This study investigates the "the cost of caring" (Figley, 1995) for educators who teach and work with traumatized children; that is children who live in challenging social environments with ongoing stressors, such as family physical abuse, sexual assault, neglect, community violence, bereavement and loss issues, parental mental health and substance abuse, and homelessness. This study examines the theoretical framework of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). The phenomenon of STS has been investigated in depth for professionals, such as social workers, counselors/therapists, hotline/crisis workers, law enforcement officers, nurses, emergency medical technicians/paramedics, firefighters, and disaster relief workers (Bride et al, 2007). This study explores how teachers address the emotional stressors of teaching traumatized children, the impact of their work on them both personally and professionally, if teachers are able to incorporate self-care strategies, and explores the applicability of STS to elementary educators.

The purpose of this study was to investigate comparatively the discourse patterns in written English between native English and Chinese-English speakers. Two main perspectives related to the roots of different discourse patterns were examined. One perspective, proposed by Young and others, suggests that the native Chinese speakers may transfer their culturally valued discourse patterns from Chinese into English. The other perspective, proposed by Tyler and others, suggests that the ‘unexpected’ Chinese-English discourse patterns may be due to accumulated linguistic miscues, such as grammar, syntax and lexicon errors. In this study, it is proposed that a discourse pattern may be guided by the cognitive strategies that developed from early socialization and such cognitive strategies may be independent of one's language proficiency. To test this proposal, a Native Chinese sample with advanced English proficiency was compared with a comparable highly educated Native English sample, to see if discourse pattern differences emerged despite advanced linguistic proficiency. Nine subjects, in each group, were selected from native English and Chinese-English speaking, advanced graduated students, all of whom displayed advanced English proficiency. Subjects responded in written English paragraphs to a common projective set of six ordered pictures. The written samples were analyzed in three ways: grammar and spelling check, comparison on four formal linguistic aspects, and the examination and comparison of six discourse features within and between the two groups. The results indicate no significant differences on grammar and spelling and similar linguistic competence between the two groups. All six discourse features showed a significantly consistent pattern within the Chinese-English group, while four of the six were significant within the Native-English group. The pattern of the six features, as a whole, showed a significantly consistent pattern within each group and a significant difference between the two groups. It was concluded that discourse patterns emerge independent of one's language proficiency. These contrasting discourse patterns were discussed with respect to the influence of divergent cultural values and early socialization. Further studies are needed to further identify the roots and stability of these cross cultural discourse patterns.

From 2001–2007, students from India have consistently comprised the largest ethnic group of international students on college campuses across the United States (Open Doors: Report on International Educational Exchange, 2007). Despite a number of studies that have researched the mental health of international students in the U.S., none have done so primarily with Indian graduate students. Theoretical and empirical literature regarding the psychological changes and acculturation patterns that international students undergo after their transition do not explore the possibility of multiple pathways of change. The current study identified four separate mental health trajectories for Indian international graduate students during their first year in the U.S. It also found three distinct patterns of acculturation for the Indian culture and four acculturation trajectories for the European American culture. The size of one’s adjustment, feelings about transition, gender role attitudes, and availability of out-group support were all significant contributors to the variability among empirically derived mental health trajectories.

This study explored Anglo-American and Puerto Rican teacher's perception of independence, attention and potential for achievement based on two sets of an Anglo-American and a Puerto Rican parent-child interaction. It was hypothesized that teachers would perceive this interaction in a manner that is consistent with their own cultural script and their expectations about a child's behavior. The study examined whether two samples of teachers perceive (a) the child to be independent or dependent, and (b) how they perceived the pattern of attention displayed by an Anglo-American and a Puerto Rican child. A sample of sixty teachers, thirty Puerto Rican and thirty Anglo-American teachers participated in this study. They were shown two 8 minute segments; one an Anglo-American and another of a Puerto Rican parent child interaction. Both set of teachers completed three questionnaires designed to capture their perceptions of independence, attention and potential for academic achievement. The first video portrayed the Anglo-American dyad and the second video with English subtitles the Puerto Rican dyad. Raters were asked to rate a set of 22 items for both questionnaires. The third questionnaire contained 25 questions; the last three were open questions designed in order to capture meaningful themes that reflected the behaviors observed. The results suggest that both sample of raters perceive certain behaviors in a different manner in both parent-child interactions when they are compared. Both samples perceived the Anglo-American mother's parenting style as allowing more independence, less controlling in the interaction and using less verbal directions and guidance or structure to the child. They differed in their interpretation and perception of the child's level of independence as workers and also in terms of the child's contribution in the decision making process. These findings seem to indicate that as the mother is more verbal or directive or in control of the interaction, the child would depend more on the mother's direction and guidance to be involve on the task. The raters also perceived a different pattern of attention management in both children. The Anglo-American teachers perceived the Anglo-American child as more focused than the Puerto Rican child while the Puerto Rican teachers perceived the Anglo-American child as more easily distracted. There seemed to be different perceptions about which parenting style encourages to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. Anglo-American teachers perceived the Anglo-American mother as the one encouraging this skill, while Puerto Rican teachers thought that both parenting style encourage this skill. Anglo-American teachers were more likely to indicate that the Anglo-American mother would influence achievement more positively than the Puerto Rican mother. Many of the responses suggest that the Anglo-American mother allowed more independence and gave less guidance or structure to her child. Puerto Rican teachers were more inclined to predict both children as achieving equally in the classroom. The findings of this study provide insight into teacher's perceptions and cultural variations in parenting style and how children's behavior mirrors their cultural scripts.

This study was designed to analyze the text of autobiographical writing using three stage theories of constructive developmental psychology. The writing samples examined in this study were twenty (20) "prior learning portfolios", work-related autobiographies of adult students seeking credit for life experience. The students were undergraduates enrolled in the University Without Walls program of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The developmental variables employed in the study were social perspective-taking as defined by Basseches (1984), subject/object balance from the self psychology of Kegan (1982), and self-knowledge development as discussed by Weinstein and Alschuler (1985). The writing analysis was patterned after the oral interview scoring processes commonly used in determining cognitive developmental stage levels: codable items in the text were reviewed to obtain an overall stage score for each of the three developmental models. The developmental scores were then compared with academic credit awards assigned to the portfolios. Significant results were found in statistical analyses correlating increases in credit award with increases in stage scores for social perspective taking and subject-object balance. Other significant findings included a positive correlation between social perspective-taking and subject-object balance. Moreover, increases in the external knowledge of another's internal processes were matched by increases in one's own self-knowledge. The study's success in conducting constructive developmental analyses of narrative writing has potentially positive implications for lifespan developmental psychologists, educators, and writers.

This study examines the philosophies and practices of moral education of three groups of thinkers, two classical and one modern. To attain this goal, it first compares the philosophy and practice of moral education of Confucius and Mencius of Chou China with those of Socrates and Plato of Athens based on the Confucian Four Books and the Platonic Dialogues. Then, it examines the theory and practice of moral education of Lawrence Kohlberg of the United States in light of the classical wisdom of the Chinese and the Athenian thinkers. The ultimate purpose of this study is, first, to see the similarities and differences in their approaches to moral education and secondly, to gain some fresh ideas to suggest for the improvement of our own approaches. The first five chapters are devoted to the study of the two classical groups. Chapter 1 surveys the histories of Chou China and the City-State of Athens to see what existing human conditions prompted our thinkers of two separate worlds to found moral education, and explores their reasons for thinking that moral education was the only way to improve their worlds. Chapter II studies the Confucian and the Socratic/Platonic conceptions and analyses of human nature and their theories on man's educability in moral excellence. Chapter III examines the aims of moral education given by both groups and their justification for designating moral education a special education in moral excellence. Chapter IV studies certain qualities and qualifications identified by both groups as essential in their teachers and students for moral education. Then, it compares the methods they used and their reasons. Chapter V examines the curriculum selected by each group and the reasons for including only certain courses in it. The chapter also examines many virtues defined and discussed by both groups. Chapter VI explores the theory and practice of moral education of Lawrence Kohlberg against those of the classical thinkers. It also assesses Kohlberg's contributions to modern day moral education. Chapter VII summarizes the study and offers my own conclusion.

No description available.

This qualitative study followed thirteen students from various American colleges and universities who participated in a College Semester Abroad Program focusing on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Studies in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The purpose of the study was to see whether students' experiences of their own sexual identity shifted over the course of their four-month, cross-cultural experience and if so, to identify facilitating conditions and obstacles to identity changes. By using interviews, observations and students' written work, eleven shifts in sexual identity were noted, including shifts in feelings, cognition and practice. By reviewing pre-program and beginning-of-prograrn interviews and application material, students' identity profiles also showed a variety of sexual identity functions, some of which were congruent with Dutch culture and others which were dissonant. A direct relationship was found between the number of sexual identity shifts a student experienced during their stay in the Netherlands and the number of Dutch-dissonant identity functions which they brought with them from the United States. This study proposes that future research combine social constructionist theories of sexual identity with Piagetian theories of cognitive development in a new process model of sexual identity development.

The problem that was addressed in this study were differences in job expectations, rewards, perceived criteria for promotion, and relations with supervisors and staff among black and white middle-level managers in health care. Assessments on the influences of perceived expectations on job satisfaction, satisfaction with rewards, and self-perceived job performance were conducted. The sample included 153 middle-level managers from hospitals and health agencies in the United States. The sample consisted of 104 (68.0%) females and 49 (32.0%) males. Ninety-one (59.5%) respondents were white, 51 (33.3%) were African-American, and 11 (7.2%) were of other racial or ethnic origins. The hypotheses of the study were: (1) The variables of expectation of rewards, perceived criteria for promotion, and relations with supervisors and staff, will differentiate between black and white middle managers. (2) The greater perceived expectations the greater the job satisfaction. (3) The greater the perceived expectations the greater the satisfaction with rewards. (4) The greater the perceived expectations the greater the self-perceived job performance. The four hypotheses were confirmed by the data. Black managers tended to view management's behavior relative to perceived expectations as less inclusive of staff, less fair, less concerned, and less competent than did white managers. Job satisfaction, extrinsic, intrinsic, social, and influence reward satisfactions were all related to perceived job-related expectations, with the sole variable of reward expectations being constant in each instance. The similarities among extrinsic, intrinsic, and influence reward satisfactions were their relationship to management allowance of staff involvement. Extrinsic and social rewards were related to management fairness; intrinsic and influence rewards were related to the perception that promotion was based on performance, and social and influence rewards were related to staff productivity. Social reward satisfactions were related to staff problem solving and staff concern. Job satisfaction was related to staff competence and staff problem solving behavior. Intrinsic reward satisfactions were related to staff participation, staff competence, management competence, management control and management orientation. Quality of work as perceived by the respondent was not strongly related to the perceived job-related expectation variables. However, it was related to the perception that promotion was based on performance.

During the 1960's and 1970's, because of wide-spread dissatisfaction with traditional public schooling, there was a dramatic increase in the number of alternative schools in the United States. One such school, the Cluster School (1974-1980), a democratically-run, high school program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the site for the first systematic application of Lawrence Kohlberg's theories of "just community" and "moral reasoning development." This thesis is a case study of ten teachers (including the author) who worked in the Cluster School. Using information collected through in-depth interviews with the teachers, it examines such matters as the formative moral influences in their lives, and the reasons why they joined the School. It then explores the ways in which being members of Cluster's "adult community," which included Kohlberg, influenced their own development. The thesis contends that, among other reasons, the teachers were attracted to the School because they had come from backgrounds where moral questions were accorded importance, and that once there, they created a supportive environment which promoted adult growth. The Introduction defines the thesis and its methodology, and includes a discussion of the author's role as a participant observer in the study. Chapter 2 discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the School, defines the School's governance structure and gives an overview of the School's history. Chapter 3 presents the biographies of the teachers, each of which is followed by a summary of the salient points found in the biography. Chapter 4 addresses six recurring themes which emerge from the teacher interviews and suggests their interrelatedness to one another. Chapter 5 compares the moral atmosphere of Cluster's host school with that of Cluster, and concludes that the teachers, although somewhat inadvertently, created for themselves a supportive community which encouraged their own growth and development. The chapter closes with recommendations for staff development.