Formal Coursework Research Articles

Training in child diagnostic assessment: A survey of clinical psychology graduate programs

A survey was designed to obtain data from clinical psychology graduate programs. 107 program directors provided information regarding pre‐internship training in child assessment. Questionnaire data pertained to formal coursework and experience in administration of a wide variety of psychological, neuropsychological and psychoeducational tests. Additional information was gathered regarding the requirements for formal graduate coursework related to clinical child psychology. Specific tests were classified into eight general categories of assessment: 1) intellectual functioning, 2) academic achievement, 3) auditory processing/language, 4) auditory‐visual processes, 5) perceptual‐motor functioning, 6) neuropsychological batteries, 7) personality/emotional functioning and 8) adaptive behavior. It was concluded that current training in child assessment continues to be focused largely on the formal assessment of intelligence and personality, and that training encompasses a comparatively narrow range of test inst...

WHO WORKS WITH THE ELDERLY? A STUDY OF PERSONNEL IN GERONTOLOGICAL SETTINGS

Abstract This study was undertaken to determine the relationship between the amount of formal coursework in the field of aging and the degree of positive attitudes demonstrated by professional workers in gerontological settings. Information was gathered to determine if there is a relationship between increased formal education in aging and commitment to the field. Although no significant relationship was found between the numbers of courses taken, positive attitudes, or the degree of commitment, the data did show that the more years a person works in the field the stronger the commitment that person holds for continued work in the aging field.

Death Education and Physicians' Attitudes toward Dying Patients

The literature suggests that physicians have difficulty relating to dying patients. Medical schools traditionally have not addressed themselves to this issue. The object of this research was to determine if physicians' reported attitudes toward dying patients were related to the amount of death education physicians received. A 71 per cent return rate was received from a questionnaire mailed to 1540 graduates (classes of 1972–1975) from five selected medical schools. Twenty per cent of the physicians had taken an entire course in medical school on relating to dying patients. Physicians with formal coursework tended to relate somewhat differently to the dying patient than did physicians who did not take such a course as four of the eleven Likert-type statements on relating to dying patients revealed a statistically significant relationship–using a Chi-square test–between those who had a course on dealing with dying patients and those with less than a course. It is suggested that this difference might also be attributed to a self-selection of students choosing to take such a course.

Planning for instructional improvement in medical education: A case study

The purpose of instructional improvement programs is to assist faculty members in identifying areas of personal strength and weakness in their teaching and, where needed, to develop strategies for change. Rather than utilizing formal coursework, workshops, or retreats, a model has been refined at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine that emphasizes a working relationship between the interested faculty person and a member of the Division of Research in Medical Education, an educational research and instructional support unit at the school. The approach described comprises five steps in which a consultant relationship is formed, an agreement about the interaction process is reached, data on teaching behavior are gathered and analyzed, feedback is given, and plans for future action are developed. The paper also includes a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this model and implications for its use in medical education and elsewhere in higher education.

Attitudes and Training of Public School Clinicians Providing Services to Speakers of Black English

This study investigated public school speech-language clinicians' attitudes regarding treatment goal-setting for children who were speakers of black English, as well as the need for university coursework in social dialects. Questionnaires, based upon Wolfram and Fasold's conceivable goals in teaching standard English to speakers of non-standard dialects, were distributed to the 103 speech-language clinicians employed by the six metropolitan public school systems of Southeastern (Tidewater) Virginia. An examination of responses to the questionnaire items indicated that 97% of the respondents were of the opinion that speakers of black English should learn standard English while retaining the nonstandard dialect. Further information from the questionnaire indicated that only approximately one third of the respondents obtained information regarding dialects from coursework, with the primary source of knowledge being on-the-job experience. Slightly more than two thirds of all respondents indicated a need for formal coursework in social dialects, with the majority of these being recently graduated bachelor's level clinicians with less than six years of professional experience.

Effects of training on New Zealand school counselors as measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory

The Personal Orientation Inventory was administered before and after training to four groups undergoing postgraduate training in school counseling (n = 11, and n = 12) and high school teaching (n = 9, and n = 9). Both groups of counselors increased their scores during training on the Time Competence and Inner-Directed scales, but the changes were significant with the latter scale only. Testing the counselors one year after the completion of the formal coursework revealed that the significant gains on the Inner-Directed scale persisted. Neither of the groups of teachers increased their scores on either of the scales following training. It is argued that the critical difference between the training of the teachers and the counselors was the latter's extensive involvement in a training group, and it is tentatively postulated that this experience was a cause of the gains in scores over time.

Better writing reaches wider audiences: A guide to training in communication

Skillful communication will benefit all students entering agronomic professions. Agronomists are broadly trained, then specialize. Few students receive formal coursework in technical writing, but learn to write by trial and error. Teachers should be aware that some students, notably those selected for extension work, may enter agronomic specialties that require top performance in communication. Agronomists receive some help from professional communicators and editors. They should also try to become effective primary communicators, because the information they must convey is complex and must reach broad audiences. This article reviews communication fundamentals, points out weaknesses of current technical writing, and urges teachers to incorporate principles of communication and skills training into course work. Students should be exposed to concepts of media, language, style, audience, and critical reading and thinking. They should study the writings of good communicators, and they should practice writing. For those students who lack basic skills with language, the article recommends guest lectures, workshops, team teaching, and cooperative or interdepartmental programs.

The Taman Siswa in Postwar Indonesia

with its emphasis on a national education to unite the various cultural and ideological segments in Indonesia, has always been identified with the prewar nationalist movement. Established in 1922 by Ki Hadjar Dewantoro as the Nationaal Onderwijs Instituut Taman Siswa, the movement was to some extent a reaction to the deracinating effects of Western education.' In Siswa schools, attention was given to the study of what was then beginning to be accepted by some nationalists as the national culture. In Java, where most of the Siswa schools were located, Javanese music, plays, and classical dances were taught, while Western songs and related cultural activities were avoided. In the teaching of history, emphasis was placed on Indonesia's precolonial past. Vernacular languages were used as the media of instruction in the lower grades, while Malay and Dutch were taught only in the higher classes. English was included as a second or third language in the secondary schools. But above and beyond formal coursework, what Siswa offered were educational opportunities to those aspiring to social mobility but who, because of low social standing, had encountered difficulties in gaining admittance to government schools.2 By the beginning of the Second World War, Siswa had a total of 199 branches, with 207 schools, 650 teachers, and about 20,000 pupils.

Developments in Tertiary Environmental Engineering Education in Australasia

This paper examines the concept of environmental education as it relates to engineering education. The main area of applicability is considered to be in the continuing and postgraduate education areas, although some environmental input into undergraduate degree programmes is thought to be desirable.The interdisciplinary nature of environmental problems necessitates a certain amount of formal coursework which should be coupled with a project to provide experience in solving real problems. The course-work should contain both broadening elements to introduce students to the relevance of disciplines outside their undergraduate experience and a specialization in a particular multidisciplinary area such as air pollution control or water resources engineering.The criteria for environmental programmes in engineering are developed with special reference to the new Environmental Engineering Postgraduate Programme at the University of Melbourne.