Title IV‐E Programs: Preparing MSW Students for Public Child Welfare Practice

This article investigates the perceived quality and skill outcomes of Title IV‐E MSW training programs at four universities from the perspective of their graduates. It also sought to identify necessary program supports, expectations of graduates as they began child welfare employment, and pre‐employment factors related to retention. The vast majority of MSWs agreed that their education was high quality and prepared them well for child welfare practice. The skills rated highest were establishing client rapport, case management, the development of a professional identity, and time management and assessment skills. The most consistent pre‐employment predictors of whether they stayed past their stipend commitment period were their commitment to the public child welfare (PCW) agency and their commitment to child welfare practice. Implications for program design are discussed.     

The Effects of Video Self‐Modeling on the Decoding Skills of Children at Risk for Reading Disabilities

Ten first grade students who had responded poorly to a Tier 2 reading intervention in a response to intervention (RTI) model received an intervention of video self‐modeling to improve decoding skills and sight word recognition. Students were video recorded blending and segmenting decodable words and reading sight words. Videos were edited and viewed a minimum of four times per week. Data were collected twice per week using curriculum‐based measures. A single subject multiple baseline across participants design was used. Results indicated an increase in decoding skills and sight word recognition for all participants. A 2‐week posttest maintenance assessment showed retention or increases for 70 percent of participants. Results from the study offer promise for a specific intervention that may reach particular students who respond poorly to Tier 2 reading instruction.     

The INSPIRE Project: Using the ‘Unknown’ to Co-construct a Training Course on Humanistic Counselling in Afghanistan

This article details a collaborative project between the University of Strathclyde (UK) and the University of Herat (Afghanistan). The aim was to co-construct a model of training, based on humanistic approaches, in order to enhance counselling services in Afghanistan and to establish counselling training at the University of Herat. Two groups of participants received 120 h training each. In February 2014 a selected group received a further training for trainers. Strengths and limitations of this project are explored as well as its impact on the Afghan community and further developments for counselling in this context.     

Alexithymia as a mediator between childhood trauma and self-injurious behaviors

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test whether alexithymia mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in college women. METHOD: The sample was comprised of 100 female undergraduate students. Measures were the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire [D. Bernstein, L. Fink, Manual for the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, The Psychological Corporation, New York, 1998], the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 [Journal of Psychosomatic Research 38 (1994) 23; Journal of Psychosomatic Research 38 (1994) 33], and the Self-Injurious Behaviors Questionnaire which assessed the lifetime frequency of six methods of superficial self-injury (hair pulling, head banging, punching, scratching, cutting, and burning). Regression analyses were used to test the proposed mediational model. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of respondents reported having engaged in SIB; most engaged in multiple methods, and self-cutting was the most frequently endorsed method. Results of regression analyses supported the proposed mediational model for all types of maltreatment except sexual abuse. Sexual abuse, considered alone, was not significantly associated with alexithymia which precluded testing for mediational effects. CONCLUSIONS: Results support a link between a history of childhood maltreatment and SIB among college women and the hypothesis that alexithymia mediates this relationship.     

Creative Data in Business Statistics Courses

This paper discusses an innovative approach for using live data generated through student projects or through experiments using student subjects. This live data set, in which the students have a vested interest, becomes the foundation upon which the learning of the statistical concepts is built.