This research study investigated the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy with children experiencing adjustment difficulties. Specifically, this study determined the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy in: (a) improving self-concept, (b) reducing externalizing, internalizing, and overall behavior problems, (c) enhancing emotional and behavioral adjustment to the school environment, and (d) increasing self-control of kindergarten children experiencing adjustment difficulties. Also investigated were child-centered group play therapy effects on reducing parenting stress of the parents of kindergarten children experiencing adjustment difficulties. The experimental group consisted of 15 kindergarten children who received one 40-minute child-centered group play therapy session per week, for twelve weeks. Group facilitators were play therapists who were doctoral students at the University of North Texas. The control group consisted of the 14 kindergarten students that had been assigned to the control group in Baggerly's (1999) study. Before the group play therapy sessions began and after termination of the sessions: the researchers administered the Joseph Pre-School and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test; parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report, Self-Control Rating Scale, Filial Problem Checklist, and Parenting Stress Index; and teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report, Early Childhood Behavior Scale, and Self-Control Rating Scale. Although the general results of …

Mass media such as television, video players, video games, compact disks, and the computers are commonplace in current American culture. For English as a Second Language children, television may be the only source of English in the home serving as models of grammar, syntax, story structure. An investigation was made using English as a Second Language (ESL) kindergarteners, the classroom writing center, participant-observation, teacher as researcher, and case study methodology to investigate the following questions: Do ESL kindergarten children use media in their writing? If so, how do they use media in their writing? Upon examination of the data, it was found that all these ESL children did use media in the writing process. The function and form of the media references varied from child to child. Media was a cultural context for the childrenÕs social interactions. Oral language (with and without media references) not only informed the writing for some, but also served: to initiate, participate in, and sustain social relationships with peers. Findings indicated that two case study subjects used social dialogue as a separate operation from the production of a written story. Language informed the writing but it also had a socialization function in addition to what …

Learning communities have emerged as an efficient and effective paradigm for improving undergraduate education, especially for entering freshmen. The academy has become increasingly interested in learning outcomes and student retention, especially as they are related to the assessment of various approaches to educating the whole student. Learning community pedagogy has developed through rigorous research. However, little is known about the impact of this pedagogy upon college students' cognitive development and writing aptitude. Cognitive development theory has been most significantly influenced by the work of William G. Perry, Jr. Though no theory exists which would address the stages of writing development in university students, many composition theorists suggest a correlation between cognitive development and writing aptitude. This study measured cognitive development and writing aptitude in learning community students and non-learning community students, matching them for SAT scores, high school grade point averages, gender, and ethnicity. The research questions of interest were: 1) How does participation in a learning community affect students' cognitive development; and 2) How does participation in a learning community affect students' writing aptitude? The participants were pre- and post-assessed for cognitive development, using the Measure of Intellectual Development (MID). Additionally, participants were preand post-assessed for writing aptitude, using …

This study involved non-experimental research to identify alumni perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the Doctor of Ministry degree program at Dallas Theological Seminary. An international survey was conducted to collect data from 165 Doctor of Ministry degree holders from Dallas Theological Seminary; 131 usable questionnaires were returned. A response rate of 79.4 percent was achieved. The intent of the study was to ascertain (a) the extent to which D.Min. alumni perceive that the objectives and goals of Doctor of Ministry programs at Dallas Theological Seminary are being met, (b) alumni-perceived strengths of Doctor of Ministry programs at Dallas Theological Seminary, (c) alumni-perceived weaknesses of Doctor of Ministry programs at Dallas Theological Seminary, (d) compare the findings of this case study assessment with a 1987 national study of Doctor of Ministry programs, and (e) make recommendations for the improvement of D. Min programs at Dallas Theological Seminary. The pattern that emerged from the data indicates that the D.Min. alumni believe objectives and goals of the Doctor of Ministry program at Dallas Theological Seminary are being met. In the opinion of the alumni, Doctor of Ministry programs at Dallas Theological Seminary has its strengths. The overall opinion of the D.Min. …

The overall purpose of this study was to examine how Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) perceive the potential use of assurance services to assess quality in accounting education programs. Survey questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 250 CPAs in the north central Texas area. The questionnaire was designed to obtain demographic information and information relating to the respondents' perceptions of quality assessment of accounting education programs. An analysis of the results of this study suggest the following: CPAs consider (1) certain established criteria, such as SAT scores and faculty-to-student ratios, as effective measures for assessing quality attributes in accounting education programs and (2) traditional measures currently used for quality assessment in accounting education programs as only moderately effective by CPAs. CPAs are apparently seeking increased involvement with accounting education quality assessment and formulation of educational standards. They view the potential application of assurance services to accounting education quality as a way to offer a wider range of services to the public. CPAs perceive assurance services as a type of quality assessment that can be used to complement, but not replace, some of the more effective traditional methods, and as a way of enhancing the quality assessment process for accounting …

This study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of a filial therapy training model with high school students enrolled in a Peer Assistance Leadership (PAL) program. Specifically, this study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy in: (1) increasing observed empathic behavior with children, (2) increasing acceptance toward children, (3) increasing the ability to allow children self-direction, and (4) increasing the level of involvement with children. Additionally, this study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy in facilitating healthy parenting attitudes of nonparenting adolescents. A research question was presented to determine if a relationship exists between empathy, acceptance, involvement and allowing children self-direction and other factors considered to be healthy parenting attitudes. An Analysis of Covariance on post-test scores revealed significant findings in the high school students ability to demonstrate empathy towards children, allowing the child self direction, communication of acceptance, and involvement as measured by the Measurement of Empathy in Adult-Child Interactions (MEACI). An Analysis of Covariance on post-test scores revealed no significant changes in parenting attitudes as measured by Adult- Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI-2). A Bivariate Correlation revealed a statistically significant correlation between the Empathy, Acceptance, Allowing the Child Self-Direction and Involvement scales on …

Grandparent-Grandchild Attachment as a Predictor of Psychological Adjustment among Youth from Divorced Families

This study identified the practices and procedures of instruction that is being implemented by group counseling instructors at CACREP-accredited institutions. A survey questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to gather data from 160 CACREP-accredited counseling units across the United States. The survey was designed to collect input from group instructors on how the didactic, practicum, and experiential components of the master's level group course are being implemented. Three assumptions were made in conducting this study: 1.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use a didactic component in preparing students to become effective group leaders, 2.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use an experiential component in preparing students to become effective group leaders, and 3.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use a practicum component in preparing students to become effective group leaders. The survey questionnaire and, consequently, the results were divided into the respective sections of didactic, experiential, and practicum. The results indicated that each of these components were utilized in the instruction of master's level group courses.

This study investigated the conflict management styles of chief student affairs officers in 4-year public institutions of higher education in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The data for the study were collected using Hall's Conflict Management Survey. The sample for the study consisted of 25 chief student affairs officers. The purpose of the study was to identify the conflict management style preferences of chief student affairs officers. The other variables studied to ascertain if they had an impact on the style preferences were age, gender, number of years of experience as a chief student affairs officer, ethnicity, and the size (enrollment) of their employing institution. The study found statistically significant associations (p<.05) between ethnicity and conflict management style, specifically the synergistic and win-lose styles, and between the synergistic style and age. The association between ethnicity and conflict management style could be attributed to the fact that the Caucasian group of chief student affairs officers comprised 66.7 % of the synergistic styles and 100 % of the win-lose styles. The association between the synergistic style and age could be due to the fact that the majority of the chief student affairs officers had a synergistic style, and of that …

This study was designed to examine two questions. First, does increasing Myers-Briggs Type similarity correlate with improved performance by counselor supervisor/supervisee dyads? Second, is the Communication Style Adjustment Index superior to the cognitive style scale matching procedure as a method of quantifying MBTI similarity in dyads? Sixty-eight supervisor/supervisee dyads were recruited from University of North Texas Counselor Education Master's level practicum classes. Supervisee class rankings and supervisor performance ratings were correlated with the dyads' MBTI similarity as measured by the Communication Style Adjustment Index and the cognitive style matching procedure. While none of the hypotheses were supported it was noted that there was interaction approaching significance between dyadic similarity using the Communication Style Adjustment Index and supervisor performance ratings.

This study examines the ethical beliefs and behaviors of full-time community college faculty. Respondents report to what degree they practice sixty-two behaviors as teachers and whether they believe the behaviors to be ethical. Survey participants engaged in few of the behaviors, and only reported two actions as ethical: (1) accepting inexpensive gifts from students and (2) teaching values or ethics. The participants reported diverse responses to questions about behavior of a sexual nature, but most agreed that sexual relationships with students or colleagues at the same, higher or lower rank were unethical. Additional findings relate to the presence of diversity among the faculty, using school resources to publish textbooks and external publications, selling goods to students, and an expansive list of other behaviors. Findings of this study are compared to results from earlier studies that utilized the same or similar survey instrument with teaching faculty. The study has implications for organizational policy and procedure, for faculty training and development, the teaching of ethics or values in the classroom and for future research.

This study used case studies to examine the leadership frames of female presidents of four-year, public and private, coeducational research institutions both from the Intensive and Extensive Carnegie classifications within the United States. The population (N=30) surveyed was sent the Leadership Orientation Questionnaire (Self) developed from the previous research conducted by Lee Bolman and Terrance Deal. The Bolman and Deal leadership frame theory condensed existing organizational theories into a four-frame perspective consisting of a structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frame. Bolman and Deal theorized that the ability to use more than one frame is considered to be critical to the success of leaders and intensify that leader's capacity for making decisions and taking effective actions. The Leadership Orientation Questionnaire (Self) contains five sections that include rating scales for personal demographics, the four frames, eight leadership dimensions, and management and leadership effectiveness. The research questions sought to identify the demographic characteristics and academic histories of the survey participants and the associations between these variables, the leadership frames represented among the survey participants, and how many, and which, of the four frames the survey participants use collectively. This study allowed its participants to examine their perceptions of their own leadership frames …

The purpose of the project was to examine the relationship between the social development of preschool children and parenting styles. Preschool social development was accessed by the use of sociometry. Parenting styles of mothers and fathers were determined by a questionnaire. The parenting styles and the sociometric status of the children were analyzed to determine a relationship using the chi-square analysis. The analysis indicated that there was no significant relationship between parenting styles and the sociometric status of preschool children. It is recommended that more research be done in the fields of parenting styles and sociometry.

Alcohol and other drug use continue to be a major issue on college and university campuses. Few studies have examined alcohol and other drug related issues for a graduate or professional student population. This study examines attitudes, incidents, and consequences of alcohol and other drug use among students enrolled at an academic heath science center. This study incorporated a descriptive research design and utilized the CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey for the collection of data. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics and represented in tables as frequencies and percentages. The survey was mailed to all students enrolled in didactic course work at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) during the fall 2001 semester. This included master's students in physician assistant studies, master's and doctoral students in the biomedical sciences, master's and doctoral students in public health, as well as first and second year medical students. Of the 565 students enrolled in didactic course work, 321 responded to the survey for a return rate of 56.8 %. Statistically significant findings are reported for students at UNTHSC in relation to perceptions of use, actual use, reasons for use, and consequences for use. Similar findings are shown relative …

This research study was performed in an attempt to fill an apparent void regarding the relative utility and comprehensiveness of three published, theoretically-based, idiographic, initial assessment inventories: Integral Intake (II), Life-Style Introductory Interview (LI), and Multimodal Life History Inventory (MI). “Experts” -- defined as professors of counseling or psychology and licensed practitioners who have been practicing as counselors or psychologists for at least five years - read through the inventories and then evaluated them by responding to both (qualitative) open-ended questions as well (quantitative) rankings and ratings. The researcher posed three primary research questions: 1) how do participants' evaluations differ regarding the overall helpfulness of the three inventories; 2) how do participants' evaluations differ regarding the comprehensiveness -- both relative to each of the eight dimensions of the client (thoughts, emotions, behaviors, physical aspects of the client, physical aspects of the client's environment, culture, spirituality, and what is most meaningful to the client) and overall -- of the three inventories; and 3) how do participants' evaluations differ regarding the efficiency with which the three inventories assessed the eight dimensions. Results indicated that participants consistently evaluated the II and MI as more helpful, comprehensive, and efficient than the LI - both …

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy training in: (a) increasing immigrant Korean parents' empathic behavior with their children; (b) increasing immigrant Korean parents' acceptance level toward their children; and (c) reducing immigrant Korean parents' stress related to parenting.The experimental group, consisting of 17 immigrant Korean parents in the United States, received 10 weekly 2-hour filial therapy training sessions and participated in weekly 30-minute play sessions with one of their children. The control group, consisting of 15 immigrant Korean parents in the United States, received no treatment during the ten weeks. All the parents were videotaped playing with their child before and after the training as a means of measuring change in empathic behavior. The two written self-report instruments completed for pretesting and posttesting purposes were the Porter Parental Acceptance Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Analyses of covariance revealed that the immigrant Korean parents in the experimental group had significant changes in 10 of 12 hypotheses, including (a) a significant increase in their level of empathic interactions with their children; (b) a significant increase in their attitude of acceptance toward their children; and (c) a significant reduction in their level of stress related to parenting. …

This study compares American and Turkish male and female university students in terms of moral orientation (justice and care) and Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning to examine the influence of culture and gender on moral development. A total of 324 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 46 are administered the Defining Issues Test (DIT) and the Measure of Moral Orientation (MMO). Statistical analyses indicate Turkish participants reflect more postconventional reasoning, while American participants reflect more conventional reasoning, particularly Stage 4 reasoning. Analyses also reveal Turkish participants reflect significantly more care orientation and more justice orientation compared to American participants. These findings are discussed in terms of cultural and gender influences in moral decision-making.

This study was designed to determine the diverse practices of group counseling instructors in the delivery of the required experiential group. A small group experience (experiential group) is required of all counseling students in accredited institutions. The accreditation body for counseling programs is the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The experiential group has been considered to be a valuable and integral part of counselor training. However, the group has been controversial because of ethical issues involving dual relationships and the right to privacy. The purpose of this study was to determine how group counseling instructors deliver the experiential group, compare current practices to recommended practices in the literature, and recommend changes based on disparities that may exist. The difference between this study and previous surveys of group counseling instructors is that the sample in this study involves CACREP institutions exclusively and the focus is on CACREP standards rather than the standards of the Association for Specialists in Group Work. The results of the study showed that approximately one third of the instructors surveyed indicated that they also serve as leaders of the experiential group. Many of these instructors who serve as group leaders also …

Counselor self-awareness is considered an important aspect of counseling effectiveness according to the American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association and in numerous studies and articles within the counseling literature. With the effort to improve the effectiveness of counseling practicum students comes the need to understand the relationship between effectiveness ratings and the levels of counselor self-awareness. Gestalt Therapy literature, and the development of the Personal Orientation Inventory (Shostrom, 1963) provided the working definition of self-awareness in this study. Research and evaluation are means for improving the correlation between students' characteristics in counselor training programs and their effectiveness as perceived by faculty and doctoral supervisors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of practicum students' ages and their levels of self-awareness upon counseling effectiveness as measured by faculty and doctoral supervisors in a university clinic setting. Twenty-nine students who were enrolled in four practicum classes were administered the Personal Orientation Instrument. Four faculty supervisors and eight doctoral supervisors were administered the Counselor Effectiveness Rating Scale (Myrick & Kelley, 1971). The instruments were administered in the tenth week of the counseling practicum semester. Analyses of the data revealed a statistically significant interaction between the older practicum students' …

This study explored attitudes of occupational therapy faculty toward tenure and selected alternatives to tenure. A survey method was employed, and the Tenure Attitude Survey Instrument, (TASI), was created for use in the study. Additionally, a questionnaire sought information regarding respondents' rank, tenure and administrative status, institutional type, and years in academia. Participants were accredited occupational therapy professional program faculty who identified their primary work setting as "Academic" on the 2000-2001 American Occupational Therapy Association membership survey. Factor analysis of 577 surveys examined the structure of scores on the TASI, and the instrument consisted of 4 scales, and 18 items, as follows: Scale One: Attitude toward academic freedom and job security protection, 7 items; Scale Two: Attitude toward tenure in general, 6 items; Scale Three: Attitude toward stop-the-tenure clock provisions, 2 items; and Scale Four: Attitude toward post-tenure review, 3 items. Cronbach's alpha was conducted, as follows: TASI overall alpha = .7915; Scale 1 alpha = .7884; Scale 2 alpha = .8420; Scale 3 alpha = .7020; Scale 4 alpha = .4229. Proportional analysis showed that most respondents were full time faculty (88.1%); taught full time at public institutions (52.8%); were tenured or tenure-track (55.5%); had no administrative duties (70.5%); …

The principal investigator (PI) for this study surveyed 207 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) members on their attitudes toward utilizing trained counseling paraprofessionals in school counseling. The PI also examined the relationship between participants’ attitudes and their subjective reports of the counselor-student ratios in their schools, the amount of work time they spent providing direct counseling services to students, and the extent to which their districts experienced a school counselor shortage. The participants’ mean reported counselor-student ratio (1:464.63) significantly exceeded ASCA recommendations of 1:250. Elementary counselors reported the highest counselor-student ratios while high school counselors reported the lowest. Furthermore the PI found a significant linear trend for counselor-student ratios to decrease as school level increased. The participants’ reported mean percentage of time involved in direct counseling services (61.48%) fell significantly below the ASCA recommended 70%. Elementary counselors reported the highest amount of time involved in direct counseling services while high school counselors reported the lowest. The PI also found a significant linear trend for percentages of time involved in direct services to decrease as school level increased. Over one-fourth of the participants indicated school counselor shortages existed in their districts. A majority of participants supported utilizing counseling paraprofessionals in their …

This study examines the impact of issues of loss on adolescents. It was hypothesized that adolescents who experienced incidents of loss which were not adequately supported or processed to the point of resolution are much more likely to exhibit more angry and defiant behaviors than those who did not have such life experiences. Three instruments were used to identify loss and related impact. The first is the Interview Process, designed to identify issues of loss and screen for problematic behavior. This tool is used to qualify the participant for the study, and to designate which study group the participant will be assigned. The Family Constellation Exercise is an experiential assessment tool that exemplifies how emotionally close or distant the participant feels in relation to his or her nuclear family members. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Assessment - Adolescent version (MMPI-A) is used to identify behaviors and thought patterns associated with anger and defiance.The study was able to conclude that there is a strong potential for unresolved loss to negatively impact an adolescent. The study also discovered that many teenagers who do not exhibit angry or defiant behaviors have also experienced loss, yet do not act out anger. Suggestions are made as …

This study was design to determine the efficacy of intensive individual play therapy as a method of intervention for children diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was designed to study the effectiveness of an intensive play therapy intervention in: a) reducing symptoms of childhood depression in children with IDDM; b) reducing symptoms of anxiety in children with IDDM; c) reducing the overall behavior difficulties in children with IDDM; d) increasing healthy adjustment in children with IDDM; e) increasing diabetic's children's adherence to their diabetic regime; and f) impacting these emotional and behavioral symptoms over time. The 15 children in the experimental group received 12, daily play therapy sessions while attending a summer camp for children with diabetes. The control group, consisting of 15 children who attended the diabetic summer camp, received no play therapy. Children and parents in both groups completed pretest, post-test and three-month follow-up data, consisting of: the Children's Depression Inventory, the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, the Filial Problems Checklist and the Diabetes Adaptation Scale. Analysis of covariance revealed that the children in the experimental group significantly improved their adaptation to their diabetes following intensive play therapy as reflected by the Diabetes Adaptation …

This study investigated enrollment management practices found in higher education. The research identified enrollment management and retention practices described in the higher education literature. These suggested practices were incorporated into a sixty-six question survey that was distributed to a random sample of colleges and universities taken from the 1999 US News and World Report of college rankings. The survey data were used to identify which of the suggested enrollment management practices were of greatest utility. First, the sixty-six items were grouped into 14 categories of enrollment management strategies. Second, the institutional responses for each category were averaged and then correlated with each institution's graduation rate. Finally, each institution's "yes" responses for the entire survey were totaled and correlated with each institution's graduation rate. This study developed a list of the 26 most frequently used enrollment management practices in higher education, and as well, identified the 10 least used enrollment management practices. Given the results of this study graduation rate is not a sufficient criterion to assess enrollment management practices at a college or university. Enrollment management strategies contribute to many institutional and student outcomes; thus, multiple indicators are required to accurately evaluate enrollment management practices.