A Two-way Street: Mentor Stress and Depression Influence Relational Satisfaction and Attachment in Youth Mentoring Relationships

Over the past two decades, youth mentoring programs have increased in popularity as an intervention for children exposed to a range of stressful life circumstances. Such programs have been shown to promote positive youth development and reduce risk for emotional and behavioral problems; yet, the effect size of youth gains remains small. The current study examined the influence of college student mentors’ history of early life stress and baseline depressive symptoms on their effectiveness in youth mentoring relationships using 340 randomized mentor–youth pairs from College Mentors for Kids, a well-established mentoring program with chapters across the United States. Hierarchical linear models revealed that mentors with higher levels of depressive symptoms reported lower relationship satisfaction and increased avoidance in the mentoring relationship. In contrast, mentors who experienced higher levels of early life stress had youth who reported greater satisfaction in the mentoring relationship and decreased relational anxiety. These findings are some of the first to examine the impact of mentor characteristics on mentor–youth relationships and highlight the importance of considering factors relevant to psychosocial functioning and emotional distress when recruiting, training, and supporting college student mentors.     

Improving Research Training in Doctoral Counseling Programs

The authors surveyed the research training practices of doctoral-level, APA-approved counseling psychology programs, non-APA-approved counseling psychology programs, and counselor education programs to identify ways to improve such training. Some differences were found according to program type. No differences were found in percentage of students' publishing or presenting research during 1983–84. Suggestions for improving future research training were assessed; highest ratings were given to required participation in research teams; 1st-year, “hands-on” research experience; and greater emphasis on design rather than statistics training. Programs characterized by high and low student research productivity differed in the areas of required research training, research emphases and research climate, required presentation or submission of research for publication, and material support for student research. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

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.     

Increasing Pre-service Teachers’ Use of Differential Reinforcement: Effects of Performance Feedback on Consequences for Student Behavior

Significant dollars are spent each school year on professional development programs to improve teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom. The usefulness of these programs can be measured by the consistent application (i.e., implementation integrity) of skills which were taught in the training sessions. This study assessed the integrity with which pre-service teachers used a differential reinforcement of alternate behavior (DRA) strategy taught to them during their student teaching experience. Seven student teachers in general education settings participated. Teaching assignments ranged from early elementary through high school in urban, suburban, and rural settings. Intervention consisted of a 1-h workshop and individual feedback meetings following direct classroom observation. Results showed that (a) student teachers increased their number of correct DRA responses as measured by accurate teacher feedback to students, and (b) students showed increased hand-raising and decreased talk-outs. Implications for helping pre-service general education teachers to teach more consistently and effectively in inclusive settings are discussed.     

Software review

Summary Word Works certainly provides a technological approach to creating educational worksheets. These programs ar designed to enhance instructional management and increase student vocabulary efficiently. Educators with at least word processing capability are able to operate this menudriven program.Given that the appropriateness of instructional worksheets is often bantered about the educational community, the contributions of these programs are somewhat limited. Although it is assumed by the software manufacturers that programs as such are motivating for students, the extended use of such activities are often criticized by educational experts. Further, the on-going use of worksheets is tempered by such student variables as student reading ability, students' age-grade level, and other variables.     

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions of Computer-Assisted Reading Intervention Programs

Middle schools often turn to computer-assisted reading intervention programs to improve student reading. The questions guiding this study are (a) in what ways are computer-assisted reading intervention programs utilized, and (b) what are teachers' perceptions about these intervention programs? Nineteen secondary reading teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of one of three programs. Emerging themes fell into three major categories: teaching experiences, program use, and technology. Findings focused on the need for programs to engage students in actual reading, to move instruction beyond a decoding focus, to provide books that match student interests, and to increase motivation to read.     

Students' Reactions to Attending 12‐Step Meetings: Implications for Counselor Education

This content analysis of reflective papers examined undergraduate and graduate students' reactions to attending a 12‐step meeting. Qualitative analysis of student comments suggested that meeting attendance had a personal impact and increased understanding of the purpose of 12‐step programs. Implications for counselor educators are discussed.     

Promoting Parent Involvement in Schools to Serve At-Risk Students

The recent educational literature and popular media reflect growing concern about deficient student achievement in the regular education system, a problem that has resulted in inappropriate classification of students as handicapped, as well as resulted in increased dropout rates. A wide range of variables contribute to school failure, including a complex interaction of home and school characteristics. For this reason, efforts to intervene with students who are at-risk for school failuer must include attention to the relationship between parents and school professionals. This paper reviews the literature on parent involvement, which shows that increased participation by parents in educational programs has a positive relationship to student achievement. Specific roles for parents are examined, followed by guidelines for promoting parent involvement.     

The Appropriate Use and Misuse of Social Media in MFT Training Programs: Problems and Prevention

Directors of accredited marriage and family therapy programs were surveyed to determine what problems they had experienced resulting from student, faculty, and client misuse of social media. Approximately 40 % of the programs had encountered a problem resulting from student misuse of social media. The directors were also asked what efforts were made by their program and university to promote the appropriate use of social media, with programs assuming primary responsibility for addressing this issue. The study also assessed attitudes among directors regarding how to handle potential issues that may arise in training programs regarding the use of social media. Implications for training programs are provided.     

Boundary Considerations Between Doctoral Students and Master's Students

Counselor educators have a responsibility to teach students about boundary issues and multiple relationships. In addition to counselor–client concerns, there has been increased attention to faculty–student multiple relationships. Like faculty, doctoral students in counselor education programs often engage in roles with master's‐level students in which they hold a position of authority. This article reviews the professional literature on multiple relationships and boundary issues within counselor preparation programs and applies the research to boundary considerations between graduate students. Potentially fruitful areas for research are also suggested.     

Exemplary efforts in psychology to recruit and retain graduate students of color

Many psychology departments are striving for a greater representation of students of color within their graduate preparation programs with the aim of producing a more diverse pool of psychological service providers, scientists, and educators. To help improve the minority pipeline in psychology, the authors identify and describe recruitment and retention strategies used at 11 departments and programs considered to be making exemplary efforts to attract and retain minority students of color. The strategies most consistently used included engaging current minority faculty and students in recruitment activities, offering attractive financial aid packages, having faculty members make personal contacts with prospective students, creating linkages with historical institutions of color, having (or approached having) a critical mass of faculty and students of color, offering a diversity issues course, and engaging students in diversity issues research. Despite the similarities, the programs and departments were each distinctive and innovative in their overall approaches to student recruitment and retention. Highlighting the strategies used at successful institutions may help others develop plans for improving the minority pipeline within their own departments and programs.     

Articulating a Freshman Orientation Program with a Social Science Course

The method and outcomes of an experimental linkage of the freshman orientation program to a required freshman liberal arts course is described. The counselor and faculty member teamed in a coordinated effort to enhance total student development. Outcomes included application of academic concepts to student's everyday life, especially career concerns, greater student participation in the orientation sessions, increased counselor awareness of individual student problems ranging from study skills difficulties to personal crises, and greater understanding of the counselor role by the faculty member.     

IMPACT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TEACHING/LEARNING CYCLE ON TEACHER DECISION-MAKING AND EMERGENT READERS

No topic is on the minds of the general public, federal and state legislatures, parents, and educators more than the issue of establishing and maintaining school programs that are consistent in their ability to produce competent readers. Teachers, administrators, and teacher preparation programs are admonished to change programs, resources, monitoring procedures - whatever it takes to bring about this reformation of student reading achievement. Topics under investigation include effective models, methods, and strategies of instruction; essential teacher knowledge; teacher decision-making; and professional development of in-service and pre-service teachers. From this body of research the terms "balanced literacy" and "engaged literacy" have emerged. These terms are defined as emphasizing instruction on identified student need and including skills development as well as experience in a variety of texts. The teaching/learning cycle, a model for evaluating student reading behaviors and planning focused instruction, providesa foundation for the development of essential teacher knowledge and skills. As teachers articulate their understanding of the reading process, the characteristics of the learner, and the supports and challenges offered in text and teaching approaches, their practice is changed to make it more congruent with these stated beliefs. When teacher instructional practice is aligned with clear understandings and beliefs, student achievement increases. This study explored how knowledge and use of the teaching/learning cycle in beginning reading instruction impacts teacher decision-making and student achievement. While investigating teachers' knowledge and use of the teaching/learning cycle, two research questions focused on how student learning was affected and the impact of the changes on student/teacher interactions.     

Quality benchmarks in undergraduate psychology programs

Performance benchmarks are proposed to assist undergraduate psychology programs in defining their missions and goals as well as documenting their effectiveness. Experienced academic program reviewers compared their experiences to formulate a developmental framework of attributes of undergraduate programs focusing on activity in 8 domains: curriculum, assessment issues, student learning outcomes, program resources, student development, faculty characteristics, program climate, and administrative support. A continuum of performance was conceptualized for each attribute in each of the domains to characterize underdeveloped, developing, effective, and distinguished achievement for undergraduate programs. The authors hope to inspire a national conversation about program benchmarks in psychology in order to improve program quality, encourage more effective program reviews, and help optimally functioning programs compete more successfully for resources on the basis of their distinguished achievements.     

Student learning as the basis for reinforcement to the instructor

The present study reinforced the two instructors of two students with profound mental retardation first for the instructors' training behaviors, then for improved student learning in a multiple baseline across responses design. Reinforcement of the instructors' training behaviors increased their training behaviors, replicating the findings of previous studies, but had no effect on student learning. When the reinforcement for the instructors was instead made contingent upon student learning, the student learning improved and the instructors' high level of training behaviors was maintained. In addition, the instructors began to request training for themselves. These findings suggest that staff motivation programs for instructors might usefully base the reinforcers not only on the instructor's performance, but on the progress of their students.     

Student Development Studies: A Review of Published Empirical Research, 1973–1987

This study is a review of 27 published empirical research articles from 1973–1987 that discuss the implementation and evaluation of theory-based student development intervention programs. While findings show that some student development programs have a positive effect, the total amount of empirical research is meager.     

More Than Attendance: The Importance of After-School Program Quality

A central theme of the articles featured in this issue is the need to improve the quality of after-school programs. In this commentary, we discuss why student engagement, program characteristics and implementation, staff training, and citywide policy are key considerations in the effort to define and achieve high quality programs for youth.     

Use of Student Paraprofessionals in Divisions of College Student Affairs

A stratified random sample of college student affairs divisions was surveyed to assess the depth and breadth of student paraprofessional use. More than 72% of the responding institutions reported having one or more student paraprofessional programs.