Therapists in a Foreign Land: Acculturation, Language Proficiency and Counseling Self-Efficacy among Foreign-Born Therapists Practicing in the United States

Immigration and acculturation can have profound effects on counselors’ sense of self and interactions with others. Yet the influence of being an immigrant on a therapist’s use of self during actual clinical encounters has received very little empirical attention, even though the number of foreign-born counselors is steadily increasing in the U.S. In order to fill this gap we conducted a web-based survey study to examine the associations between acculturation, language proficiency, and clinician’s self-efficacy in a sample of 258 foreign-born counselors and providers currently practicing in the U.S. Results suggest that perceived prejudice and not the level of acculturation is significantly associated with levels of clinical self-efficacy, suggesting that the attitudes and behaviors of the host community play a much bigger role in the acculturation of immigrant therapists than previously assumed.     

Gender-Typed and Gender-Segregated Play Among Tanzanian Hadza and Congolese BaYaka Hunter-Gatherer Children and Adolescents

Few data exist on gender-typed and gender-segregated play in hunter-gatherer societies, despite their unique demographic and cultural features which may influence children’s gendered play. Using naturalistic observations of Hadza (N = 46, 41% female) and BaYaka (N = 65, 48% female) hunter-gatherer 3- to 18-year-olds from Tanzania and the Republic of Congo, we showed that access to playmates was negatively associated with playing in mixed-gender groups. Young boys did not engage in more rough-and-tumble play than girls, but adolescent boys participated in this type of play more than adolescent girls. Children were also more likely to participate in work-themed play which conformed to gender norms within their society. Findings are discussed within the context of gendered division of labor, child autonomy, and demography.     

Religious discrimination discourse in the mono-cultural school: the case of Poland

The article forms an analysis of the religious discrimination discourse in Polish public schools, with special attention paid to the culturally specific, Polish understanding of the notion of religious discrimination. The introductory part presents the concept of religious discrimination as present in anti-discriminatory policies. The following part outlines the Polish system of religious education and its relation to the religious discrimination. Studies on religious discrimination in Poland are presented and discussed. Important context is supplied by a presentation of two recent cases of religious discrimination in Polish public schools, and the actions undertaken by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Authors of the article point out the important influence of cultural context on the perception of religious discrimination. The attention is drawn to the seemingly homogenous environment of the Polish school and of the discriminative discourse used in political and social debates. The analysis shows that the presence of religion as a subject in Polish schools remains a cause of conflict between the religious and atheist citizens, a conflict in which concepts of religious discrimination and religious freedom are used as arguments by both sides.     

A Profile of Giving Patterns and Donor Behavior at a Suburban Community College

Community colleges have become increasingly reliant on diversifying their revenue sources, and turning to private fund raising has become a common strategy for many of them. Although fund raising has been a common practice in higher education since its inception, it has only emerged in the two-year college sector in the past several decades. The current study sought to identify donors at a case study, suburban community college, specifically exploring giving patterns over time and testing the conceptual framework of a pyramid of giving that overlays institutional involvement and commitment with giving levels. Major infrastructure inconsistencies prevented much of the framework testing, but data were capable of creating an initial donor and giving profile for a typical community college. This profile demonstrated that board members and employees were the most loyal and consistent in making contributions, but that these gifts often were stable over time and did not increase to become major gifts. Also, private business and industry gifts were often given at the same level as individual gifts, perhaps illustrating the responsiveness and cooperation between community colleges and the local workforce.     

Systemic ecological illiteracy? Shedding light on meaning as an act of thought in higher learning

Research on ecological literacy often takes for granted that participants understand, and can construct the meaning within, the complex concepts involved, simply because they are able to use the appropriate terminology in a ‘fluent’ manner and/or can select the correct option on multiple choice tests. In this study, and in the larger two-year study it is part of, a trend has been unearthed regarding the ecological literacy of university students entering into a Bachelor of Education program. An analysis of the meaning contained in participant definitions has revealed that the vast majority of teacher candidates, graduates of many different universities, are unable to explain the meaning of key integrating ecological concepts at even a minimal level of maturity, alluding to a possible systemic problem. The findings, though preliminary, suggest that until we inquire into the meaning that teachers possess for key concepts rather than accepting fluent but shallow use of these concepts, we may be taking too much for granted.     

Being Black, Male, and Gifted in Miami: Prevalence and Predictors of Placement in Elementary School Gifted Education Programs

Although it is well established that Black male students are underrepresented in gifted educational programs in the United States, due to a scarcity of longitudinal prospective research, little is known about the protective factors at the child, family, and school level that increase the probability of Black male students being identified as gifted during early elementary school. Using data from the Miami School Readiness Project, we followed 6,926 low-income Black males from preschool through 5th grade to describe trajectories for the 453 Black males (6.5 %) who were identified as gifted, and examined child, family, and preschool variables associated with gifted classification. Boys were most commonly identified as gifted in first and second grade, and 15 % of the identified boys did not appear to be receiving gifted courses. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that being classified as gifted in early elementary school was more likely for Black males who (a) attended public school pre-K programs at age four, (b) had higher cognitive, language, fine motor, behavioral, and emergent literacy school readiness skills before entering kindergarten, (c) spoke a language other than English at home, (d) were older upon entering kindergarten, (e) received higher grades in school, and (f) scored higher on standardized tests of math and reading. Predictors of gifted identification in the kindergarten year were different and weaker compared to identification in later years. Implications for early identification and intervention for talented Black males are discussed.     

Aspiring Teachers and Urban Education Programs

The Urban Review - Research stresses a need for more contextually nuanced urban teacher preparation programs that explore racially oppressive structures in society. This article presents a case...     

All Validities are Not Created Equal: Determinants of Variation in SAT Validity Across Schools

Previous research has demonstrated that cognitive test validities are generalizable and predictive of academic performance across situations. However, even after accounting for statistical artifacts (e.g., sampling error, range restriction, criterion reliability), substantial variability often remains around estimates of cognitive test–performance relationships suggesting the presence of additional moderators. In the present study, we examine the sources of institutional variation in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) validity across a sample of 110 institutions. Institutional characteristics moderated the size of SAT validities, such that more selective schools and schools that emphasize traditional assessment techniques (i.e., school records, standardized tests) showed higher SAT validities while schools that were larger and where students demonstrated more financial need, schools that emphasized the usage of alternative assessment techniques (i.e., essays, letters of recommendations, extracurricular activities), and schools that enrolled higher percentages of historically disadvantaged minority students generally exhibited lower SAT validities. Future directions in the understanding of situational influences on SAT–grade point average validities are discussed.     

Bounds for characteristic exponents of discrete linear time varying systems

In this paper we introduce certain constants that characterize exponential stability or exponential unstability of discrete linear time varying systems. We also present bounds for Lyapunov and Perron exponents in terms of the introduced constants.     

How Mexico is Striving to Nurture Booksellers and Promote Reading

Citing the small number of bookstores in operation and a poor average annual book consumption among readers in Mexico, publishing industry professionals have long lamented the moribund state of the industry, while calling for more effective legislation to protect both publishers and booksellers and the creation of programs to promote reading among citizens of all ages. But in the last couple of years moves have been made to nurture the book industry and create greater awareness of the importance of reading as a vital cultural pastime, through training programs and by harnessing technological innovation, and while there is still much work to be done, publishers and booksellers alike are optimistic that they are making progress.