Lee S. Duemer

Structural antecedents and psychological correlates of teacher empowerment

Empowered teachers participate in critical decisions that directly affect teaching and learning. Empowering work environments may enhance professionalism, facilitate teacher leadership, improve the quality of work life, and enable effective implementation of school reform. Process‐based views of empowerment suggest associations between school organizational structures and teacher empowerment, while psychological perspectives on empowerment suggest potential relationships between the phenomenon and cognitive and affective outcomes. Empowerment is considered in terms of teams and teamwork in schools, and relationships between empowerment and commitment to the school are examined.

Faculty Perceptions of Web-Based Resources in Higher Education

Recent increases in the use of Web-based resources by faculty in higher education appear to be reaching a plateau. To better understand how to encourage the use of Web resources a survey was designed to examine faculty perceptions about the navigability and content of a specific Web-based resource and their attitudes about the instructional use of Web-based resources in general. Results of the survey indicated that faculty with more years of experience and those teaching at research and doctoral institutions expressed the most favorable attitudes toward the provided Web resource. In addition, gender differences were found pertaining to the factors most likely to influence the use of Web resources. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for increasing the use of Web-based resources in higher education.

Behavioral Expectations of 110 Nationally Ranked Liberal Arts Colleges

A number of scholars have pointed to the lack of emphasis on social responsibility as one reason that America has become increasingly individualistic. The incorporation of behavioral expectations on college campuses has been proposed as a means to address these recent trends. This study examines how liberal arts colleges articulate behavioral expectations. Statements of behavioral expectations from 110 nationally ranked liberal arts colleges serve as the data source for this study. Using an open coding approach in an issues framework, institutional references to behavioral expectations were separated based on how the institution addressed behavioral expectations, what aspects were emphasized, and where in the catalog they were addressed.

Fostering Twins’ Identity Development: A Family Issue

Families who have twins encounter unique needs and circumstances. Insight into issues twins encounter can improve parental and counseling treatment of twins as well as foster a healthy identity formation. These special issues that twins encounter will be addressed through the following: parenting influences, twin comparisons, sharing, competition, differentiation, bonding, empathy development, separation anxiety, identity development, and various recognized patterns of twinship. Through an understanding of twins’ specific needs and challenges, counselors can be influential in fostering a healthier family system.

Perceptions of Adults Adopted as Children: Implications for Family Counselors

This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the experiences of adults adopted as children. Individual and follow-up interviews were conducted with four participants. We identified six primary themes related to family experience and a better understanding of adopted children, adults as well as special issues that might be considered in family counseling. Implications for counselors are discussed in this article.

DEFINING AND ARTICULATING COMMUNITY: EXAMPLES FROM SELECTED INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF CHRISTIAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Community has been identified as a defining characteristic of Christian colleges and universities (M. Schwehn, 2000). This study focuses on how community is articulated in the catalogs of 10 Christian institutions with membership in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). The examination considered how institutions define community, the context in which they define community, and common dimensions of community. The CCCU institutions share several distinct traits in terms of how community is expressed in their catalogs. These commonalties include behavioral expectations for students, the role of interpersonal relationships, and the fusion of intellectual and religious life.

Fusing the Moral and the Intellectual: Behavioral Guidelines at Regional Liberal Arts Colleges

A number of scholars have pointed to the lack of an educational agenda focusing on social responsibility as one reason that America has become a predominately individualistic society. The incorporation of behavioral expectations on college campuses has been proposed as a means to address these recent trends. This study examines how liberal arts colleges articulate behavioral expectations.