Co-occurring forms of child maltreatment and adult adjustment reported by Latina college students

OBJECTIVES: This study had two primary objectives: First, to examine the nature and co-occurrence of various forms of child maltreatment (sexual, physical, emotional, and witnessing violence) reported by Latina college students, and second, to explore coexisting maltreatment types and acculturation status as possible contributors to long-term adjustment difficulties. METHOD: Participants were 112 Latina undergraduate students categorized by the number of childhood maltreatment types experienced (0, 1, or 2 or more) and acculturation level (1 to 5). The possible effects of co-occurring forms of maltreatment, in conjunction with acculturation status, were investigated with respect to participants' reported trauma symptomatology. Data were collected using self-report measures. RESULTS: Nearly three out of 10 participants (29%) experienced more than one type of child maltreatment and, as expected, these individuals reported greater trauma symptomatology than those reporting either a single type of maltreatment or no maltreatment at all. Those who reported multiple types also endured more severe maltreatment than did respondents who experienced a single type. Acculturation level was neither directly related to trauma symptoms nor did it moderate the lasting correlates of maltreatment among victims. Interestingly, those who experienced a single form of maltreatment reported no more trauma symptoms than did participants who reported no maltreatment history at all. CONCLUSION: This investigation documents a large degree of overlap among various forms of self-reported childhood maltreatment within a Latina college population. The results underscore the need to consider multiple forms of maltreatment, as well as severity, when making inferences regarding potential effects on later functioning.     

Netcourses and netseminars: Current practice and new designs

Netcourses—courses delivered primarily over digital networks—promise to provide learners with quality, low-cost learning opportunities anywhere and anytime. While having implications throughout education, adult professionals may be the first to make extensive use of netcourses. By increasing the quality and timeliness of teacher professional development while reducing its costs, netcourses could have a major impact on the quality of teaching. In order to understand the realities of this promise, we have reviewed in detail all netcourses for teachers in mathematics and science. As a result of this analysis, we have developed new designs for the effective use of this medium with mathematics and science teachers.     

Creating a Climate of Self-Awareness in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs

This article discusses the importance of helping preservice teachers develop a sense of self-awareness. This involves, in part, helping preservice teachers develop an ability to examine and identify the personal characteristics, beliefs and attitudes that make them who they are and influence the way they think about teaching and learning. The authors offer several suggestions for creating a climate in teacher education programs that will promote a developing sense of self-awareness in preservice teachers.     

Teaching evolutionary biology: Pressures,stress, and coping

Understanding what teachers need to be more comfortable and confident in their profession is crucial to the future of effective teachers and scientific literacy in public schools. This study focuses on the experiences of Arizona biology teachers in teaching evolution, using a clinical model of stress to identify sources of pressure, the resulting stresses, and coping strategies they employ to alleviate these stresses. We conducted focus groups, one‐on‐one interviews, and written surveys with 15 biology teachers from the Phoenix area. On the basis of their responses, teachers were clustered into three categories: “Conflicted,” who struggle with their own beliefs and the possible impact of their teaching, “Selective,” who carefully avoid difficult topics and situations, and “Scientists,” who see no place for controversial social issues in their science classroom. Teachers from each group felt that they could be more effective in teaching evolution if they possessed the most up‐to‐date information about evolution and genomics, a safe space in which to reflect on the possible social and personal implications with their peers, and access to richer lesson plans for teaching evolution that include not only science but personal stories regarding how the lessons arose, and what problems and opportunities they created. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 791–809, 2004     

Sex and Social Class Inequalities in Education: a re‐examination

Fifteen years ago attention was drawn to the neglect of sex differences in the sociology of education, and to ways in which social class differences in attainment could not ignore these sex differences. The original propositions concerning these differences are re‐examined and expanded in a neo‐Weberian analysis of the work‐marriage, class‐status, education complex, and considered in relation to the available empirical evidence. The alternative feminist‐Marxist approaches are found to be incompatible with the evidence of sex and social class differences in non‐capitalist societies.     

Organisational Change in Secondary Schools: an action approach

A longitudinal study of a sample of secondary schools has shown that over a period of ten years there have been changes in grouping practices, an expansion of examination opportunities, and a tightening of the control of school work. The prefectorial system has a reduced importance and has been deritualised, as has the school assembly. There is less sex differentiation of pupils’ school work and behaviour. These changes are explained using an action approach derived principally from Weber, concerned with the social construction of school organisation, whch is briefly compared to other possible explanations.     

Mega‐planning in Population

ABSTRACT Clark and Murray examine the six Critical Performance Factors for Mega planning in an example drawn from the five‐year history of the population program of a major west coast philanthropy. In this article, the authors describe the salience and scope of the population issue as it is relates to other global trends; the steps the foundation took to “scope” the program and establish measurable impacts. It rates performance against the critical factors, then looks at some specific country impacts five years later. This analysis will be incorporated into the plan revision. Summary and What Next Indications are that our funding and the work of the grantees are having good impact in the country programs. Systematic, comprehensive reviews involving outside/inside experts, quantitative and qualitative data will be completed in all five country programs by mid‐2005. Also in 2005, the Board will work with staff and outside experts to examine the results of grant making and review and discuss our long term, overall approach. Much has changed since 1998. We will review those changes and see if any longer term shifts in funding emphasis will be appropriate. This effort to refresh our strategic thinking will allow us to revise, as appropriate, the stated missions of the population work, its assumptions, and how it fits into the overall work and goals of the Foundation.     

Evolving journal costs: implications for publishers,libraries, and readers

In this article, we summarize the cost implications of print and electronic publishing for scientific scholarly journal publishers, libraries, and scientists. In each case, we developed detailed cost models to demonstrate the importance of factors that affect publishing and decisions made by libraries and scientists to determine whether to subscribe to a journal; if so, in print or electronic medium, and, if not, what alternative information sources to use. In all instances, estimates of unit cost are essential for understanding the dynamics of the economic and systemic interdependencies of publishers, libraries, and readers.     

Education and employment status: a test of the strong screening hypothesis in Italy

We apply the comparative techniques originated by Wolpin, K.I. (1977, Education and screening, American Economic Review, 67, 949–958) and Psacharopoulos (1979, On the weak versus the strong version of the screening hypothesis, Economics Letters, 4, 181–185) to discriminate between the ‘weak' and ‘strong' screening hypotheses. Controlling for sample selection, we find evidence for weak but not strong screening in the Italian labour market. [JEL J3, J24, J41]