Introduction to the Special Issue on Teaching During The Coronavirus Pandemic

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Glocal Perspectives on Work-Based Learning: A Proposed Direction Forward

Work-based learning programs in the United States are designed to prepare adolescents for their first jobs and to develop the soft skills to be successful in in the classroom or the workplace. Historically these programs have neglected how work, education, and training in the local context are connected to issues on national and international stages. While research and theory has generally supported this structure for WBL, the nature of work has changed substantially in the 21st century. Contemporary models of WBL are informed by scholarly literature on globalization, but this is does not fully capture the realities young people face. Glocalization fits with existing WBL efforts and provides a conceptual framework to modernize how students are prepared to transition from high school into the workforce or post-secondary education. This manuscript will review the current state of WBL, discuss the benefits of a glocal perspective, and make program recommendations

Hope in the Lives of Low Income Students of Color: A Qualitative Study of Experiences in a Work-Based Learning Program

Thesis advisor: Maureen E. KennyHope theory (Snyder et al., 1991) is a cognitive framework for understanding how individuals plan and stay motivated to achieve their goals. Research suggests that high levels of hope among adolescents are associated with academic achievement and markers of career exploration (Day, Hanson, Maltby, Proctor, & Wood, 2010; Kenny, Walsh-Blair, Blustein, Bempechat, & Seltzer, 2010). However, some scholars have raised criticisms about the conceptual underpinnings of hope and its applicability to the lives of marginalized groups (Tong, Fredrickson, Weining, & Zi, 2010; Riele, 2010). Despite these criticisms, hope theory has been used to study academic achievement among students of color (Chang & Banks, 2007; Roesch, Duangado, Vaughn, Aldridge, and Vilodas, 2010). Existing studies have most often utilized quantitative frameworks that have provided limited insight into how hope is experienced in the daily lives of low income students of color and how it may embody their relational, social, and cultural contexts. A qualitative framework is well suited for addressing these shortcomings. The current study employed a phenomenological methodology to explore how low income students of color defined hope and experienced it in their daily lives. Twenty one students enrolled in a work-based learning program at an urban Catholic high school were interviewed individually and participated in a group written activity on hope in their communities. The results of the study showed that goal pursuit was embedded within a relational context where participants embodied the opportunities and barriers experienced in their families, schools, and communities. The participants defined hope in ways that surpassed existing theory and elucidated the dynamic and sometimes contradictory role of the social context. These findings provide avenues for intervention in the lives of marginalized youth that frame discussions of WBL programs within a larger social context where relational processes are vital for student success.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology

Prevention in Pursuit of Social Justice

Abstract Although prevention is in many ways aligned with social justice goals, it often falls short of accomplishing the level of social change critical for the advancement of social justice. Progress toward social justice requires a careful blend of person-focused ameliorative activity with transformative social change. Professionals must be equipped with multicultural competencies, insight into power dynamics, and skills in outreach, advocacy, collaboration, empowerment, social action, and political literacy, among other skills. Although most prevention activity is not fully transformative, numerous examples can be identified of activities that further social justice. Further strides in the promotion of social justice through prevention will require changes in the training, credentialing, and remuneration of psychologists

Promoting Mental Health in Asian Immigrants

Abstract This chapter focuses on promoting mental health among Asian immigrants. First, we provide background information about this growing and diverse community. Next, we discuss cultural adjustment, underuse of mental health services, and why it is important to develop services for Asian immigrants. We then describe the major factors that contribute to Asian immigrants’ mental health, including acculturation, social support, and spirituality, as well as Asian immigrants’ use of collectivistic coping strategies. Finally, implications for prevention programs, research, and education are discussed

Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects millions of people in the United States each year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010 ; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000 ) with devastating consequences. Prevention efforts aimed at IPV are urgently needed. This chapter will delineate critical definitions, theories of IPV etiology, and IPV prevalence. Examples of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention interventions aimed at IPV will be provided. Suggestions for future directions of IPV prevention efforts are provided

Best Practice Guidelines on Prevention Improving the Well-Being of Individuals, Families, and Communities

Abstract The health care system in the United States is shifting toward a focus on prevention. Several reasons account for this shift, including staggering health care costs and research indicating many illnesses are preventable through behavioral interventions. Hence, increasing evidence linking mental and physical health outcomes make the involvement of psychologists crucial in promoting a prevention orientation within the health care system. Counseling psychologists have been leaders in the development and ratification of a set of prevention practice guidelines for psychologists. These guidelines, entitled Prevention Science and Practice Guidelines for Psychologists, provide an aspirational model for best practice in the area of prevention. This chapter aims to further psychologists’ and other mental health care professionals’ understanding and application of the principles of the Prevention Guidelines (APA, Under Review) to their work. Specific examples of model programs in areas of psychological practice, research, training, and social advocacy illustrate each of the prevention guidelines

Promoting Well-Being and Mental Health in Refugees

Abstract The chapter primarily focuses on interventions that have the potential to promote well-being by facilitating and fostering successful acculturation through acquisition of new life skills in refugees and by increasing multicultural competencies of individuals and changing public policies in receiving cultures. Berry’s (1997 ) work on the acculturation process is utilized in considering possible interventions aimed not exclusively at refugee populations but also at increasing the readiness of receiving cultures to promote well-being of refugees. Prilleltensky and Nelson’s (2002) theory of well-being, particularly with regard to relational and collective well-being, also provides a theoretical framework for proposed interventions

Dropout Prevention A (Re)Conceptualization Through the Lens of Social Justice

Abstract Despite the intense focus on school dropout over the past 40 years, this pervasive social injustice continues to plague the United States. This chapter will provide a review of the extant literature on school dropout risk factors as well as the research on effective intervention and prevention programs. The chapter will begin with a rationale for focusing specifically on schools that serve students and families of color who reside in high poverty communities. The authors will critique the deficit-oriented framework that has been pervasive in school dropout literature. We hope to interrupt the dominant discourses that position poor students of color as inherently “at risk” for school dropout. The authors will present a case for counseling psychologists to develop social justice dropout prevention programs that focus primarily on institutional and structural changes. The chapter will also include a discussion of future directions for the field of counseling psychology