A study of adult learners in a teacher-training internship program used concerns-based and critical reflection models to demonstrate that people become reflective when current actions become inappropriate, a supportive environment for acknowledging and addressing stress is created, and thinking is challenged. (SK)

Notes that, although spiritual wellness is an emerging area of interest in counseling, it still lacks clarity in definition and application. Attempts to define more clearly the concept of spiritual health and to describe ways to use techniques for the enhancement of spiritual wellness and the advancement of spiritual development. (Author/NB)

Twenty-seven married couples completed Adult Attachment Interview, were rated as secure or insecure with respect to attachment, and completed measures of marital satisfaction. Found that self-reported marhdal satisfaction was not related to adult attachment classifications. Insecure-secure and secure-secure dyads did not differ, but both groups…

Applying ergonomics to the classroom involves the five principles of job design: variety of assignments, identity/importance, autonomy/control, feedback/recognition, and opportunity for personal growth. (SK)

A clinical psychologist recounts her childhood efforts to develop creatively despite the discouragements of many of the adults in her world. (DB)

The High/Scope curriculum differs radically from typical K-3 teacher-directed instruction in emphasizing the child as a self-initiating active learner. This curriculum differs from other child-centered curricula by using cognitive-development theory to stress problem-solving and independent thinking, rather than social development and…

Personal narratives can reveal the nurturing dimension of the teaching role, characterize important changes in teachers' professional lives, and encourage more reflective practice. Such stories are not superfluous features of teachers' lives, but rather are basic to their continued individual and professional growth. (25 references) (MLH)

Individual development planning, intended to improve job performance, involves identifying what needs to be improved; what is the evidence of this; what root skills need development; how behavior changes will be measured; what ideas/principles lead to successful development; and how these elements form a coherent sequence of actions. (SK)

Professional who works with at-risk youth reflects on his own childhood, his mother's series of marriages, and his removal from his family at age eight. Describes odyssey of 15 placements in 11 years in family foster homes, group homes, and various institutions, such as orphanages and detention homes. Identifies number of factors that contributed…

Critiques Lytton's article in this issue that argues against focusing on the relative strength of child effects versus environmental effects. It is recommended that researchers should instead focus on the issues on which mechanisms operate and how they interact during transactional development. (RH)

Compared women's (n=40) and men's (n=20) levels of self-evolvement based on Kegan's Constructive-Developmental Theory. Findings from U.S. military personnel in Europe revealed no gender differences in self-evolvement. Results suggest stereotypically masculine orientation toward individuation and increased autonomy and stereotypically feminine…

The educational needs of gifted children are discussed in the context of the educational program at the Mirman School in Los Angeles (California). (DB)

Discusses identity as the development of functional and intellectual independence and as an involvement in such aspects of life as intimacy, sexuality, and vocation that give one a sense of belonging to the world. Suggests that establishing identity is an on-going process. Describes the Montessori professional's identity as director or directress,…

In two studies, adolescents and adults planned a hypothetical party with and without planning aids. Found that adolescents made no more planning errors than working adults when they were given planning aids and that retired adults made more errors than working adults when planning with and without planning aids. (MM)

Reviews empirical studies of cognitive self-efficacy from childhood through old age, addressing issues of definition and measurement related to the self-efficacy construct. Integrates findings of research on self-efficacy and establishes generalizations regarding the relationship of self-efficacy to choice and goal-setting behaviors, a sense of…