Accountability Practices of School Counselors: A National Survey

A national survey of practicing school counselors was conducted to obtain information regarding (a) their accountability practices, (b) barriers to the collection of accountability data, (c) the relationship between involvement in accountability efforts and demographic variables, and (d) strategies for increasing activity in the area of accountability. Results indicated that 55% of the 239 respondents were collecting accountability data, often for the purpose of enhancing their professional growth and development. The 108 school counselors not involved in the collection of such data identified lack of familiarity with procedures and time constraints as major barriers. Respondents indicated a need for additional preservice and in-service training, as well as for dissemination of exemplary procedures.     

Community and Christianity in the Black Church

The authors explore the experience of Christian religion for many African Americans. In response to racial discrimination and prejudice within churches, African Americans developed a Christian tradition with distinct meanings, beliefs and practices. This tradition provides a foundation for social activism within the church, community and American society, as well as community among church members. The recent Black church burnings are discussed with respect to the more traditional Christian African American view of religion. Implications for incorporating the religious traditions of Christian African Americans into counseling practice are explored. (The authors use the term Black church or African American church as a surrogate for Christian African American church throughout the article. The terms Black and African American will also be used interchangeably).     

An Effect Of Change In Patient Status On Marital Interaction

In the treatment of couples and families, even more so than of individuals, therapists invariably are forced to face the problem of assessment of change in the marital or family "system." The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes in marital interaction for a special population, that is, in which one member of each married pair had been, but was no longer, a hospitalized psychiatric patient. The primary question we addressed was whether changes in marital interaction could be amply detected and whether these changes could be attributed to the particular role shift that had occurred in one spouse--from "patient" to "nonpatient." Utilizing a technique called Interaction Testing, which the senior authors devised in 1960, we found that such alterations in marital interaction do indeed arise when one member of the couple moves out of a patient role and that our instrument is useful in elucidating the nature of such effects. In addition, it can be expected that a study of this kind will be of theoretical and methodological value in dealing with the general issues of problem-solving interaction in couples and families. The clinical aspect of the study may also be expected to stimulate useful thinking regarding family theapy in hospital settings, patient management, and aftercare.     

A FIVE-YEAR STUDY OF A POSITIVE INCENTIVE ABSENCE CONTROL PROGRAM

This study reports the results of a positive incentive program designed to reduce absenteeism at a hospital. Absence data for a treatment group ( N = 164) and a comparison group ( N = 136) were collected for one year prior to the incentive program, the three years the plan was operational, and the year after the program was discontinued. In the treatment program, absence from the treatment group decreased significantly during the first and third years of the program; effects during the second year of the program were marginally significant. No changes occurred in the comparison group's absence level. A utility analysis revealed that the incentive program produced an 11.7% return on investment.     

The effectiveness of an ombudsman

Most people in our colleges and universities believe that the concept of an ombudsman, developed in the political area, could have a significant influence in institutions of higher education. In this article the author, himself a full-time ombudsman at a large urban college, attempts to correct some prevailing misconceptions about the office and indicate the source of an ombudsman's effectiveness.     

Assessment of Selected CACREP Standards by Accredited and Nonaccredited Programs

This study surveyed both accredited and nonaccredited counselor education program professionals to investigate their perceptions of whether a select group of standards was a hindrance to seeking and achieving accreditation.     

MICROCOMPUTER USAGE AS AN OPPORTUNITY: THE INFLUENCE OF CONTEXT IN EMPLOYEE TRAINING

This study presents a test of the influence of social context on training outcomes. Specifically, the effects of labeling microcomputer usage as an opportunity were examined on computer anxiety, computer efficacy beliefs, and learning. Nonacademic university employees enrolled in an introductory microcomputer training class were assigned to a session in which microcomputer usage was randomly established as an opportunity or neutral. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 ( N = 84) identified the issue characteristics of opportunities and threats as a basis to establish context. Study 2 (N = 79) reported the results of the training. Results indicated that, after controlling for pretraining expectations about microcomputer usage, trainees in the opportunity condition exhibited higher computer efficacy and learning, as well as lower computer anxiety, than trainees in the neutral condition. These findings suggest that labeling the context can be a relatively powerful training intervention. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.