P. Jeannie Kleinhammer-Tramill

What's Happening in Personnel Preparation in Transition? A National Survey:

The availability of professionals trained to design and deliver transition services is important to implementing the federal mandate for transition services. Yet, there is limited information available on the state of the nation with regard to personnel preparation in transition. To address this lack of information, a national survey of colleges and universities was conducted to determine (a) which transition-related competencies are considered to be most important and (b) how much instructional time is devoted to transition content. Responses received from a total of 573 institutions of higher education across the United States and Puerto Rico indicated that administrators and faculty appear to be attending to transition issues.

Policy Contexts for Transition Personnel Preparation: An Analysis of Transition-Related Credentials, Standards, and Course Requirements in State Certification and Licensure Policies

This article provides a state-by-state analysis of state certification/licensure policies regarding transition. Twelve states were found to have licensure, certification, or endorsement options for Transition Specialists, Vocational Special Needs, Vocational Education, or Rehabilitation Counselors focusing on special education transition. Twenty-four states have transition-relevant standards for one or more of the areas in which special education credentials are available, and 14 states specify coursework requirements in transition for one or more of the areas in which special education credentials are available. Some states require teachers of students with disabilities to meet transition-relevant standards for some special education areas (e.g., high incidence disabilities) but not for others (e.g., low incidence or sensory disabilities).

The History and Status of OSEP Personnel Preparation Policy for Transition

This article traces the history of OSEP support for personnel preparation in transition and compares current levels of transition personnel preparation grant activities with those of the last two decades. Overall findings are analyzed in terms of the impact of changes in OSEP policy.

The relationship between the type A behavior pattern, fear of death, and manifest anxiety

Scores on the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the unidimensional short form of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) were evaluated as a function of personality type: A+, A−, B−, and B+. Type A+ personalities displayed higher DAS and TMAS scores than did the other personality types. Furthermore, it was found that females had higher scores than did males on both tests.

Learned Helplessness in Learning Disabled Adolescents as a Function of Noncontingent Rewards

The study was designed to examine the effect of noncontingent rewards on learned helplessness in learning disabled children. Noncontingent rewards are of particular importance for students receiving services in a variety of educational environments. Subjects were exposed to two series of tasks, the first involved replication of a series of block design patterns. Children were randomly assigned to three reward schedules: response-contingent reward, 100% noncontingent reward, and 50% random noncontingent reward. A fourth control group was not exposed to the first series of tasks. The second task series involved the solution of coding problems. On these tasks, all children received response-contingent rewards for performance. Response latency and errors on each coding task served as dependent measures. Analysis of variance yielded significantly greater response latencies for subjects assigned to the noncontingent reward conditions than for those who received contingent rewards and for controls. No differences in number of errors were found. The results suggest that learning disabled children may become “learned helpless” as a result of instructional interventions involving use of noncontingent rewards.

The Relationship Between Type A and Type B Behavior Patterns and Level of Self-Esteem

Scores on Form A of the Texas Social Behavior Inventory (TSBi) and the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) were evaluated as a function of Type A +, A −, B −, and B + behavior pattern scores on the modified Jenkins Activity Survey for Health Predictions. Type A + and A− participants had significantly lower self-esteem (TSBI) scores, but significantly higher death anxiety (DAS) scores than did Type B− and B + participants. While gender differences did not exist with regard to TSBI scores, females had significantly higher DAS scores than did males.

Examining the Status of Transition-Focused Content Within Educator Preparation Programs:

Almost two decades since the last study of how educator preparation programs (EPPs) offer transition-related content to preservice teachers, this study sought to understand if the educator preparation landscape has changed. Given the impact of well-prepared secondary educators on student transition outcomes, reexamining the status of transition-related content within teacher education was warranted. Thus, the primary purpose of this study was to query a national sample of EPPs regarding the specific transition content provided and methods for conveying transition content to preservice teacher education students. Results indicated that small changes have occurred over time, with most programs reporting positive perspectives regarding the level of preparation among program graduates. However, the capacity of EPPs to offer high quality and evidence-based transition content appears to be inconsistent. This study emphasizes the need for future research, as well as improved practice within EPPs.

NONCONTINGENT REWARD-INDUCED LEARNED HELPLESSNESS IN HUMANS

Noncontingent verbal and concrete rewards were incorporated into a learned-helplessness paradigm in an attempt to provide increased generalizability of the reward-induced helplessness phenomenon. The treatment phase required subjects to reproduce a series of block-designs, for which they received either verbal or concrete reward according to one of three schedules: response contingent, 100% noncontingent, or 50% random noncontingent. A control group was not exposed to the task. The performance phase involved a letter/number-substitution coding task during which all subjects received response-contingent reward. Analysis showed a helplessness effect, with the noncontingent reward conditions producing significantly more errors and omissions than contingent reward and/or control conditions. Differences in effects of verbal and concrete rewards were nonsignificant.

The relationship between the Type A behavior pattern and process versus impact achievement motivation

Based upon Friedman and Rosenman’s (1977) characterization of the Type A individual, it was predicted that Type As would show higher levels of impact (as opposed to process) achievement motivation than would Type Bs. The modified Jenkins Activity Survey and the Success Behaviors Questionnaire were administered to 352 undergraduate college students to measure Type A/B characteristics and process versus impact achievement orientation, respectively. The results were generally supportive of this prediction.