Comparing Brief and Extended Wait-Time During Small Group Instruction for Children with Challenging Behavior

This preliminary study compared brief (1 s) and extended (4 s) wait-time on response opportunities, academic responses, accuracy, and disruptive behavior of two children with challenging behavior during small group instruction. Brief wait-time increased children’s response opportunities, academic responses, and accuracy in comparison to extended wait-time. Though variable, brief wait-time also decreased children’s disruptive behavior. Findings differ from previous research, which found performance improvements with extended wait-time for children with moderate to profound cognitive disabilities. Limitations of the study and future research suggestions are discussed.     

The role of personality in adolescent career planning and exploration: A social cognitive perspective

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) recognises the importance of individual differences and contextual influences in the career decision-making process. In extending the SCCT choice model, this study tested the role of personality, social supports, and the SCCT variables of self-efficacy, outcome expectations and goals in explaining the career readiness actions of career planning and exploration. The authors surveyed 414 Australian high school students in Years 10, 11 and 12. Career exploration was associated with goals and social supports, whereas career planning was associated with self-efficacy, goals, personality and an interaction term for goals and social support that indicated that levels of planning were highest when social support and goals were highest. Implications for parents, teachers and guidance counsellors as well as recommendations for future research directions are discussed.     

农民工犯罪心理的社会支持与主观幸福感分析

通过对274位农民工(其中犯罪农民工134人,普通农民工140人)总体幸福感和社会支持的问卷调查及比较,得出以下结论:(1)农民工的总体幸福感与社会支持的高低对其犯罪有着显著性影响。(2)文化层次在农民工犯罪上体现出明显影响,呈现出低学历犯罪人数远高于较高学历的局势。(3)犯罪农民工的总体幸福感与社会支持总体及其各因子之间具有显著性相关。     

The Teacher Belief Q-Sort: A measure of teachers' priorities in relation to disciplinary practices, teaching practices, and beliefs about children

The present study advances a new method for assessing teacher beliefs and priorities. This paper describes the development and psychometric properties of the Teacher Belief Q-Sort (TBQ), an assessment technique that examines teachers' priorities and beliefs about discipline practices, classroom practices, and beliefs about children (see www.socialdevelopmentlab.org. Further, this paper describes the usefulness of this tool by examining differences in beliefs and priorities among four groups of teachers (experienced teachers trained in the Responsive Classroom (RC) Approach, experienced teachers with no such training, pre-service teachers planning on teaching elementary school, and pre-service teachers planning on teaching middle/high school) with the goal of demonstrating the way priorities are sensitive to specialized training and teaching experience. The study establishes the TBQ as a reliable, valid, and useful method. Findings showed that RC teachers hold discipline and teaching practice priorities consistent with training in the RC Approach and that pre-service teachers placed greater priority on spontaneity and collaboration and held more negative views about children's likeability and motivation than in-service teachers. Findings are discussed in terms of the ways in which teacher priorities are sensitive to specialized training and teaching experience and offer an early indicator of integrity of implementation.     

Teachers' conflict management styles: The role of attachment styles and classroom management efficacy

Constructive conflict management strategies are important in maintaining a positive classroom environment yet little is known about interpersonal or school variables associated with teachers' use of such strategies with students. Teachers high in self-reported classroom management efficacy (CMEFF) and security of attachment (low on avoidance, anxiety) were predicted to endorse use of positive classroom management strategies (e.g., integrating, compromising) more than insecure teachers and those low in CMEFF. Teachers (N = 283) from eleven schools (seven elementary), largely female and white, responded to a questionnaire in their boxes (29.4% response rate). School and teacher demographic variables were included in a multivariate regression after preliminary analysis suggested that ignoring the multilevel structure of the data made little difference in results; school variances were small compared with teacher variances. CMEFF and years teaching had positive, significant effects on use of integrating and compromising strategies, while avoidance had negative effects on both and anxiety on integrating strategies. Implications for teacher development are discussed.     

Peer assessments of normative and individual teacher–student support predict social acceptance and engagement among low-achieving children

This study used hierarchical linear modeling to predict first grade students' peer acceptance, classroom engagement, and sense of school belonging from measures of normative classroom teacher–student support and individual teacher–student support. Participants were 509 (54.4% male) ethnically diverse, first grade children attending one of three Texas School districts (1 urban, 2 small city) who scored below their school district median on a measure of literacy administered at the beginning of first grade. Peer nominations from 5147 classmates were used to assess both normative and individual levels of teacher support. Normative classroom teacher–student support predicted children's peer acceptance and classroom engagement, above the effects of child gender, ethnic minority status, and individual teacher–student support. Results are discussed in terms of implications for teacher preparation and professional development.     

Strengthening parent well‐being at the work—family interface: A German trial on workplace Triple P

This study examines the efficacy of a parenting training (Workplace Triple P (WPTP)) especially designed for the needs of employed parents. The program aims to reduce stress at the work–parenting interface by targeting family risk and protective factors and assisting parents to manage competing work and family demands. Ninety‐seven part‐ and full‐time working parents (74 mothers and 23 fathers; intervention group: n = 42 parents; waitlist‐control group n = 55 parents) from multiple organizations and multiple occupations with children between 2 and 10 years were randomly assigned to an intervention and a waitlist‐control condition. After the training, parents from the intervention condition, compared to those from the waitlist‐control condition, reported a significant reduction in individual and work‐related stress. Additionally, they reported a significant reduction in dysfunctional parenting and significant higher levels of parental and occupational self‐efficacy. Within the intervention condition all effects were maintained at the 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up examinations. The findings support the notion that WPTP promotes parental well‐being and reduces stress at the work–parenting interface. Given that strengthening parenting skills has the potential to strengthen work, strategies to implement WPTP in organizational resources and community‐based services are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ePortfolio as a tool for reflection and self-reflection

The request and promotion of reflection begins with an analysis of one’s own understanding of education and learning as well as the connection of reflection and self-reflection and the competence development of students. A self-reflective attitude should be promoted early on by encouraging students to understand (reflection), to evaluate (evaluation), and, if necessary, to adapt (regulation) their own learning behavior. To encourage reflection, self-reflection, and competence development, the use of an ePortfolio can provide a valuable contribution. However, the implementation process of an ePortfolio for pre-service teachers remains a debated method. This research paper investigates the impact and sustainability of an ePortfolio-implementation regarding students’ competence development and reflection skills in a Master’s Program for Business Education and Development (BED). The survey was conducted between October 2011 and June 2014 (n = 811) and consists of six sequential questionnaires. The students assessed the positive impact on their (self-)reflection. When being asked about their most distinctive competences, students’ responses emphasize their previous ePortfolio-sessions, thus indicating a positive impact of the ePortfolio on students’ self-perceived competences.     

优抚医院疗养对象的社会支持与幸福感的关系:心理健康的中介作用

考察优抚医院疗养对象的幸福感现状,探讨其心理健康、社会支持与幸福感的关系。采用老年人心理健康问卷、社会支持评定量表、纽芬兰纪念大学幸福度量表对103名平均年龄82.43岁的优抚医院疗养对象进行调查。结果表明:(1)优抚医院疗养对象的幸福感与全国常模无显著差异,心理健康水平与社会支持状况都显著低于对照组;(2)优抚医院疗养对象的社会支持、心理健康水平和幸福感各维度之间存在显著正相关;(3)心理健康在社会支持对幸福感的影响中起中介作用;心理健康的情绪体验维度在客观支持对幸福感的影响中起部分中介作用。     

Racial Differences on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale

Factor congruence and mean differences on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale were assessed across African-American and Caucasian school children. Factor analyses conducted separately by gender revealed similar factors across races for males and females. The main differences in factor structure within gender were the presence of an Antisocial factor in black males and an Inattention factor in white females. Across both males and females, teachers tended to rate black children higher than white children on factors relating to externalizing behaviors. Whether mean differences are a result of teacher bias or actual behavioral differences in the classroom needs further research.