University of Macau / Faculty of Education

The current report reviews the recent literature on online social networking (Facebook and MySpace) and its psychological impact on students. Both the negative and positive effects of online social networking are explored. According to the literature, cyberbullying and sexting have the greatest negative impact on students. However, students greatly benefit from the social capital and friendship maintenance that online social networking provides. Intervention and prevention strategies for the negative consequences of online social networking are included. Finally, this report provides suggestions for counselors and teachers to help students safely use technology. / text

No description available.

The diploma thesis deals with the topic of risk behavior prevention on the elementary schools. It focuses especially on the teachers who are in the position of the school prevention workers and their perceived level of preparedness with regard to their duties specified in reguletion. The aim of this thesis is aslo to identify the possibillities for improvement of their work on the field of school-based prevention.

abstract: School and educational psychologists have a shared imperative to understand the complex inter-play of a student’s home life and perceived self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the central facet of Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT, 1986, 1997). The current study improved upon the extant literature by exploring how home life in Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Oklahoma impacts the self-efficacy for self-regulated learning of mid-to-late adolescents. Although it is difficult to identify how specific aspects of life (including home life) matter for particular areas of functioning, the present study explored self-efficacy for self-regulated learning through the lens of three scales of the Late Adolescence version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory (LA-HOME) (Caldwell & Bradley, 2016). The LA-HOME documents actions, objects, events and conditions connected with the home environment of children ages 16 to 20, who are still residing at home with parents or guardians (Caldwell & Bradley, 2016). This paper addresses the following research question: How are various aspects of the home life of mid-to-late adolescents, namely (1) modeling and encouragement of maturity, (2) family companionship and investment in adolescent, and (3) warmth, acceptance, and responsiveness, associated with self-efficacy for self-regulated learning? The sample of 333 adolescents is quite diverse demographically; it includes variations in family composition, race/ethnicity, household SES, language spoken in the home, and geography (rural, urban, suburban). The study utilizes a sub-sample of adolescents from the larger study who were 15 to 19 years of age (N = 333). Descriptive statistics, means, and standard deviations are reported for continuous variables, frequencies are reported for categorical variables, and correlations are presented. A hierarchical regression model was estimated in two steps. The first step included the complete set of control variables (household income, ethnicity, gender, and adolescent general health and depressive symptoms), and the second step included the set of three home life indicators. The hierarchical regression model had good fit. Study assets and limitations, as well as alternate theories for consideration and directions for future research, are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Psychology 2018

Doctor of Education / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / Advocacy is an increasingly integral role for school counselors, and advocacy dispositions, knowledge, and skill competencies are critical for school counselors to function effectively in the contemporary school setting. This study assessed the perceptions of school counselor educators regarding the degree of importance of including advocacy dispositions, knowledge, and skill competencies (Trusty & Brown, 2005) in master’s degree school counseling programs; the extent to which the advocacy competencies are taught in the program; and the relative readiness of program graduates to apply the advocacy competencies. Additionally, this study also investigated whether there were significant differences between the responses of participants associated with CACREP-accredited and those with non-CACREP-accredited school counselor preparation programs. Stratified proportional sampling was used to identify study participants. A sample of 250 counselor educators teaching in master’s degree programs in school counseling was identified and a survey was sent to each participant. One-hundred thirty six surveys were returned (54.4%); this represented 69 CACREP-accredited programs and 67 non-CACREP-accredited programs involving respondents in each region of Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Mean ratings for respondents indicated that counselor educators perceived inclusion of the 15 advocacy competencies in master’s programs in school counseling as moderately to very important, moderately taught in their programs, and their graduates to be moderately ready to apply the advocacy competencies. Using independent samples t-tests to compare the mean ratings, the results showed no statistically significant differences between CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP-accredited respondents. It was concluded that the advocacy disposition, knowledge, and skill competencies delineated by Trusty and Brown (2005) are appropriate for inclusion in master’s degree programs in school counseling, and that additional focus on advocacy competencies might be needed within programs to ensure that all school counseling graduates learn and are able to apply the competencies. It was also concluded that the perceptions of counselor educators in CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP-accredited programs are more similar than different relative to the importance of including the competencies in graduate programs, the extent to which they are taught, and the readiness of graduates to apply the competencies.

No description available.

This diploma thesis concerns the topic of inclusive education in the Czech Republic with a focus on school counseling staff as the main representatives of street-level bureaucracy in the process of inclusive education. The general aim of this study is to examine the situation after the implementation of the Amendment No. 82/2015 Coll. of the Education Act from the point of view of school counseling staff. Moreover, the study also examines whether the current position of street-level bureaucracy in the inclusive education process is well-set and whether the current system settings meet the needs of the recipients of service. The objectives are fulfilled via qualitative research, particularly eight semi- structured interviews with school counseling staff and two semi-structured interviews with NGO representatives, and analysis of relevant public policy documents. Based on the qualitative research among these respondents, it concludes that the work concluded that there is scope for improvement in many ways in the current form of inclusive education in the Czech Republic, especially in staffing, financial support and mutual communication and cooperation among the actors involved.

This project involves the review of suicide postvention plans across school districts in California. The goal is to identify which elements are meet the recommendation, address the recommendations or do not include the recommendations for best practices in suicide postvention. This has been done by analyzing the plans across five components: preparation, identification and support for immediate needs, triage, identification and support for long term needs and a return to a new normal. Consideration was given to the format in which the plans were developed: websites, school safety plans, emergency operations plans, crisis response plans and suicide response plans. Through analyzing the plans, this research identifies the lack of preparation of schools to engage in postvention activities after a suicide.

This descriptive study examines whether high school counselors are equipped to advise potential recruits on new NCAA academic eligibility regulations. It highlights the NCAA’s new Division I academic eligibility regulations in effect for current seniors in high school (entering collegiate class of 2016) and gives an overview of academic rule changes within the national governing body. The enhanced academic eligibility rules increase minimum GPA and test score as well as mandates strict core course requirements, prioritizing the role of a high school counselor in the entire process. The study will seek to examine the knowledge of high school counselors on new NCAA academic eligibility rules, the resources available to them and those needed to better assist potential recruits from underserved backgrounds. This study will focus on high school counselors employed in California at underserved schools characterized by those receiving Title I wide funding from the federal government. The majority of students at Title I wide institutions are minorities and first generation students and these populations rely heavily on their high school counselors for college knowledge. In many cases, athletic scholarships are these student’s only means of obtaining a collegiate degree; highlighting the need to examine the knowledge and resources high school counselors have and need to properly advise potential NCAA student-athletes. High school counselors need information and resources specific to NCAA academic eligibility regulations to help student-athletes from underserved backgrounds keep their collegiate dreams alive.