FACILITATORS OF AND BARRIERS TO MODEL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

This study examined facilitators of and barriers to comprehensive and integrated services. A national sample of 267 full‐time practicing school psychologists who were Regular Members or Early Career Members of the National Association of School Psychologists participated. We administered a survey to participants that measured the extent to which they engaged in comprehensive and integrated services and the top facilitators of and barriers to those services using web‐based survey procedures. Results indicated that the majority of facilitators identified (Personal Attributes, Stakeholder Involvement, Resources and Support, School‐Specific Variables, Contextual Variables) predicted greater levels of comprehensive and integrated service delivery. Identified barriers—which often reflected the opposite condition of the facilitators—predicted lower levels of service delivery in some instances; however, they predicted services less often than did facilitators. Implications for research focused on better understanding factors that impact service delivery and on processes for facilitating increased comprehensive and integrated service delivery are discussed. Additionally, implications for practice include the assessment of facilitators and barriers, the use of data to plan for the delivery of comprehensive and integrated services, and advocacy for systems change.     

Evolution in Freedom? The Meanings of ‘Free School’ in Chile

This article examines the background in which enterprises called free schools, as well as complementary educational activities, have taken root in Chile. Two kinds of recently burgeoning free schools are identified; one supplementing regular schooling with a social justice focus, and another that is a fully fledged alternative to other schooling. The history of freedom itself in Chile is explored from a historical perspective, contrasting somewhat with freedom as it is understood in more developed countries. Parallels to Anglophone free schools such as AS Neill’s Summerhill are also discussed, as well as the sociopolitical context in which Chilean free schools continue to develop.     

Immersive VR for Organic Chemistry: Impacts on Performance and Grades for First-Generation and Continuing-Generation University Students

Innovative Higher Education - Rapid advances in the quality and accessibility of immersive virtual reality (IVR) have brought about intense interest in applications of the technology within higher...     

A change of perspective – Exploring Mexican primary and secondary school students’ perceptions of their teachers differentiated instructional practice

With the increasing student diversity, the establishment of inclusive classrooms has become a top concern of policy-makers worldwide urging teachers to differentiate their instruction according to students’ individual learning needs. As the implementation of differentiated instruction (DI) relies mainly on teachers, previous research has mostly focused on examining teachers’ perspectives on their use of differentiation. In contrast, far less attention has been paid to explore students’ perspectives about their experiences in inclusive classrooms. Therefore, this study aims at examining students’ experiences of their teachers’ actual DI practice. Moreover, this study sets the spotlight on Mexico, a country that has faced changes with a recent proposed educational model. Results from a mixed analysis of variance revealed that students do in fact perceive that their teachers implement DI practices. It appears that both primary and secondary school teachers implement more frequent variants of mastery learning as well as tutoring systems as a means to differentiate their instruction. Implications of the results, as well as further lines of research, are discussed.     

Statement from Journal’s Editorial Leadership: Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation as an Interdisciplinary Outlet for Transformative Consultation Research From Across the Globe

ABSTRACT

To aid potential authors, this statement is an overview of the core values and editorial goals of the current editorial leadership of Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation. The key pillars are that we value research that (a) supports culturally responsive practice and social justice, (b) reflects varied research methodologies and traditions, (c) originates and investigates consultation topics across multiple professional disciplines, and (d) reflects global practice.     

A cross-cultural comparison of German and Canadian student teachers’ assessment competence

ABSTRACT

Teachers’ competence in educational assessment is a key feature in teacher professionalism. Understanding of assessment competence has evolved from the learning of technical skills in assessment to a context-dependent, socially defined understanding encompassing a multitude of approaches to assessment. Thus, a holistic approach to assessment competence is used in this research to specifically consider the role of education culture on assessment competence. In particular, we compared Canadian and German student teachers with regard to their self-rated competence in, and approaches towards, educational assessment. While structural analysis revealed that the overall dimensions in which assessment is perceived do not depend on culture, ANOVAs pointed at some differences between the two countries, particularly concerning assessment purposes and approaches to fairness.     

School Leadership Teams: A Process Model of Team Development

A number of studies have analyzed the factors that influence successful site-based management (SBM), but none has examined the relationships among those factors or their predictive value. In California, school leadership teams (SLTs) represent an aspect of school based management that is teacher-led and oriented to curriculum and school reform. The teams do not operate within the context of a prescribed programmatic formula and are not encumbered by personnel and budgeting decisions as are SBM committees. They receive training to learn to work together to improve teaching and learning at their schools with the goal of affecting student outcomes. To try to understand which factors are predictive of effective SLTs, we analyzed survey data from 71 elementary and 71 secondary SLTs that had received 1 full year of training. Using path analysis, we tested a model that identified the relationships among the factors that are most likely to influence the team's ability to focus on teaching and learning. The strongest predictor of their ability to focus on this important variable was the use of data collected within the school to identify needs and guide future decisions. Our findings also advanced our understanding of how SLTs work and revealed: (1) the importance of developing team skills in problem-solving as a predictor of many other positive relations; (2) the significance of strong professional relations as a predictor of positive district relations, use of data, and a focus on teaching and learning; and (3) the paradox of teams needing to hear parent and student voices and, at the same time, coping with the negative effect on professional relations if they are present on the team.     

Juxtapositioning Geriatrics and Art: The Essence of Caring,Carer, and Cared-for in Films

The need to revolutionize geriatric nursing is dawning. However, there is a negative view regarding this nursing field. The dearth of literature on the use of theatrical films to surface universal realities in a care-driven profession has led to this attempt of bringing to reality the essences of caring, carer, and cared-for and their interactions with each other. This paper presents an innovation of selecting a film (Away From Her) to surface the essences, or lebenswelt, of three universal realities: caring, carer, and cared-for. Content analysis and appreciative inquiry were utilized to achieve the objectives of this study. This bold attempt to tap the field of art, particularly films, has led to the genesis of three themes that resulted from the interaction of the objects under study. The C³ (Carer-Caring-Cared-for) Interaction Model crystallizes the nexus between and among living, learning, and loving in geriatric practice.     

How do students coordinate context-based information and elements of their own knowledge? An analysis of students’ context-based problem-solving in thermodynamics

ABSTRACT

In science education, context-based learning is mostly based on problem-oriented tasks [Gilbert, J. K. (2006). On the nature of “context” in chemical education. International Journal of Science Education, 28(9), 957–976]. Therefore, a relevant question is, how do students integrate the information given in the task into their problem-solving process? The basic assumption is that there is a transition from the situation described in the task to a science model needed to solve the problem [Mestre, J. (2002). Probing adults’ conceptual understanding and transfer of learning via problem posing. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 23(1), 9–50]. The transition needs to be described by parameters of the situation, the science model and the transition process itself. This investigation focuses on the influence of these three elements on the problem-solving process to understand variations in performance [Bennett, J., Lubben, F., & Hogarth, S. (2007). Bringing science to life: A synthesis of the research evidence on the effects of context-based and STS approaches to science teaching. Science Education, 91(3), 347–370]) and the interaction with interest. Despite the large body of research on the mutual influence of context-based problem-solving and interest, research attempting to examine their interplay regarding performance is still lacking. We conducted a hierarchical regression analysis with 178 participants from German high-track schools to investigate three parameters with regard to their influence on affective variables and successful problem-solving: contextualisation of the situation described in the task; the complexity of the scientific model underlying the task; and transparency, which assesses whether and how the learner can identify this model [Löffler, P., & Kauertz, A. (2015). Modellanwendung in kontextualisierten Problemlöseaufgaben [Applying models in contextualised problem solving tasks]. In S. Bernholt (Ed.), Heterogenität und Diversität - Vielfalt der Voraussetzungen im naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht (Vol. 35, pp. 648–650). Kiel: IPN; Durik, A., & Harackiewicz, J. (2007). Different strokes for different folks: How individual interest moderates the effects of situational factors on task interest. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3), 597–610)]. Our findings suggest that these parameters have different effects on how interest is triggered and maintained. Aspects of transparency exhibit small effects on successful problem-solving processes. The results support the assumption that the transition process is the main aspect of context-based problem-solving and can therefore be operationalised as the use of elements of the scientific model in students’ statements. Surprisingly, the usage of such elements cannot be sufficiently explained by pre-knowledge or cognitive abilities.     

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PREFERENCES AND PRACTICES

This study investigated school psychologists’ continuing professional development (CPD) activities, topics, needs, motivations, financial expenditures, and opinions, as well as relationships between select demographic characteristics and certain CPD practices and preferences. A survey was mailed to 1,000 randomly selected Regular Members of the National Association of School Psychologists, resulting in the return of 510 completed surveys, a 51% response rate. Respondents expressed opinions about CPD that were positive, optimistic, and consistent with their high levels of engagement and investments of both time and financial resources. Most respondents reported engaging in 25 or more hours of CPD during the previous year. CPD topics in which they engaged most frequently were response to intervention and academic, behavioral, and social–emotional interventions, and academic screening and progress monitoring. Respondents reported a high level of need for more CPD in those same topic areas, but a low level of need for offerings in standardized assessment. Older school psychologists were less likely to have engaged in CPD relating to contemporary assessment practices and interventions and more likely to have engaged in activities related to standardized assessment. Almost half of the respondents had engaged in CPD through an online activity and reported a desire for more online opportunities. No relationship was found between age and usage of, or positive opinions about, online CPD.