Student attitudes towards internship experiences: From theory to practice

Traditionally, internships have provided a unique way for criminal justice students to gain work experience while earning academic credit. Questions remain, however, as to whether a student's educational experiences adequately reflect the realities of internship (and other work-related) experiences. As part of a larger study, we sought to explore student views and attitudes regarding their undergraduate curriculum and its relevance to their experiences at the criminal justice agencies. Through the use of self-report surveys, findings were two-fold, indicating tremendous support for internship programs. Moreover, (1) students felt their undergraduate curricula adequately reflected the practical realities of criminal justice operations, and (2) internships were regarded as invaluable in preparing students for criminal justice careers.     

Bayesian Analysis of Multivariate Latent Curve Models With Nonlinear Longitudinal Latent Effects

In longitudinal studies, investigators often measure multiple variables at multiple time points and are interested in investigating individual differences in patterns of change on those variables. Furthermore, in behavioral, social, psychological, and medical research, investigators often deal with latent variables that cannot be observed directly and should be measured by 2 or more manifest variables. Longitudinal latent variables occur when the corresponding manifest variables are measured at multiple time points. Our primary interests are in studying the dynamic change of longitudinal latent variables and exploring the possible interactive effect among the latent variables.

Much of the existing research in longitudinal studies focuses on studying change in a single observed variable at different time points. In this article, we propose a novel latent curve model (LCM) for studying the dynamic change of multivariate manifest and latent variables and their linear and interaction relationships. The proposed LCM has the following useful features: First, it can handle multivariate variables for exploring the dynamic change of their relationships, whereas conventional LCMs usually consider change in a univariate variable. Second, it accommodates both first- and second-order latent variables and their interactions to explore how changes in latent attributes interact to produce a joint effect on the growth of an outcome variable. Third, it accommodates both continuous and ordered categorical data, and missing data.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FUNDING

This article presents a practitioner's funding model indicative of the primary revenue streams of community colleges in Texas. Methodology is developed to identify internal and external processes for the comparison of these primary revenue streams on a per-contact-hour basis. Student tuition, ad valorem property tax, maintenance taxing district, and state appropriation revenues are analyzed to provide a framework for the subsequent development of methodologies to identify disparities in the Texas community college funding mechanism.     

Bayesian Methods for Analyzing Structural Equation Models With Covariates,Interaction, and Quadratic Latent Variables

The analysis of interaction among latent variables has received much attention. This article introduces a Bayesian approach to analyze a general structural equation model that accommodates the general nonlinear terms of latent variables and covariates. This approach produces a Bayesian estimate that has the same statistical optimal properties as a maximum likelihood estimate. Other advantages over the traditional approaches are discussed. More important, we demonstrate through examples how to use the freely available software WinBUGS to obtain Bayesian results for estimation and model comparison. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the empirical performances of the approach for situations with various sample sizes and prior inputs.     

Response to: Issues in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation in South Korea

As a native Korean and specialist in the field of Early Childhood Education, I concur with the current state of our teacher education programs as presented by Eunhye Park Han. Having said this, I would like to raise yet another issue, however, relating to the proposal for extending the student teaching experience. It was pointed out in the article that the four weeks of student teaching currently required are not sufficient for gaining practical knowledge. Let us suppose that the requirement is changed and a longer period of field experience is required. Will a longer period of practical work necessarily result in a teacher with greater competence? Two years ago, I conducted a study in a 4-year-old classroom in a university-based kindergarten in Korea. I was amazed to see a teacher who was handling more than 30 children, with no additional adult in the classroom.     

The Impact of Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention on University Resident Assistants

Resident assistants (RAs) can serve as important suicide prevention gatekeepers. The purpose of the study was to determine if training improved RAs’ crisis communications skills and suicide‐related knowledge and to determine if the knowledge elements predicted crisis communications skills. New RAs showed significant improvement in all areas from pretest to posttest, whereas returning RAs showed no significant increase in any of the areas. None of the knowledge areas predicted communications skills for either group.     

Comparison of Preschoolers' Narratives,the Classroom Book Environment,and Teacher Attitudes Toward Literacy Practices in Korea and the United States

This study investigated Korean and U.S. preschoolers’ personal and fictional narratives, their classroom book environments, and their teachers’ attitudes about reading aloud. The participants were 70 Korean and American 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in 2 university lab preschools and their 4 teachers. The structures and content of the preschoolers’ personal and fictional narratives were analyzed. The teachers’ attitudes and practices about their language and literacy curriculum, including books provided in the classroom and selected for reading aloud, were examined for associations with preschoolers’ narrative productions. Research Findings: The content of preschoolers’ personal narratives and the structural levels of their fictional narratives differed between the 2 Korean and 2 U.S. classrooms. The classroom book environments in the Korean and U.S. classrooms also differed, with more fictional books displayed in the 2 U.S. classrooms than in the 2 Korean classrooms. The 2 Korean and 2 U.S. preschool teachers also held different attitudes about the use of fiction and nonfiction for read-aloud story sessions, and U.S. teachers allocated more time in their school day for reading aloud than did Korean teachers. Practice or Policy: U.S. preschoolers may profit from a greater balance between fiction and nonfiction books in the classroom. Korean children might benefit from more exposure to fiction and fantasy along with more practice in creating fictional narratives.     

Preschool Teachers' Beliefs About Appropriate Early Literacy and Mathematics Education for Low- and Middle-Socioeconomic Status Children

This study explored preschool teachers' beliefs about the appropriateness of early literacy and mathematics education. In all, 60 teachers of 4-year-olds, half working with low-socioeconomic status (SES) children at publicly funded preschools and the other half with middle-SES children at private preschools, were randomly assigned to read either the mathematics or the literacy versions of written vignettes describing issues related to teaching these subjects. Teachers were interviewed individually concerning the vignettes. Analyses showed that teachers of middle-SES children tended to support literacy and mathematics education that respects individual children and their preferences and to oppose classroom use of computers; overall they emphasized nonacademic areas. Teachers of low-SES children tended to focus on literacy and mathematics to prepare children for kindergarten and to support computer use; they showed concern about their students' underdeveloped readiness to learn, particularly literacy. Analyses comparing subject matter showed that for literacy, teachers preferred to gear a curriculum toward children's interests and to allow children to follow their interests in a literacy-rich classroom to promote social competence and positive dispositions toward literacy. For mathematics, teachers preferred to embed mathematics into everyday routines to promote the learning of key knowledge and skills throughout the day. These findings have significant implications for professional development.