On Diffidence: the Moral Psychology of Self-Belief

The language of self-belief, including terms like shyness and diffidence, is complex and puzzling. The idea of self-esteem in particular, which has been given fresh currency by recent interest in 'personalised learning', continues to create problems. I argue first that we need a 'thicker' and more subtle moral psychology of self-belief; and, secondly, that there is a radical instability in the ideas and concepts in this area, an instability to which justice needs to be done. I suggest that aspects of deconstruction are helpful here, and offer a deconstructive reading of Kipling's poem, If —, in order to illustrate the power of literature and a certain kind of philosophy to destabilise and resist closure.     

Issues and Problems in the Group Supervision of Beginning Group Problems

This article explores the process of supervising prospective group counselors in terms of the problems and the issues counseling students present during group practicum. In it, group counselors express concerns about (a) establishing a trust relationship with both their supervisors and their peers, (b) assuming a group leadership position, (c) establishing a satisfactory co-leadership relationship, (d) knowing when and how to disclose information about themselves to their counseling groups, and (e) integrating theory and practice. It is suggested that the process of supervision take into consideration the common set of issues that beginning group counselors face and that supervision be an active rather than a reactive process. The article also presents methods for conceptualizing and conducting the practicum for group counselors.     

Moment-to-Moment Counseling Process Feedback Using a Dual-Channel Audiotape Recording

A survey of 28 counseling practicum students revealed that although their most time-intensive training activity was listening to postsession audiotapes, it ranked fifth on perceived effectiveness, with supervisor feedback ranking first. This study outlines a method of combining the time-intensity of audiotape playback with direct supervisor feedback using dual-channel (stereophonic) tape recorders in the counseling laboratory. Posttreatment assessment indicated strong student support for this method.     

What Can PISA Tell Us About Teacher Shortages?

The OECD's recent research initiative, Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers ( OECD 2002 ), has highlighted teacher supply and demand as an area of international concern. Using data collected in this area as part of a wider OECD initiative (the PISA 2000 study) an individual‐level analysis was conducted on the views on teacher recruitment and retention of 5416 headteachers, principals and administrators working in secondary schools in 25 countries. The findings showed considerable variation between countries in terms of perceptions of the impact of teacher shortages, inadequacy and turnover. Surprisingly, however, differences in the reports of headteachers working in the same countries were only rarely related to the size, location, or other characteristics of the schools in which they worked. Although there has been considerable previous research into headteachers’ views on this issue, much of this research has been, by necessity, small scale and restricted to a single nation. This article provides a much larger scale perspective and allows international comparisons to be made.     

AN ANALYTICAL PROCEDURE FOR THE EQUIPERCENTILE METHOD OF EQUATING TESTS

Prior use of the equipercentile method of test equating was based on a graphic procedure which is tedious, subject to smoothing errors, and non-analytical. Recognition of the equipercentile method as a curve-fitting procedure for two cumulative percentage distributions leads to a proposed analytical solution to the problem through use of linear estimates for successive "missing" cumulative percentage points. A complete equipercentile procedure which uses the proposed method and provides linear and quadratic functions for goodness-of-fit and extrapolation is discussed and illustrated with data from a test equating project.