The Contributions Of Professional School Counselors\u27 Values And Leadership Practices To Their Programmatic Service Delivery

Professional School Counselors (PSCs) have been called to be leaders for educational reform to support the academic, career, and personal/social development of all students through the coordination and facilitation of their comprehensive, developmental school counseling program (American School Counselor Association , 2005; National Model). The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of PSCs\u27 values and leadership practices to their programmatic service delivery (counseling, coordinating, consulting, and curriculum). The three constructs and instruments investigated in this study were: (a) Schwartz Value Theory (the Schwartz Value Survey ; Schwartz, 1992), (b) the Leadership Challenge Theory (the Leadership Practices Inventory ; Posner & Kouzes, 1988), and (c) school counselors\u27 programmatic service delivery (the School Counselors Activity Rating Scale ; Scarborough, 2005). The findings of this study contribute to the school counseling, counselor education, and leadership literature. The sample size for this study was 249 certified, practicing school counselors (elementary school, n = 83; middle school, n = 76; high school, n = 74; multi-level, n = 8) in the state of Florida (35% response rate). The participants completed an on-line surveys including a general demographic questionnaire, the SVS (Schwartz, 1992), the LPI (Posner & Kouzes, 1988), and the SCARS (Scarborough, 2005). The statistical procedures used to analyze the data included (a) structural equation modeling (path Analysis), (b) confirmatory factor analysis, (c) simultaneous multiple regression, (d) Pearson product-moment (2-tailed), and (e) Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The primary research hypothesis for the study was that practicing school counselors\u27 values and leadership practice scores would contribute to their levels of programmatic service delivery. The statistical analyses of these data identified several significant findings. The path analysis models testing the contribution of school counselors\u27 values and leadership practices on their service delivery did fit for these data. Specifically, the results indicated that values contributed minimally to the model fit (less than 1%); however, leadership practices made a significant contribution (39%) to the school counselors\u27 service delivery. Additionally, 31% of the participants reported that their current school counseling program was consistent with how they perceive a successful school counseling program should be implemented, yet only 29% of the school counselors reported feeling comfortable in challenging their involvement in non-counseling related duties. Further, although these data indicated that the majority of the school counselors valued self-transcendence (accepting of rules and appreciating others); structural equation modification re-specification procedures revealed that the model fit supported the value type, self-enhancement (self-direction and personal success) as a more significant contributor in promoting leadership practices and effective service delivery. Implications for professional school counseling and counselor education are presented, along with areas for future investigation

Preservice teachers\u27 self efficacy and knowledge of emotional and behavioral disorders

The extent of preservice teachers\u27 knowledge of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and their self efficacy were examined in this research. The participants included a convenience sample of 230 (184 females, 46 males) undergraduate general education and special education preservice teachers enrolled in Fall 2011 teacher education classes in a mid-sized Midwestern university, located in a mid-sized city. The age of the participants ranged from 19 to 51 with a mean age of 23.37 years (SD= 6.8 years). The Teacher Self Efficacy Scale (TSES) (long form) and Knowledge of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders questionnaire were administered to the sample. The participants had an overall high sense of efficacy but had higher efficacy in instructional strategies than in classroom management, student engagement, and instructional abilities. Participants demonstrated some knowledge of EBD. There was no significant association between field experience, additional coursework, and familiarity with a child with EBD and the preservice teachers\u27 knowledge of EBD or self efficacy. It is recommended that teacher education program coordinators place more emphasis on providing teacher candidates with information regarding successfully identifying, engaging, and motivating students with EBD. Additionally, preservice teachers\u27 field experiences should include more authentic experiences with students with EBD to enhance preservice teachers\u27 self efficacy for successfully working with students with EBD in their diverse classroom

The Not So Incredibles: Marginalization of Black Families

The Incredibles, superhero film, depicts a family forced to hide their super powers due to fear from the public. The family maintains their secret identities while living everyday lives. Black families and individuals are no strangers to “masking” their true identities. This presentation focuses on the parallel existence of those who are marginalized and the harsh realities of societies cultural insensitivities

Athletic Identity and Identity Foreclosure Among Division III National Junior College Athletic Association Student-Athletes

t The purpose of this survey study was to replicate Deborah L. Borak’s doctoral dissertation, Measuring the Levels of Athletic Identity and Identity Foreclosure Among Student Athletes at a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) College. Using a diverse sample of student-athletes across six Division III (DIII) NJCAA colleges within the State University of New York (SUNY) system, 113 DIII student-athletes completed online surveys to measure their demographics (sports played, gender, ethnicity, years played), athletic identity, and identity foreclosure. Consistent with previous studies, the DIII junior college athletes in this study also reported high levels of athletic identity and identity foreclosure, and athletic identity was a significant positive predictor of identity foreclosure. Demographic differences in athletic identity and identity foreclosure were also found based on ethnicity and the sport played

Insights into the Allosteric Regulation and Exploitation of the MAPK Phosphatases as Therapeutic Targets

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), while important regulatory enzymes, have proven a challenge to elucidate their mechanisms of actions, distinct functions, as well as their potential inhibition. These enzymes, responsible for the removal of phosphate groups from tyrosine residues, share high domain and sequence homology and a charged active site. Two factors that increase the difficulty in using small molecules, either as activators or inhibitors, to investigate their functions in cells. A subclass of the PTPs is the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) phosphatases (MKPs), responsible for the dephosphorylation and inactivation of the three groups of MAPKs: ERK, p38 MAPK, and JNK. These kinases trigger major cell functions including apoptosis, migration, and differentiation as a response to external stimuli such as cellular stress and growth factors. Thus, aberrant signaling of proteins in the MAPK pathway, such as the MKPs, have been implicated in a host of diseases including cancer, diabetes, fibrosis, and autoimmune diseases. Several MAPK inhibitors have been successfully established while MKP inhibition has remained a challenge. The MKPs share high sequence and domain homology, a charged active site, and target the same three groups of MAPKs. All factors that often contribute to small molecules that have weak potency, poor cell permeability, and non-specificity for one MKP over the other. As such, small molecule regulation of the MKPs requires a combination of techniques and creativity in approach. One way to circumvent poor small molecule hits is to develop small molecule targets that attack/bind to the MKPs outside of their active site, i.e., allosteric inhibitors. My thesis focuses on current progress in the field of MKP small molecule inhibition, including a highly-selective small molecule inhibitor of one of the MKPs known as MKP5. Additionally, a co-crystal structure of MKP5 with this small molecule, revealed that the molecule bound to a site on MKP5 8 Å away from the active site, revealing a novel binding site. Interestingly, sequence alignment of the MKPs demonstrate that this binding site is somewhat conserved amongst the MKPs. Here, I delve into the importance of this novel region, particularly a key tyrosine residue within this site that is required for compound binding, and MKP5 functionality. Additionally, I explore this site in one of the closest family members to MKP5, MKP7, and compare the ways in which this pocket mediates both MKPs’ activity. The data presented here suggests that this tyrosine residue is critical for substrate recognition and inactivation in both MKP5 and MKP7. This new information on the tyrosine residue within the allosteric site, paired with the knowledge from our previously published work, that there are other residues within this pocket that can confer MKP inhibitor specificity, opens the door for development of selective inhibitors of the MKPs. Thus, this thesis provides a small piece to the puzzle of therapeutic targeting of the MKPs in many diseases

Emerging targeted strategies for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a widespread genetic disease that leads to renal failure in the majority of patients. The very first pharmacological treatment, tolvaptan, received Food and Drug Administration approval in 2018 after previous approval in Europe and other countries. However, tolvaptan is moderately effective and may negatively impact a patient's quality of life due to potentially significant side effects. Additional and improved therapies are still urgently needed, and several clinical trials are underway, which are discussed in the companion paper Müller and Benzing (Management of autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease-state-of-the-art) Clin Kidney J 2018; 11: i2-i13. Here, we discuss new therapeutic avenues that are currently being investigated at the preclinical stage. We focus on mammalian target of rapamycin and dual kinase inhibitors, compounds that target inflammation and histone deacetylases, RNA-targeted therapeutic strategies, glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors, compounds that affect the metabolism of renal cysts and dietary restriction. We discuss tissue targeting to renal cysts of small molecules via the folate receptor, and of monoclonal antibodies via the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor. A general problem with potential pharmacological approaches is that the many molecular targets that have been implicated in ADPKD are all widely expressed and carry out important functions in many organs and tissues. Because ADPKD is a slowly progressing, chronic disease, it is likely that any therapy will have to continue over years and decades. Therefore, systemically distributed drugs are likely to lead to potentially prohibitive extra-renal side effects during extended treatment. Tissue targeting to renal cysts of such drugs is one potential way around this problem. The use of dietary, instead of pharmacological, interventions is another

Courageous Conversations in Counseling about Race

The United States (U.S.) is known as the “melting pot” and is characterized by diversity (Matthews, Barden, & Sherrell, 2018). While the U.S. is culturally diverse, it is not culturally equal. Racial tensions have escalated recently, and psychologically harmful microaggressions are experienced by minorities across a multitude of settings, daily (Davis, DeBlaere, Brubaker, Owen, Jordan, Hook & Van Tongeren, 2015). Counselors must demonstrate cultural humility to be effective counselors in relationships where worldviews and values will inevitably clash (Davis et al., 2015, Hook, Watkins, Davis, Own, Van Tongren, & Ramos, 2016). Being culturally humble is a “lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique, to redressing the power imbalances… and to developing mutually beneficial and nonpaternalistic clinical and advocacy partnerships with communities” (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998, p. 117). Counselors should promote diversity and celebrate differences, but more importantly, counselors should be advocates and a force for social justice. How to best prepare counselors to be culturally aware, competent, and humble is a matter of great concern (Prosek& Michel, 2016; Celinska, & Swazo, 2015; Malott, Paone, Maddux, Rothman, 2010). The courageous conversations movement suggests an open dialogue is a great first step to addressing difficult topics (Mallot et al., 2010; Singleton & Hays, 2008)