The significance of best-friend relationships in adolescence

Research is summarized that documents the nature of the best-friend process in adolescence. Similarities and differences between the sexes are detailed. Female relationships are described as more intense, demonstrative, exciusive, and nurturant than male. Females depend heavily on the friend as a confidante with whom to process their mutual experiences and psychological reactions, apparently in an effort to understand and develop their own personalities. While males also confide at an intimate level, male relationships are more likely to be based on enjoyable companionship and similarity in attitudes, with less emphasis on continual analysis of experience. For both sexes, but especially for females, the relationship is important enough to development that lack of a close friend should be viewed as a deficit that responsible adults should help a student to remedy. Resources are cited that may be utilized by school personnel in helping the unfriended to make more effective contact with potential friends.     

The functional meanings of behaviors: A factor analytic study of motivational orientations in Virgin Islands students

One hundred and sixty-five high school students in the Virgin Islands were asked to rate the extent to which they associate each of 62 behaviors with their concepts of “success,” “joy,” and “satisfying expectations.” They were also asked to rate the frequency with which they performed each of the behaviors. Results indicated that Virgin Islands students associate the word “success” not with academic behaviors, but with being modern, attractive, and nurturing. Moreover, individual students are less apt to perform those behaviors which Western teachers believe lead to academic success and more apt to perform those behaviors which the sample as a whole associates with being successful. The data indicate that although many Virgin Islands students enjoy traditional island activities, they do not feel successful when they engage in them. The results of the investigation are interpreted within the context of what is known concerning achievement behaviors of middle-class American youth, and implications are drawn for the teaching of young persons from diverse cultural backgrounds who attend classes conducted in the Western mode.     

Familial and Institutional Factors: Job Satisfaction for Female Counselor Educators

Job satisfaction based on familial and institutional factors was explored for 157 female counselor educators. Results indicate that female associate professors had lower levels of intrinsic rewards domain after controlling for institutional type. Parental responsibility and partnership status were equivocal, with significant interaction effects after controlling for Carnegie Classification.     

Bridging understanding between preservice teachers and diverse students through service-learning

This study examines the effectiveness of service-learning as a pedagogical approach that seeks to bridge the gap of understanding between predominantly White undergraduate preservice teachers (PSTs) and diverse students at a local elementary school. Analysis of ‘before’ and ‘after’ reflective papers and surveys from 23 PSTs enrolled in an entry-level education course as well as reflective letters from 41 fourth-grade students, revealed that prior to the project, PSTs feared that students’ language barriers or home circumstances might prohibit them from understanding or valuing the concepts introduced through the project. In PST ‘after’ reflections, PSTs expressed their new realizations that teaching is complex and requires careful preparation, that the children were ‘less different’ and more engaged than they expected, and that they can make a difference in children’s lives. Benefits to the children include development of new and usable social skills and an increase in their interpersonal confidence.     

Response‐to‐intervention in high‐risk preschools: Critical issues for implementation

This article summarizes the current knowledge of response‐to‐intervention (RTI) models in preschool settings, with an emphasis on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of our current research base. Particular attention is given to the unique challenges of high‐risk preschool settings. Presently, sufficient empirical support exists to begin establishing tiered intervention systems and building teacher capacity. Lacking, however, are valid and reliable assessment tools and insufficiently trained personnel to support a data‐based decision‐model within high‐risk preschools. We conclude that organizational development should focus on building teacher capacity, establishing high‐quality classroom instruction, and planning for sustainable programs, with adoption of a full RTI service delivery model serving as a long‐range aspirational goal. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.