The ability of measures of perceived competence, control, and autonomy support to predict self-worth and academic performance was studied across groups of high school students. Stepwise regression analyses indicate these variables in model predict self-worth and grade point average. In addition, levels of school status and depression predict…

A cumulative review and analysis of 27 empirical investigations that assessed the preferences and choices of individuals with severe or profound mental retardation found that, since 1978, a technology has been evolving that can assess preference and choice via six types of participant responses across a variety of stimulus presentations. Research…

This article provides an overview of strength-based assessment of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders and discusses the development and psychometric characteristics of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS). The BERS is a norm-referenced, standardized test that assesses the strengths of children and…

A study used the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) with 129 students (ages 7-18) with learning disabilities (LD), 145 with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), and 144 typical students. BERS discriminated among students with LD and EBD and controls and was able to classify students with EBD and controls. (Contains references.)…

Broadened previous findings about conceptions of personal prerogative at home and school with regard to socioeconomic and ethnic status, focusing on working-class African American children. Found a flattening out of opportunity at school combined with some presence of punishment reasoning, suggesting interesting differences in approach between…

The work of Ulrich Beck, particularly his concept of the "individualised individual", is increasingly cited by educational social scientists. As yet, there have been few empirical investigations that consider how applicable and relevant is the notion of the "individualised individual" in understanding how people make sense of…

This book contains memoirs about growing up as the son of Mexican immigrants in rural California, as well as stories that the author's parents told him about their childhoods and village life in Mexico. In a preface and introductory stories, the immigrant explains how his family culture sustained him during bad experiences in school, and describes…

This discussion of friendship in the lives of people with developmental disabilities raises questions which probe the nature of friendship, friendship between people with and without disabilities, and the special challenges involved in making and keeping friends. First, four dimensions of friendship are identified and discussed: (1) attraction…

This paper examines the gender order that operates in rural areas of Australia, ensuring that women are accorded secondary status, that their contributions are discounted, and that their concerns are trivialized. Women are disadvantaged by patriarchal gender relations that dominate rural society and that are reinforced by ideologies of family and…

In the counseling process the use of power as a therapist influence strategy has not been demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether women and men prefer different types of power statements made by female and male therapists in an initial therapy session with male clients. Subjects (N=153) were undergraduates enrolled in…

The management style of a school leader deeply influences the ethos of a school. To explicate the workings of power in such leaders, an analysis of education management styles is presented here. The paper works from the premise that effective and productive management styles are empowering. The text acknowledges how difficult it is to frame a…

Self-efficacy is defined as the belief that one can successfully perform a behavior. Self-efficacy theory asserts that self-efficacy expectancies exert powerful influence on behavior and behavior change. The Self-efficacy Scale, which was developed to assess generalized self-efficacy expectations, consists of two subscales: general self-efficacy…

Based on the personal experience of a family counselor and parent, this handbook for parents describes the technique of "Family Meetings," a way of bettering family relationships, solving problems, and nurturing opportunities for children to learn fairness, respect, and self-esteem. The key principle of such family meetings is that family…

Although it is commonly held that environmental, social, and psychological factors influence health, specific causal models of these influences are rarely tested directly. Methods of structural analysis were applied to the problem of the relationships among variables thought to influence the health status of college students. Data were collected…

This manual was written to help college students become better students and more successful learners. The goals of the book are to raise awareness of, and interest in, the learning process generally; increase each student's awareness of her/himself as a learner; introduce specific strategies for more effective learning; suggest that each student…