No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

ICK UP ANY newspaper and you can read about urban school problems and the ongoing debate about education policy and reform. While urban schools certainly face critical challenges, rural schools face many of these same concerns. Yet we seldom hear about problems in rural schools. Perhaps we hear more about urban education because most major media outlets are located in cities, or because high popu

This paper reports on two years of a multiyear consultation/professional development project based on socioconstructivist principles (situated cognition, social context, and scaffolded instruction) that are consistent with key elements of positive psychology. The consultation model used a case analysis framework to engage 12 elementary school teachers in workshops, demonstration lessons, ad hoc inquiry groups, and coaching. Interview, questionnaire, and field note data from the participants identified "control and choice," "focus on student needs," "applicability to classroom practices," "direct instruction of skills," and "consultant feedback" as key elements of the model. Changes in classroom practices were reported by 78% of the participants with changes in confidence noted from pre-to posttests. Better learning for students was mentioned by 89% of the teachers. Discussion focuses on critical theoretical elements associated with positive psychology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.With a few notable exceptions (e.g., wellness, Cowen, 1991; primary prevention, Meyers, 1989), the school psychology and school-based consultation literature has focused on problems. Focusing on problems and problem solving may be important and necessary, especially as the field attempts to shift practice toward greater emphasis on intervention and indirect service. Waiting for problems to emerge prior to the provision of school-based consultation is, however, inherently problematic because the existence of a problem intrinsically means that something is wrong (with the child, consultee, or system). Thus, finding opportunities to shift the emphasis of school-based consultation from addressing problems toward developing consultee skills, knowledge, and confidence may offer ways to move practice toward a more positive and preventive model. That is, emphasizing what is generally considered to be the second goal of consultation (preventing future problems) offers consultants the possibility of using children and learning as the context from which to focus specifically and positively on changing teachers' knowledge, skill, attitudes, and confidence. Focusing on the preventive goal may provide consultants with ways to use referrals as opportunities for teachers to change their attitudes about child deficits, develop confidence that they influence and are responsible for children's learning, and foster positive, supportive, and healthy social contexts for themselves and children. This paper reports initial results from a school-based consultation/ professional development project that was consistent with four elements of Positive Psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000): (1) developing social climates to foster strengths; (2) shifting teacher professional development from fixing unsuccessful learning practices to building knowledge and confidence; (3) conceptualizing teachers as active decision makers who can, and should, exercise choice; and We thank the participating teachers for their time, ideas, and willingness to change and the a...

Research reveals that students in upper elementary grades and middle school generally have a negative attitude toward reading (Ivey &

No abstract

The study tests the proposition that pedagogical orientations foster domain-specific teacher dispositions. Nineteen preservice teachers in an urban teacher certification program emphasizing culturally relevant teaching (CRT) were interviewed at the completion of all coursework and teaching experiences in diverse, urban classrooms. Dispositional statements ( n = 405) were used in a comparative analysis that included cross-tabs chi-square statistics and contingency tables. The study found that teaching dispositions associated with two CRT domains, academic success and cultural competence, were prevalent, whereas dispositions associated with the critical consciousness domain were minimal. Interrelatedness was found for teacher dispositions associated with respect for diversity, authenticity, and generalizability.