergeben, die für die ganze Welt von Nutzen wären.

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Résumé Il existe des services d'orientation et d'information pour élèves adultes dans les pays développés et technologiquement en voie de développement. Les services d'orientation sont tenus par des conseillers d'orientation professionnels, par des administrateurs de l'éducation des adultes, des enseignants, des praticiens d'instances apparentées et par des aides-conseillers paraprofessionnels. Les services d'information comportent des activités interpersonnelles et interposées dans les domaines de l'étude de marchés et du recrutement, pratiquées par des administrateurs, des enseignants et des spécialistes de l'information publique. Dans les pays en voie de développement, les programmes d'éducation des adultes et les services d'orientation qui leur sont associés ont tendance à se concentrer sur les catégories d'adultes dont le développement individuel a une grande priorité dans les plans de développement national. Dans les pays développés, un plus ample éventail de garants de l'éducation des adultes sert une proportion plus forte et une tranche plus représentative de la population adulte.Il a été reconnu de plus en plus dans le monde entier que les services d'orientation et d'information pour les élèves adultes sont importants mais insuffisants. La plupart des consultations d'orientation pour adultes sont données par des gens qui ne sont pas des conseillers professionnels. Dans les pays en voie de développement, les consultations afférentes à l'éducation des adultes sont rarement données par des conseillers professionnels, ont tendance à être associées aux programmes d'alphabétisation, d'emploi et aux programmes sanitaires et se servent de peu de matériaux de support. L'éducation des adultes a tendance à être apparentée aux fins du développement national. Dans les pays développés, les consultations d'orientation afférentes à l'éducation des adultes se servent de matériaux de support et de procédures d'évaluation des besoins, concernant un ample assortiment de sujets et de rôles de la vie d'adulte. L'éducation des adultes met l'accent sur le développement individuel et l'enseignement supérieur.Le contexte social de l'éducation des adultes se reflète dans l'approvisionnement en services. Dans les pays en voie de développement, la famille, ayant une portée plus grande, assume certaines fonctions dont s'acquitte le personnel d'orientation dans les pays développés. Dans les pays en voie de développement, les services d'information désirant encourager la participation à l'éducation des adultes se basent sur la verbalité, des emplacements favorables et l'inclusion dans d'autres activités. Dans les pays développés, les procédures de recrutement comportent des brochures postales et des annonces télévisées.Les dispositions concernant l'organisation des consultations d'orientation pour élèves adultes tendent à être plus formalisées dans les pays développés que dans les pays en voie de développement, ceci étant reflété dans la création de centres de consultations éducatives pour adultes, basés sur la collectivité. La préparation insuffisante des conseillers est un thème récurrent. L'analyse comparative et l'évaluation des services d'orientation et d'information pour élèves adultes peut mettre à jour des résultats pouvant être utiles à travers le monde.

     

Collaborative research in contexts of inequality: the role of social reflexivity

This article reports on the role and value of social reflexivity in collaborative research in contexts of extreme inequality. Social reflexivity mediates the enablements and constraints generated by the internal and external contextual conditions impinging on the research collaboration. It fosters the ability of participants in a collaborative project to align their interests and collectively extend their agency towards a common purpose. It influences the productivity and quality of learning outcomes of the research collaboration. The article is written by fourteen members of a larger research team, which comprised 18 individuals working within the academic development environment in eight South African universities. The overarching research project investigated the participation of academics in professional development activities, and how contextual, i.e. structural and cultural, and agential conditions, influence this participation. For this sub-study on the experience of the collaboration by fourteen of the researchers, we wrote reflective pieces on our own experience of participating in the project towards the end of the third year of its duration. We discuss the structural and cultural conditions external to and internal to the project, and how the social reflexivity of the participants mediated these conditions. We conclude with the observation that policy injunctions and support from funding agencies for collaborative research, as well as support from participants’ home institutions are necessary for the flourishing of collaborative research, but that the commitment by individual participants to participate, learn and share, is also necessary.     

Using narrative fiction as a means of assessing and learning in a history of social welfare module

This article describes a narrative development project undertaken by students on a History of Social Welfare module at a British university. Students were asked to choose a character, setting and story from a range of scenarios and time periods that reflected many of the key areas covered in lecture and seminar classes. The narrative was not formally assessed but aligned closely with the summative assessment for the module. Students were expected, in their narratives, to identify and make explicit reference to legislation, social policy information and sociological/anthropological concepts pertinent to the period and chosen character. Most students played an active part in the construction of the narratives and were encouraged to consider aspects of meta-learning, including how they can work with others and cooperate as a member of a team. As a result of the success of this form of assessment, the project has been developed into the core mode of assessment for this module in future years of delivery.     

Behavioral contrast as a function of component duration and baseline rate of reinforcement

Three experiments examined changes in size of multiple-schedule behavioral contrast with changes in an independent variable. Experiment 1 found that positive contrast generally increased with increases in component duration when pigeons pressed treadles. Experiments 2 and 3 found that positive and negative contrast generally increased with increases in the baseline rates of reinforcement when pigeons pecked keys. The experiments show that positive and negative contrast vary as similar functions of the same variables. Experiment 1 also suggests that these functions are different for different responses.     

Effect of a Pedometer-Based Intervention on Daily Step Counts of Community-Dwelling Older Adults

This study investigated the effect of a 12-week pedometer-based intervention on daily step counts of 147 older adults randomly assigned to an intervention or wait-list control group (M age = 72.9 years, SD = 8.8). The intervention group significantly increased their daily step counts after 12 weeks (M = 639, SD = 2,239) and continued to significantly increase during a 12-week maintenance period (M = 680, SD = 1,721). The control group exhibited no change during the control period (M =-393, SD = 2,050) but had a significant increase in daily step counts (M = 1,580, SD = 2,305) when enrolled in the intervention. The pedometer-based intervention was effective in increasing participants' daily step counts.     

Mandating pre-graduation competence among college and university undergraduates

Assessment, remediation and basic skills testing are key words to many university administrators and state legislators these days. In response to questions from the public about the costs and quality of higher education, some states are mandating basic skills testing and encouraging comprehensive universities to provide remedial programs for students who do not pass the tests. Texas House Bill 2182 is an example of this trend and is discussed in light of ten key issues posed by assessment experts. On most issues, the house bill avoids anticipated pitfalls and provides enough leeway for colleges to design their own reforms according to their individual needs. This may not represent the total solution, but it is a starting point for colleges to develop comprehensive assessment programs over time.Laurelyn Irving Farmer has been working in student services on university campuses since 1978. She received her Bachelors' degree in Sociology from Purdue University, her Masters' in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin and is currently completing a doctorate in Higher Education Administration at the University of North Texas. For the past five years, she has been the Assistant Director for Residence Life at The University of Texas at Arlington.