Families and schools in rural appalachia

A literature review revealed conceptual elements and approaches that have been productive in the study of rural education and rural families and children as they interface with schools. The Appalachian region is considered relative to these same issues. For nearly two decades the Appalachian Educational Laboratory has pursued systematic research and development aimed at improving the effectiveness of rural education by strengthening working linkages between families and schools. This programmatic work is summarized in order to illustrate--through both its breadth and specificity--the continual interchange which necessarily occurs between research and successful community practice. Implications and recommendations are considered.     

Do Feminist Women Feel Better About their Lives? Examining Patterns of Feminist Identity Development and Women’s Subjective Well-being

Relations between women’s patterns of feminist identity development and their subjective well-being were explored through an online study with a sample of 691 women ages 18 to 83 from across the United States. The results of a hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that women fall into three groups based on their feminist identity development processes: Women with Traditional Values, Women with Moderate Values, and Women with Feminist Values. The results of the analysis of covariance showed that women who held feminist and moderate values scored significantly higher on a measure of overall well-being—particularly on subscales measuring purpose in life, autonomy, and personal growth—than women with traditional values.     

Dare to Dream: Personal Values,Life Goals,and International Students in New Zealand

It has been well identified and supported in the literature that values and life goals are associated with one’s general well-being. However, there have been few studies on values and life goals among international students in New Zealand. This study addressed this lack of research by focusing on the life goals and personal values among international students in three tertiary institutes in New Zealand. Based on the literature review, the hypothesis of this study is that international students’ intrinsic life goals are positively correlated with their spiritual values. In contrast, extrinsic goals did not have similar effects. The Aspirations Index, which was used to assess life goals, and the Schwartz’ value survey, which measured the students’ personal values, were both distributed to the participants. Follow-up interviews with 24 of the participants were also conducted. Findings revealed that spiritual values were positively correlated with intrinsic goals and that extrinsic goals did not have similar effects. As the research findings showed that spiritual values were positively correlated with intrinsic goals, helping international students to find meaning and purpose in life may promote their well-being, and the learning and growth of international students can be improved by incorporating spiritual values and cultural aspects in college education. The authors also argue that a holistic approach to college education for international students is needed.     

Occupational Aspirations of Selected Appalachian Youth

This study examines the concepts that Appalachian youth have concerning their probable life work. After comparing and contrasting these students with a group of native and Appalachian migrant students in an Ohio city, the following results were noted: (a) Appalachian youth who stay in the geographic area have a significantly lower aspirational level than do those students who are native to a rurban area; (b) the Appalachian youth have different personal role models and characteristics for success than those students who have migrated from the Appalachian area; (c) one of the major problems in raising the occupational aspirations of Appalachian students appears to be lack of information and opportunity rather than lack of ability.     

‘Does class count?’ Social class and counselling

This article explores the importance attached to social class by experienced practitioners taking part in a co‐operative inquiry group. A review of the literature from the last thirty years indicates that there is very little research on class in relation to counselling and psychotherapy reported in the UK. Both authors position themselves as coming from working class origins. Nine co‐researchers from both middle and working class origins joined the group. Eight meetings took place over a period of nine months. Extracts from the group's discussions are represented and integrated with ‘presentational knowing’ drawn from contemporary culture, including poetry and popular music. This study suggests that social class is a neglected aspect of diversity in the counselling field. Implications of the study have relevance for the language of counselling and psychotherapy and class based values; social class and its impact on initial education; and ongoing counselling practice and access to therapy for working class people.     

Values of fathers for themselves and their newborns

The paternal role has been neglected in parenting research. The present study focused on the values of fathers of newborns. Values of fathers of newborns drawn from the inner-city lower-class were compared with values of fathers of newborns drawn from the middle class. Highest goals of fathers from both groups for themselves were economic ('family security'); values for their children were morally focused ('honest'). Inner-city fathers placed a higher value on a clean and obedient child, whereas middle-class fathers placed a higher value on a loving and imaginative child. When values of these fathers were compared with values of a similar sample of mothers of newborns, socioeconomic status remained an important predictor of values. Sex of parent was significant in the inner-city sample as these fathers placed a higher valuation on goals associated with autonomy than did inner-city mothers.     

Spirituality in Education: Promoting Children's Spiritual Development through Values

This paper reports on research in the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU) at the University of Warwick regarding an educational programme, which is based on what are perceived to be universal values. The programme aims to contribute to the spiritual development of children in schools, which is one of the statutory requirements of mainstream school provision in England and Wales. The Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV) offers material which seeks to promote ‘human values’. The paper explores what these values are and why they are perceived to be of a universal nature. The focus on values introduces spiritual dimensions which are examined with reference to the educational contexts in which they are conveyed. The contents of the programme and the development from its inception are described. The paper is based on ethnographic data collected in classrooms and other educational environments where the programme has found application.     

‘Ndrangheta in Lombardy: Culture and Organizational Structure

This work aims at thoroughly studying a phenomenon that today is still not really discussed (i.e., the criminal organization called ‘Ndrangheta). We will particularly deal with the culture and organizational structure of this Mafia phenomenon and analyze its new territories of infiltration and domination (the region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy) after its migration from its original territory (the region of Calabria in Southern Italy). From the review of the existing literature on ‘Ndrangheta, we can actually point out that the contributions on the theme deal with the Mafia phenomenon, circumscribing it in its original territory, therefore mostly adopting a sociological and historical viewpoint. Up to today, nobody addressed ‘Ndrangheta outside these territorial boundaries and adopting a psychological viewpoint, which is the one this contribution starts from. In more specific terms, a text is analyzed, which is composed by the reports of the pre-trial detention order called Crimine-Infinito [Endless Crime], promoted by investigators in 2010 and so far one of the most relevant actions to fight against ‘Ndrangheta.     

A new measure of social classes

Social classes' ‘way we live’ values remain a major influence on consumers' retail store choices, their brand choices for major durables, and their use of health services and pharmaceutical products. Social class, however, has been neglected in modern theories and research in consumer behavior, probably because of the difficulty of implementing a proper sociological measure of social class distinctions coupled with the realization that convenient sociodemographic measures of social class are not a valid substitute for the sociological measure. A new 34‐item values‐based measure of social class is presented in this article, called the Social Class Values Index (SCVI). The SCVI efficiently distinguishes the six traditional social‐class strata that are based on attributed social prestige and contributes to the first known measure of the non–prestige‐based, largely self‐actualized ‘X’ class. The SCVI is interviewer‐administered and is easily profile‐scored from simple binary answers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emerging independence in nursing graduates: An analysis of traditional-nontraditional value patterns

The study sought to determine whether current nursing graduates value assertiveness, independence, and achievement to a greater degree than had past graduates, and whether selection or socialization might account for such a change. Scores on the Allport Vernon Lindsey Scale of Values for 55 1974 graduates of a private baccalaureate school of nursing were compared with 66 1980 graduates. Only scores on the political scale were significantly higher for the 1980 class. 1980 graduates displayed a traditional value pattern of high social and low political scores upon entering the educational program. Longitudinal comparison of scores for the 1980 class showed a significant rise in scores on the political scale; graduating scores did not differ significantly from college norms. The results suggest a rise in nontraditional values which is the result of the educational socialization process.     

Gender Differences in Turkish Undergraduate Students’ Values

The objectives of the present study were to explore gender differences in Turkish students’ values. A total of 231 (125 female, 106 male) undergraduate students from various universities in Ankara (the capital city of Turkey) participated in the study. They were given the Portrait Values Questionnaire along items related to demography. It is predicted that firstly, females would have higher scores on universalism, benevolence and security than males; secondly, males would have higher score on power than females. The results showed that females reported higher levels of hedonism, universalism, benevolence and security than males. The findings were discussed in the light of the relevant literature. The present study can be considered as a contribution to the existing literature on gender-based differences on value priorities by examining a rarely investigated culture—that is, Turkish.     

Values Held by Office-Based and Home-Based Therapists in Northern New England

As a first study of the values of rural mental health professionals, the Survey of Personal Values and the Survey of Interpersonal Values were completed by 51 office-based psychotherapists and 87 home-based therapists from rural areas in 3 northern New England states. Discriminant function analyses using the 2 sets of values as predictors of therapist group did not support the hypothesis that the home-based therapists would more highly value Independence and Goal Orientation than the office-based therapists; in fact, the therapists in the 2 settings were remarkably similar in their values. The rural therapists, as one group, more frequently endorsed the personal values of Achievement and Decisiveness and the interpersonal values of Independence, Benevolence, and Support. Male therapists more frequently endorsed Practical Mindedness and Achievement than female therapists.     

Unemployment and its impact on adolescent work values

This study examines the impact of unemployment on the work values orientation of adolescents. Using Super's (1970) Work Values Inventory, data were collected from 187 youths residing in a large midwestern city in the United States. Youths from families where the head of household had been unemployed for more than one year prior to the time of the study were compared to youths from a working-family environment. The findings of this study show little difference between work values orientation of youths from unemployed and employed families. The only variable which did prove to be significantly different settings appear to is "esthetics" (p less than .05), i.e., youths from unemployed settings appear to value new experiences and outlets for their abilities more than do youths of the comparison group.     

Fostering Self-Determination and Resilience Through Sports Counselling: Psychosocial Development of Youth in Botswana

Sports can promote pro-social behaviors and confidence in physical abilities among participants. We conducted an extensive review of the literature on the ways in which youth in Southern African countries, severely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other hardships may benefit from acquiring the pro-social skills often associated with athletics. This article reviews the current situation of sports in Botswana and offers recommendations for a culturally appropriate developmental sports counselling program in that country. The authors present arguments that support the development of psychosocial skills, self-determination, and resilience among Batswana Youth through sports counselling interventions.     

Effects of basic human values on host community acculturation orientations

Although literature provides evidence for the relationship between values and acculturation, the relationship between host community acculturation orientations has not yet been investigated. In this study we tested the effects of four high-order values (openness to change, self-transcendence, conservation, and self-enhancement, devised according to Schwartz's model) on host community acculturation orientations towards immigrants (devised according the interactive acculturation model) in the public domain of employment and the private domain of endogamy/exogamy. Participants were 264 Italian University students, who completed a questionnaire containing the Portrait Values Questionnaire, a measure of personal values, and the Host Community Acculturation Scale, aimed at measuring Italian acculturation strategies towards three groups of immigrants: Immigrants (the general category), Chinese (the valued immigrant group), and Albanians (the devalued immigrant group). Results showed that personal values are related to the adoption of acculturation orientations: In particular, the values that mostly impacted on acculturation orientations were self-transcendence and conservation. Values concerning self-transcendence encourage the adoption of integrationism, integrationism-transformation, and individualism and reduce the adoption of assimilationism, segregationism, and exclusionism. Values concerning conservation encourage the adoption of assimilation, segregation and exclusion orientations and reduce the adoption of both types of integrationism and individualism. Minor effects were found regarding self-enhancement and openness to change.     

Decisions to Seek Healthcare Based on Family Health History Among Urban Appalachian Women

Family health history (FHH) is a valuable health promotion tool that can be used to assess disease risk and make lifestyle and screening recommendations. However, few FHH resources exist for medically underserved populations such as the urban Appalachian community in Cincinnati Ohio. Women of Appalachian heritage with less than a college education who did and did not participate in a prior FHH education session were interviewed by phone in a semi-structured format. Interviewees were asked to discuss their understanding of FHH and the role FHH played in seeking (or not seeking) medical care. Analysis of their discussion identified four overarching themes as well as a model identifying conditions that facilitated or impeded the choice to seek medical care based on FHH. Findings from this study may be used to develop targeted FHH educational interventions in the urban Appalachian and other communities.     

初中生教师期望知觉评定量表的编制

教师期望是指教师在对学生的知觉感受基础上产生的对学生的行为结果的某种预测性认知,由教师的期望引起的对学生学习效果的影响就是教师期望效应。在根据罗森塔尔经上百个实验总结出的教师传递期望的表现的基础上,采用文献综述和实证分析相结合的方法来编制符合我国国情的初中生教师期望知觉评定量表,通过验证性因素分析确定该量表分为两个维度:积极效应与消极效应。对量表进行信、效度检验的结果表明,该量表具有较好的信度、效度指标。     

The help-seeking orientations of Latino and non-Latino urban high school students: a critical-sociological investigation

This study focuses on the help-seeking orientations of low-status Latino adolescents. Help-seeking orientation is defined as a person's proclivity to resolve personal and academic problems through the seeking of social support (i.e., coping by seeking help). This article presents a selected review of the literature on key social antecedents of people's help-seeking orientation. It also presents an emerging sociological framework for recasting this social psychological phenomenon as an important mediating link between the systematic forces of class, race, and gender and the life chances of low-status youth. The authors report on a cross-sectional study of three measures of adolescent help-seeking orientation, based on a questionnaire survey of one urban high school in the southwestern United States. Measures of social class, gender, age, English-language proficiency, and academic performance were examined for their independent predictive value. The authors also tested for differential effects across three student groups: Spanish-dominant Latinos, English-proficient Latinos, and non-Latinos. Gender and academic performance emerged as the most salient predictors, suggesting that low-achieving males are particularly prone to withdraw from vital sources of support. Latino immigrants with little English proficiency also revealed signs of a negative or conflictive orientation toward help seeking, reporting low degrees of interpersonal openness and a low desire for academic support.     

Personality and value correlates of careless and erratic questionnaire responses

This study examined the individual difference correlates of the validity scale from the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) which measures the extent to which a respondent has reported in a careless, erratic or random way. The aim was to determine the typical response profile of a careless and erratic respondent. Over 10,000 adults completed three measures: one of normal “bright-side” personality (HPI), one of “dark-side” personality (Hogan Development Survey, HDS) and one of motivation (Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory, MVPI). Scores on these measures were related to the validity scale scores using correlations and regressions. Bright and dark side measures were more strongly and logically related to validity scores than motives and values. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

The Value of Values for Understanding Organizational Life: Editor’s Introduction to the Lead Article

In this introduction to the lead article on “Values at Work”, I summarize key points made in the lead article and its commentaries including those relating to the mechanisms and boundary conditions of value–behavior relationships. I highlight links with the organizational and management literature, which pays increasing attention to the role of values in organizations. I note that there are many synergies yet to be explored between, on the one hand, work on values traditionally rooted in social and cross-cultural psychology and as represented by the lead article and commentaries and, on the other hand, management and organizational research. One example is research on the values of strategic leaders and considering values as decision-making standards that can shape organizations and their management.