Children's Preliteracy Skills: Influence of Mothers' Education and Beliefs About Shared-Reading Interactions

Research Findings: This research investigated the associations among children's preliteracy skills, mothers' education, and mothers' beliefs about shared-reading interactions for 45 Appalachian families. These variables were studied for lower income, primarily European American, families residing in a geographically isolated, small, rural community in the Appalachian Mountains. Children's performance on standardized measures of preliteracy skills pertaining to print concepts and alphabet knowledge was substantially lower than normative references, but their performance on tasks assessing their understanding of environmental print was similar to normative references. The preliteracy skills of children with more educated mothers were significantly better than those of children with less educated mothers. More educated mothers had higher ratings on a measure of parental beliefs about shared reading than less educated mothers had; however, maternal reports of the frequency of home literacy practices were similar for both groups. Mediation analyses indicated that mothers' beliefs about shared-reading interactions served as a mediator for the association between maternal education and children's understanding of reading conventions. Practice or Policy: Future directions for research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Students’ Occupational Aspirations: Can Family Relationships Account for Differences Between Immigrant and Socioeconomic Groups?

Immigrant background and disadvantaged socioeconomic background are two key predictors of poorer school achievement in Europe. However, the former is associated with higher while the latter is associated with lower aspirations. This study asks whether family relationships account for this difference. Data come from 5,926 students in Germany and Sweden, eliciting indicators of family background and relationships at age 14–15 years (2011) and occupational aspirations 1 year later. High aspirations were found among students of non-European background and students with higher parental occupational status. Structural equation models showed that while immigrant families had greater parental aspirations and encouragement, family cohesion, and parental monitoring, only parental aspirations mediated the effects of family background.     

A Grounded Theory of Counselor Educators' Academic Leadership Development

Counselor educators are well‐equipped to serve as academic leaders, yet little is known about what factors influence their engagement experiences. This grounded theory provides a theoretical model of academic leadership engagement based on interviews with 20 counselor educators with academic leadership experience. Implications for facilitating academic leadership engagement are provided.     

Opening the black box: user-log analyses of children’s e-Book reading and associations with word knowledge

Reading and Writing - Third to fifth graders read an interactive choose-your-own adventure e-Book. User logs recorded their reading behaviors and were used to investigate students’...     

I Quit! The Process of Announcing Voluntary Organizational Exit

The exit phase of assimilation is broken down into three sub-processes: preannouncement, announcement/actual exit, and the post-exit period (Jablin, 2001). This article seeks to better understand how individuals make exit announcements. The findings suggest that announcing exit itself is a phased process which links the exit phases Jablin described. Though the formal announcement may be the most prominent, it isn’t necessarily the first or most important.     

Encountering others: The Meeting of Cultures in Scott O'Dell'sIsland of the Blue Dolphins andSing Down the Moon

Her published articles include pieces on Victorian boys' books, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Frederick Marryat, Thomas Mayne Reid, as well as others on narratives of the American West. She is currently at work on a booklength study of women adventure writers.     

Student Assessment of Self-Efficacy and Practice Readiness Following Simulated Instruction in an Undergraduate Social Work Program

ABSTRACT

The use of simulated instruction is a growing trend in social work education. This study examined the effectiveness of simulated instruction with undergraduate social work students. In this mixed methods study, the extent to which simulated instruction improved self-efficacy and practice readiness was assessed. Results of the study suggest that simulated instruction helps improve key practice skills and increases recognition of diversity in practice. Moreover, students self-reported increased mastery in interviewing, managing emotions, and engaging in culturally competent practice.