The 2002 Conference on the Future of School Psychology: Implications for Consultation,Intervention, and Prevention Services

In November 2002, the multisite Conference on the Future of School Psychology was sponsored by major professional associations of school psychologists. Conference goals included achieving consensus on current and future demands for school, conceptualizing the practice of school psychology in the face of diminishing numbers and increasing demand for services, and developing an agenda to use school psychology resources to maximize the benefits to the children and schools. Consultation, intervention, and prevention were major themes in all conference activities. The present article provides an overview of the conference and a summary of issues and outcomes from the conference that relate to educational and psychological consultation services.     

Follow-up to the 2002 Futures Conference: Collaborating to Serve All Children,Families, and Schools

Recommendations of the Thayer, Spring Hill, and Olympia conferences are examined as they relate to ways we can support and make positive contributions to students, families, and schools. In the current issue of the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, Hatzichristou and Lampropoulou (this issue), Meyers, Meyers, and Grogg (this issue), Nastasi (this issue), and Wizda (this issue) share important insights that can guide efforts to implement ideas discussed at the recent 2002 Futures Conference. Their ideas, along with literature on the public health model, are discussed. Points are made about the move to evidence-based interventions, as well as the use of Internet technology to facilitate collaboration and follow-up to the 2002 conference.     

The Weird World,and Equally Weird Measurement Models: Reactive Indicators and the Validity Revolution

Researchers using structural equation modeling (SEM) aspire to learn about the world by seeking models with causal specifications that match the causal forces extant in the world. This quest for a model matching existing worldly causal forces constitutes an ontology that orients, or perhaps reorients, thinking about measurement validity. This article illustrates several ways the seemingly innocuous quest for structural equation models that mirror “the world beyond” confronts entrenched notions of measurement validity. The article begins by considering simple measurement models and ends by “discovering” a new class of indicators called reactive indicators. Reactive indicators act as both the cause and effect of an underlying latent variable. The identifiability of a simple model containing a reactive indicator is proven and a research example illustrating the use of a reactive indicator is provided. However, the real challenge is to understand how an indicator can be both a cause and effect of the latent it measures. The understanding does not come from complying with the traditional rules for reliability and validity, but from focusing on the quest to make the structural equation model match the structuring of the worldly forces we seek to understand. Valid measurement in the context of a weirdly structured world requires an equally weird structural equation model.     

Patterns of motivating teaching behaviour and student engagement: a microanalytic approach

Positive student engagement is a prerequisite for students’ educational success. In this study, a microanalytic approach was used to explore patterns in teachers’ use of specific motivating teaching behaviours from the perspective of self-determination theory in relation to indicators of students’ positive engagement. The lessons of 52 teachers were observed and event-based coded. Results showed that specifically asking motivating questions and providing positive feedback and support during exercises were associated with subsequent positive student engagement. Unexpectedly, some demotivating teaching behaviours were also found to relate to positive student engagement, although to a lesser extent. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

     

Closing the Gap: Inquiry in Research and the Secondary Science Classroom

Teaching students how to conduct authentic scientific inquiry is an essential aspect of recent science education reform efforts. Our National Science Foundation-funded GK-12 program paired science graduate students—fellows—with secondary science teachers in order to enhance inquiry-based instruction. This research examined the roles of the fellows, teachers, and school culture in the implementation of inquiry and the fellows’ conceptions of classroom inquiry versus that in their own research. Qualitative data were collected for two academic years. Overall, the classrooms shifted toward a more inquiry-oriented approach over the academic year. Several aspects of school culture influenced inquiry implementation. Fellows described their research as similar in overall structure but less constrained by known concepts, less guided by mentors, and more in-depth than that of secondary school students. The teacher-fellow scientist partnership is a potentially effective professional development model to create positive and lasting change within the science classroom.     

Implementation of quality assurance standards in European higher education: does context matter?

The vast majority of studies concerning the implementation of quality assurance in higher education institutions have been conducted from a national perspective, with few cross-national studies. This study aimed to explore the implementation of quality assurance standards in Europe from a comparative perspective. A questionnaire based on Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area was developed to compare countries. The results indicate that higher education institutions mainly formulate their quality assurance systems according to national standards or based on their own needs. The main emphasis in quality assurance is on teaching and learning activities and curriculum development. The major contribution of the study lies in showing how different country settings affect the implementation of quality assurance standards through presenting the strengths and weaknesses for quality assurance implementation among several European countries.     

Mixed Message Resolution and Children's Responses to Interadult Conflict

In everyday life marital conflict resolutions may contain consistent or mixed messages (e.g., an angry apology). How do children weight content and emotion information in responding? 5–7- and 9–12-year-olds viewed videotaped interadult conflicts in which the content and emotion of endings were either consistent or discrepant. Both the younger and older children responded to content and emotion cues in their perceptions of adults' anger and conflict resolution, with positive emotion and nonconflictual endings each improving appraisals. These findings have implications for children's emotional security in reaction to marital conflict. Younger children focused on ( a ) the content of endings when estimating their own emotional distress and ( b ) adults' emotionality when suggesting interventions. Older children reacted emotionally to both content and emotion cues. They proposed task-oriented help for partially resolved conflicts and suggested mediation when conflicts were unresolved.