School Psychology Forum
Cross-Cultural Action Research in School Psychology
Volume 11, Issue 2 (Summer 2017)
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Structural Analysis of Character Education: A Cross- Cultural Investigation
pp. 34-44
ABSTRACT: The primary objective of this cross-cultural investigation is to compare patterns in student responses to an empirically scrutinized character education measure administered to students in four school districts in Florida with students in a school in Kenya. In this way, the generalizability of findings for scale scores could be compared across cultures. To this end, we conduct a mean structure analysis using structural equation modeling to observe whether multivariate mean differences exist among the factor structures underlying student responses. The results suggest that while students at a school in Kenya rated their school higher on the four scales, overall the latent scores for students within school districts in the United States appear higher. Thus, with respect to the underlying construct of character, this character education measure evidences some multicultural bias at the level of the latent scores. Based on these results, it is concluded that the character education measure does not completely yield generalizable results across cultures.
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Group Differences Between English and Spanish Speakers’ Reading Fluency Growth in Bilingual Immersion Education
pp. 45–51
ABSTRACT: This study investigates second language acquisition of learners enrolled in a dual language/two-way bilingual immersion program. Two groups of third-grade students participated in this study. The first group was composed of Spanish-dominant participants learning English, and the second group was composed of English-dominant students learning Spanish. The results indicate statistically significant between-group differences on the posttest reading fluency raw score dependent variable but not on posttest standard scores. Implications of the results related to instructional programming as well as the use of raw and standard scores for progress monitoring are discussed.
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Effectiveness of Incremental Rehearsal When Implemented by a Paraprofessional
pp. 52-62
ABSTRACT: A growing body of research has established incremental rehearsal (IR) as an effective intervention for teaching basic skills in various student populations. However, there have been no published studies to date in which interventionists have been school-based personnel rather than researchers. In this study, a paraprofessional implemented IR with two third-grade students identified as struggling readers. A multiple baseline design across participants was used, and students were taught high-utility words. Retention of words and implementation fidelity were the dependent variables. Both students retained more words during the IR phase than during baseline, and large effect sizes were found (improvement rate difference 5 1.00; Tau U 5 .88–.94). Mean implementation fidelity was 98.2%. Overall, these findings suggest that IR may be implemented successfully by a trained and coached paraprofessional, although more research in this area is needed if IR is to be successfully implemented in schools.
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Exploring Public Self-Consciousness as an Unconsidered Behavioral Change Pathway to Video Self-Modeling: Implications for School Practice
pp. 63–75
ABSTRACT: Self-modeling is a robust behavioral intervention whose therapeutic outcomes have a positive impact on a host of clinical behaviors as well as diverse studentpopulations. To date, only two theoretical positions have emerged in the literature that attempt to account for the mechanism of this efficacious behavioral intervention. Thefirst explanation suggested that self-modeling influences self-schema and enhances selfefficacy. The alternative theory posits that self-modeling works to influenceautobiographical memory by replacing old memories of the behavior with those afforded by the intervention. This manuscript extends this theoretical base by exploring a third,unconsidered behavioral change pathway involving the role of public self-consciousness as a contributor to the powerful treatment effects of this intervention with the aim ofadvancing the understanding and utility of self-modeling in schools. Implementation considerations and practical strategies to enhance practitioner use are also provided.
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