Black Youths' perceptions of school cultural pluralism,school climate and the mediating role of racial identity

Researchers have become interested in the school climate experiences of Black youth given findings of less positive evaluations of school climate in comparison to their other-race peers. School support for cultural pluralism, also referred to as school support for cultural diversity, has been regarded as one aspect of school climate, but is sometimes distinct from Black youth's ratings of general perceptions of school climate. This project sought to understand the relationship between Black students' perceptions of school support for cultural pluralism and perceptions of school climate. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to determine whether previous perceptions of school support for cultural pluralism predicted later perceptions of school climate in a sample of 336 Black adolescents (M_age = 13.74 years). Furthermore, racial identity was explored as the mechanism through which school support for cultural pluralism impacted school climate appraisals, and differences between Black boys (N = 151) and Black girls (N = 185) were tested. Results confirmed that Black youth who rated their school as being supportive of culturally pluralism had more positive ratings of school climate during the following school year after controlling for the previous year's school climate ratings. However, the mediating role of racial identity differed for Black boys and Black girls, underscoring the need for intersectional research for Black youth and the importance of racial identity. We conclude with a discussion regarding the importance of racial/ethnic identity and pluralism within the school context, as well as, the unique role of school psychologists as preventionists and advocates of change within schools.     

Psychologists in medical schools in 1997. Research brief

The activities, income, and medical staff membership and limitations on that membership for psychologists working in U.S. medical school settings in 1997 were examined. A total of 1,938 psychologists responded to a survey conducted by the Research Office of the American Psychological Association, in conjunction with the Association of Medical School Psychologists. Some of the most salient findings were that (a) the largest number of psychologists was involved in research activities, (b) just over half of medical school psychologists were required to generate all or part of their own income through clinical work and research, and (c) the majority of these psychologists were members of a medical staff but were not extended full medical staff privileges. These and other results are discussed in the context of academic rank, tenure status, and other relevant factors.     

Inner-City African American Parental Involvement in Children's Schooling: Racial Socialization and Social Support from the Parent Community

Parents (n = 161) and teachers (n = 18) from an urban elementary school serving primarily African American children completed questionnaires regarding racial socialization, social support, and involvement in activities that support youth educational achievement at home and school. Parental reports of racism awareness, and contact with school staff were significantly correlated with parent reports of at-home involvement and at-school involvement. Parent reports of social support from the parent community were significantly related to at-home involvement only. Relative to teacher reports, parents reported more formal contacts with school staff, and higher levels of racism awareness, religiosity, and African American cultural pride. Teachers and parents agreed on school climate and parental levels of at-home and at-school involvement. The results suggest that racial socialization processes are related to parent involvement in children's schooling and that increased efforts are needed to bridge a cultural gap between parents and teachers in inner-city communities.     

Christian values in education: teachers in India narrate the impact of their faith and values on practice

ABSTRACT

India’s education system is complex because it has to meet the needs of a population which is culturally, geographically, politically, religiously and economically diverse. The principal investigator spent two summers in India talking with teachers and learners. This paper reports on the impact of Christian values in the secular but arguably Hindu nationalist education system. Working within an interpretivist paradigm and through an ethnographic lens, an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach was adopted to make sense of 34 interviewees’ narratives from five Indian states. The narratives were mapped onto an adaptation of a ‘tree metaphor’ to illustrate how values underpin decision-making and action in the school context. Five of the narratives are presented as keyhole examples to exemplify the similarities and contrasts in reported beliefs, values and behaviours set within the context of teachers’ professional practice. Findings reveal that all 34 participants drew on their Christian faith, and Indian cultural context, in their decision-making both in how they made sense of education policy, and how they interpreted school events and behaviours. Despite their common faith (Christianity), the 34 interpretations, decision-making and actions varied as demonstrated in the five selected narratives. We explore how the variance manifested and was influenced by the geographical, cultural, post colonial and school context.     

Building Resilience

Abstract

The context for the National School Intervention Project-Israel has been the ongoing security situation that has exposed the entire civilian population to extremely high levels of trauma. This project places itself within the framework of the resilience literature, focusing on characteristics of resilience that can be brought into the classroom and empower school staff. This article highlights the Building Resilience project, a series of teacher workshops. An initial evaluation of teachers participating in the Building Resilience project found change in knowledge, skills, and willingness to use tools learned with their students in the classroom.     

Comprehensive Counselling: One Pupil's Integration

A case-study is used to show how an eclectic approach towards counselling can be helpful in the integration of a child with special educational needs into a mainstream secondary school. The value of a problem-solving model which focuses on personal agency and self-help skills is demonstrated. In particular, the effectiveness of goal setting, feedback and modelling to change perceptions, increase self-responsibility and change behaviour is emphasised. Limitations of the school context, particularly the attitudes of some staff, on the effectiveness of the approach are outlined. It is concluded that comprehensive counselling, whilst taking the needs of the majority as a starting point, is equally a means of enabling those with 'special' needs to achieve true integration.     

Exploration of counsellors' perceptions of the redesigned service pathways: a qualitative study of a UK university student counselling service

To address the mental health needs of students, UK universities offer bespoke student counselling services. Economic pressures have led services to find innovative ways of redesigning their service pathway. Few studies have investigated staff perceptions of these changes. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of staff employed as counsellors at a student counselling service at a UK university that underwent service delivery changes. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with counsellors (n = 5). Framework analysis was used to identify themes and meta-themes. Five meta-themes were identified: the overarching service ethos and service working style; change in the university context; impact of change on working practice; recording and perceived impact on confidentiality; acceptability and effectiveness. Changes to the service resulted in a more efficient service that is perceived to be more acceptable to students. Staff perceptions differed regarding how changes have affected their counselling practice. Despite these differences, the increase in workload was consistently expressed. Tensions remain as staff strive to maintain high standards of service in this changing context. Future research should investigate the process of developing and implementing change as student counselling services strive to evolve sustainable ways of working.     

Consultation and Participation with Children in Healthy Schools: Choice, Conflict and Context

In this paper we report on our use of a participatory research methodology to consult with children in the UK on how to improve pupil well-being in secondary schools, framed within the wider social policy context of healthy schools. We worked with children on the selection of our research methods and sought to voice the views of children to a local education authority to improve the design of school environments. The consultation process ultimately failed not because the children were unforthcoming with their views on either methods or on well-being in schools, but because of difficulties in how their views were received by adults. We show how the socio-economic, cultural and political context in which those difficulties were set might have led to the eventual break down of the consultation process, and we draw out a number of possible implications for consultative and participatory work with children in school settings.     

The Effects of Contextual Dissonance on the Self-Concept of Youth from a High versus Low Socially Valued Group

Abstract

The present study examined the self-concept of subjects from either a high or low socially valued group who were immersed in a contextually dissonant school setting. Subjects were 315 seventh- and eighth-grade black and white boys and girls. Of this group, 54 were bused to a school where their group was in the minority (dissonant context). The remaining subjects stayed in the school where their group was in the majority (consonant context). The results supported the contextual dissonance theory for the subjects from the lower socially valued group but not for those from the higher socially valued group. A significant interaction for the former group of subjects involving Dissonant Versus Consonant Context × Male Versus Female × Fall Versus Spring Semester showed that the number of negative attributes ascribed to the self was higher for the subjects bused into a dissonant context than for those remaining in a consonant context; this difference was, however, significant for the fall testing only. Also, change in self-concept from fall to spring semester differed depending on whether the subjects were male or female as well as on whether or not they were bused into a dissonant context.     

Group decision making in the planning team process: Myth or reality?

Based upon theories from organizational psychology, this study assessed the relationships among school staff role, participation, and satisfaction during planning Team meetings which decide special education placements and programming. A strong positive relationship was found between staff role and participation. Regular education teachers were lowest in participation and satisfaction whereas school psychologists were ranked the highest on both variables. Other staff roles did not necessarily show a one-to-one relationship between participation and satisfaction levels, yet within roles, the level of satisfaction increased with higher levels of participation. These findings were discussed in the context of interdisciplinary decision making and implementation of the placement team decision.     

Refugee students' perspectives on inclusive and exclusive school experiences in Austria

This paper examines refugee students' experiences in the Austrian mainstream school system. It highlights four areas: school connectedness, social exclusion, support systems and friendships. In the study, 55 refugee students between 8 and 21 years old enrolled in primary and secondary education participated in a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed with directed qualitative content analysis, whereby codes were created deductively and inductively. Students stressed the importance of schooling in order to prosper in the future, particularly through language acquisition. Peers and bilingual teachers played an important role in their efforts to learn German and develop feelings of belonging in the school system. While language acquisition was important for the students, they indicated that other support measures (i.e., remedial education) were largely absent. Further, half of the students reported bullying experiences (verbal, social and physical) associated with their refugee status, language proficiency and religious affiliation. This study has implications for school professionals. The scope of support refugee students receive at school must be broadened, forced migration should be addressed in school in order to counteract negative effects of bullying students receive due to their refugee status and school connectedness can be promoted by hiring staff from diverse cultural backgrounds.     

Implicit orientation toward family and school among bilingual Latino college students

The authors examined the associations that underlie the orientations of bilingual Latino college students toward family and school. Participants completed, in English or Spanish, 3 implicit association tests assessing their attitude toward family vs. school, identifications with these concepts, and self-esteem. Results revealed a more positive attitude toward, and stronger identification with, family than school. Identification with family was stronger among participants who completed the study in English, suggesting self-definition in terms of distinctions from the context. Last, the more participants valued family over school and identified with family rather than school, the higher was their self-esteem. These findings shed light on the subtle, yet crucial, mechanisms by which cultural knowledge is incorporated in the self-concept of bilingual Latino college students.     

How fast small things become large: Dynamic change in judgment

Judgments are context bound. Moreover, in most situations, context is changing; hence judgments often reflect a dynamic adaptation to these changes. This study is on working memory load as a factor that potentially moderates speed of adaptation to new context. Two specific stimulus formats used in generalization tests, simultaneous vs successive presentation, were intended to reflect substantial differences in memory load. Conditions that place a higher memory load on the respondent (successive presentation) should show slower changing effects than do conditions that entail a lower memory load (simultaneous presentation). Sixty participants were trained in two stimulus two forced-choice visual discriminations of size. Later generalization tests included more extreme visual stimuli. The stimulus that was seen as neither “small” nor “large” (50% ratings each) changed in the direction of the central stimuli within the stimulus series, with both successive and simultaneous stimulus presentation (adaptation). Multilevel regression analyses showed that change increased gradually in successive stimulus presentation, whereas change was immediate in simultaneous presentation. A significant three-way interaction indicated that generalization was faster with simultaneous presentation of generalization test stimuli than with successive presentation. The results showed that the speed of Point of Subjective Indifference (PSI) shift depends on the mental representation of experience that is strongly related to working memory. The study therefore makes a contribution to the understanding the speed of behavioural change during transition, e.g., the transition from school to work. On a macro-level, model application may assist rapid learning and behavioural adaptation, for instance when individuals change from one cultural context to another.     

School track and ethnic classroom composition relate to the mainstream identity of adolescents with immigrant background in Germany,but not their ethnic identity

Although developing a cultural identity is a core task for adolescents from immigrant families and the school is a highly important context in adolescence, to date, few studies have examined whether adolescents with particular cultural identities cluster in certain school contexts. Using data from a representative German sample including 7702 secondary school students of immigrant background from 1643 classrooms, we examined how the attended school track and four aspects of ethnic classroom composition relate to adolescents' cultural identity (i.e., their ethnic identity and mainstream identity). Two-level structural equation models indicated that students' ethnic identity was not systematically associated with the attended school track and the ethnic composition of the classroom. However, attending the academic school track, a classroom with a low proportion of classmates with immigrant background and frequently using German with classmates related positively to mainstream identity. Ethnic diversity and proportion of co-ethnics in class did not relate to mainstream identification. Our findings suggest that the ethnic identity of adolescents with an immigrant background in Germany is largely independent from the different socialisation contexts related to school tracks and the ethnic classroom composition. Yet, students' with a strong mainstream identity cluster in certain school contexts.     

Psychoanalysis,violence and rage-type murder

Abstract

This paper presents and explores some ideas about the ways that children referred to a London borough learning support service, their teachers and school managers can be helped by a specialist teacher making use of her training as a psychodynamic counsellor and child psychotherapist. This paper is based on the premise that conditions necessary for feeling secure and establishing the capacity to think and learn by experience are based upon the infant's experience of a facilitating maternal environment coupled with the infant's ability to engage in this relationship. By extension, children need to feel safe enough in order to take advantage of the learning and social opportunities offered in the context of the school environment. The author draws upon psychoanalytic theories and developmental psychology as useful frameworks for understanding the continuing impact of infantile experience upon the learning process. The author also draws attention to the context of her work as an area support teacher, concluding that prevailing political demands for rapid change hinder the capacity of educational support services, schools and individual staff from mediating effectively the emotional demands of children trying to engage in the difficult task of learning.

One starts somewhere -where the learner is. And one starts whenever the student arrives to begin his career as a learner.     

Patient and health care provider views of depressive symptoms and diabetes in American Samoa

High Type 2 diabetes prevalence, associated with recent cultural changes in diet and physical activity, characterizes the U.S. territory of American Samoa. Comorbid diabetes and depression rates are high worldwide and contribute to negative diabetes outcomes; these rates have not been assessed in American Samoa. In this study, 6 focus groups were conducted with 39 American Samoan adults with diabetes; questions on perceptions of diabetes and depressive symptoms were included. Thirteen health care staff interviews were conducted to gain insight into diabetes care in American Samoa. Focus groups and health care staff interviews were translated, transcribed, and entered into NVivo 8 to facilitate analysis. Thematic analysis showed that diabetes patients saw depressive symptoms as directly contributing to high blood sugar. However, these symptoms were rarely mentioned spontaneously, and providers reported they seldom assess them in patients. Many patients and health care staff believed the best ways to respond to feelings of depression involved relaxing, leaving difficult situations, or eating. Staff also discussed cultural stigma associated with depression and the importance of establishing rapport before discussing it. Health care providers in American Samoa need training to increase their awareness of depressive symptoms' negative impact on diabetes management in patients who screen positive for depression. All providers must approach the subject in a supportive context after establishing rapport. This information will be used for cultural translation of a community health worker and primary care-coordinated intervention for adults with diabetes in American Samoa, with the goal of creating an effective and sustainable intervention.     

Primary school teachers’ perceptions of school children coping with changing family situations – a hybrid Hong Kong experience

The personal beliefs of teachers and the cultural traditions of society can have significant effects on the adjustment of children in changing family situations. This paper explores primary school teachers’ perception of children coping with difficult family situations and family changes in the hybrid context of Hong Kong, where Westernization meets with Chinese culture. A qualitative case study methodology was used. Thirty one teachers of different ages, experience, and roles at school were interviewed. The finding shows that teachers were on the whole quite traditional in their perception of children in difficult family situations despite the co-existence of modern ideas of marriage with traditional family values. Implications of the study for teacher education are discussed.     

Are Chinese narcissists disagreeable? Evidence from self‐ and peer‐ratings of agreeableness

Many studies have found that narcissism is negatively related to agreeableness in Western samples. Four experiments explored this relationship in a Chinese population. In Study 1, 228 junior high school students reported their narcissism and Five Factor Personality traits. In Study 2, participants recruited through the internet completed the measures of narcissism and agreeableness. In Study 3, 145 college students completed the measures of narcissism and agreeableness, as well as self‐esteem and social desirability. In Study 4, 204 senior high school adolescents reported their own narcissistic and agreeableness personality traits. They also received peer‐ratings of agreeableness. We found that narcissism was positively related with self‐reported agreeableness (Study 1, 2 and 4), but not with other ratings of agreeableness (Study 4). Chinese narcissists perceived themselves as agreeable, and their self‐perceptions of agreeableness were more positive than their peers rated them. We discuss the current findings in relation to the Chinese cultural context and underscore cultural roots of narcissism.