Developing a Social Advocacy Model for Counselor Education

This article describes how the faculty of a counselor education program developed and implemented a social advocacy model of counselor preparation.     

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 our Traveller children to read: an action research project

In both Ireland and the UK, Traveller children reportedly suffer the lowest rates of educational attainment of any group. This study aimed to promote evidence‐based practice in the teaching of reading to Traveller children and thereby to raise their levels of achievement. This involved teachers delivering an evidence‐based intervention over a specified time frame (three months) and collecting pre‐ and post‐intervention data. The project involved 11 teachers in ten settings. There were seven primary and two secondary schools and one Youthreach project involved in the study. Participants were in the age range 6–17 years. Research findings indicated that participants made very significant gains in reading, and their rates of progress compared well with best international standards. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Counseling for Pain Control

New techniques are being developed that enhance the effectiveness of psychological forces in controlling bodily reactions. Old oriental techniques of the same kind are being rediscovered by the Western world. All of them are powerful tools for the psychological control of pain. This article reviews such techniques and addresses itself to the contributions that counselors—as behavioral scientists and human relations experts—can make to alleviate physical pain, be it of organic or psychogenic origin     

Training Professionals in Industrial Design. Les Ateliers: a French experience

The Ecole Nationale Superieure de Creation Industnelle, Les Ateliers, was opened in November 1982 under the auspices of the French Ministry of Industry and Culture. This article gives an idea of the aims of this new French industrial design school and the education structure adopted in order to reach them. A case study illustrates the policy of partnership with industry.     

The Counselor Educator Crunch: Anatomy of a Faculty Search

When this 25-year-old counselor education program found itself with two faculty vacancies to fill, interesting experiences ensued. To determine whether those experiences were unique or comparable to those in other institutions with similar geographic, demographic, and economic characteristics, a survey of institutional vacancies in counselor education was taken. The results indicated that there seems to be an impending shortage of qualified counselor educators.