Predictors of Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice in Pre-service Teachers

Teachers who show high teacher efficacy affect student achievement positively. Teaching is sometimes seen as an overwhelming profession because of classroom diversity and expectations placed on teachers. It is important to bring beginning teachers to the point at which they feel they are capable and will be more emotionally equipped to take on the stressors of the classroom. The current study focused on predicting pre-service teachers’ efficacy for inclusive practice from variables found to be important in the literature: gender, inclusion-related beliefs, and experiences with individuals with disabilities. Participants consisted of 1,026 students completing the in-faculty component of their pre-service program in 9 faculties of education across Canada. They completed the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice survey and the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching Questionnaire. All teacher candidates appeared to benefit from experience with people with disabilities. General findings indicated more positive inclusive beliefs for women than men and for pre-service teachers in elementary than in secondary programs. Important differences emerged, however, concerning which beliefs contributed to each area of teacher efficacy for secondary as compared to elementary programs. Results are discussed in terms of issues to consider in initial teacher education programs

Mentalizing techniques used by psychodynamic therapists working with children and early adolescents

The aim of this study was to identify, categorize, and develop a conceptual frame of mentalization-based interventions used by experienced child and adolescent psychodynamic therapists. Two experienced therapists selected 14 sessions that represented their work during the first year of treatment. Sessions were transcribed and segmented to identify interactional units for coding. QDA Miner software was used to facilitate data analysis. A systematic qualitative, inductive/deductive approach was followed starting from categories identified in the literature, but also including newly emerging categories and interventions. Seven sessions were double coded to stabilize the coding tree and a "member check" was completed where therapists rated their own transcripts. A total of 24 mentalization-based techniques were identified, including 17 additional techniques. A conceptual framework organizing all observed mentalization-based interventions is proposed. The findings of this study provide a framework for studying techniques that may enhance the capacity to mentalize, and that could be features of therapeutic practice across a range of modalities of psychotherapy

Benchmarking Treatment Response in Tourette’s Disorder: A Psychometric Evaluation and Signal Detection Analysis of the Parent Tic Questionnaire

This study assessed the psychometric properties of a parent-reported tic severity measure, the Parent Tic Questionnaire (PTQ), and used the scale to establish guidelines for delineating clinically significant tic treatment response. Participants were 126 children ages 9 to 17 who participated in a randomized controlled trial of Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT). Tic severity was assessed using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), Hopkins Motor/Vocal Tic Scale (HMVTS) and PTQ; positive treatment response was defined by a score of 1 (very much improved) or 2 (much improved) on the Clinical Global Impressions – Improvement (CGI-I) scale. Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlations (ICC) assessed internal consistency and test-retest reliability, with correlations evaluating validity. Receiver- and Quality-Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses assessed the efficiency of percent and raw-reduction cutoffs associated with positive treatment response. The PTQ demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.80 to 0.86), excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = .84 to .89), good convergent validity with the YGTSS and HM/VTS, and good discriminant validity from hyperactive, obsessive-compulsive, and externalizing (i.e., aggression and rule-breaking) symptoms. A 55% reduction and 10-point decrease in PTQ Total score were optimal for defining positive treatment response. Findings help standardize tic assessment and provide clinicians with greater clarity in determining clinically meaningful tic symptom change during treatment

Innate sensing of chitin and chitosan

Chitin is the second most common polysaccharide found in nature. It is present in crustacean shells, insect exoskeletons, parasitic nematode eggs and gut linings, and in the cell wall of fungi. The deacetylated derivative of chitin, chitosan, is less common but is particularly evident in certain species of fungi, such as Cryptococcus, and the cyst wall of Entamoeba. How mammals sense and respond to these polymers is not well understood, and conflicting reports on their immunological activity have led to some controversy. Despite this, promising translational applications that exploit the unique properties of chitin and chitosan are being developed

The Economy of Communion Model A Spirituality-Based View of Global Sustainability and its Application to Management Education

This paper describes recent concerns with management education and offers the Economy of Communion (EoC) Model as an example that maybe used in management education programs to illustrate a spirituality-based approach to sustainability. With its foundation in Catholic social teaching, the EoC model gives priority to the development of relationships among internal and external stakeholders, with profits regarded as an outcome of sustainable practices that respect both people and planet

Faculty Preparedness to Teach Students with Learning Disabilities: Developing an Instrument to Assess Faculty Perceptions

Despite increasing rates of entry, students with learning disabilities (LD) continue to face barriers to completing post-secondary education. Faculty attitudes and knowledge are important factors in supporting students with LD, yet little is known about faculty preparation. No valid, reliable, easy-to-administer inventory exists to assess the perceptions of faculty about their preparedness for the task of teaching students with LD. The Faculty Preparedness Questionnaire (FPQ) was developed to measure faculty perceptions of preparedness for teaching students with LD based on two factors: knowledge and attitude. For this study, 101 community college instructors completed the original questionnaire consisting of 22 items. After factor analysis, the 17-item FPQ was determined to be a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of instructor attitudes and knowledge as components of their perceptions of preparedness. This research contributes to the current dialogue regarding best practice for inclusive post-secondary education