Study Abroad for Preservice Teachers: A Critical Literature Review with Considerations for Research and Practice

This article applies a postcolonial analytical framework to critically review empirical literature on study abroad for preservice teachers (PSTs). Our systematic search of scholarly databases identified 47 empirical studies of study abroad programs for PSTs in the 2000-2019 time period. Our analysis of these 47 studies is driven by the objectives to (a) understand geographic patterns in study abroad of PSTs, (b) examine the topics, conceptual frames, and implementation of study abroad of PSTs, (c) explore how study abroad for PSTs is currently being conceptualized and studied, and (d) critically analyze how these geographic patterns and study abroad programmatic and research trends are situated within broader North-South relations (Major & Santoro, 2016). Using geovisualizations we illustrate patterns in the countries of origin of PSTs and the countries in which they study abroad. We find that the majority of PSTs are from the United States and are traveling to countries in the North. When examining the content and programming of study abroad, we find many programs focus on cultivating professional skills for PSTs such as language fluency for foreign language teachers and intercultural competence. After establishing these patterns, we pay particular attention to the 23 studies in our sample that examine PSTs traveling to regions in the Global South. We conclude by offering considerations for future research and highlighting practices for program design that encourage PSTs to reflect upon global power differentials and complexities

Characteristics related to family involvement in youth residential mental health treatment

This study examined family involvement among youth in residential mental health treatment facilities in Florida. Data were obtained from the provider reports from January 2005 through December 2007. Treatment episodes were divided into 30-day periods with family involvement measured by the number of contacts by all family members, the mother, and the father. In addition, the study examined contacts by all family members for in-person treatment, treatment-related phone contacts, treatment planning, campus visits, and therapeutic home passes. Families averaged 3.4 contacts per 30 days for the 1,333 treatment episodes. Sixty-seven percent of contacts included mothers, while 22% of contacts involved fathers. A majority of contacts were for family therapy, either by phone (29% of contacts) or in person (43%). Nearly twenty percent of residential stays had no family contact. After the first 30 days of treatment, contacts did not vary significantly over the course of the treatment episode, although there was some evidence that youth with longer treatment episodes had fewer contacts throughout the residential stay. Total contacts were lower for girls than boys, for blacks than whites, for older youth, and were higher when the youth lived in the same county as the residential treatment provider. Outreach programs could target specific demographic groups with low involvement, and alternative methods for involvement that use internet conferencing tools should be explored for parents that live far from the treatment provider

Family involvement and changes in child behavior during residential mental health treatment.

The goal of this study was to use administrative data to examine the association between family involvement and youth outcomes for a Medicaid-funded residential treatment program in Florida. Differences between in-person and telephone intervention contacts based on the proximity of the family residence to the program were also explored. Family involvement, including phone contacts, is associated with improved youth outcomes during the treatment episode