Reviews of current books

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45463/1/11089_2005_Article_BF01760094.pd

Absent fathers’, and children’s social and emotional learning: an exploration of the perceptions of ‘positive male role models’ in the primary school sector

This paper focuses on the testimonies of three male primary school staff members who utilised social and emotional learning (SEL) in their everyday practice within their respective schools. The data, collected through individual interviews, illustrate how these three men interpreted SEL, and their role in the development of children’s social, emotional and behavioural (SEB) skills, in response to their perceptions of pupils’ home-life. In particular, the sample identified the children’s fathers’ perceived ability/inability as a main cause of pupils’ SEB deficiencies. Consequently, the three male staff members maintained that in order to advocate and encourage alternative, appropriate behaviours, they should act as ‘replacement fathers’ and become ‘role models’. The findings contribute to existing debates relating to the notion of ‘positive male role models’ in primary schools and the propensity for staff to engage in parental blame. The implications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions that call for a more democratic and cooperative exchange of knowledge between parents and teachers are made

The Relationship Between Parenting and Delinquency: A Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 161 published and unpublished manuscripts was conducted to determine whether the association between parenting and delinquency exists and what the magnitude of this linkage is. The strongest links were found for parental monitoring, psychological control, and negative aspects of support such as rejection and hostility, accounting for up to 11% of the variance in delinquency. Several effect sizes were moderated by parent and child gender, child age, informant on parenting, and delinquency type, indicating that some parenting behaviors are more important for particular contexts or subsamples. Although both dimensions of warmth and support seem to be important, surprisingly very few studies focused on parenting styles. Furthermore, fewer than 20% of the studies focused on parenting behavior of fathers, despite the fact that the effect of poor support by fathers was larger than poor maternal support, particularly for sons. Implications for theory and parenting are discussed

A Chrisitan view of homosexuality

s.l.140 p.; 19 c

Making sense of psychoanalysis in criminological theory and probation practice.

Recent developments in criminology have included a revival of interest in offenders' biographies and inner emotional experiences, and a stress on the importance of self-understanding for an understanding of crime. These approaches recall discussions of probation practice from the 1950s to the early 1970s, in which writers sought to make sense of the psychoanalytic emphasis of social work training. The article discusses the most striking of these efforts, by Clare Winnicott and William Jordan, and explores their relevance to current thinking and research on probation, in which the importance of the relationship between offender and supervising officer is once again receiving close attention