On recruiting graduate students.

"In the fall of 1955, the Committee on Undergraduate Education conducted a questionnaire survey of American colleges regarding their undergraduate psychology programs." About ? of the country's 4 year liberal arts colleges cooperated. 73% of responding institutions offer a major in psychology. About 75% of the colleges offering majors have 1 term courses in introductory psychology, the other 25% have 2 terms 10 colleges require less than 20 semester hours work for the major in psychology, 12 require 35 semester hours or more. Data are also presented in answer to the following questions: (a) How many students enter graduate school each year? (b) What proportion of seniors and senior majors continue into graduate study? (c) Are small colleges better at producing graduate students? (d) Did the survey identify any single variable associated with rate of producing graduate students? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Francis Cecil Sumner: His views and influence on African American higher education.

During the mid-1920s, Francis Cecil Sumner, the first African American to earn a PhD in psychology, published 2 articles concerning strategies for the higher education of African American youths. These articles called for a system of segregated education emphasizing an "industrial" style advocated by Booker T. Washington, as well as suggesting a measure of character development. The justification cited by Sumner for such unequal education for African Americans was the cultural inferiority of that population. The present article argues that Sumner's views were couched in terms that fit the prevailing paradigm of the White establishment, with the purpose of generating political and economic support for any type of higher education for African Americans. Evidence drawn from Sumner's early education and his graduate school days at Clark University, as well as testimonials from colleagues and students, are provided in support of this hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading in graduate school: A survey of doctoral students in clinical psychology.

To what extent do graduate students in clinical psychology complete assigned readings? A total of 744 graduate students in American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral programs completed an online survey regarding reading in graduate school (67% response rate, of those viewing the survey). The reported amount of assigned reading varied widely, with an average of 330 pages per week. Compliance ratings suggested that about half the assigned reading is completed thoroughly and that thorough reading is more common than skimming or not reading assigned material. Motivating and hindering factors for reading are reported, and implications for faculty are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family, peer, and neighborhood influences on academic achievement among African-American adolescents: one-year prospective effects

Using a 1-year prospective design, this study examined the influence of family status variables (family income, parental education, family structure), parenting variables (maternal support and restrictive control), peer support, and neighborhood risk on the school performance of 120 African American junior high school students. In addition to main effects of these variables, neighborhood risk was examined as a moderator of the effects of parenting and peer support. Family status variables were not predictive of adolescent school performance as indexed by self-reported grade point average. Maternal support at Time 1 was prospectively related to adolescent grades at Time 2. Neighborhood risk was related to lower grades, while peer support predicted better grades in the prospective analyses. Neighborhood risk also moderated the effects of maternal restrictive control and peer support on adolescent grades in prospective analyses. These findings highlight the importance of an ecological approach to the problem of academic underachievement within the African American Community.     

School and community climates and civic commitments: Patterns for ethnic minority and majority students.

The developmental correlates of diffuse support for the polity and civic commitments were explored in a survey of 1,052 students (mean age = 14.96 years) from African American, Arab American, European American, and Latino American backgrounds. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that regardless of their age, gender, or ethnic background, youth were more likely to believe that America was a just society and to commit to democratic goals if they felt a sense of community connectedness, especially if they felt that their teachers practiced a democratic ethic at school. Discussion focuses on the civic purposes of education in inculcating a sense of identification with the polity in younger generations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Support levels of psychology departments offering graduate programs in 1969-1970.

Conducted a 2nd annual survey of psychology departments having graduate programs, with 152 departments responding. Comparative data were obtained on 28 variables related to budgetary and personnel support characteristics of the departments (faculty salary, departmental budgets, support personnel, student/faculty ratios, etc.). Data were analyzed in terms of geographic regions, type of institution (private vs. Public), size of university, and type of graduate degree programs offered (master's degree only vs. Doctoral degree). Data show both discriminable differences among universities on some variables and wide variability. The survey results may provide (a) a comparative base for departmental chairmen, students examining graduate programs, candidates interviewing for academic positions, and accrediting agencies; and (b) a base line for further annual studies to reflect changes in support of higher education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Next generation: A mentoring program for black female psychologists.

Black women remain grossly underrepresented in academic psychology departments at major American universities. With better representation, their intellectual contributions to research, practice, and education in the discipline could significantly expand the margins of the field. Given the positive effect of Black faculty on priming the pipeline of graduate students, increasing the number of Black faculty would likely improve the recruitment and retention of Black graduate students. A pilot mentoring group designed specifically for Black female psychologists with a commitment to academic research careers provided significant beneficial experiences and demonstrated good success in the desired direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists’ sexual education and training in graduate school.

The current study explored the sex education and training that clinical and counselling psychologists receive during graduate school, practicum placements and internship. There were 162 psychologists who completed an Internet survey. Although nearly all participants had received some form of education related to sexuality during their graduate training, the depth and breadth of training was limited and was not related to how long clinicians had been practising. Modelling and feedback appeared to be underutilized as training methods. Participants reported more training related to sexual problems (e.g., sexual violence, sexual disorders) than healthy sexuality (e.g., contraception, STIs/STDs). Sexuality-specific training experiences but not participant characteristics (e.g., gender, religiosity) or cognitive-affective factors predicted the amount of sex therapy experience gained during graduate school. This suggests that training programs may be largely responsible for the (limited) amount of sex education and training received by students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The professional preparation of African American graduate students: A student perspective.

Even though growth relationships include traditional aspects of academic mentoring, without emphasizing personal development, professional growth is incomplete. Most African American faculty are overloaded with teaching, research, and advising responsibilities and, therefore, are unable to adequately mentor African American graduate students without jeopardizing their careers. Non-African Americans can provide adequate mentoring to African American students; however, because of the lack of a common cultural context, obstacles exist in cross-cultural mentoring relationships. By portraying the growth relationships established between an elder and 2 young professionals, this study illustrates how the involvement of non-academic affiliated African American professionals with African American graduate students is beneficial and indeed essential in the students' academic and personal development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reviews of Asian American education: Acculturation, literacy development, and learning: Volume 4. Research on the education of Asian and Pacific Americans and New perspectives on Asian American parents, students, and teacher recruitment: Volume 5. Research on the education of Asian and Pacific Americans.

Reviews the books, Asian American education: Acculturation, literacy development, and learning: Volume 4. Research on the education of Asian and Pacific Americans by C. Park, R. Endo, and X. L. Rong (2007) and New perspectives on Asian American parents, students, and teacher recruitment: Volume 5. Research on the education of Asian and Pacific Americans by C. Park, R. Endo, S. Lee, and X. L. Rong (2009). These two books challenge the still pervasive model minority myth that the school experiences of Asian American students are homogenous and result in one outcome—success. Asian American Education (AAE) and New Perspectives (NP) do an excellent job conveying the diversity and complexity (yes, there are of course successes, but also many challenges) of education-related issues for Asian Americans. The two books dispel the notion of a one-size-fits-all view of academic achievement in this population. One strength of the two books is that the chapters (nine in each book) cover quite a bit of ground and examine a wide range of topics. The chapters are inclusive in terms of methodology (the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches), age range of students (from elementary school to graduate school), type of student (ESL, special education, and mainstream), key players (focusing on students, parents, teachers, and school professionals), and ethnicity (pan- Asian American, Chinese, Korean, and less studied groups such as Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong, and Burmese). Overall, the two books offer a comprehensive overview on a number of important topics—some that have been heavily researched and others breaking new ground. In summary, these two books will be useful to teachers, parents, administrators, and school professionals who want a detailed and culturally sensitive overview of important educational issues that Asian American students face. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

What undergraduate physical education majors learn during a field experience

Early field experiences and student teaching have a significant impact on the development of prospective teachers' perceptions of teaching and themselves as teachers (Dodds, 1989). The purpose of this study was to describe what happened to physical education majors during a secondary physical education methodology course that included two field experiences in which the undergraduates taught at least one lesson a day. The four research questions that guided the study were (a) What issues did the majors attend to as significant incidents from their teaching, and did these issues change during their field experiences? (b) What were the characteristics of field experience lessons they perceived as successful? (c) What were the characteristics of field experience lessons they perceived as unsuccessful? and (d) What were the physical education majors' conceptions of teaching? Participants in the study were 39 junior-year physical education teacher education majors. Data were collected using the critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954) and an open-ended, written questionnaire that was designed to encourage the majors to reflect on various aspects of their teaching experience. The questionnaire and critical incidents were analyzed using an inductive analytical procedure and a series of categories developed from several readings of students' writings. The teacher preparation program affected how these trainees defined and evaluated their teaching experiences. In contrast to some of the earlier work in physical education, the results indicated pupil learning, quality lesson planning to ensure pupil learning, and efficient lesson management were major characteristics of successful lessons for these trainees. The trainees presented "theories of knowledge" that emphasized technical concepts of teaching with little attention to the social or ethical dimensions of their work or the content knowledge of their field. Additional research is needed to examine appropriate programmatic efforts to help preservice teachers reflect not only on teaching, learning, and schooling as a technical enterprise but also as a moral and ethical enterprise.     

Profile of the graduate student population in U.S. medical schools

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) sponsored surveys of accredited U.S. medical schools in 1994-95 and in 1995-96 to gather enough data to determine an accurate profile of the population of students enrolled in and/or graduated from biomedical PhD and MD-PhD programs at these institutions. Previously collected data on the graduate student population at medical schools often did not distinguish between PhD students at the medical school and graduate students in other parts of the university. The AAMC surveys defined a medical school PhD- or MD-PhD-trained student as one whose major professor holds his or her primary appointment in a department of the medical school. The data were the result of census-taking by the responding schools on October 1, 1994, and October 1, 1995. There were 81 responses to each of the two surveys. Overall, 104 medical schools supplied data in either one or both of the survey years. When the data are extrapolated from the sample to the total population of 122 medical schools that award graduate degrees, a number of interesting estimates emerge. (1) When compared with the 1995 data for 18 biomedically-related biological science disciplines from the National Research Council's Survey of Earned Doctorates, the AAMC survey indicates that approximately 60% of the 4,000 PhDs awarded were earned by students studying at U.S. medical schools. (2) The total enrollment of PhD students in U.S. medical schools is approximately 18,600, a number that is about 25-30% of the number of medical students currently enrolled at all accredited U.S. medical schools. In some institutions, the number of graduate students rivals the number of medical students. (3) PhD students are enrolled in a wide variety of programs bearing titles reflective of a trend toward "interdisciplinary" rather than "departmental" degrees. (4) At a given time, the number of students supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants is nearly twice that provided for by NIH traineeships. In addition, all forms of institutional support provide for more than one-third of the PhD students in U.S. medical schools. (5) Approximately 24% of enrolled students are international students on temporary or permanent visas. (6) The data obtained from the two surveys of graduate programs within medical schools are relatively consistent, enabling more confidence in the reliability and accuracy of findings presented in this report.     

Preinternship preparation in psychological testing and psychotherapy: What internship directors say they expect.

What levels of preinternship training in testing and psychotherapy do internship directors expect students to have as they enter internship? This study addressed the question by surveying internship directors of all members of the Association of Postdoctoral and Internship Centers and asking them to specify the numbers of testing and psychotherapy experiences they believe an intern candidate should have prior to entering the internship. The results demonstrate similarities and differences in director expectations and have implications for preinternship students, graduate programs, and internships themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dosimetry fundamentals of endovascular therapy using Re-188 for the prevention of restenosis after angioplasty]

This study investigated whether self-esteem precedes various academic behaviors and beliefs among 593 high school students (63.7% female, 60.9% African American). Measures of home and school self-esteem, grade point average, perceived academic standing and progress, and educational plans were collected by survey and archival review of grade and attendance records at the beginning (pre-test) and end of the school year (post-test). Self-esteem and academic variables differed by gender, race, and guardianship. Self-esteem related significantly to academics and absenteeism. Results suggest selected academic variables predict self-esteem even when the effects of gender, race, and guardianship are removed and pretest self-esteem scores are controlled. In conclusion, student academic performance influences subsequent academic and home self-esteem. Creation of positive academic experiences for youth may be a critical activity, since experts contend that low self-esteem is associated with subsequent behavioral problems. The markedly lower self-esteem of Native American and Hispanic youth warrants further investigation.     

Perceived (Academic) Control and Causal Thinking in Achievement Settings.

Striving to excel is a goal commonly shared by undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members in academic achievement settings. Periodically, however, their sense of personal control and mastery is undermined by low-control experiences arising from a greater emphasis on success and failure, heightened academic competition, increased pressure to excel, more frequent academic failures, unfamiliar academic tasks, new social networks, and critical career choices. In these situations, achievement-striving can lead to a paradox of failure in which seemingly bright, enthusiastic individuals fail in their quest, unable to fulfill the demand to augment self-initiative and independence. Many otherwise capable individuals quit during the transition from high school to college, college to graduate school, or graduate school to academic jobs. This article focuses on perceived personal control as an academic marker and on its use as a control-enhancing intervention for redressing failure, based on laboratory and longitudinal field studies conducted at the University of Manitoba during the last two decades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral internship training opportunities in clinical geropsychology.

What types of internship training opportunities are there for psychology graduate students interested in working with older adults? The authors summarize characteristics of 65 doctoral psychology internships self-identified as offering training opportunities in clinical geropsychology. The internships appear to have the resources, staff, training placements, and training experiences that are at least adequate, and in most programs, much more than adequate, for generalist training in aging. Internship programs at facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs compose a major resource in clinical geropsychology training. Practical suggestions are offered to graduate students interested in obtaining geropsychology training during internship and to internship program directors who may want to offer such training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitivity to status-based rejection: Implications for African American students' college experience.

The authors proposed a process model whereby experiences of rejection based on membership in a devalued group can lead people to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to status-based rejection. To test the model, the authors focused on race-based rejection sensitivity (RS-race) among African Americans. Following the development and validation of the RS-Race Questionnaire (Studies 1 and 2), the authors tested the utility of the model for understanding African American students' experiences at a predominantly White university (Study 3). Students high in RS-race experienced greater discomfort during the college transition, less trust in the university, and relative declines in grades over a 2- to 3-year period. Positive race-related experiences, however, increased feelings of belonging at the institution among students high in RS-race. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA-Approved Doctoral Programs in Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology: 1976.

The American Psychological Association Committee on Accreditation has approved the doctoral training programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology that are conducted by the institutions listed below. In the institutions listed, the approved programs are directed by the department of psychology unless otherwise indicated. Programs that have not requested evaluation, and programs that have been evaluated but not approved, are not included in the list. Inclusion of an institution in this list indicates approval of doctoral programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology only. Inclusion or noninclusion carries no implications for other graduate programs in psychology or for programs of graduate education in other disciplines. The institutions listed below have been reported to the U.S. Public Health Service, to the Veterans Administration, and to the Surgeon General's Office, Department of the Army, as conducting at the present time approved programs of doctoral training in the areas indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A field work experience in mental retardation

A graduate student specializing in mental retardation found few pertinent electives as well as little opportunity for field work experience. A special arrangement was made for appropriate field work experiences in three types of settings--a large residential institution, school programs, and nursing care facilities. There was little time to view client changes, and rapport with patients and staff was difficult to develop. The advantages included more time with her supervisor, more exposure to organizational and administrative duties, and more exposure to a variety of settings and to the professional roles of numerous therapists. More such field work experiences should be developed to encourage new therapists to choose mental retardation as a specialty.