THE SPIRITUALLY WHOLE-SYSTEM CLASSROOM: A TRANSFORMATIONAL APPLICATION OF SPIRITUALITY

This article presents theory and practical experiences related to classroom pedagogy focusing on spirituality and wholeness—the spiritually whole-system classroom. In it, spiritual principles help create a learning community founded on the experience of wholeness. The spiritually whole-system classroom allows participants the opportunity of “being connected with one's complete self, others, and the entire universe” in order to serve a meaningful, broader purpose. This type of transformation engages heads, hearts, spirits, and hands in the pursuit of a more enlightening experience of human organizing. The article concludes with a critically reflective discussion of spiritual applications to management education and practice.     

Chapter 9 Clinical Risk and Brief Psychodynamic Therapy

Abstract

This article explores the risk environment confronting practitioners of brief psychodynamic treatment, and describes strategies that can help clinicians practice effective risk management. I argue that clinicians can reap only limited benefits from a focus on profiles of high-risk clients and litigation “hot spots.” The optimal approach is attention to the contextual dynamics shaping clinical practice. Among the most important are the relational processes driving the clinician-client dyad, the clinician-client-third party payer triangle, and the interface between the mental health and legal systems. I close with a discussion of the ambiguity and uncertainty that characterize clinical decision making and risk management.     

Are Parental Rules regarding Screen Behaviors Associated with Youth’ Sedentary Behavior? The UP&DOWN Study

Abstract

This study aims to examine the associations of parental rules with sedentary behavior (SB) in youth. Leisure-time SB was assessed by accelerometry and questionnaire. In boys, parental rules regarding TV were negatively associated with objectively-measured leisure-time SB and time spent in all screen behaviors, but positively associated with educational SB. Among girls, the total number of parental rules was negatively associated with the time spent surfing the Internet, but positively related with educational SB, on weekends. The imposition of rules by parents may be a simple and effective strategy to improve sedentary patterns in youth, especially among boys.     

Intervention-enabled autonomy-supportive teaching improves the PE classroom climate to reduce antisocial behavior

BackgroundAutonomy-supportive teaching interventions enhance PE student outcomes. According to previous research, these benefits occur because autonomy-supportive teaching enhances students’ psychological needs, though they may also occur because such teaching enhances the classroom climate. The student benefit of interest was reduced classroom-wide antisocial behavior.ObjectivesWe predicted that teacher participation in the intervention would enhance both classroom climate and psychological needs assessed at the classroom level. We further predicted that improvements in the classroom climate would better explain decreased antisocial behavior.MethodUsing a cluster randomized control trial design with longitudinally-assessed dependent measures, we randomly assigned 49 physical education secondary-grade Korean teachers to participate (or not) in an autonomy-supportive teaching intervention (25 experimental, 24 control). The 1487 students in these 49 classrooms reported their individually-experienced need satisfaction and frustration and their classroom-level supportive climate, conflictual climate, and antisocial behavior across three waves.ResultsA series of doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling analyses showed that, at the classroom level, (1) intervention-enabled autonomy-supportive teaching improved both students’ psychological needs (more satisfaction, β = 0.84; less frustration, β = −0.66) and the prevailing classroom climate (more supportive, β = 0.77; less conflictual, β = −0.68) and (2) the improved climate best explained why antisocial behavior declined (overall R² = 0.86).ConclusionThese findings show the importance of incorporating classroom climate effects to understand why autonomy-supportive teaching interventions improve student outcomes.     

The Politics of Naming and the Development of Morality

Abstract

Feminists have challenged traditional uses of naming and have reclaimed naming as a tool of empowerment rather than of oppression. Yet feminist naming often reverts into the paradigm of dominant culture, leading to further domination and social control through the creation of norms, rules, and moral absolutes. By focusing specifically on lesbian-feminism and deconstructing the lesbian-feminist “rules” of sexuality and physical appearance, this article explores the dualistic nature of feminist naming and morality and how they inadvertently mimic the moral paradigm of dominant culture. This article closes with a discussion of alternative models of feminist naming and moral frameworks.     

‘A touchy subject’: teaching and learning about difference in the religious education classroom

ABSTRACT

The present article reports research conducted during 2018 in a secondary school in South Yorkshire, England with a class of 11–12-year-old boys and girls and the class teacher of religious education (RE), in consultation with the head and deputy head of the RE faculty. The focus of the project was on the extent to which existing research findings can assist teachers to deal with issues of religious diversity, including how the classroom can be a ‘safe space’ for dialogue and discussion and how media influences can be managed. It was one of a number of projects conducted by members of the Signposts International Research Network, who have undertaken independent studies in the UK, Norway and Sweden, which address issues identified in the Council of Europe publication Signposts. The findings reported in the present article highlight: the need for teachers to be given support in learning skills for managing classroom dialogue; the interest of young people in exploring difference; and the benefits of participation in classroom-based collaborative research.     

RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER ATTENTION AND THE “GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME” IN MODIFYING DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR1

A variety of behavioral procedures have been employed in recent years to modify disruptive classroom behavior. Such methods have been developed with the belief that curtailing disruptive behavior would strengthen positive classroom performance. In this study, two procedures, the good behavior game and the teacher-attention method, were compared to determine short-run effectiveness. Four teachers (two fourth-grade and two fifth-grade) implemented both methods in their classrooms over a five-week period. Presentation of methods was alternated in a counterbalanced design to control for order effects. Each of the four classrooms consisted of 25 students. A time-sampling procedure was used to record the presence or absence of disruptive behavior within 15-second intervals. Disruptive behavior was defined as any talking-out or out-of-seat behavior without permission. The results indicated that both procedures were effective in modifying disruptive classroom behavior, but that the good behavior game reduced disruptive behavior significantly better than the teacher-attention method. In addition, all teachers preferred the game to the teacher-attention procedure. This reaction seemed related to the effort involved in initiating the two activities. The good behavior game required less effort on the teacher's part. However, use of the game alone raises certain ethical considerations. One such issue involves abuse of peer pressure. Also, there is a possibility that negative rules may tend to promote resentment. Positively stated rules would ameliorate that problem. Another relates to the possibility that some teachers might be carried away by the ease of the game's implementation to the extent that behavior control becomes the primary objective in the classroom. As a result, one might consider use of the game to maximize short-term change, but then phase out this procedure in favor of another method (e.g., teacher attention) for long-run effects.     

School-Wide Discipline and Classroom Ecology

Abstract

Shortages of teachers with specialized skills, coupled with increased difficulty accommodating students with problem behaviors in general education classrooms, create pressures for performance and accountability in schools and with respect to teachers. Matters become increasingly problematic by initiatives that stress high academic competence, high graduation rates, and high performance standards. In addition, heightened cultural and linguistic diversity, diminished public satisfaction, and increased violence and disruptive behavior at school levels suggest a need for effective, easy-to-implement discipline procedures. In this investigation, we describe improvements in classroom ecology after implementation of a school-wide discipline model. These outcomes were positive and provide support for continuing efforts to improve discipline within the schools.     

Introducing educators to a psychodynamically informed teaching practice

Abstract

Prompted by the observation that many recently trained teachers find themselves unprepared to cope with many aspects of classroom life despite considerable subject matter competence and technical proficiency, this paper proposes and describes a brief instructional programme designed to enhance teachers' understanding of classroom interactions from a psychodynamic perspective. Published autobiographical accounts of gifted teachers serve as texts for reading and discussion. These personal narratives are conceptualized within psychodynamic frameworks illuminating in meaningful fashion mundane as well dramatic moments in classroom interaction. The course is intended to enhance teacher competence and morale, to stimulate further reflection and to facilitate professional discourse about children and teaching.     

Successful Aging: Focus on Public Policy and Spiritual Well-Being

ABSTRACT

This article considers the importance of religious values for effective public policy on aging in the United States. An examination of the concepts of successful aging and spiritual well-being introduces a discussion of the necessary relationship between the two. Nine values from the Christian tradition that can serve as helpful guides for policymakers are outlined, followed by a look at relevant teachings of several of the world's religions that are becoming more important in the United States as the numbers of their followers grow. The article concludes with a discussion of the role religious values can play in making policy that will promote successful aging.     

Bereavement Groups and Their Benefits

Abstract

This article provides a brief discussion of the various types of grief and posits that the many types, particularly disenfranchised, lend themselves to recovery through reconnection. Bereavement groups offer a particularly useful means of connection with a larger grieving community and allow validation from others along with personalization of loss. Additionally, the use of creativity creates deeper and more meaningful connections with self and others. Finally, the article ends with counseling considerations and two case examples.     

Making Space to Sensemake: Epistemic Distancing in Small Group Physics Discussions

Abstract

Students in inquiry science classrooms face an essential tension between sharing new ideas and critically evaluating those ideas. This tension poses affective risks that can discourage further discussion, such as the embarrassment of having an idea rejected. In this article, we analyze the discourse of three groups of undergraduate physics students in their first discussions of the semester, detailing how they navigate these tensions to create a safe space to collaboratively sensemake. We identify a discursive resource—epistemic distancing—that can protect students’ affect while they share and critique ideas. We find the groups differ in how soon, how often, and how deeply they sensemake together. These differences can be explained, in part, by how they epistemically distance themselves from their claims. Implications for research include the importance of considering the coupled dynamics of students’ epistemology and affect. Implications for instruction include novel ways of encouraging classroom discussion.     

SELF-CONTROL TRAINING IN THE CLASSROOM: A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE

Self-control training in classroom settings is becoming widespread. Establishing effective self- rather than externally controlled behavior modification programs in schools would enable children to control their own academic and social behavior, while enabling teachers to devote more time to teaching. The following components of self-control are reviewed in the present article: self-recording, self-evaluation, self-determination of contingencies, and self-instruction. Self-control strategies designed for the maintenance of appropriate classroom behavior, and issues associated with self-control training, such as the reliability of self-observation, response maintenance, generalization, and the role of external control, are examined. Finally, suggestions for maximizing the potential effectiveness of self-control training in the classroom (e.g., teaching self-observational procedures, teaching students to provide themselves with instructions and praise), as well as future areas for experimental investigation (e.g., social changes that may be associated with self-control procedures), are presented.     

Increasing participation and improving the quality of discussions in seventh-grade social studies classes

An experiment was conducted to evaluate procedures to improve classroom discussions in seventh-grade social studies classes. An increased number of students participated in discussions when rules were stated for discussions, students were praised for their contributions, the teacher restated or paraphrased students' contributions aloud or on the blackboard, the teacher planned an outline of discussion questions, student contributions to discussions were recorded and were used to determine part of the students' grades for the class, and discussion grades were publicly posted.The second part of the study focused on procedures designed to improve quality of classroom discussions. Students were taught to participate in discussions by providing reasons for their statements, comparisons between different points, or examples supporting their statements. As each type of contribution was taught, recorded, and counted toward part of the students' classroom grades, each type of contribution increased. Ratings of discussions by outside judges consisting of junior high school teachers, junior high school students, and persons experienced in conducting discussions, indicated that the training increased the overall quality of the discussions. Use of the quality training procedures, however, resulted in decreased levels of overall participation in discussion, a decrease that was reversed by the use of a group contingency for participation. Finally, the discussions after training seemed to be preferred by both the teacher and the students.     

A TOKEN REINFORCEMENT PROGRAM IN A PUBLIC JUNIOR-HIGH SCHOOL1

In recent years, the technology of contingency management has been shown to be of increasing value in regular classrooms and public-school systems with both groups and individual pupils (Ayllon and Roberts, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974, 7 , 71–76; Glynn and Thomas, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974, 7 , 299–306; Lovitt and Curtiss, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1969, 2 , 49–53; Lovitt and Smith, Exceptional Children, 1974, 40 , 357–358; Medland and Stachnik, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1972, 5 , 45–51). In addition, established procedures are being systematically replicated across grade levels and differing subject-matter areas. A series of studies initiated by O'Leary and Becker (Exceptional Children, 1967, 33 , 637–642) form the basis for the present investigation. The token reinforcement program described by O'Leary and Becker (Exceptional Children, 1967, 33 , 637–642) was managed by the teacher of an adjustment class and involved 9-yr-old children described as emotionally disturbed. An elaborate replication of the 1967 O'Leary and Becker study conducted by O'Leary, Becker, Evans, and Saudargas (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1969, 2 , 3–31) with a grade-two class introduced several variables to examine their separate effects. The authors specified their treatment levels as baseline, classroom rules, educational structure, teacher praise and ignore, token I, withdrawal, token II, and follow-up. The present research modified the general design of O'Leary et al., (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1969, 2 , 3–31) to study how to maintain treatment effects. In the modification, rules were eliminated as a treatment variable because they are frequently associated with aversive practices in the school system, and it was deemed desirable to have mainly a positive orientation. A second difference was that the present subjects were grade-nine pupils functioning in the regular public-school system. The six students were older (average age = 16.2) and well behind their peers in achievement. They were considered behavior problems and as potential dropouts by teachers and counsellors. They were not considered to be emotionally disturbed. Finally, procedures designed to maintain behavior change generated by the token system were added. The operant level of unacceptable classroom behavior was obtained for six students receiving an individualized program of instruction in mathematics and science in a nonacademic grade-nine class in a public junior secondary school. Initially, two conditions (educational structure and praising appropriate behavior while ignoring inappropriate behavior) were introduced successively. Both procedures reduced inappropriate behavior slightly. When a token system, using backup reinforcers readily available in the school, was introduced in conjunction with the initial two conditions, inappropriate responses declined dramatically in all subjects. Withdrawal of the token program for a three-week period, leaving educational structure and praising and ignoring in effect, increased inappropriate behavior in five of the six subjects. The token program was then re-introduced in conjunction with contingency contracts. The result was a decline of inappropriate behavior below the mean of the first token condition for all subjects. Tokens were thinned and finally removed toward the end of this condition, leaving teacher praise and attention and the contract system in effect. Data obtained during a four-week followup indicated that the low level of inappropriate behavior was maintained in all subjects. This extension of the O'Leary et al., (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1969, 2 , 3–31) program, designed and implemented by the regular teacher, demonstrates that these procedures may be highly effective within the constraints found in an ordinary classroom in the junior secondary school.     

Prepubertal social gender transitions: What we know; what we can learn—A view from a gender affirmative lens

ABSTRACT

?Background: This article provides a review and commentary on social transition of gender-expansive prepubertal youth, analyzing risks, and benefits based on a synthesis of research and clinical observation, highlighting controversies, and setting forth recommendations, including the importance of continued clinical research.

Methods: This article involved: (1) a review and critique of the WPATH Standards of Care 7th edition guidelines on social transition; (2) a review and synthesis of empirical research on social transition in prepubertal children; (3) a discussion of clinical practice observations; (4) a discussion of continuing controversies and complexities involving early social transition; (5) a discussion of risks and benefits of social transition; and (6) conclusions and recommendations based upon the above.

Results: Results suggest that at this point research is limited and that some of the earliest research on young gender-expansive youth is methodologically questionable and has not been replicated. Newer research suggests that socially transitioned prepubertal children are often well adjusted, a finding consistent with clinical practice observations. Analysis of both emerging research and clinical reports reveal evidence of a stable transgender identity surfacing in early childhood.

Discussion: The authors make recommendations to support social transitions in prepubertal gender-expansive children, when appropriate, as a facilitator of gender health, defined as a child's opportunity to live in the gender that feels most authentic, acknowledging that there are limitations to our knowledge, and ongoing research is essential.     

Contingency and choice: The implications of matching theory for classroom instruction

This paper describes a mathematical account of behavior known as matching theory. Matching theory evolved out of basic operant research and assumes that individuals can engage in a variety of behaviors at any moment, but they choose one to the exclusion of others. According to the matching equation, choices in behavior match the relative amount of reinforcement provided for each alternative. Although the principles of matching theory have proven useful in developing novel treatment strategies, few data exist validating the matching equation in natural human environments. Recent applications of matching theory to children's classroom behavior are described, and the implications of matching theory for classroom management and effective teaching are discussed.     

BDSM as a Playful Learning Site for Qualitative Complexity

Abstract

Through an autoethnographic and transdisciplinary discussion of BDSM practice, the article articulates BDSM as a performative playful space with high potential for experiential learning, where conventional ways of sensing, feeling, thinking, valuing and acting, and social rules and hierarchies are rendered uncertain, negotiable and full of possibilities. BDSM can foster a sensibility to qualitative complexity through a heightened corporeal, sensual, emotional and (aesth)et(h)ic experience. It trains a potent sagacity that may be further mobilized in social learning processes, eventually helping us navigate beyond today’s unsustainable times.     

Increasing on-task behavior in every student in a second-grade classroom during transitions: Validating the color wheel system

A single-case (B-C-B-C) experimental design was used to evaluate the effects of the Color Wheel classroom management system (CWS) on on-task (OT) behavior in an intact, general-education, 2nd-grade classroom during transitions. The CWS included three sets of rules, posted cues to indicate the rules students are expected to be following at that time, and transition procedures for altering activities and rules. Class-wide data analysis showed large, immediate, and sustained increases in OT behavior when the CWS was applied, with OT behavior returning to baseline levels when typical classroom management (TCM) procedures were reinstated. Each student's average phase data also showed increases in OT behavior when the CWS was applied and re-applied, and showed reductions when the CWS was withdrawn. Discussion focuses on evaluating the internal, external, and contextual validity of class-wide remediation and prevention procedures.