Eco‐Webbing: A Teaching Strategy to Facilitate Critical Consciousness and Agency

Eco‐webbing is a teaching strategy that can be used to help counselor educators integrate a social justice focus into their courses. Preliminary data indicated increased critical consciousness and social justice agency as a result of using eco‐webbing with counseling students (N = 17). The authors provide implications for counselor educators and future research.     

Reasons for Utilizing Mental Health Services as Predictors of College Students’ Alcohol Risk

The authors examined college student drinkers’ (n = 153) reasons for seeking counseling services and risk for alcohol problems. Students seeking help for impulse‐ or anger‐related issues and depression were at heightened risk for alcohol problems. Only 10% of students sought alcohol‐related help despite high rates of hazardous alcohol use (80%) and dependence (39%). Targeted screening and intervention in college counseling centers may enable providers to effectively identify and treat students in need of alcohol treatment.     

Enhancing professional writing skills of veterinary technology students: linking assessment and clinical practice in a communications course

Veterinary technology is an emerging profession within the veterinary and allied animal health fields in Australia and affords graduates the opportunity to contribute to the small but growing body of literature within this discipline. This study describes the introduction of a contextualised assessment task to develop students’ research capability, competence and confidence in professional writing, and to engage them with the academic publishing process. Students worked in self-selected dyads to author a scientific case report, of publishable standard, based on authentic cases from their clinical practicum. Intrinsic to the task, students attended a series of workshops that explored topics such as critiquing the literature, professional writing styles and oral presentation skills. Assessment was multi-staged with progressive feedback, including peer review, and culminated with students presenting their abstracts at a mock conference. Students reported the task to be an enjoyable and valuable learning experience which improved their competence and confidence in scientific writing; supported by a comparison of previously submitted work. Linking scientific writing skills to clinical practice experiences enhanced learning outcomes and may foster the professionalisation of students within this emerging discipline.     

Impact of a multiyear professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students

This study examined the impact of the 3‐year implementation of a professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. Teachers were provided with instructional units and workshops that were designed to improve teaching practices and foster positive beliefs about science and literacy with diverse student groups. The study involved third, fourth, and fifth grade students at six elementary schools in a large urban school district during the 2001 through 2004 school years. Significance tests of mean scores between pre‐ and posttests indicated statistically significant increases each year on all measures of science at all three grade levels. Achievement gaps among demographic subgroups sometimes narrowed among fourth grade students and remained consistent among third and fifth grade students. Item‐by‐item comparisons with NAEP and TIMSS samples indicated overall positive performance by students at the end of each school year. The consistent patterns of positive outcomes indicate the effectiveness of our intervention in producing achievement gains at all three grade levels while also reducing achievement gaps among demographic subgroups at the fourth grade. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 726–747, 2008     

Literacy skills in Maltese–English bilingual children

This research considers aspects of literacy in Maltese–English bilingual children. The study examined the reading and phonological awareness skills in English and Maltese of children whose home language is Maltese and second language English. A sample of 50 typically developing Maltese pupils aged 8 years 0 months to 10 years 5 months was selected. Since commencing school at the age of 5 years, the children have been learning to read in Maltese and also in English. For the purpose of this study, Maltese reading and reading‐related tests were constructed to parallel the UK and US standardised assessments. The novel tests and the standardised tests were administered to all the children. Results showed that Maltese children read better in their first language (Maltese) than in English, the language of instruction. Findings also showed that phonological awareness measures correlated across first and second languages. The results are discussed in terms of L1 and L2 transfer, whereby the transparency of Maltese orthography and English phonological processing skills facilitate performance on phonological tasks in both Maltese and English.     

A Qualitative Examination of the Impact of Culturally Responsive Educational Practices on the Psychological Well-Being of Students of Color

Scholars have shown that educational experiences within the classroom may marginalize students of color which may result in psychological distress. However, the utilization of culturally responsive educational practices (CRE) can create environments in which marginalized students can thrive not only academically, but psychologically. The authors provide a qualitative case study examining the culturally responsive practices of one teacher through a relational cultural theory (RCT) lens. The findings suggest that CRE practices may serve as psychological interventions that are associated with decreased psychological distress and increased psychological well-being amongst students of color. Specifically, students demonstrated behaviors depicting a number of RCT’s five good things, including zest, empowerment, connection, clarity, and self-worth, that improve psychological well-being according to RCT.     

Personality Patterns of Public School Librarians and Teachers

Personality traits of 43 female public school librarians were compared to traits exhibited by 50 female public school teachers. Differences in personality structure were found to exist on four factors of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire: G and M (p < .05) and I and Q1 (p < .01). Personality of public school librarians and teachers should provide a meaningful variable for study of successful working interaction between the two groups. The implication is that in order to effect a smooth professional relationship between these two groups, school personnel should be aware that a heterogeneity of personality traits does exist.