Referral reasons for learning disabled students

Referral information for 269 LD students in grades one through five was examined. Referral reasons were classified according to three major types: (a) academic, (b) behavior, and (c) academic and behavior. These major referral types also were analyzed according to particular concern (e.g., reading deficits, attentional problems, etc.). The results indicated that the majority of students were referred for either academic (42%) or both academic and behavioral (41%) reasons; referrals initiated solely for behavior problems accounted for only 17% of the total. The grade level analysis revealed that academic concerns were less likely to be noted in the first and fifth grades, and that the number of referrals diminished as grade level advanced (51% of the sample was diagnosed by second grade). Referral statements within each major referral type tended to be general, as opposed to specifying particular concerns to be explored in the evaluation. Preservice and in-service training recommendations are given.     

Experiences of Being Heterosexual Allies to Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual People: A Qualitative Exploration

In this qualitative study, heterosexual professionals with an interest in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues were surveyed about their ally work with LGB people. Data were analyzed to describe participants' experiences. Results are discussed in terms of implications for counseling and student affairs professionals who engage in LGB‐affirmative work.     

The body and communities in cyberspace: A Mmarcellian analysis

Many who speak glowingly about the possibilities for human relations in cyberspace, or virtual communities, laud them precisely because such communities are to a great extent free of the real spatial-temporal restrictions rooted in the limitations of our bodies. In this paper I investigate the importance of the body in establishing and maintaining human relations by considering the thought of the twentieth century French philosopher Gabriel Marcel. Because Marcel emphasized the central importance of the body in one's personal self-identity as well as in initiating and maintaining intersubjective bonds in human communities, he is able to offer some interesting reflections on the character of virtual communities. I suggest that a number of the features of cyberspace and its communities that make it attractive to many are precisely the characteristics that Marcel would consider detrimental to establishing intimate lasting human communities. I conclude by indicating why I think that Marcel would be concerned that certain trends in our high tech culture may well lead many to prefer ``living' in virtual, rather than real communities.     

Contextual influences and athlete attitudes to drugs in sport

This article reports on 11 narrative-based case histories which sought to: (1) uncover the attitudes of players and athletes to drugs in sport, and (2) explore contextual factors influencing the formation of those attitudes as informed by social ecology theory. Overall, participants viewed the use of banned performance-enhancing substances as cheating, ‘hard’ non-performance-enhancing recreational or illicit substances as unwise, legal non-performance-enhancing substances as acceptable, and legal performance-enhancing substances as essential. In short, attitudes were sometimes quite libertarian, and contingent upon first, the legality of the substance, and second, its performance impact. Results also indicated that athletes’ attitudes about drugs were fundamentally shaped by sport's culture. Other significant factors included its commercial scale, closely identifiable others, early experiences and critical incidents of players and athletes, and their level of performance.     

Concerns about allegations of child sexual abuse against teachers and the teaching environment.

OBJECTIVE: The major objective was to determine teachers' awareness of the potential for child abuse allegations against themselves and the effects on the teaching environment. METHOD: Of 3,000 questionnaires sent out to a random sample of New York state teachers, 515 were returned. The responding teachers were similar to New York state teachers in terms of gender, age, and racial/ethnic distribution. RESULTS: A large percent of the respondents (56%) were aware of false allegations made against a teacher in their school district. About a third (36.5%) expressed concern that a child abuse allegation could be made against them. In response to a vignette, forty-two (42%) advised a new teacher against being alone in a room with a student; 62% advised against casual touching; 70% advised against hugging or putting an arm around a student. Males more than female teachers, especially those teaching upper grades, advised against such contact. The more teachers expressed concern about abuse allegations against themselves, the more teachers advised against contact. CONCLUSIONS: Fear of abuse allegations are salient for teachers. Fears may cause teachers to limit contact with students with potentially adverse consequences for students and the teaching environment.     

Collaborative Exhibitions and Visitor Reactions: The Case of Nitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life

Collaborative exhibitions built by aboriginal communities and museums often seek to reposition aboriginal peoples as the authors and experts of their cultures, and to assert their active and continued presence in the contemporary world. This article explores the impact of collaborative exhibitions on museum visitors' experiences and their potential to reshape the public's perception of aboriginal peoples. Interviews conducted with visitors to Nitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life, a permanent exhibition created by Blackfoot Elders and museum staff at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, demonstrate that museum visitors rarely recognized the extent of the collaboration, and thus rarely equated Nitsitapiisinni with concepts of self‐representation or self‐determination. However, other messages were successfully communicated to museum visitors, namely the impact of colonialism, the efforts to revitalize Blackfoot culture, and the importance of Blackfoot spirituality. This study provides some interesting insights about public perceptions that will help promote deeper reflection on the issues surrounding collaboratively developed exhibitions and the first‐person authorship of First Nations cultures.     

Adult Learning Experiences from an Aquarium Visit: The role of Social Interactions in Family Groups

Abstract How and what adults learn in the context of a family visit to an aquarium is a valuable and important question to ask, given the significance of this demographic to institutions such as these. Based on a larger empirical work,¹ this paper reports on the nature and character of adult learning within a family group context while visiting the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre (Canada), and the longitudinal effects of such experience in the weeks following the visit. In this study a multiple or collective instrumental case study approach was employed to examine the learning experiences of the adult members of 13 family groups; this approach demonstrates that adults visiting the aquarium as part of a family group are active social learners and not merely facilitators of the experience for younger visitors or caregivers. Our outcomes also indicate that the adult members of the participant family groups learned in a multiplicity of domains including the cognitive, the social, and the affective, as a result of their visit to the Vancouver Aquarium. In addition, we discuss the longitudinal impacts of the aquarium visit and provide valuable insights as to the relevance of these experiences in visitors' everyday lives.