What play therapists do within the therapeutic relationship of humanistic/non-directive play therapy

Play therapists are increasingly being employed in schools, yet there is confusion among many health, education and social care practitioners about the role of play therapists. This paper explains how play therapists position themselves and what they do through an examination of the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and child. It discusses the core conditions of congruence, acceptance and empathy with reference to recent research. Play therapists vary their practice in terms of verbal or non-verbal interaction, the tools in their playroom and how they physically place themselves. This paper argues for placing an emphasis on the non-verbal mirroring of the child, the incorporation of expressive media such as paint, clay and sand into the play room and the positioning of the therapist within the play space.     

Making the Case for Differentiated Teacher Effectiveness: An Overview of Research in Four Key Areas

Research into teacher effectiveness has traditionally attempted to uncover generic characteristics of effective teachers. However, recently the realisation that teacher effectiveness may be differentiated across different domains has gained recognition. In this article, we propose that researchers and policy-makers develop more differentiated models of teacher effectiveness. An overview of research is given that looks at whether there is evidence for differentiated effectiveness in four areas: different subject and curriculum areas, pupil background and ability, pupils' personal characteristics, and different teacher roles.     

Doctoral ‘orphans’: nurturing and supporting the success of postgraduates who have lost their supervisors

Much research into doctoral student-supervisor relations focuses on developing positive interactions. For many students, however, the research experience can be troubled by breakdowns in communication and even the loss of the supervisor(s), turning the student into a doctoral ‘orphan’ and impacting on their academic identity and ability and confidence in producing a sound doctoral-level contribution to knowledge. Our work with a range of UK- and internationally-based doctoral students looks specifically at reasons for supervisor loss and/or absence and the students' experience of being doctoral ‘orphans’ in terms of identity, confidence and progress. In focusing on those who achieve successful completion, it suggests the need for institutional and community support and highlights the development of effective strategies leading to ownership, empowerment and emotional resilience.     

‘Sent out’ and Stepping Back In: stories from young people ‘placed at risk’

This paper invokes the voices of young people who had been separated from mainstream schooling because they were positioned as ‘disengaged’ and ‘at risk of failing’. The authors argue that streaming students out of schooling needs serious questioning as an escalating number of young people are framed as non-performers within a globally competitive educational market. Throughout the paper we use critical ethnographic slices to expose the experiences of the 24 young people interviewed who together with mentors shared personal insights whilst attending a re-engagement programme in Australia in the year 2010. Their responses unearth a ‘wickedness’ and a preoccupation during their schooling with performance and school improvement. In response, we privilege student interpretations of their own marginalisation as an activist form of ‘speaking back’ to the social and economic conditions and limitations dominating their lives.     

Manipulation of logical structure of chemistry problems and its effect on student performance

It has been shown previously that manipulation of the M demand (amount of information needed for processing) of chemistry problems affects student performance, which suggests that manipulation of logical structure of chemistry problems could also lead to significant changes in performance. The objective of this study is to investigate the following: Given the opportunity for training, what is the effect of increasing (manipulation) the complexity of logical structure of chemistry problems on student performance, and to what extent can cognitive variables explain changes in performance. Results obtained show that (a) even a small increase in the logical structure of a problem can change the role of cognitive variables (mental capacity and formal reasoning) to the extent that increase in logical complexity outweighs the advantage students may have gained through training on a similar problem; (b) the use of algorithms and training on particular types of chemistry problems could lead to a situation in which formal reasoning is the only cognitive variable that explains variance in performance significantly; and (c) after having solved very similar problems on two different occasions with improving performance, the improvement is not retained if the logical structure of a third problem increases considerably. It is concluded that when dealing with significant changes in logical complexity of chemistry problems, developmental level of students is the most consistent predictor of success. A model for the qualitative analysis of logical complexity of chemistry problems is presented.     

Preservice and inservice teachers’ perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure

This study investigated preservice and inservice teachers' perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure. A sample of 180 preservice teachers and 135 preK-12 teachers participated in the study. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups of teachers in their perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure in the three dimensions: Uncommon Topics, Uncommon Purposes, and Consideration of Students. No significant differences were found in the two dimensions: Common Topics and Common Purposes. This study makes an excellent contribution to the theoretical framework of the study of teacher self-disclosure and also provides implications for teaching and teacher education.