An existential model for counselling women

Historically, theories of personality and therapy have tended to be biased against women Feminist ideology appears to be inadequate as a replacement for more traditional theoretical frameworks. Alternatively, the existential theory of Frankl (1969, 1975) appears particularly promising as a model for therapy with women. Data in support of this position were reported.University of WinipegUniversity of AlbertaPaper presented at Ninth International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling. Thessaloniki, Greece, April 1980. The opening paragraphs also introduced an earlier paper by the authors at the CRIAW Conference, Edmonton, November 1979.     

An Internationalization Competency Checklist for American Counseling Training Programs

Through a mixed method design the researchers sought to develop an internationalization competency checklist that U.S. counseling training programs could use as a pragmatic guide in their efforts to internationalize their curriculum and training environments. Based on a six-domain framework and using content analytic method, 70 potential internationalization competency items were generated. The items were further validated by 66 counseling professionals in the field who were knowledgeable about counseling training and have experience with international activities, resulting in 43 items with 60% or more positive endorsement. These 43 items were selected to form an International Competency Checklist. Practice and research implications of the study’s findings are discussed.     

Evaluating change in interagency collaboration of a state-level interagency education team: a social network approach within a utilization-focused framework

Improving collaboration among organizations is a goal of interagency educational teams, but collaboration is typically thought of as an ambiguous concept that cannot be quantified. To assess the collaborative strength of a state-level interagency team in a Midwestern state, team members completed the Levels of Collaboration Scale (Frey et al., American Journal of Evaluation 27(3):383, 2006) for three consecutive years. The team members then utilized the results of the social network analysis to support and sustain collaborative efforts. Findings revealed that the number of partnerships increased and the depth of collaboration expanded across the 3 years. Social network analysis results were utilized to develop collaboration strategies, thus influencing the expansion of the network across the 3-year period.     

Employing Noncognitive Variables in Admitting and Advising Community College Students

ABSTRACT

As community colleges have more applicants, more programs have turned to selective admissions. Additionally, good postmatriculation advising requires more useful assessments than have been possible employing such measures as prior grade-point average (GPA). A variety of problems have been identified in relying on GPA. A series of noncognitive variables, as measured by the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), were included in a study of 263 community college students in health sciences programs at a western community college. NCQ scores were related to college grades using Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Results showed modest but statistically significant relationships with community college grades. The NCQ scales of Community, Leadership and Strong Support Person contributed most to multiple-regression Equations predicting college grades. NCQ scales tended to correlate highest with early and late community college grades. While students in the study had mean NCQ scores similar to normative samples, they tended to be lowest on Community, which was most predictive of their performance. It is recommended that a predicted GPA generated from NCQ scores be added to the admissions criteria for health programs at the college, and that pre and postmatriculation advising programs include use of noncognitive variables.     

Average acceleration and intensity gradient of primary school children and associations with indicators of health and well-being

ABSTRACT

Average acceleration (AvAcc) and intensity gradient (IG) have been proposed as standardised metrics describing physical activity (PA) volume and intensity, respectively. We examined hypothesised between-group PA differences in AvAcc and IG, and their associations with health and well-being indicators in children. ActiGraph GT9X wrist accelerometers were worn for 24-h·d^?1 over 7days by 145 children aged 9–10. Raw accelerations were averaged per 5-s epoch to represent AvAcc over 24-h. IG represented the relationship between log values for intensity and time. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was estimated using youth cutpoints. BMI z-scores, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak), Metabolic Syndrome risk (MetS score), and well-being were assessed cross-sectionally, and 8-weeks later. Hypothesised between-group differences were consistently observed for IG only (p < .001). AvAcc was strongly correlated with MVPA (r = 0.96), while moderate correlations were observed between IG and MVPA (r = 0.50) and AvAcc (r = 0.54). IG was significantly associated with health indicators, independent of AvAcc (p < .001). AvAcc was associated with well-being, independent of IG (p < .05). IG was significantly associated with WHtR (p < .01) and MetS score (p < .05) at 8-weeks follow-up. IG is sensitive as a gauge of PA intensity that is independent of total PA volume, and which relates to important health indicators in children.     

A better IDEA: best practice and outcomes‐oriented remedies in public impact litigation for students with disabilities

Class action lawsuits filed in violation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) raise questions for those concerned with improving the education system for students with disabilities. First, do the lawsuits result in changes that can be directly linked to improved student outcomes? Second, do these lawsuits and the ‘consent decrees’ that settle them refer to best practices in educating children with disabilities? To date, no study has examined the remedies ordered as a result of these lawsuits in the disability education context, or proven how different types of remedies can impede or facilitate progress for students with disabilities. Class action lawsuits under IDEA filed in large, urban school districts between 1990 and 2011 and the remedies ordered under the final agreement were reviewed. This review suggests that the lawsuits against large, urban school districts tend to result in remedial activities that focus more on planning, supporting and monitoring than on outcomes or evidence‐based practice.     

Accessing mainstream: examining the struggle for parents of children who have learning difficulties

In the past decade Ireland has witnessed substantial changes in policy and provision for children with general learning difficulties as government policies and legislation increasingly underpin the move towards more inclusive provision. Despite this series of policy initiatives parents of children who experience Down syndrome and general learning difficulties can encounter serious obstacles in gaining access to mainstream education for their children.
This research project was a study of the experiences of a small sample of parents of children who experience Down syndrome and general learning difficulties in relation to their efforts to access appropriate education and education supports for their child in the mainstream school setting. These parents had to invest extraordinary levels of time, energy, and resources in their struggle to get these children into mainstream school and to support their progress there. At local school level these parents and children had positive experiences, but life has taught them that society offers acceptance as a favour, so they cannot confidently expect acceptance by schools and teachers as a right.     

Fetal cardiac responding: a correlate of birth weight and neonatal behavior

Certain intrapartum fetal heart-rate (FHR) patterns are associated with low Apgar scores and other neonatal risks. Intrapartum FHR has been the subject of extensive clinical investigation, but only occasional reference is made to the possible behavioral correlates of this phenomenon. The current investigation found that neonates classified as FHR decelerators had lower birth weights and shorter gestational ages than FHR accelerators. Decelerators exhibited higher baseline heart rate and experienced more frequent uterine contractions than accelerators. Neurobehavioral assessment of these neonates indicated that decelerators had more abnormal reflex ratings and were less behaviorally organized than heart-rate accelerators. The results indicate that FHR responses are associated with prenatal growth, maturity, and possibly stress tolerance, and that intrapartum FHR responses be related to nonoptimal neonatal behavior.