Counselor Selection: A Critical Event in Program Management and Development

A coordinated process for selection of school counselors is presented. Responsibility for counselor selection is shared by central office and school building administrators. District personnel developed a selection instrument which is used to assess strengths and limitations of counselor candidates. Counselor profiles are then evaluated by the selection committee in light of district needs.     

The Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory: A conceptual framework and measure of intercultural conflict resolution approaches

Grounded in the pragmatics of human communication perspective, the current study examined how disagreements and emotion function across cultural context in resolving conflict. Specifically, the research effort developed the Intercultural Conflict Style (ICS) inventory, a 36-item measure of intercultural conflict resolution style based on two core dimensions: Direct vs. indirect approaches to dealing with disagreements and emotionally expressive vs. emotionally restrained patterns for dealing with the affective dimension of conflict interaction. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) found the proposed two-factor model was a good fit to the data. Analysis of the CFA findings identified a final set of 18 direct/indirect items and 18 emotional expressiveness/restraint items. The direct/indirect scale obtained a coefficient alpha of .73 and the emotional expressiveness/restraint scale achieved .85 reliability. Validity testing of the scales found no significant effects by gender, education or previous intercultural living experience. A theoretical framework for understanding differences in conflict resolution styles grounded in the development of this inventory, a practical, four-quadrant intercultural conflict resolution style model is proposed based on high/low levels of directness and high/low levels of emotional expressiveness: (1) discussion style (direct & emotionally restrained), (2) engagement style (direct & emotionally expressive), (3) accommodation style (indirect & emotionally restrained) and (4) dynamic style (indirect and emotionally expressive).     

A Community of Voices: Educational Blog Management Strategies and Tools

Web 2.0 offers a new type of interactive technology that may change the focus and approach of formal education in ways we are just beginning to comprehend. The new and unique qualities of Web 2.0 can be compounded in traditional educational settings by the fact that students often times have far more experience with and understanding the new technology than the teachers who are developing curriculums and setting educational goals. At the same time, Web 2.0 has become so pervasive in such a short time that it makes little sense to ignore it in educational settings. This current article suggests blogging may be the most “education friendly” of the new interactive tools. Blog posts offer students the opportunity to develop their own voice in the classroom, while commentary serves as an important reinforcement for self-reflection and continued participation. The difficulty for teachers is in understanding how to integrate, use and maintain course blogs so that they are a strong and positive educational force in the classroom. At the core of using blogs is the development of blog management strategies. Based on the authors’ use of blogs in undergraduate courses, the current paper outlines an approach to blog management.     

A longitudinal evaluation of a project-based learning initiative in an engineering undergraduate programme

Project-based learning (PBL) is a well-known student-centred methodology for engineering design education. The methodology claims to offer a number of educational benefits. This paper evaluates the student perceptions of the initial and second offering of a first-year design unit at Griffith University in Australia. It builds on an earlier evaluation conducted after the initial offering of the unit. It considers the implementation of the recommended changes. Evaluations of the two offerings reveal that students (in both the initial and second offering) generally enjoyed the experience, but that the second offering was found to be a significantly more enjoyable learning experience. Students in the second offering also reported a significantly better understanding of what they needed to do for the design projects and where to find the requisite information. The oral presentation aspect of the initial and second offerings received the lowest satisfaction rating. The inclusion (and delivery) of the computer-aided drawing component of the unit is seen as a positive aspect by some students, but many others comment on it negatively. The best aspects of the PBL unit and those aspects needing further improvement were similar to the findings of other investigations documented in the literature.     

Beliefs and Practices of In-Service Preschool Teachers in Inclusive Settings: Implications for Personnel Preparation

This study examined the beliefs of in-service teachers working in inclusive classrooms regarding developmentally appropriate practices and how those beliefs affected their attitudes toward, knowledge of, and comfort levels regarding working with children with disabilities. A mixed-method approach was utilized and data were collected through the use of three survey instruments: Teacher Belief Scale and Instructional Activities Scale (Hart et al., 1990 Hart, C., Burts, D., Charlesworth, P., Fleege, P., Ickes, M. and Durland, M. 1990. The teachers Questionnaire: Preschool version, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University, School of Human Ecology.  [Google Scholar]) and the In-service Teacher Self-Report Survey (Mitchell, 2002 Mitchell, L. C. 2002. Blending practices in regular education: A mixed method design study on course practicum and training experiences in relation to preservice teacher attitudes and knowledge about inclusion. Dissertation Abstracts International, 5: A63 (UMI No. 726467131). [Google Scholar]). Data were also collected through open-ended questions to assess Teachers' perceived level of preparation for the inclusive classroom. This study also examined whether education or experience levels had an influence on Teachers' perceptions regarding inclusive practices. Results of the study indicate that there is not a significant relationship between in-service Teachers' beliefs regarding developmentally appropriate practices and their attitudes toward, knowledge of, and comfort levels regarding inclusion. Additionally, results indicate that the Teachers' levels of education or experience do not necessarily indicate that they are prepared to meet the needs of the inclusive classroom environment. Implications regarding the preparation of and ongoing training needs of teachers are discussed.