The Effects of Training and Performance Feedback During Behavioral Consultation on General Education Middle School Teachers' Integrity to Functional Analysis Procedures

Gickling's model of curriculum-based assessment (CBA) has been linked to problem identification and intervention development and is used in several school consultation approaches. This article uses Ellis's (2001) three levels of research criteria to examine the use of CBA in a school consultation model. Aside from the need for more psychometric data, available research has consistently supported the theoretical soundness and demonstrated the effectiveness of CBA. However, there is evidence that CBA lacks widespread and consistent implementation. Areas for future research and implications for practice are included.     

Feminist theory and collaborative learning in seminar contexts

This paper describes the processes undertaken to construct more equitable and accountable evaluation procedures within seminars: that is, contexts where the salient modalities being evaluated are participation and oral expression. We describe the distinctive features of our model, including facilitation of the work of teaching assistants, ways to operationalize feminist pedagogy, and processes for evaluation. We articulate the specifics of these features as well as offering a comprehensive 'insider's' account of the actual seminar process we employ. We end by describing teaching, learning, evaluation and institutional outcomes.     

Implementing a culturally attuned functional behavioural assessment to understand and address challenging behaviours demonstrated by students from diverse backgrounds

As the US student population continues to become increasingly diverse, educators have encountered difficulties in distinguishing between cultural differences and genuine disability indicators. This concern is clearly evident in assisting students from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate chronic challenging behaviours. Past practices (e.g. disciplinary office referrals, out-of-school suspensions, expulsion) have contributed to the likelihood of students from diverse backgrounds being misidentified as having an emotional or behavioural disorder. However, by tailoring the functional behavioural assessment (FBA), educators better differentiate cultural factors from disability characteristics and better understand the students’ needs. This paper will discuss the significance in meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, provide an overview of the FBA process and present considerations in creating a culturally attuned FBA.     

Perspectives on select field-based experiences for pre-service teachers of students with emotional and behavioural disorders

The proficiency with which teachers of students with emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) plan for, provide instructional activities, and address the challenging behaviour of their students is influenced by the nature of their preservice teacher preparation. The purpose of this study was to examine educators’ perceptions of the importance of preservice field-based experiences. Results indicate that educators of students with EBD consider student teaching of both students with EBD and students without disabilities very important experience. Educators with more than 10 years experience also indicated that the observation of police, parole, and judicial services concerned with students with EBD was an important preservice experience. Limitations of the study and implications for preservice teacher preparation are discussed.     

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education: Implications for Health Sciences Librarianship

The Association of College and Research Libraries is developing a new framework of information literacy concepts that will revise and replace the previously adopted standards. This framework consists of six threshold concepts that are more flexible than the original standards, and that work to identify both the function and the feelings behind information literacy education practices. This column outlines the new tentative framework with an eye toward its implications for health sciences libraries, and suggests ways the medical library community might work with this new document.     

Sport Commitment Among Competitive Female Gymnasts

The purpose of this study was to examine age and competitive level differences in the relationship between determinants and level of sport commitment. Gymnasts (N = 304) comprised three age groups (8–11, 11–14.5, and 14.5–18 years) and two competitive levels (Levels 5–6 and 8–10). Multiple regression analyses revealed: (a) perceived costs and social constraints from parents and best friends were the strongest predictors of commitment for the youngest gymnasts, (b) perceived costs, personal investments, and parent social constraints predicted commitment for 11–14.5-year-old gymnasts, and (c) perceived competence and costs predicted commitment for the oldest gymnasts. Competitive level differences also emerged; for Level 5–6 gymnasts, personal investments, perceived costs, coach social support, and social constraints by coach, best friend, and teammates were predictors of commitment. Personal investments and teammate social constraints were significant predictors for Level 8–10 gymnasts. Developmental factors and additional determinants are important to consider in further studies of the sport commitment model.     

The Impact of Girls' Interscholastic Sport Participation on Academic Orientation

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the influence of athletics and other extracurricular activities on the academic orientation of female high school students. Senior girls were categorized into groups—labeled athlete-only (comprising students who participated only in athletics as an extracurricular activity), service-only (students who participated in service activities only), athlete-service (students participating in both) and neither (students whose extracurricular activities included neither athletics nor service activities). Categorizations were based on listings from their high school yearbooks. Those taking the ACT college entrance exam (N = 487) were compared on composite and English scores to the other groups, and to national and state averages. Analyses of covariance, controlling for SES and extent of activity involvement revealed that the athlete-only group recorded the lowest average scores, but these could not be attributed to the participation category to which they belonged. Rather, socioeconomic level and extent of activity involvement were factors contributing to most of the differences between groups in which higher SES levels and higher levels of involvement were predictive of higher ACT scores. Moreover, none of the groups' scores were significantly different from national or slate averages. These results refute the notion that involvement only in athletics is detrimental to educational achievements for females, and lead to certain recommendations for longitudinal, multi-measure investigations of academic orientations.     

Influence of Social Goal Orientations and Peers on Unsportsmanlike Play

Abstract

The present study was designed to examine the influence of personal (i.e., social goal orientations or definitions of success that include interpersonal relationships) and situational (i.e., peer influence) factors on decisions surrounding unsportsmanlike play. Middle school students (ages 11–15 years) completed a measure to assess task, ego, and social goal orientations. Participants also read scenarios about unsportsmanlike actions and responded to questions tapping the intention to perform those actions. A series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that in certain peer contexts, social goal orientations influenced unsportsmanlike play responses above and beyond the contribution of task and ego goal orientations. Results varied for boys and girls and provide support for including social goal orientations in achievement motivation research in the physical domain.     

Developing research capacity among graduate students in an interdisciplinary environment

A critical review of research to date suggests a need to explore the development of graduate student research capacity from the standpoint of graduate students. Six members of an interdisciplinary graduate student colloquium at the Centre for Youth and Society (Victoria, Canada) offer their perspective. Our research involved four phases, each illustrating the processes that refined our understanding of the components that contributed to the development of our graduate student research capacity. First, we engaged in several round-table discussions and created a conceptual map depicting components that were meaningful in developing our research capacity. Second, we examined previous work on graduate student research capacity development and compared this data to the conceptual map. Third, we conducted a thematic analysis of secondary data of graduated students with similar interdisciplinary training and involvement in the Centre. Finally, the data analysis was used to refine the conceptual map that may benefit educators and future graduate students. From the standpoint of students themselves, we discuss those components perceived as best contributing to the development of graduate student research capacity and highlight the importance of an interdisciplinary context and writing process.     

Four methods of identifying change in the context of a multiple component reading intervention for struggling middle school readers

The results from controlled intervention research have indicated that effective reading interventions exist for children with reading difficulties. Effect sizes for older struggling readers, however, typically have not matched the large effects demonstrated with younger children. Standardized effect sizes for intervention/control comparisons obscure important individual differences within intervention and control groups—differences potentially relevant to the who and why of intervention success. The present study reports the outcomes of PHAST Reading, a research-based multiple component reading intervention. Participants were 270 Grade 6, 7, and 8 students reading significantly below age-level expectations, who participated in a year-long intensive small-group intervention. Four methods were applied to characterize individual change: (a) normalization relative to age-appropriate standards; (b) statistically-reliable pre–post change using the Jacobson–Truax index; (c) individually-estimated growth rates using hierarchical linear modeling; and (d) change to a fixed criterion across multiple measures. Each method was evaluated for its ability to identify intervention outcomes, replicate traditional group-based effect size metrics, and characterize individual differences across participants depending on whether change was demonstrated. Each method replicated traditional group-based effect sizes, with advantages in consistency and predictive power for the reliable change index and growth curve approaches.