Parents and sex education—looking beyond ‘the birds and the bees’

The social and political climate of sex education over the last two decades has dramatically changed, with parents now being encouraged to work in partnership with professionals. This paper seeks to further the argument that involving parents in their child's sex education does matter and can have an impact on their child's future sexual health. It discusses the reality of parents' roles and skills in providing sex education within the family. In particular, the discussion explores myths parents associate with sex education, involving fathers in provision, siblings as peer educators, health professionals' attitudes towards involving parents, and school partnerships. The author calls for professionals to involve parents alongside other sources of sex education in health and educational strategies to address sexual health issues and improve sex education. Otherwise future generations of children will experience a closed cultural attitude towards sexual matters and we will not achieve lower teenage pregnancy rates or view sex education positively.     

Reasonable Adjustments in Assessment: Putting Law and Policy into Practice in Australia

The Australian Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth) require education providers to make reasonable adjustments in educational assessment so that students with disability can participate on the same basis as other students and be able to demonstrate what they know and can do. Reasonableness is governed by a determination of the balance of interests, benefits and detriment to the parties involved. The Standards require providers to consult with students and associates on adjustments, although guidance on how consultation should occur and how the views of students and associates are to be taken into account is vague. In this article, we identify three principles to be considered in order to put appropriate and effective reasonable adjustments in assessment into practice. While Australian law and assessment contexts are used to examine intentions, expectations and practices in educational assessment for students with disability, we argue that these three principles must be considered in any national education system to ensure equitable assessment practices and achieve equitable educational inclusion for students with disability.     

Continuity of Care,Professional Community,and the Policy Context: Potential Benefits for Infant and Toddler Teachers' Professional Development

Practice or Policy: Continuity of care (COC) has many benefits for young children's development but is not the norm in infant/toddler classrooms. As a consequence, policymakers might not realize how such an approach might also benefit the professional development of infant and toddler teachers, particularly if they come to the field with little formal training. Although the supports and policies available to military child development centers may not be possible to implement at present in much of the civilian sector, this study suggests that their potential benefit for infant/toddler teachers' learning and practice may be worthy of further inquiry. Research Findings: This study shares the results of an exploratory study of the benefits of COC, professional community, and the larger policy context for staff working in a military child development center serving children aged 0 to 2. COC-related professional development also seems to enhance professional community, which along with the policy context is viewed as an essential aspect of improving teacher learning and practice in the K–12 literature.     

How Perceptions of an Intervention Program Affect Outcomes

Goals for Health was a National Cancer Institute funded program designed to impact health behaviors of adolescents living in rural Virginia and New York. This study examined three specific objectives: (a) to examine participants' perceptions of the program components and the relationship between program components and overall program perception, (b) to examine whether subgroups of our participant population perceived the program differently, and (c) to examine whether having positive perceptions of the program predicted changes in program outcomes. Results indicated that program components were significantly related to program perceptions. Perceptions of the program did not differ by subgroup and program perceptions significantly predicted changes in tobacco attitudes and self-efficacy about eating behaviors. Given these findings, school consultants should become aware of how implementation of a program and perceptions of a program may impact program outcomes.     

Gerald Caplan: A Tribute to the Originator of Mental Health Consultation

Gerald Caplan (1917–2008), world-renowned child and community psychiatrist, was the originator of the modern practice of mental health consultation. In addition to consultation, Caplan developed and refined many conceptual models and methods for practice for use in community mental health, psychology, and education. This tribute article focuses on his career and contributions to the field of consultation and offers insights into his approach to mental health consultation.     

Early Head Start Relationships: Association with Program Outcomes

Research Findings: Interpersonal relationships among staff caregivers, parents, and children have been recommended as essential aspects of early childhood intervention. This study explored the associations of these relationships with program outcomes for children and parents in 3 Early Head Start programs. A total of 71 children (8–35 months, M = 20), their parents, and 33 program caregivers participated. The results showed that caregiver–child relationships were moderately positive, secure, and interactive and improved in quality over 6 months, whereas caregiver–parent relationships were generally positive and temporally stable. Caregiver–child relationships were more positive for girls, younger children, and those in home-visiting programs. Caregiver–parent relationships were more positive when parents had higher education levels and when staff had more years of experience, had more positive work environments, or had attained a Child Development Associate credential or associate's level of education rather than a 4-year academic degree. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis suggested that the quality of the caregiver–parent relationship was a stronger predictor of both child and parent outcomes than was the quality of the caregiver–child relationship. There were also moderation effects: Stronger associations of caregiver–parent relationships with observed positive parenting were seen in parents with lower education levels and when program caregivers had higher levels of education. Practice or Policy: The results support the importance of caregiver–family relationships in early intervention programs and suggest that staff need to be prepared to build relationships with children and families in individualized ways. Limitations of this study and implications for program improvements and future research are discussed.