Professional education,reflective practice and feminism

This paper offers acritical perspectiveon Schon, and on reflective practice as apedagogy, by engaging with themes in feminism. A comparison between consciousness raising and reflective practice gives insights into the pleasures experienced by practitioners. However, it also suggests that reflection-in-action is not the prerogative of professionals. Consciousness raising and feminist reflexivity in research provide positive examples of political engagement and reflexive self-awareness. The scope of reflective practice is limited by the contexts in which it has been adopted. In the UK reflective practice has been implemented in professions with large female workforces: nursing, teaching and social work. The scope for autonomy in these professions is increasingly limited. Reflective practice, therefore, may be becoming avehicle for self-surveillance and orthodoxy. These socio-political considerations provide the basis for more searching epistemological questions about the nature of professional knowledge and the characteristics of all human labour. Both Marxist and feminist traditions suggest that the capacity to reflect is a characteristic of all humans, while some social scientists have suggested that reflexivity is a particular characteristic of modernity. These views challenge the status of reflective practice as the episteme of professional knowledge. Moreover, Schon's methodology is based on a partial and gender-blind view of professionals. The paper concludes that a reinvigorated research agenda, which engages with these broader themes, is necessary.     

Lifelong Earning: working-class women and lifelong learning

This article argues that despite the rhetoric that surrounds lifelong learning, barriers to participation for working-class women are too often ignored or made invisible. Starting from a critique of current policies and practices of lifelong learning that are based in instrumentalism and individualism, the article addresses the diversities of working-class women's multiple identities and considers some of the (apparent) wider benefits of learning for working-class women. The article concludes that many working-class women are trapped in a cycle of lifelong earning that centres on low-paid, low-status jobs. What they learn is that, in a learning society that remains driven by market forces based in inequalities of gender, race and class, there is no political escape.     

AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF ITEM SAMPLING AND EXAMINEE SAMPLING FOR ESTIMATING TEST NORMS

An empirical comparison of the accuracy of item sampling and examinee sampling in estimating norm statistics. Item samples were composed of 3, 6, or 12 items selected from a total test of 50 multiple-choice vocabulary questions. Overall, the study findings provided empirical evidence that item sampling is approximately as effective as examinee sampling for estimating the population mean and standard deviation. Contradictory trends occurred for lower ability and higher ability student populations in accuracy of estimated means and standard deviations when the number of items administered increased from 3 to 6 to 12. The findings from this study indicate that the variation of sequences of items occurring in item sampling need not have a significant affect on test performance.     

Computer-Assisted Feedback in Counseling Supervision

This article outlines the capacity of the microcomputer to help provide process feedback to counselors-in-training. Discussion is focused upon low cost equipment, innovative adaptation, and interaction of standard equipment commonly found in counselor training laboratory facilities. Advantages, limitations, and desirable features of each system are briefly discussed. Finally, possible system usage in counselor training is considered in light of the new potentials made economically feasible by advances in microcomputer technology.     

A Two-Study Comparison of Written and Video Modeling and of Written and Oral Assessment

This article presents the findings from two research studies. In Study I, 21 counseling students were given either a written standard model, written serial model, or a videotape model of how to ask tacting questions. While there were no differences between the written and video models, significant multivariate differences were found between the two forms of the written models. In Study II, 24 counseling students received either the written or video model and then were assessed either by orally responding or by writing reflections of feeling responses to a series of client vignettes. Once again, no differences were found for mode of model presentation. Students who responded in writing, however, outperformed those who responded orally. The discussion focuses on the implications these two studies have for counselor education.     

Counselor Education and Supervision: Reader Perceptions

This study reports the perceptions of ACES members concerning CES. Demographic characteristics of respondents, opinions on article types, strengths and weaknesses, and inclusion of brief reports and special Issues are presented. Results indicate that research articles are of adequate quality and the types of articles included in the journal are adequate. These and other results are discussed.     

The Effects of Mental Practice on Counseling Behaviors

Neophyte counselors trained in the use of their own imagery to practice counseling interviews were compared with a similar group not receiving the training. The mental practice was hypothesized to have experiential value for neophyte counselors resulting in positive effects upon selected behaviors commonly found with counseling experience. Results indicated that the ability to discriminate differing levels of empathic responses, the ability to evaluate accurately one's own performance, and the amount of preinterview confidence were significantly higher for the mental practice group. However, the communication of empathy and the subjective evaluations of the counselors during the interview did not prove significantly higher. This article discusses the potential value of mental practice as a supplementary experiential training technique and some considerations for its use and further study.     

Restructuring the On-Campus Counselor Education Laboratory: Contemporary Professional Issues

An accountability model for addressing contemporary issues in the development and operation of on-campus practicum laboratories is presented. A case illustration provides an example of the model's potential use. Implications for counselor education programs are discussed.