Librarians Promoting Changes in the Health Care Delivery System through Systematic Assessment

Patient engagement in health care decisions largely depends on a patient’s health literacy and the health literacy attributes of the health care organization. Librarians have an established role in connecting patients with health information in the context of their care. However, librarians can play a larger role in helping to make changes in their organization’s health literacy attributes. This article discusses one medical library’s process of leading systematic assessment of their organization’s health literacy attributes. Included in this discussion is the institutional support, timeline, assessment tool, the results for five areas of health literacy, marketing and the event-planning process to disseminate results. The systematic assessment process described employs the Health Literacy Environment of Hospitals and Health Centers document, which provides assessment tools for Print Communication, Oral Communication, Navigation, Technology, and Policies and Protocols.     

Case study: what supports students to improve their grades?

Abstract

This case study considers students who achieved ‘borderline’ (40–45%) grades in their first assignment on a module, but went on to markedly improve their grades over the course of the module. The students were studying nursing and social work at the UK Open University, and they were all sponsored by employers. Semi-structured telephone interviews were used to explore the experiences of the students, including the way in which they reacted to assessment feedback and how this contributed to their learning and development. Other themes that emerged from the study include the emotions experienced by the students, sometimes challenging their self-confidence and evoking feelings associated with emotional vulnerability, and the tendency for students to initially approach assessment independently, but later to create and take advantage of opportunities for social learning. The role of the tutor in helping students to prepare for assessment appears to be significant, as does the fact that students are sponsored by their employers, which provides an additional incentive to complete the module.     

South Africa: First steps in the development of an inclusive education system

In this paper we trace the development of policy and legislation since 1994, which marked the introduction of a unitary non-racial system of education and training in South Africa. Policy development in this context has been guided by the universal principles of a human right to basic education, equality and the recognition of the democratic rights of parents, teachers and all learners, including those with disabilities. A major paradigm shift in education policy has reflected a move from a dual, special and general education system towards the transformation of general education to recognise and address the diverse learning needs of all learners. There have been several government initiatives aimed at restructuring and strengthening the general curriculum. This includes the introduction of a new national curriculum to accommodate a diverse range of system and learner needs. The most recent education policy recommends a shift in thinking about 'special needs and support services' in this country towards a commitment to the development of an inclusive education and training system. The real challenge which faces this country will be in the implementation of these recommendations.     

Sexual abuse prevention education for young children: A comparison of teachers and parents as instructors

The purpose of this study was to compare teachers and parents as instructors of a personal safety program. One hundred seventy-two Head Start preschoolers were randomly assigned to a personal safety program taught by their teachers, parents, both teachers and parents, or to a general safety control program. Following program participation, children taught the personal safety program by their teachers, parents, or both, demonstrated greater knowledge about sexual abuse and higher levels of personal safety skills compared with those in the control group. Gains in knowledge and skills were maintained at the 5-month follow up. Children taught by their parents showed greater improvements in recognizing inappropriate-touch requests and in their personal safety skills compared with children taught by their teachers, and children who received the program both at home and school were better able to recognize appropriate-touch requests and to demonstrate higher levels of personal safety skills compared with children taught only at school. The emotional costs associated with participating in the program were minimal, and both parents and children rated the program positively. The advantages of home-based instruction for young children are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

New Assistant Professors of Counselor Education: Their Preparation and Their Induction

The literature documents that there has been a limited number of qualified applicants to fill counselor education positions. This article features a profile of assistant professors who accepted their first counselor education positions in 1999 as well as their comments regarding their experiences as applicants. Recommendations derived from the data are included for counselor educators, professors‐in‐training, and search committees.     

Gender imbalance in college applications: Does it lead to a preference for men in the admissions process?

Using data from 13 liberal arts colleges, we test for a preference for men in the college admissions process. We find that gender does matter, but in a complex way. Men do appear to be given preference as college applicant pools become more female. Consistent with this pattern, we find clear evidence of a preference for men in historically female colleges—which have the highest percent female applicant pools. Being a male applicant raises the probability of acceptance at these schools by between 6.5 and 9 percentage points. We find no significant male preference in historically co-educational or historically male colleges despite the fact that their applicant pools are more than 50% female. We also find that the bottom quartile of both the applicant and acceptance pools, as measured by high school academic record, is disproportionately male. As a result, even with a gender-blind admissions policy, the lower tail of college classrooms is likely to be dominated by men.     

Learning in work: perceptions from working teenagers

Research within the United Kingdom has shown that it is common for school students to combine full-time education with part-time employment. Attention has tended to focus on the negative impact this may have with limited consideration to the potential benefits. Some studies have indicated that skill acquisition may be one such benefit, but studies typically pay little attention to the views of young employees and fail to explore potential variations in skill development between age groups and job sectors. This study addresses this gap. Younger (14 and 15 year olds) and older (16 to 18 years) school students working in the retail and catering industries participated (n = 35). Two interviews were carried out facilitated by workplace observation and on-the-job event recording. Results suggest that opportunities for acquiring skills are common for both younger and older workers in both retail and catering jobs. Differences in perceptions between age groups and job sectors were small with the exception of the areas of future learning and the types of skills. In addition, retail workers tend to see more opportunities for learning than those in catering. These results support those who see such employment as potentially valuable.