Promotion of Academic Careers in School Psychology: A Conceptual Framework of Impact Points, Recommended Strategies, and Hopeful Outcomes.

School psychology is facing a major shortage of faculty in graduate training and education programs. To deal with this shortage and the issues that surround it, we propose a conceptual framework that incorporates a number of impact points that graduate training programs can use to educate and sustain individuals in academic careers. The impact points include: selection of students, program-related training variables, post-program transition variables, and sustainability of academic careers. Each of these impact points is discussed within the context of the role that current faculty and practitioners in the profession can play in graduate education and training of academic scholars. Among the variety of potential solutions to the shortage, we introduce the concept of the "virtual university" to promote future education and sustainability of faculty within our graduate training programs. A case scenario from graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is presented as a context for the impact points raised in the article. We argue that those of us in the profession think systemically and lead the way into a new era of collaborative work across our graduate programs and among our colleagues in clinical, counseling, and related areas of applied and professional psychology graduate training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 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)     

Problematic issues for Blacks in doctoral psychology programs.

Presents various aspects of the involvement of Black students and faculty in doctoral programs in psychology. Recruitment procedures, admissions criteria, financial aid, Black faculty rank, and retention strategies are examined. A focal concern of the article is the "marginal" Black students, that is, those who are admitted under some affirmative action mandate but who do not meet the traditional admissions criteria. This problem involves issues such as how to retain these students until program completion without simultaneously lowering academic standards. Although Black faculty could probably contribute greatly to addressing these matters, they are sorely underrepresented in doctoral programs throughout the country. There is great institutional variability in terms of admission and retention policies. Recommendations are made for actions that institutions can take to increase the involvement of Blacks in their doctoral psychology programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in budgetary and personnel support levels of psychology departments, l970–1980.

A survey of US psychology departments that offer graduate programs was conducted during the 1969–1970 academic year and repeated in 1979–1980. Statistics on such topics as the number of undergraduate majors, graduate students, faculty, and secretaries revealed little change over the 10-yr period. However, the number of faculty classroom contact hours increased. While there were increases in many of the budgetary categories, such increases did not keep pace with inflation. Breakdowns of the data by region of the country, public vs private institution, size of university, and type of graduate program (master's degrees only or doctoral degrees) revealed several developments. The most notable include a greater decline in support levels in the western region of the country than in other regions, large gains in the number of graduate students in private institutions, a loss of undergraduates in private institutions, losses in number of faculty in institutions offering only the master's degree, and slight gains in number of faculty in institutions offering doctoral programs. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

"Difficult yet rewarding": The experiences of African American graduate students in education at an Ivy League institution.

This paper focuses on the experiences of African American students enrolled in a graduate program at an Ivy League institution, specifically those pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in the field of education. With a goal of helping to improve the persistence, retention, and success rates of African American graduate students, this study seeks to understand the following questions: What has been the nature of the graduate school experience for African American students in the field of education at an Ivy League institution? What types of support do African American students have for succeeding in graduate school at an Ivy League institution? And finally, how are African American graduate students socialized for future faculty and professional roles at an Ivy League institution? Specifically, the authors use socialization theory to analyze the experiences of African American graduate students and draw their results from a qualitative survey. Overall, themes regarding the significance of mentoring and advising, peer support, academic isolation, financial stress, and spirituality were most prevalent in the survey results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral student experiences in gender-balanced and male-dominated graduate programs.

Similarities and differences were examined in graduate school experiences of male and female doctoral students in programs containing predominantly male or gender-balanced faculty. Participating students reported their perceptions of mentor support, partner support, peer support, academic self-concept, sensitivity to family issues, stress, and career commitment. In studies, women in male-dominated programs expressed lower academic self-concept, less sensitivity in their departments to family issues, and lower career commitment compared with all other students. Mentor support and academic self-concept predicted the career commitment of all students. Student reports were unrelated to the gender of their mentors. A subset of the students participated at both time points; these students showed significant drops in self-concept and career commitment across the 2 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black students, APA, and the challenge of change.

Presents a report by the Black Students Psychological Association (BSPA) on their efforts to establish an inclusive, functional recruitment and training model. Five areas of concern to the BSPA are addressed: (1) student recruitment, (2) faculty recruitment, (3) centralization of information pertaining to financial assistance and student interests, (4) practical community experience for Black graduate and undergraduate students, and (5) terminal programs at all degree levels. Ways in which the American Psychological Association (APA) can assist the BSPA and the governmental structure of the BSPA are discussed. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical knowledge and skill priorities in substance abuse education: a nursing faculty longitudinal survey

The aims of this study were to: 1) determine which of 16 substance abuse content areas nursing faculty fellows considered important for their professional growth; 2) determine content areas in which faculty fellows planned to obtain knowledge and skill development during the coming year; and 3) to identify content areas faculty fellows thought undergraduate and/or graduate students should be taught. Questionnaires were mailed to the 43 nursing faculty fellows who were recipients of substance abuse federal training during the 1989-1994 academic years. The response rate was 81%. One and a half years later, 66% responded to the same items on a follow-up survey. The results showed that faculty ratings of knowledge and skill development needs for themselves and their students in nursing were stable over time. Findings can be used to guide faculty and curriculum development in alcohol and other substance abuse.     

Tenure status, academic rank, and new appointments in U.S. graduate departments of psychology.

Presents data on 6,245 full-time faculty in US graduate departments of psychology. Full-time faculty for 1980–1981 are examined in terms of tenure status, academic rank, and new appointments; and data are presented separately for various categories of graduate departments of psychology. The relationship between tenure status and academic rank is also examined, and the distribution of new appointments in terms of tenure status and academic rank is considered. A comparison of tenure status, academic rank, and new appointments in 1978–1979, 1979–1980, and 1980–1981 is presented. Results are compared with data from other sources that describe science and engineering faculty. (13 ref) (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)     

Constructing qualitative knowledge in psychology: Students and faculty negotiate the social context of inquiry.

On the basis of interviews with 13 graduate students and 21 faculty from diverse areas of Canadian departments of psychology, I report researchers' views on qualitative methods in terms of social historical, systemic influences on constructing psychological knowledge. These ideological and structural systems include the historical place of qualitative research in scientific psychology, education in alternative research methods, the socioeconomic reward system for faculty, and the potential for changes in the discipline that could facilitate the legitimation of qualitative methods. The major finding was the desire for methodological pluralism, even among mainstream faculty. In light of the researchers' textured commentaries, I discuss the fate of attempts by some psychologists to expand traditional investigative boundaries, the potential for a shift in the discipline to methodological pluralism, and the implications for the education of undergraduate and graduate students in psychological research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The selection of graduate students in public health education.

Using as criteria ranking of the students on academic performance by 3 faculty judges, and of those who subsequently graduated on field performance, the validity of the SVIB, MMPI, Concept Mastery Test, and the American Public Health Association Examination for selecting graduate students for a public health education curriculum was studied. Only the APHA Examination, an achievement test, ranked the students in approximate order of later success, although the others gave evidence of usefulness for negative screening to eliminate poor students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Campus Construction as a Research Laboratory: Model for Intracampus Collaboration

Capital construction projects on university campuses produce experience opportunities and archived data. Meanwhile, construction engineering faculty seeks research projects and funding for graduate students who, in turn, seek additional practical experience. In response, symbiotic relationships, between an academic department with construction engineering proficiency and the administrative office that oversees campus construction, have formed at both The University of Alabama (UA) and The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). At each institution, the intracampus collaboration provides funded opportunities and access to projects, which enable graduate students to successfully complete thesis research (M.S. and Ph.D.). Further, campus construction offices at both institutions are also realizing benefits from the collaboration, including a connection to academia, and have committed to continuing the relationship indefinitely. Aimed at helping other institutions establish and benefit from similar collaboration, this paper describes a model for research partnerships made possible by campus construction. The development of a model for intracampus construction collaboration is explained using separate experiences from UA and Penn State. Both positive results and lessons learned are shared.     

Rosemary E. Phelps: Award for distinguished contributions to education and training in psychology.

The American Psychological Association 2010 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology was awarded to Rosemary E. Phelps, for her long-term commitment to the development of the Preparing Future Faculty program, her recruitment and retention of students of color, and her work in racial and ethnic identity development. Rosemary E. Phelps’s focus on the scholarship of teaching in higher education and her research on the academic experiences of students and faculty across multiple professional endeavors, including race-related stress, are singular in their impact and implication. Her incorporation of advocacy as a core professional skill and the application of her work to other professions have opened up new avenues for understanding multicultural training factors and graduate scholarship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of Psychological Help Seeking in Clinical and Counseling Psychology Graduate Students.

Psychologists are often called upon to provide supervision, mentorship, and training to graduate student therapists-in-training. In these roles, psychologists may influence whether graduate students enter personal therapy during their training. This study investigated variables (including perceived faculty attitudes about students in personal therapy) that predict psychotherapy help seeking in clinical and counseling psychology graduate students (N = 262). The findings indicated that confidentiality issues, general attitudes about therapy, and perceptions of the importance of personal therapy for professional development were important predictors of graduate student help seeking. The implications for faculty, supervisors, and mentors of therapists-in-training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The graduate research training environment in professional psychology: A multilevel investigation.

Very little program-level research on psychology graduate research training environments (RTEs) exists despite the RTE being a program-level (vs. student-level) construct. In the current study, the authors investigated correlates of programs' RTEs, including characteristics of the students, the faculty, and the programs themselves. Proportional stratified sampling of American Psychological Association-accredited PhD programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology yielded data from 40 programs. Students and faculty in those programs completed Internet questionnaires, and additional faculty and program characteristics were coded. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that programs with positive student-rated RTEs had faculty who also viewed the RTE as positive and had satisfying faculty–student relations. These programs also had students with higher levels of research interest and stronger advisory alliances, yet within-program student differences in the RTE explained more variance in these student characteristics than did between-programs differences. This research supports the value of examining the RTE at both the student and program levels, and it suggests that training interventions ought to occur at both levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

2003 Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology.

Presents the 2003 American Psychological Foundation's Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology, which was presented to Victor A. Benassi. A biography of Benassi is provided, along with a selected bibliography and the text of the award citation: "Victor A. Benassi has had a distinguished career as a teacher of undergraduate and graduate students, scholar, program developer, and academic administrator. He has overseen and developed the University of New Hampshire (UNH) program that prepares psychology doctoral students for the full range of responsibilities that await them as faculty, including teaching. He has taught courses on college teaching, supervised doctoral students' teaching, and served as a mentor to numerous future faculty. He has worked with colleagues to disseminate preparing future faculty models to other universities. Along with two colleagues, he developed the Academic Program in College Teaching, for which UNH received a 2002 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Faculty Development to Enhance Undergraduate Teaching." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a typology of mentorship dysfunction in graduate school.

Researchers, writers, and practitioners of mentoring relationships have traditionally avoided discussion of the dark and dysfunctional side of mentoring. Student-faculty mentorships in graduate settings are sometimes characterized by dysfunction stemming from such varied sources as faulty matching, boundary violations, incompetence, conflict, and cross-gender or cross-race concerns. In this article, a typology of dysfunctional graduate school mentorships is offered for the purpose of bolstering theory development, research, and both departmental and individual prevention efforts. The article concludes with several strategic recommendations for both graduate program administrators and individual faculty members who find themselves in problem mentorships with graduate students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)