Psychotherapy as a model for interpersonal dynamics in tertiary teaching

The similarity of process in psychotherapy and in the interpersonal dynamics of tertiary teaching is of interest in attempting to maximise student interest and success. This article reviews the similarities in predictors of positive outcome in both psychotherapy and tertiary education, and suggests that the two processes have a great deal in common. This suggestion is tested by comparing the personality variables (as measured by the Adjective Check List) which predict success in two dissimilar medical courses, Physical Chemistry and Counselling Skills. Results indicate that, in both courses, variables which predict success include aspects of personal adjustment and intellectual style which also would predict success in psychotherapy. It is concluded that the interaction of personal and interpersonal factors in success in tertiary courses may be based on similar processes as success in psychotherapy, and that these processes warrant further research.     

The effects of prior information upon perceptions of exceptional children

Students in a university special education course were shown three identical videotapes of children in a school setting. The subjects were randomly divided into three groups, each receiving different written background information (“positive,” “neutral,” or “negative”) prior to viewing the videotapes. It was found that the variations in written information had significant effects upon the subjects' perceptions of the children's behavior, and upon the degree to which the children were regarded as able to function successfully in a regular classroom. These findings suggest that attitudes toward exceptional children are influenced by the way in which prior information, such as that contained in a child's educational records, is presented. Teacher and peer acceptance of exceptional children can be increased if information is presented in a realistic and positive manner.     

Does it matter who your schoolmates are? An investigation of the association between school composition,school processes and mathematics achievement in the early years of primary education

Although many studies have focused on the importance of school composition for student achievement, there is still no consensus on whether school composition matters to student achievement, and, if so, why. Therefore, the present study investigates the association between school composition and mathematics achievement at the end of second grade in Flanders. International research points to the initial ability level, SES, ethnicity and sex composition of the school as potential variables in explaining differences in student achievement. Moreover, some researchers suggest that schools ‘react’ to their student body and for that reason we investigated the possible association between school composition and school processes. Data from the SiBO Project have been analyzed using multilevel regression and multilevel mediation analysis. The results showed no direct school composition effects with respect to prior achievement, SES, ethnicity and sex on math achievement. We found two small differential effects, indicating that mean school prior achievement seems to positively affect initially high achievers, and the proportion of minority students in school seems to negatively affect students speaking a non‐European language except for Turkish, Arabic or Berber at home. Furthermore, two small indirect effects were found which suggest that schools with a high mean prior achievement or a high mean SES keep in regular contact with their students' parents and this, in turn, appears to enhance students' math achievement. Overall, our results seem to indicate that school composition in the early years of primary education hardly matters.     

The postshock activity burst

When a rat receives an electric shock delivered to the floor of an enclosure, it reacts with frenzied activity. On shock termination, the activity persists for a brief period of time and then gradually gives way to a period of freezing. Subsequent grid shocks temporarily disrupt freezing, with the length of disruption determined by shock intensity (Experiment 1). The duration of this activity burst depends predominantly on the test shock intensity but not on the training shock intensity. The reverse is true for the probability of freezing, which is positively related to training shock intensity (Experiment 2). Based on this finding, it is argued that the activity burst is a UR, while freezing is a CR. Further support that freezing is a CR is provided by Experiment 3, which demonstrates that a delay, during which the rat is out of the shock-associated context, between the training and testing periods does not disrupt freezing. A topographical analysis of the behaviors making up the activity burst is provided by Experiment 4. The postshock activity burst was composed predominantly of head movement, turning, and rearing.     

谁改变了我们的常识?——美国教育保守主义运动与教育不平等

本文考察和分析了美国教育走向保守主义的趋势及其所引发的冲突和斗争。美国教育政策的保守趋势运动是多元的,存在着不同的取向,主要有四种力量构成新自由主义、新保守主义、威权民粹主义和正处在上升阶段的由专业人员和管理人员所构成的新中产阶级。本文侧重探讨了保守主义在改造美国教育的运动中居于领导地位的前两支力量,并认为在教育和社会政策领域,这些力量成功地构建成一个联盟,该联盟成功的重要原因在于对常识的改造,作者将之称为“保守主义的现代化”。     

“Darker than any prison,hotter than any human flame”: Punishment,choice, and culpability in A Clockwork Orange

Contemporary textbooks in criminal justice use A Clockwork Orange to illustrate issues of correctional and sentencing practices. This article challenges criminal justice faculty and students to use the film to explore the political and social realities of punishment, in particular the examination of the moral question of “voluntariness” and the implications for “treatment” as a mechanism of social control. This paper explores the moral questions of state sponsored social control and using the film satire invites the student to examine their beliefs about the political and social realities of punishment and rehabilitation.     

Persistence to Graduation among At‐Risk Criminal Justice and Criminology Students: Experiences in Intervening with a Sophomore Cohort∗

A Seminar targeting academically at‐risk sophomores was developed and introduced in 2002 to address weak connectedness to the university and poor academic abilities. We measured changes in approaches taken to college studies by those at‐risk sophomores who enrolled in the course, as well as employed a longitudinal, quasi‐experimental design to track this experimental group (n = 29) and the remainder of the at‐risk cohort as a comparison group (n = 36). Our preliminary findings suggest that the Seminar has had a variety of positive outcomes, the most impressive impact being that the experimental group had dramatically better retention and graduation rates than the comparison group.