Lessons from professional identity development literature: A qualitative content analysis

The development of a professional identity as a counselor is the result of training, practice, and integration into a community of professional counselors and is defined as the synthesis of personal and professional behaviors, values, ethics, and worldview. The research on this topic has been plentiful, but this systemic and systematic review of the research literature provides a comprehensive overview of this important concept for counselor training and supervision.     

The museum in adult education: A psychological study of visitor reactions

The authors of this article argue that classroom education does not fit the museum setting and that researchers need to re-think the basic principles for the use of museums in adult education. In order to do this, it is necessary to understand the psychology of the museum visitor. However, while much has been published on visitor behaviour and the factors influencing it, very little is known about what visitors think or feel in the exhibition room. A research team at the University of Montreal is currently studying the psychological reactions of adults when observing museum exhibits. This paper describes the methodology used by this team, some of the results obtained and the perspectives opened up by the study.

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Zusammenfassung Die Autoren dieses Artikels argumentieren, daß Klassenunterricht nicht in die Räumlichkeiten eines Museums passe und daß Forscher die Grundprinzipien für die Nutzung von Museen für die Erwachsenenbildung überdenken müßten. Dazu muß man die Psychologie der Museumsbesucher verstehen. Während jedoch viel über den Besucher und die ihn beeinflussenden Faktoren geschrieben wurde, ist nur sehr wenig darüber bekannt, was Besucher in den Ausstellungssräumen denken und fühlen. Ein Forschungsteam an der Universität von Montreal untersucht gegenwärtig die psychologische Reaktion von Erwachsenen bei Museumsausstellungen. Dieser Artikel beschreibt die von diesem Team angewandte Methodologie, einige der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse und die von dieser Studie eröffeneten Perspektiven.

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Résumé Ce que l'on sait de l'éducation scolaire s'applique mal à la situation des musées. Il faut donc innover et élaborer les principes d'une éducation de l'adulte au musée. Le fonctionnement psychologique du visiteur pourrait servir de base à cette création, mais ce que l'on a écrit sur le visiteur révèle que l'on connaît bien le comportement de celui-ci ou les facteurs qui l'influencent, alors que l'on ignore presque tout de ce qu'il pense ou ressent dans une salle d'exposition. Une équipe de l'Université de Montréal a entrepris une série de recherches qui porte justement sur ce point: le fonctionnement psychologique de l'adulte face aux objets qu'il regarde. Elle comprend une présentation de l'approche et des instruments utilisés par cette équipe, de quelques-unes des données qu'elle a obtenues et des perspectives ouvertes par celles-ci.

     

Does More Intensive Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Follow-Up Service Result in Better Outcomes? A Cost-Effective Analysis

Little is known about the relative cost-effectiveness of the many different types of early intervention services provided to medically fragile infants and their families. This study compared two intensities of services for such infants and their families: (a) a coordinated and comprehensive system of early intervention services initiated prior to discharge from the NICU and designed to transition infants to community-based services were compared with the effects of services (high intensity); and (b) a more traditional hospital follow-up consisting of medical checkups and referrals following discharge (low intensity). High-intensity services resulted in five times more community-based early intervention hours for families and infants when compared with low-intensity services. Annual costs of the high-intensity group were approximately triple the costs of the low-intensity group ($10,814 versus $3,032 per child per year), but there were only a few statistically significant differences on measures of child and family functioning between the groups at 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24months' corrected age. Implications of these findings for research and practice are given.     

Supervision in Schools: Building Pathways to Excellence

The authors summarize the special section in the journal of Counselor Education and Supervision (Vol. 45, No. 4, June 2006) on school counseling supervision and present implications to guide the practice of school counselor supervision. The implications for practice, training, research, and professional standards for school counselors are discussed.     

Consultation and Collaboration to Develop and Implement Restorative Practices in a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Elementary School

ABSTRACT

Through an embedded single-case study design and qualitative methods, this article describes the school-wide implementation and preliminary results of a restorative practices (RP) program within a culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) elementary school. Located in an urban area with high rates of crime, violence, and poverty, the three-year multisystemic project brought school psychology knowledge and skills to (a) use multicultural consultation and participatory methods to introduce, adapt, and support RP in a CLD school, (b) present findings related to teachers, parents, students, and school climate, and (c) increase youth, parent, and community engagement and voice. The authors developed a comprehensive, culturally relevant model through an interdisciplinary school-university-community partnership. They used multicultural consultee-centered consultation, including bilingual/bicultural practices and cultural brokers, and participatory culture-specific intervention methods to collaboratively design, implement, and evaluate outcomes for students, parents, teachers, and others.     

Training and the early years professional: understanding visual impairment

Despite a significant increase in the incidence of visual impairment (VI) in early years children, research has afforded the subject scant attention. Perhaps as a result of underfunding, research into VI typically adopts a single case study approach, with the training needs of early years professionals largely ignored. This paper seeks to inform the debate by presenting empirical evidence from a questionnaire designed to gather data on the incidence of VI in early years settings and the nature and extent of awareness training available. Data from the questionnaire survey and the qualitative dimensions of the study indicate an increase in the incidence of VI and, despite high levels of interest, a paucity of training on issues related to VI. Concern was expressed with delays in diagnosis, the lack of screening available and the extent to which the differing terms used militate against interagency collaboration.     

Potentiel d’apprentissage et adaptation professionnelle des déficients mentaux

Thirty mentally retarded persons took part in a study intended to verify the predictive value, for work adjustment, of learning potential. The multiple regression equation was derived for the data produced by a non verbal intelligence test (PM-47) and a test of learning potential (adaptation of the Block design test, Ionescu et al., 1974) The results showed that only the total score on a block design test has predictive value; this score is the sum of two scores, a “without help” score and a «transfer» score (measure of learning potential).     

Group composition and National Curriculum assessment at seven years

This paper presents the initial findings of a long-term study to examine whether the introduction of compulsory school science for pupils in UK schools in 1991 is effective in raising the general level of scientific literacy. The use of the term 'scientific literacy' in the literature is considered and a definition of the term as it is applied in this study is offered. The scientific literacy level of two groups of initial teacher training studentswith contrasting experiences of school sciencewas compared. Students completed a simple science test that had been originally written for 11-year-old children. The average test score of students who had experienced compulsory school science from the ages of 11 to 16 was found to be significantly higher (p = 0.014) than that of students for whom school science was optional at secondary level. The study also highlights specific areas of conceptual difficulty in basic science experienced by almost all of the students tested. Test questions relating to the circulatory system, light and sound produced very low scores from almost all students, regardless of their science background. The paper considers the implications of these findings for science teachers and policymakers in both the primary and secondary sectors.     

Primary science teacher confidence revisited: ten years on

Background This paper compares the findings from a recent, large-scale UK-wide survey of primary teachers' confidence in teaching science with the results of a seminal report carried out 10 years ago by Wynne Harlen in Scotland. Recent reports from across the UK have indicated there are still serious concerns relating to primary teachers' confidence and ability to teach science effectively.

Purpose The main research aims were to provide a clear, evidence-based analysis of the current issues facing primary science in the UK; explore primary teachers' confidence in science teaching and to evaluate the impact of science initiatives taking place in UK primary schools.

Sample The sample for the study comprised: telephone interviews with 300 primary teachers from all UK regions; seven focus groups of primary teachers held in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to further explore the issues raised in the telephone interviews; and workshops from a two-day conference of 75 stakeholders in primary science from all UK regions (approximately half the delegates were teachers; also represented were teacher educators (initial and continuing professional development), curriculum developers and policy-makers). In addition, 100 teacher education institutions were surveyed in relation to their participation in primary science initiatives.

Design and methods The methodology for both studies comprised qualitative and quantitative elements (see sample details, above). All data were collected between June and September 2004.

Results The findings indicated that there are improvements in some areas of primary teachers' confidence in teaching science. However, the study showed that half of the teachers surveyed cited lack of teacher confidence and ability to teach science as the current issue of major concern in primary science. This paper also reports on some of the professional development initiatives carried out by higher education institutions in primary science.

Conclusions The paper concludes that there has been some progress in developing teacher confidence in primary science over the past 10 years. However, the situation is still critical for all stakeholders. Half of the teachers surveyed in the UK for the present study identified lack of teacher confidence and ability to teach science as the major issue of concern in primary science. Higher education institutions need to enhance the preparation of new primary teachers to ensure that they are all confident and effective teachers of science. They could also increase their partnership work with schools and other continuing professional development (CPD) providers in relation to primary science. The evidence demonstrates clearly that there is a need for substantially increasing science professional development for primary teachers. It also shows that such professional development could be more effectively targeted at specific aspects of science teaching that are more challenging for teachers. Further, the study shows that professional development in science works, in that teachers who have experienced science continuing professional development (CPD) are much more confident to teach science than those who have not.