Evaluating Rehabilitation Caseload Management Skills Through Computer Simulations

In this article the authors report on the development and validation of a computer-based rehabilitation caseload management simulation as a teaching and evaluation tool in counselor education. The computer simulation was administered to 18 rehabilitation students and 18 rehabilitation counselors. Their performance on the simulation was evaluated using six caseload management performance indicators. These performance indicators, derived from the computer simulation, were found to be effective in differentiating the student group from the experienced counselor group using discriminant analysis. Implications for the use of computer simulations in rehabilitation counselor education and future research directions are discussed.     

The University Counseling Center: An Agenda for the 1990s

Changes in higher education will hold special relevance for university counseling centers in the 1990s. Opportunities will exist for counseling center personnel to help institutions deal with some emerging problems. Research is reviewed that indicates that crisis management services, career development concerns, a changing student population, and issues related to retention all represent areas in which contemporary counseling centers could make significant contributions. Recommendations are made about how counseling centers might prepare themselves for such involvement.     

Strategic planning and performance measurement: Implications for careers services in higher education

Increasing pressures are being exerted on careers services in higher education to demonstrate their effectiveness. To avoid the imposition of crude and inappropriate measures, the issue of performance measurement needs to be subsumed within a broader approach to strategic planning. Two models are presented: a strategic-planning process used in the business sector, and a model developed for establishing accountability in careers services. Issues are identified in relation both to the process of the models and to the content of the careers-service matters to which they might be applied (many of these issues are relevant to other guidance and counselling services in higher education and elsewhere). Finally, some brief examples are presented of strategic planning in action.     

The new multidimensional and user-driven higher education ranking concept of the European Union

Higher education rankings constitute a important but controversial topic due to the methodologies applied in existing rankings and to the use being done of these interpreting their results for purposes which they were not designed for. At present there is no international ranking can responds to the needs of all users and that is methodologically sound by considering the various missions of higher education institutions, mainly due to a narrow focus on research giving less importance to other missions in which higher education institutions can excel beyond research such as teaching quality, knowledge transfer, international orientation, regional engagement etc. The European Commission is currently involved in the implementation of a new higher education ranking methodology, characterised by taking into account a diversity of missions and the diversity of existing higher education institutions. The final aim is to create a tool allowing users to choose the performance indicators of their interest and providing them with a personalised ranking according to their interests. This paper describes the motivation for designing such a tool, the principles of the methodology proposed, as well as the steps foreseen to have it ready for end users by 2014.     

What's measured is not necessarily managed: cognitive contingencies of organizational measurement

Organizational measurement is necessary for managing incremental improvements or change efforts. Some have argued that indicators of financial performance measure the past and should be joined by "lead" measures such as management development and customer relations, assumed to be drivers of performance. Approaches of "lead" measures have met criticism for not contributing to operational management. The present is an empirical case study where measures from a customer satisfaction survey and a management assessment instrument were analyzed and compared to actual measures of financial performance. The effects of measures obtained seem to depend on the interpretations and reflection taking place in the organization. The pursuit of "lead" indicators did not seem to drive results. Counter-intuitively, higher scores on these measures were related to poorer financial performance. The explication of and reflection on the underlying dynamic seemed to turn the development in a profitable direction.     

The student counsellor as a team member

Describing the future roles and services of British counsellors in higher and further education must not be done in professional isolation. We need to consider how the future roles of professional counsellors will positively affect the counselling done by academic staff Furthermore, rather than making generalisations about counselling needs, it may be better for working parties or task forces to develop counselling models which are appropriate to particular institutions. Such task forces should address some of the pressing issues confronting academic institutions: for example, (1) the revitalisation of the curriculum; (2) the improvement of the out-of-classroom relationships between academic staff and students; and (3) the development and maintenance of effective systems of academic government. If counsellors are to develop services which will help to resolve some of the problems associated with these issues, they will have to be increasingly clear about their own values.     

College counseling: between the rock and the hard place

Professional counseling in institutions of higher education is facing a serious crisis. The crisis is not due simply to the fact that institutional administrators are asking their professional counselors to account for their activities, nor is it due simply to the fact that professional counselors have lost touch with an increasing proportion of students who are turning to self-initiated counseling arrangements for their most immediate needs. The crisis of counselor survival arises mainly from the fact that those services that administrators expect professional counselors to perform as part of their organizational role are actually counterproductive to the establishment of trusting and meaningful relationships between counselors and students.     

A survey of student counselling in higher and further education in the United Kingdom

All higher and further education institutions who reported having a student counselling service were surveyed, using a postal questionnaire, during 1985. Information from 212 institutions is presented. It describes what services exist, how long they have existed, their staffing and their workload (in terms of numbers counselled and type of service offered). Comparisons between universities, polytechnics and colleges of higher and further education are made. The stated objectives of the counselling services are summarised, together with identified priorities in counselling functions. Some of the characteristics of counsellors are outlined, including hours worked, training and qualifications.     

Living with support in a home in the community: predictors of behavioral development and household and community activity

The purpose of this article was to review studies of behavioral development and household and community activity among adults with mental retardation living in community residential services and to distill knowledge about the factors that influence outcome. Research points to behavioral development occurring across the full spectrum of disability but influenced by mental retardation syndrome and the acquisition of pivotal skills. However, engagement in household and community activities has been found to be strongly related to individual adaptive behavior. People with more severe mental retardation are vulnerable to leading lives characterized by underoccupation and lack of community involvement. Moving from institutional to community-based residential services may be accompanied by significant increases in adaptive behavior, but a plateau effect on subsequent development has also been reported. There is substantial evidence to suggest that key aspects of effective teaching technology may be absent in community-based residential environments. Community settings support greater engagement in household and community activities than institutions. Ordinary housing stock and normative architecture and standards of material enrichment are to be preferred. The use of normative housing constrains group living to relatively small scale, but there is little evidence that smaller size within this range is to be preferred to larger size. There is little evidence to suggest that higher staff-to-resident ratios lead to uniformly better outcomes, but staff orientation, working methods, and performance are important influences. Little is known about what precise characteristics of community location give rise to greater community integration. MRDD Research Reviews 7:75-83, 2001.     

A School-Based Approach to Stress Management Education of Students

Stress in children and adolescents has been linked to a variety of physical and emotional problems as well as to poor school performance. Because of these negative effects, school-based special services providers need to implement stress management education programs it optimal learning and development are to occur. Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral coping skills training have been effective in helping students deal with school-related stressors. An approach for stress management education is presented which addresses curriculum content, target trainees, environmental supports, and identification of trainers.     

Ten Years of Career Development: A Nationwide Study of High School Students

The authors summarize trends for several indicators of student career development collected in 1973 (when career education and career planning programs began to receive renewed emphasis) and again in 1983. The indicators, obtained for nationally representative samples of junior and senior high school students (N = 18,129 in 1973 and 15,432 in 1983), included career-related concerns, career planning involvement, and reactions to career planning services. Among the major trends was a 32% increase in the proportion of 11th graders who reported receiving “some” or “a lot” of career planning help from their schools. Moreover, the proportion of students involved in typical career exploration activities increased significantly over the 10 years of the study. In general, the 10-year trends indicate that schools are having a greater impact on student career development than they were in 1973.     

Networking a computer-aided guidance system within higher education institutions: practice and potential

A number of higher education institutions have networked PROSPECT (HE) to make it available throughout the institution. The impact of such networking was evaluated, based on visits to six of these institutions and on logged statistical data. The rationale for networking, and implementation strategies adopted, are discussed. The quantitative data provided less evidence of the reduced quality of usage than had been anticipated. Qualitative data suggested that networking provided easier access in terms of both location and time: this removed the need to ration usage of the system, thus making it easier to consider opportunities for structured usage, and to justify access to non-core groups. There was no evidence of any reduction in the use of the careers services. Examples are presented of PROSPECT (HE) being linked with a variety of other careers activities. Overall, the evidence suggests that the benefits of networking outweigh the risks.     

Combining Counseling and Career Services: Conflicts and Choices

This article describes some of the administrative issues in merging counseling and career services in institutions of higher education. Discussion focuses on the major kinds of problems that can be anticipated and the eventual choices that administrators must make.     

Life Satisfaction of Single Middle-Aged Professional Women

This study examined 10 factors and their relation to the life satisfaction of single middle-aged professional women. The proposed regression model, which included job satisfaction, gender identity, locus of control, social support, health, financial resources, leisure-time activities, sexual satisfaction, and regrets regarding life circumstances, was explored through a questionnaire. Questionnaires were administered to single professional women in higher education institutions. Responses were received from 152 women. Performance on life satisfaction was significantly explained by recourse to the variables of job satisfaction, internal locus of control, regrets regarding life circumstances, sexual satisfaction, and leisure-time activities.     

The health needs of the majority versus the health needs of the individual: The reorganization of medical education in Colombia

The challenge of excellence in community health services has been taken up by medical educators in Colombia. Confronted with a nation where the primary indicators of disease mortality and morbidity (cardiovascular disease and infant mortality) were characteristic of First and Third World patterns, respectively, the Ministry of Health and La Asociacion Colombiana de Facultades de Medicina (ASCOFAME), representatives of institutions of medical education, have collaborated to conduct a needs assessment of the country's health needs and devised an implementation plan designed to better address the needs of the majority of that nation's people.As a model, the Colombian reorganization of medical education is an example which could be emulated by the U.S. where policy makers are struggling with troublesome questions of cost, equity and quality.     

High School Guidance Counselor Recommendations: The Role of Student Race,Socioeconomic Status,and Academic Performance

This study explored the relation between student characteristics and counselor recommendations. Based on a sample of 1,713 students, the results indicate that counselors recommended community colleges to students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds more strongly than to students from higher SES backgrounds and recommended 4‐year institutions more to students from higher SES backgrounds than to students from lower SES backgrounds. White counselors were more likely to recommend admission‐related activities toward 2‐year colleges to White than to Black students. In addition, for upper‐class students, recommendations toward community college were stronger for Whites with low academic performance than for Blacks with low performance; the reverse was true for upper‐class students with strong academic performance. Areas for future research are identified.     

The Role of Christian Educational Institutions in Improving Economic Self-Reliance

This article argues that Christian educational institutions in Africa can play a major role in improving economic self-reliance within the continent, if those who establish Christian universities there take time to plan the programs and activities in those institutions. Specifically, it argues that with proper planning of quality education–the curriculum, the choice of extra-curricular activities, the teaching methods, and proper assessment–Africa's situation, especially its economy will improve. The paper insists that God gave a mandate to Christians to lead out in the world when He called them the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16) as well as promised that they would be the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13). Finally, it ends with several recommendations that will help leaders of Christian universities in Africa to plan education in such a way to improve the economy of the continent. While the paper addresses Christian institutions of higher learning in general, it focuses its attention on Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions of higher learning in Africa and draws its examples from Babcock University in Nigeria, West Africa.     

制造行业管理胜任力与绩效关系的实证研究

通过对571名制造型企业管理者的问卷调查,探索并验证了制造业管理胜任力结构维度,检验了不同背景因素对管理胜任力的影响。结果表明:制造业管理胜任力具有六维结构,包含22个指标,其信度和效度较好;不同管理层次的管理者在制造过程控制和市场营销策划维度上的评价有显著性差异,不同企业规模下的管理者在行业核心理念和产品系统管理维度上的评价有显著性差异;产品系统管理与市场营销策划能力对制造业管理者绩效有良好的预测力。同时发现,制造业管理胜任力不能较好地解释周边绩效的变异量。     

PROSPECT (HE): An Evaluation of User Responses

The main features of PROSPECT (HE), a major new computer-aided guidance system for higher education institutions, are described. The results of its field trials within six higher education careers services show that the reactions of students and staff to the system are predominantly positive and that it has already established credibility with its users. There are, however, some 'tensions' between some of the principles on which the system is based: between matching and exploration; between coherence and flexibility; and between a phenomenological approach and an approach based on objective realism.