Exploratory Study of Spirituality and Psychosocial Growth in College Students

This study examined spirituality, personality, and psychosocial growth among 216 students at a small university in Maryland. Results demonstrated that faith maturity predicted unique variance in purpose in life. There was a main effect observed for gender among faith scores, as well as an interaction effect between gender and year in school among faith scores. The findings suggest that a culture that fosters students' spirituality may have positive effects on aspects of well‐being.     

The psychology of containment: (mis) representing emotional and behavioural difficulties in Australian schools

The number of students in special schools has increased at a rapid rate in some Australian states, due in part to increased enrolment under the categories of emotional disturbance (ED) and behaviour disorder (BD). Nonetheless, diagnostic distinctions between ED and BD are unclear. Moreover, despite international findings that students with particular backgrounds are over-represented in special schools, little is known about the backgrounds of students entering such settings in Australia. This study examined the government school enrolment data from New South Wales, the most populous of the Australian states. Linear and quadratic trends were used to describe the numbers and ages of students enrolled in special schools in the ED and BD categories. Changes between 1997 and 2007 were observed. Results showed an over-representation of boys that increased across the decade and a different pattern across age for boys and girls. Consistent with international findings, these results indicate that trends in special school placements are unrelated to disability prevalence in the population. Rather, it is suggested that schools act to preserve time and resources for others by removing their more challenging students: most typically, boys.     

Art Conquers All? Herbert Read's Education through Art

Herbert Read's Education through Art (henceforth ETA) is a pioneering attempt to provide empirical evidence for the need for art in the public school system. Rooting for art education, Read applies the conclusions of the newly evolving psychological research to his thesis on education, which he holds to be a contemporary revival of Plato's educational theory. Psychological research proves, Read believes, that art is required for the healthy cognitive and emotional development of the child, thereby creating a stable and productive society. ‘Education through art’ nurtures each individual's potential, so that every professional direction one would later take would be ‘art'. Since its publication in 1943, art‐education enthusiasts seem to hold that Read was on the right track, but that ETA suffers from a lack of evidence – a mere technicality that can be amended when research advances. Contrariwise, I argue that Read's thesis is inherently problematic, rather than empirically inaccurate. Psychological research may never suffice for the justification of art education, if ‘art education’ is both substituted for ‘creativity’ and expected to produce testable – immediate and quantifiable – results. My interest is not only in Read's theory per se, but in this form of justification. To wit, the discussion examines ETA as a case study in the empirical justification of art education.     

Web 2.0 and Transfer: Trainers' Use of Technology to Support Employees' Learning Transfer on the Job

We steer transfer research in a new direction by examining the use of Web 2.0 technologies for supporting learning transfer resulting from formal training. We report survey results from training professionals (N = 83) on how their organization uses such methods to cue and support workers’ application of learned knowledge and skills on the job. Guided by the technology acceptance model (TAM) theory, we examined predictor variables found to influence technology use based on empirical and theoretical support in the information technology (IT) literature. Results indicate that trainers are influenced by several individual factors (computer experience, computer anxiety, and computer self‐efficacy), as well as their organization's learning climate, to use Web 2.0 tools to support transfer of learning. Trainers also prefer to use social media, networking applications, and visual media to support transfer among learners. We discuss implications for using Web 2.0 technologies in support of learning transfer and provide directions for future workplace learning research.     

A Comparison of Training Methods on the Acquisition of Automotive Product Knowledge

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a traditional training program with a fluency‐building training program on the acquisition of automotive product knowledge in a lab setting. The effects were assessed by how accurately and quickly participants responded on a product‐knowledge test. Results indicated that participants who completed the fluency training responded faster and more accurately than control groups immediately after the study. However, the difference between the fluency group and the group that received study objectives disappeared when retention was assessed several weeks after training. The difference remained between these groups and a group that did not receive study objectives. The results were used to modify globally delivered training. This study extended previous studies by examining the effects of training designed to teach product knowledge to sales representatives in automotive dealerships and illustrates the benefits of collaboration between academic researchers and professional trainers.