Counselor Educators' Experiences Preparing Preservice School Counselors: A Phenomenological Study

The authors conducted a phenomenological study to explore the experiences of 32 school counselor educators preparing preservice school counselors. Analysis of data from 3 focus groups revealed 3 themes: breadth versus depth, balancing specialties and professor partiality, and preparation versus practice. These results highlight the need for collaboration across counseling specialties at the preservice level.     

Role of extracurricular activities in the promotion of cross-race contact by white students from high school to college

A series of school extracurricular activities and types of personal, informal interactions were developed to reflect the various types of interracial contact situations defined by Gordon Allport inThe Nature of Prejudice. These were used to determine whether cross-race contact through participation in extracurricular activities in high school could be used to predict cross-race contact at the university. Canonical correlations indicted that, for whites, frequency of cross-race contact while in high school is a predictor of frequent cross-race contact at the university. Additionally, those who gain experience in cross-racial situations through participation in Supportive Norm or Cooperative Interdependent activities in high school are likely to engage in Equal Status forms of contact at the University.This article is based on a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, 1982.     

Influence of conspecific and predatory Stressors and their associated odors on defensive burying and freezing responses

In Experiment 1, male rats were exposed to either aggressive (i.e., alpha) or nonaggressive conspecific colonies and tested 24 h later, with or without alpha odors, for freezing behavior and burying of a wall prod that had been the source of a brief electric shock. The results indicated that prior defeat experience and the presence of alpha odors alone during testing had no significant effects, but the combination of prior defeat and alpha-odor testing significantly decreased burying and increased freezing behavior. In Experiment 2, we examined the effects of noncontact exposure to a cat, as a predatory Stressor, during subsequent prod-shock tests involving the presence or absence of cat odors. Exposure to a cat failed to disrupt later prod burying and did not produce freezing. However, the presence of cat odors during testing significantly reduced the amount of defensive burying,without resulting in an increment in freezing. In Experiment 3, rats were given 1, 5, or 30 inescapable preshocks in the presence of either cat odors or a hedonically neutral citronella odor and were tested 24 h later for prod burying and freezing with or without these odors. Both the cat and the citronella odors resulted in a significant reduction in burying and an increase in freezing for rats given 5 and 30 preshocks and tested in the presence of these respective conditioned odors. For the groups that were given 5 preshocks, preshock and later testing in the presence of cat odors resulted in significantly less prod burying and more freezing than for rats that were preshocked and tested in the presence of citronella. The findings of these three ethoexperimental studies are discussed in terms of the learned-helplessness theory, the stress-coping-fear-defense (SCFD) theory, and the concept of selective CS-US associability.     

Comparison of student performance using web and paper‐based homework in college‐level physics

Homework gives students an opportunity to practice important college‐level physics skills. A switch to Web‐based homework alters the nature of feedback received, potentially changing the pedagogical benefit. Calculus‐ and algebra‐based introductory physics students enrolled in large paired lecture sections at a public university completed homework of standard end‐of‐the‐chapter exercises using either the Web or paper. Comparison of their performances on regular exams, conceptual exams, quizzes, laboratory, and homework showed no significant differences between groups; other measures were found to be strong predictors of performance. This indicates that the change in medium itself has limited effect on student learning. Ways in which Web‐based homework could enable exercises with greater pedagogical value are discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 1050–1071, 2003     

Positive teacher–student relationships go beyond the classroom,problematic ones stay inside

The authors voice teachers' perceptions of their interpersonal experiences with students in both positive and problematic relationships. Interview data from 28 teachers were examined by coding utterances on teacher and student interactions. Results indicate that teachers defined the quality of the relationship mostly by the level of communion (friendly vs. hostile), instead of by the level of agency (in control vs. powerless). Analyses of mentioned teacher and student behavior show a friendly interactional pattern for positive relationships and a hostile pattern for problematic ones. In teachers' perceptions, positive and problematic relationships also differed in context where encounters take place and topic of talk. Contrary to interactions in problematic relationships, encounters in positive relationships were mostly situated outside the classroom context and conversations during these encounters covered a wide range of topics. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed.     

Fees,flows and imaginaries: exploring the destination choices arising from intra-national student mobility

ABSTRACT

Are intra-national student flows driven by the same forces as international student mobility? This paper addresses this question by analysing cross-border student mobility in the UK. The paper identifies four principles that one might expect to drive the destination choices of students from Scotland enrolling in English universities. Following a statistical analysis of student destination choices, it is argued that cross-border moves from Scotland to England are stimulated by some of the same global forces as international student mobility (such as a desire to accumulate cultural capital), but in terms of destination choice the imaginaries held by Scottish students of ‘good’ places to study in England to accumulate cultural capital are constructed differently from the imaginaries of international students.     

Mental toughness and transitions to high school and to undergraduate study

Mental toughness can be conceptualised as a set of attributes that allow people to deal effectively with challenges, stressors and pressure. Recent work has suggested that it may be a valuable construct to consider within educational settings. The current studies explored the associations between mental toughness and educational transitions. Study 1 examined the relationships between mental toughness and concerns about moving to a new school in 105 children aged 12–13 years of age. The results revealed significant relationships between several aspects of mental toughness, but particularly confidence in abilities, and children’s concerns. Study 2 examined the relationships between mental toughness and adjustment to university in 200 undergraduate students at various stages of their course. The results revealed a role for several aspects of mental toughness; commitment, control of life, control of emotion, confidence in abilities and interpersonal confidence. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice. It is suggested that measures of mental toughness could be used to identify individuals who may benefit from additional support during transition to a new school or to university, and that future research should explore the potential benefits of mental toughness training.     

Child abuse potential inventory and parenting behavior: Relationships with high-risk correlates

The primary purpose of this research was to examine the construct validity of the Child Abuse Potential Inventory by comparing maltreating and high-risk parents' CAP Inventory abuse scores to their behavior during interactions with their children. A second purpose was to determine the degree to which CAP Inventory scores and parenting behavior were related to several known correlates of abuse, as measured by parent and teacher reports. Participants (n = 41) included abusive and high-risk parents and their children referred to a treatment group. Correlational analyses revealed that CAP Inventory scores and observed parenting style yielded highly related findings, supporting construct validity of the CAP Inventory. However, the CAP Inventory and observed behavior index showed a different pattern of relationships to the risk correlates. Implications for assessment of risk status are discussed and recommendations are provided for continued research.     

R&D priority-setting for global catastrophic risks: The case of the NASA planetary defense mission

"Mission-oriented" public research organizations invest in R&D to improve decision-making around complex policy problems from climate change to asteroid impacts, thus producing public value. However, the estimation of benefits produced by such R&D projects is notoriously difficult to predict and measure - a challenge that is magnified for global catastrophic risks (GCRs). GCRs are highly uncertain risks that may pose enormous negative consequences for humanity. This article explores how public research organizations systematically reduce key uncertainties associated with GCRs. Building off of recent literature highlighting the organizational and political factors that influence R&D priority-setting at public research organizations, this article develops an analytical framework for explaining R&D priority-setting outcomes that integrates the key stages of decision analysis with organizational and political dynamics identified in the literature. This framework is then illustrated with a case study of the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which addresses the GCR of near-Earth object (asteroid and comet) impacts. The case study reveals how organizational and political factors interact with every stage in the R&D priority-setting process - from initial problem definition to project selection. Lastly, the article discusses the extent to which the case study can inform R&D priority-setting at other public organizations, particularly those addressing GCRs.