Stress management for school personnel: Stress-inoculation training and exercise

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Stress-Inoculation Training (SIT) with and without an exercise component and a Minimal exercise treatment (MIN) on trait anxiety, teacher stress, and coping strategies among 66 school personnel. The findings indicate that the 8-week SIT with an exercise component was more effective than MIN in reducing anxiety and teacher stress. Both groups significantly decreased emotionfocused coping and increased preventive coping; however, problem-focused coping did not change. SIT without an exercise component did not significantly affect anxiety, stress, or coping strategies; however, there is some evidence that this was due to the cyclical nature of stress in the schools. Changes in teacher stress and coping strategies occurred mainly for those who were below the median of the sample on physical fitness and anxiety prior to beginning the program. Implications of these findings for school-based stress management programs are discussed.     

Curriculum Planning For Training: The State of the Art

This article provides training practitioners with an overview of literature on long-term curriculum planning for training in business and industry. It also summarizes key results of a national survey of corporate business planners and trainers on the current status of curriculum planning for training in their organizations. In general, few respondents of the study indicated that their organizations have established long-term training plans (curricula) to meet the predictable orientation needs of new employees or support implementation of corporate strategic business plans.     

Issues in open education and environmental design

This article presents a theoretical overview of the complementary relationship between open education and environmental design. An elementary education program called the Open Corridor serves as a concrete example. The Open Corridor program dovetailed many aspects of open education and environmental design. Students, teachers, administrators, parents, and consulting psychologists served in the roles of planner and implementer. A review of open education and environmental design approaches is followed by a sketch of the Open Corridor program and a discussion of issues. A bright future exists for programs that carefully open their educational processes and plan their environments.     

Factors associated with concussion-symptom knowledge and attitudes toward concussion care seeking in a national survey of parents of middle-school children in the US

Background:Developing appropriate concussion prevention and management paradigms in middle school(MS)settings requires understanding parents’general levels of concussion-related knowledge and attitudes.This study examined factors associated with concussion-symptom knowledge and care-seeking attitudes among parents of MS children(aged 10-15 years).Methods:A panel of 1224 randomly selected U.S.residents,aged ≥18 years and identifying as parents of MS children,completed an online questionnaire capturing parental and child characteristics.The parents’concussion-symptom knowledge was measured using 25 questions,with possible answers being“yes”,“maybe”,and“no”.Correct answers earned 2 points,“maybe”answers earned 1 point,and incorrect answers earned 0 point(range:0-50;higher scores=better knowledge).Concussion care-seeking attitudes were also collected using five 7-point scale items(range:5-35;higher scores=more positive attitudes).Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models identified predictors of higher scores.Models met proportional odds assumptions.Adjusted odds ratios(aORs)with 95%confidence intervals(95%CIs)(excluding 1.00)were deemed statistically significant.Results:Median scores were 39(interquartile range:32-44)for symptom knowledge and 32(interquartile range:28-35)for care-seeking attitude.In multivariable models,odds of better symptom knowledge were higher in women vs.men(aOR=2.28;95%CI:1.71-3.05),white/non-Hispanics vs.other racial or ethnic groups(aOR=1.88;95%CI:1.42-2.49),higher parental age(10-year-increase aOR=1.47;95%CI:1.26-1.71),and greater competitiveness(10%-scale-increase aOR=1.24;95%CI:1.13-1.36).Odds of more positive care-seeking attitudes were higher in white/non-Hispanics vs.other racial or ethnic groups(aOR=1.45;95%CI:1.06-1.99)and in older parental age(10-year-increase aOR=1.24;95%CI:1.05-1.47).Conclusion:Characteristics of middle school children’s parents(e.g.,sex,race or ethnicity,age)are associated with their concussion-symptom knowledge and care-seeking attitudes.Parents’variations in concussion knowledge and attitudes warrant tailored concussion education and prevention.