Group Counseling Preparation Amidst Crisis and Disaster: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

There is consensus that group counseling and the use of telehealth platforms (i.e., phone or video conferencing usage) are highly effective interventions during and in response to crises and disaster situations. Wishing our Counselor Education and Supervision (CES), program had access to this information prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; we use this study to reflect on what we learned from that time. Building from the experiences of eight masters-level students enrolled in a group counseling internship at the height of the pandemic, this manuscript connects our programmatic oversights to the sparsity of information related to group counseling and the use of telehealth for group counseling in crisis and disaster situations. While we hope to our study expands on this literature base, we simultaneously highlight Bemak and Chung’s (2011) Disaster Cross-Cultural Counseling Model and Adassary & Goodrich\u27s (2014) Care Model as ways to support group counseling and group counselor training during crises and disasters

The Perceived Impact of an Awareness Toolkit on Alzheimer Caregivers\u27 Preparedness, Burden, and Posttraumatic Growth

Over 7 million Americans age 65 and older live with Alzheimer’s in the United States, and more than 11 million caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias provided an estimated 18 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $340 billion (Alzheimer’s Association, 2023). This study implemented a new intervention called an Awareness Toolkit for Alzheimer\u27s caregivers comprised of Alzheimer’s disease-related education, community resources, and support tailored to the county where care was provided, including caregiver self-care and coping tips. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of an Awareness Toolkit intervention and examine its influence on Alzheimer caregivers’ preparedness, burden, and personal growth. Methods Randomly assigned caregivers in the intervention group were informed about the Awareness Toolkit intervention, supplemented with social work case management services. Conversely, randomly assigned caregivers in the control group received this intervention upon the study\u27s conclusion. A total of 51 completed surveys were returned, comprising 28 surveys from the intervention group and 23 surveys from the control group. Three measurements were used to measure levels of caregiver burden, preparedness, and growth: 1) Zarit Caregiver Burden Assessment (Zarit et al., 2001), 2) Preparedness for Caregiving Scale (Archbold et al., 1990), and 3) Posttraumatic Growth Inventory Short Form (Cann et al., 2010)

UTILIZATION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGENCIES IN PENNSYLVANIA

In this research, I examined the use of mental health services at domestic violence (DV) programs in rural and urban Pennsylvania and agency size. I examined the needs, characteristics, and availability of mental health services for DV survivors across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I looked at DV service use from a variety of sources to provide a well-rounded understanding of the factors that contributed to mental health service use. I used three secondary data sources: the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), Adequacies of Network of Services Provided to the Survivors of Domestic Violence in Pennsylvania–Phase II study, and data obtained from publicly available DV agency websites. Each resource helped me to create an in depth understanding of service utilization for DV survivors across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from a variety of a perspectives. In this study, I included data from 214 DV survivors at DV agencies, 49 DV agency websites, and 6,139 DV survivors in Pennsylvania communities. I examined factors that impacted mental health service use by reviewing descriptive statistics and analyzing website content. I found there was an overall lack of mental health service support across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at DV agencies, regardless of agency size and location. There were slightly more services at large agencies than small agencies; however, there was no difference based on agency locality. In this study, I used feminist and ecological theories, the healthcare beliefs model, and the Andersen and Newman model to inform the factors impacting mental health service use. I uncovered the following themes: agency use of nonmental health counseling services, overarching use of crisis services, and no psychiatry at DV agencies. The results have several policy implications regarding federal and state government programs, especially the Violence Against Women Act. Based on the findings of this study, I propose specific considerations should be made to fund training to for mental health providers in the treatment of DV survivors and funding should be increased for agencies where onsite and community mental health programs are not accessible

Postcolonial Analysis of Equity in the Ghanaian Education System

The paper contains information on the Ghana education system. As a product of the system, I will explain the Ghanaian education system\u27s structure in the first part of the paper. In this part of the paper, I explain the Ghanaian education system from early childhood to the tertiary level, the assessment practices used in Ghana, and diversity and inclusion in the education sector of Ghana. I will give a brief overview of all the educational levels in Ghana and the age brackets of all levels. Early childhood education in Ghana starts at birth to age 4, and kindergarten starts at age 4 or 5. The primary level, which is six years, starts at age 6, and the junior high level starts at age 12. Students write standardized tests at this level: the Basic Education Certificate Exams (BECE) and the SHS. Students are required to write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, which is the same in all West African countries. I will also explain how the Senior High School in Ghana is categorized based on performance, population, and resources. I will elaborate on the assessment strategies in the Ghanaian education system, as well as inclusive education. The new form of assessment by the Ministry of Education will also be explained in the first section

Gaining Insight into Lithic Technology in Eastern Pennsylvania through the Study of an Amateur Collection

The farm fields of east-central Pennsylvania contain an abundance of artifacts that span much of regional prehistory. Not surprisingly, many of these artifacts have been collected by local amateurs. Here, we analyze an assemblage of projectile points collected from the Kramer Farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. We explore how morphometric attributes (e.g., size, shape), indices of retouch, and raw material vary in relation to projectile point type. Our analysis provides insight into projectile point design, lithic resource preferences, technological organization, and land use. Despite the imperfections that often characterize amateur collections and the controversy that surrounds their study, our analysis demonstrates that collaboration between archaeologists and collectors can be beneficial, as archaeologists gain access to artifact assemblages that expand our understanding of the past

Preparing and Teaching Data Science Courses

Preparing and teaching realistic data science courses requires labor-intensive preparation and course delivery. It is not enough to download data and push buttons on machine learning tools. First, there must be a human expert available in the problem domain to supply data and evaluate work. Without a human expert to provide information that is missing or incorrect in archived data, the tendency is to take the output of machine learning algorithms using potentially faulty data on faith. Second, any real-world data requires custom scripts for correcting invalid values, creating derived attributes, and formatting data for analysis. Then comes the analysis, which is usually iterative because of incremental discoveries, often requiring additional data, expertise, data preparation, and analysis. This case study outlines four domains of data analysis that have been very useful in teaching and student- oriented research: 1) analyzing Java programming student performance as a function of work habits; 2) analyzing physical and chemical relationships in Pennsylvania stream flow data; 3) analyzing audio files for waveform type and noise levels; and 4) analyzing raptor migration counts in Pennsylvania as a function of climate change

Schedule & Program Booklet

The program for the 2024 Kutztown University Composition Conference

Searching for Equity Within Children\u27s Literature: A Professor and Students\u27 Journey of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Children\u27s literature, books written specifically for children ages birth through fourth grade, is a core resource in early childhood education and is heavily used as part of the instruction of pre-service students. Many professors of early childhood educators take great pride in their personal classroom libraries, often including favorite books from their schooling and pre-service days. A professor\u27s personal classroom library consists of children\u27s books used within the classroom, books used as examples, and books loaned to students for assignments. Pre-service students get excited to share their favorite books in class and in their field placements. After years of teaching the children\u27s literature course, I began to flesh out patterns of inequity and exclusion as I repeatedly saw the same white authors, illustrators, and white-dominated stories. Was my classroom collection of children\u27s literature diverse and inclusive of all cultures and races? Was it representative of the student population in both the classroom and placement settings? Was I doing a dis-service to the pre-service students by not looking at the classroom collection through a more critical, inclusive lens? Using the same popular stories, authors, and illustrators, was I establishing a pattern showcasing the overabundance of whiteness in children\u27s literature? In this action research study, I worked alongside pre-service students for two semesters, looking critically at the books associated with my children\u27s literature course through the lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The students and I completed an equity audit on my personal classroom library collection. Using an electronic equity audit called CAT, the tool looked at strengths, needs, and patterns found within a collection of literature, such as bi/multiracial/mixed characters represented in the collection. I used this tool to better understand if students self-actualized their positionality and identified the amount of mono-cultural literature used within children\u27s literature. The data gathered through field notes, a teacher journal, and class artifacts was used with the explicit plan to transform pre-service students to expand their framework of thinking to be more diverse, inclusive, and culturally responsive teachers. This research project highlights what changes, if any, occurred due to the equity audit and course assessments

Misappropriating Self-Care: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Burnout Experiences of Teachers who Identify as Women

“Self-care” is a very marketable term, especially in the COVID era. Coupled with a renewed focus on student achievement, the demands of the workplace on teachers are implicated in a troubling rate of teacher attrition and declining enrollment in preparatory programs. This research utilized a mixed-methods approach in gaining a deeper understanding of the predicament that teachers (who predominantly identify as women) are facing. The survey and focus group data obtained in this study support the framework that teachers are at risk of burnout and feel powerless to avoid it. The lack of power perceived by these individuals is a manifestation of the patriarchal structure of our society that is reproduced in our educational system. The “care vacuum” is explained in this research as a new paradigm in understanding what is happening in the minds of teachers as they seek to care for themselves, their students, and the communities that they serve

School Social Workers Conducting Home Visits: Practice and Perceptions

School districts are serving populations of students being faced with more multiplex sets of individual, school, family, and community level risk factors (Berzin & O’Connor, 2010; Boske & Benavente-McEnery, 2010; Frey et al., 2012; Kelly et al., 2010). Many children are unable to respond effectively to the school setting due to the stress in their family’s lives and the stressors in their home environment (Openshaw, 2008). There is knowledge that social and environmental constraints can negatively affect a child’s role in an educational setting and a student’s capability to learn tends to be challenged if their emotional and physical needs are not fulfilled at home (Forenza & Eckhardt, 2020; Ilhan et al., 2019). Even though there is research to suggest that socioeconomic factors are key influences in contributing to academic inequality (Dumont & Ready, 2020), the policy decisions made within school districts tend to be disconnected to the conditions outside of a student’s school day (Downey & Condron, 2016). The purpose of this research study is to investigate the practice of home visiting by school social workers conducting home visits for school districts. Gaining knowledge about home visits within school districts needs to come from comprehensive in-depth personal communication with school social workers to include their experiences and perceptions of the intervention of home visits. Three separate focus groups were conducted with a group of schoolocial workers from a school social work networking group. Grounded theory was used as the research method to uncover the meaning of social processes, research, and concepts that include social relationships and behaviors of school social workers which began with a set of observations and then drawing on conclusions from those observations. For this research study, the intersection of categories for construction of theory is as follows. School social workers consider home visiting to be a part of their practice within school districts, but school social workers are unaware of any policy and procedures to support their practice of conducting home visits for school districts. School social workers are not supervised by social workers at their school districts and do not receive formal supervision. This lack of guidance and support given to school social workers significantly impacts their practice within schools and the intervention of home visits. Based on the findings, recommendations for school social work education, practice, research, and leadership are provided