Trainee Competence in Master's‐Level Counseling Programs: A Comparison of Counselor Educators' and Students' Views

Forty‐five counselor educators and 62 master's‐level counseling students were surveyed to compare faculty members' perceptions of trainee competence with students' own views. As anticipated, students reported higher deficiency rates than did their faculty. Combined with the intervention rates reported by corresponding faculty, students' reports suggested that as many as 21% of their peers may be professionally deficient and that the majority of these may progress through their training without remediation. Together with students' anticipated reactions to their own identification for remediation or dismissal, these findings underscore the importance of implementing effective procedures for reviewing the professional fitness of counselors‐in‐training.     

Personal Growth of New Fathers following Assisted Reproductive Technology or Spontaneous Pregnancy

Objective: The study aimed at comparing personal growth between fathers whose infants were conceived with the aid of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and those whose infants were conceived spontaneously and to examine associations with personal resources. Design: We examined associations between personal growth on the one hand and optimism, positive and negative emotions, and parenting stress on the other, among fathers whose infants were conceived with the aid of ART and those whose infants were conceived spontaneously. One hundred and seventy-two Israeli first-time fathers (76 following ART and 96 following spontaneous pregnancies) whose infants were 5–18 months old completed a series of self-report questionnaires. Results: No difference was found in personal growth between the two research groups. For all men, lower economic status, older age of the child, higher optimism, higher positive and negative emotions, and parenting stress were all associated with greater growth. Conclusions: Although a certain level of stress and negative affect is a prerequisite for personal growth, it is made possible by positive resources, such as optimism and positive emotions. In addition, the manner in which the pregnancy was achieved appears to have no long-term consequences for men’s experience of personal growth in the transition to fatherhood. Professionals should relate to the present needs and emotional states of new fathers rather than their fertility history.     

Happy To Be “Me?” Authenticity,Psychological Need Satisfaction,and Subjective Well‐Being in Adolescence

Adolescents have a strong desire to “be themselves.” How does experiencing authenticity—the sense of being one's true self—influence subjective well‐being? What allows adolescents to experience authenticity? This research tests a working model of how authenticity is implicated in adolescents’ well‐being. Using survey, diary, and experimental methodologies, four studies (total N = 759, age range = 12–17) supported the main tenets of the model. Authenticity (a) enhances well‐being, (b) covaries with satisfaction of psychological needs for relatedness and competence; is caused by satisfaction of the need for autonomy; and (c) mediates the link between need satisfaction and well‐being. Authenticity is more than a powerful motive: It has robust, replicable effects on well‐being and may thus be a pervasive force in positive youth development.     

Differentiation in the Making: Consequences of School Segregation of Roma in the Czech Republic,Hungary, and Slovakia

This article examines how various forms of ethnic segregation in education affect everyday life and future aspirations of Roma youth in three Central and Eastern European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. It draws on a comparative European investigation about the diverging experiences and paths of ethnic minority youth in Europe (EDUMIGROM¹¹EDUMIGROM “Ethnic differences in education and diverging paths for ethnic minority youth in an enlarged Europe” was an FP7-funded research led by Prof. Júlia Szalai and Viola Zentai at the Center for Policy Studies (CPS), Central European University (CEU), between 2008 and 2011. The author was a member of the coordinating team at CPS, CEU. www.edumigrom.eu.). The article investigates how segregation actually comes about in Central and Eastern Europe and looks at ways in which various forms of separation shape the everyday experiences and future aspirations of youth through the lenses of 14–15-year-old Roma students and their teachers. It reveals that studying in segregated Roma schools limits young Romas’ chances for further education and deprives them of interethnic social networks. Meanwhile, studying in segregated classes of ethnically mixed schools has a devastating effect on the development of young people’s identity, self-esteem, and interethnic relationships.     

Integrative assessment of Evolutionary theory acceptance and knowledge levels of Biology undergraduate students from a Brazilian university

The integrative role that Evolutionary theory plays within Biology is recognised by most scientific authors, as well as in governmental education policies, including Brazilian policies. However, teaching and learning evolution seems problematic in many countries, and Brazil is among those. Many factors may affect teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards evolution, and studies can help to reveal those factors. We used a conceptual questionnaire, the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument, and a Knowledge test to assess (1) the level of acceptance and understanding of 23 undergraduate Biology students nearing the end of their course, (2) other factors that could affect these levels, including course structure, and (3) the most difficult topics regarding evolutionary biology. The results of this study showed that the students, on average, had a ‘Very High Acceptance’ (89.91) and a ‘Very Low Knowledge’ (59.42%) of Evolutionary theory, and also indicated a moderate positive correlation between the two (r?=?0.66, p?=?.001). The most difficult topics were related to the definition of evolution and dating techniques. We believe that the present study provides evidence for policymakers to reformulate current school and university curricula in order to improve the teachers’ acceptance and understanding of evolution and other biological concepts, consequently, helping students reduce their misconceptions related to evolutionary biology.     

Corporate support of higher education: Trends in Canada and the United States

United States and Canadian trends in corporate philanthropy and support of higher education are presented for the past 11 to 15 years. Comparative analyses reveal different corporate priorities and giving agendas which signal the need for unique approaches to university and college fund raising in each country. Though the percentage of U.S. corporate contributions allocated to higher education has not changed in 11 years, Canada's institutions of higher education appear to be competing directly with beneficiaries in culture and the arts, in terms of annual corporate giving priorities. Regarding allocations for various purposes within higher education, U.S. firms tend to have sponsorship agendas that follow established priorities and are programmatic in nature, unlike Canadian companies whose support for these purposes has varied considerably. This gives university and college fund raisers in Canada an opportunity to establish and nurture long-term programs of corporate support for capital projects, research, and student financial aid.     

The impact of school culture on schools’ pupil well-being policy-making capacities

Pupil well-being has been an important topic in educational research for some time. Differences between schools in their influence on the well-being of their pupils are attributed to the policy-making capacities of the school. Little is known about schools’ policy-making capacities with regard to pupil well-being, and the impact of school culture on these policy-making capacities. This study addresses these questions using a quantitative research approach. The results show that teachers rate the policy-making capacities of their school, with regard to pupil well-being, in largely positive terms and that these policy-making capacities are mainly affected by flexible perspectives of effectiveness within the culture of schools.     

A primer of research on cognitive strategy instruction: The important issues and how to address them

Five types of strategy research are reviewed. (1) We argue it makes sense first to determine whether there is a need for strategy instruction. If there is, (2) development of a treatment with preliminary evaluations can follow, as can (3) formal evaluation of the resultant intervention in true experiments. As instructional need research, strategy development, and experimental evaluation proceed, two other types of research should be conducted. (4) It is important to study the acceptability of strategy interventions to educators and students. (5) Research on material modifications can provide information about how strategy benefits can be made available to students when strategy instruction is not effective or unlikely to occur. Very little strategy instruction has been evaluated in all five types of research covered here, making obvious the need for more systematic research on strategies. Observational, ethnographic, and experimental methods are required in order to address the many issues comprising comprehensive empirical analysis of any type of strategy instruction, with many recommendations made here about how to conduct informative studies.