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Many Latinas encounter negative expectations regarding their chances of attending college in the United States. Dominant narratives legitimize these structural and relational negations by depicting Latinas as a group that voluntarily lowers their expectations of themselves as they move through the education pipeline. To increase the representation of Latinas on college campuses, postsecondary institutions are financially incented to become Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Through the lens of resilient resistance, this qualitative study asks the following questions: (1) How do first-generation college-going Latinas define their educational expectations for postsecondary education?; and (2) How do first-generation college-going Latinas enact their educational expectations through the practice of resilient resistance at a Hispanic-Serving Institution? Through the stories of four Latina undergraduates at a 4-year HSI in the American Southwest, this study contends that participants' refusal to accept other people's disbelief ignited their postsecondary education pursuits. As their own educational expectations were overrun by the expectational status quo, the participants utilized their cultural values of familismo to enact resilient resistance as they navigated in-between institutional spaces. This article calls upon universities to establish equitable conditions within Latinas' educational environments and to actively direct resources toward their ability to leverage human agency, build coalitions, and recenter their own expectations for college success.

In the United States, beginning teacher retention rates are extraordinarily low; only 50% of teachers remain in the classroom after five years. In particular, the state of Arizona has been recruiting significant numbers of teachers from out of state and attempting to retain them with minimal success. This persistent problem has led the neediest of students to have teachers with lower levels of experience, leaving those students with continually lower achievement gains. Drawing on integrated action research and grounded theory methodology, this study used a Creating Authentic Resilient Educators (C.A.R.E) model to support six new, out-of-state teachers in an elementary school district located in a high-poverty neighborhood in Arizona. In face-to-face group sessions and individual assignments, participants reflected on their experiences and examined multiple topics focused on persistence and resilience to reduce beginning teacher attrition. Participant responses showed that teachers must be nurtured and cared for in order to allow them to focus their time and energy on effectively caring for the students in their classrooms. Increasing support for new teachers has the potential to keep effective teachers in the classroom and improve the culture of teaching within schools.

This study examined autism support teachers' attitudes about inclusion, as well as perceived barriers and resource needs. A survey was developed for this study and administered to 27 elementary teachers in autism support (AS) classrooms in a large, urban district. Approximately 75% of students in the sample were educated primarily in self-contained settings, although 70% had teachers who recommended more inclusion. AS teachers were more concerned about the readiness of general education teachers and their classrooms than the readiness of their students. The greatest needs were school-wide training (47%), acceptance of students with autism (38%), smaller class sizes (31%) and more support staff (31%). AS teachers' attitudes about student placement were somewhat conflicted, underscoring the need to build school-wide capacity and promote greater acceptance.

Despite considerable research on school social experiences among younger children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about the classroom social relationships of high school students with ASD without intellectual disability. Additional research in this area is necessary to refine and develop social skills interventions and outcome measures of social success for this age group. The current study compared peer nomination variables between 10 high school students with ASD and randomly selected gender-matched samples of their general education classmates at three time points over two academic years. All students attended schools in the Southwestern USA. Across all three time points, students with ASD were less accepted by their peers compared to their general education classmates. Among participants with ASD, social difficulties appeared to be most pervasive at the third time point. Findings suggest that some of the difficulties associated with establishing peer relationships documented among children and young adolescents with ASD are also present during high school. Feasibility of peer nomination methods in high school settings is discussed. Findings have implications for researchers, school psychologists, educators, and stakeholders, including individuals with ASD and their parents.

ObjectiveThe consequences of maternal depressed mood on children's growth, health, and cognitive and language development are examined over the first 3 years of life.MethodPregnant women in 24 periurban township neighborhoods in Cape Town, South Africa (N = 1,238 mothers) were randomized by neighborhood to a home visiting intervention or a standard care condition. Reassessments were conducted for 93%-85% of mothers at 2-weeks, 6-, 18-, and 36-months postbirth. Regressions were conducted on measures of children's growth, behavior, language, and cognition to examine the impact of four patterns of depressed mood: antenatal only (n = 154, 13.8%), postnatal only (n = 272, 24.3%), antenatal and postnatal (n = 220, 19.7%), and no depressed mood on any assessment (n = 473, 42.3%).ResultsPatterns of depressed mood were similar across intervention conditions. Depressed mothers were significantly less educated, had lower incomes, were less likely to be employed or to have electricity; were more likely to report problematic drinking of alcohol, experience food insecurity, interpersonal partner violence, and to be HIV seropositive. At 36 months, the pattern of maternal depressed mood over time was significantly associated with children's compromised physical growth, both in weight and height, and more internalizing and externalizing symptoms of behavior problems. Measures of language and cognition were similar across maternal patterns of depressed mood.ConclusionsMothers who report depressed mood face significantly more life challenges, both environmental stressors related to poverty and other problematic behaviors. More proximal, postnatal depressed mood appears to have a larger influence on their children, compared with antenatal depressed mood. (PsycINFO Database Record

Family Coaching is proposed as a new delivery format for evidence-based prevention programs (EBPPs). Three recent developments in health promotion support the potential efficacy of Family Coaching: (1) renewed interest in integrated prevention programs for multiple risk factors and behavior changes, (2) broad and long-term impacts of family-based interventions, and (3) popular acceptance of "coaching" as a nonstigmatizing, goal-focused intervention strategy. Family coaches are community members and paraprofessionals trained in common elements of EBPP. Family Coaching has specific goals, is short term, and has definable outcomes. Coaches frame the program's goals to be consistent with the family's values, normalize the family's experience, assess their strengths, and help the family set goals and develop skills and routines to problem solve challenging situations. Broad dissemination of EBPP will be facilitated with delivery formats that are flexible to meet families' priorities and providers' desires and capacities to tailor programs to local contexts.

Introduction Strategies are needed to improve the efficacy of paraprofessional home visitors for pregnant women in the United States. This study evaluates the maternal and child outcomes when evidence-based practices (EBP) are replicated with flexibility, rather than fidelity to a manualized intervention. Methods Pregnant mothers (N = 203) in five clinics were recruited in the waiting rooms and randomized to standard clinic care as the control condition (n = 104) or standard care plus home visiting (n = 99). Home visitors (n = 9) were selected, trained in foundational skills common to EBP and four problem domains (weight control, breastfeeding, daily habits, and depression). Independent interviewers assessed targeted outcomes at birth (82%) and 6 months later (83%).ResultsHome visitors, called Mentor Mothers [MM], made an average of 14.9 home visits or telephone contacts (SD = 9; total contacts = 1491) addressing maternal daily habits, breastfeeding, and depression. Intervention and control mothers were similar in weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), depression and social support at baseline and 6 months later. The percentage of low birth weight babies was similar; intervention infants' growth (weight/height Z score) tended to be significantly better compared to the control condition.DiscussionThere are many explanations for the failure to find significant benefits: insufficient statistical power; the benefits of repeated assessments by warm, supportive peers to improve outcomes; or the failure of EBP and the need to maintain replication with fidelity. All study mothers had better outcomes than documented among comparable published samples of low-income, Latina and Korean-American mothers in Los Angeles, CA. ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT01687634.

This paper describes a strategy for using evidence-based interventions (EBI) that does not require replication and fidelity. Eight parents, identified as positive role models, conducted home visits for 101 low-income Latina and Korean pregnant women. The home visitors, called mentor mothers (MM), were trained in 10 of the practice elements common to 80% of child-focused EBI and how to apply these skills to support mothers in obesity prevention, to increase the duration of breastfeeding, and to reduce depression. MM reported the content and skills utilized on each home visit on mobile phones. Each MM made an average of 153 home visits (SD = 173.3), with 28 of these visits being phone contacts. Body mass index (BMI) at 6 months was significantly associated with the frequency of MM focused on coping with depression (r = .24), but was not related to practice elements used by MM. The duration of breastfeeding was significantly related to the frequency with which MM focused on the topic of breastfeeding (r = .28) and parenting (r = .3), and MM use of attending (r = .24) and relaxation (r = .27). Depression was significantly correlated with the frequency of addressing depression (r = .27), but not to practice elements. MM did use different strategies in the first 150 visits compared to their last 150 visits, reflecting data-informed supervision. Evidence synthesized from EBI was used as a novel training method, with real-time monitoring and data-informed supervision providing evidence of iterative quality improvements in MM behaviors over time, as well as a way for linking implementation processes to outcomes.

Although education reforms have been designed to improve academic achievement for all students, there may be intervening factors, such as teacher expectations, that interfere with the success of these initiatives. This ethnographic case study examined student and teacher perspectives on an urban high school reform, and how that reform was experienced within the classroom by African American students. Findings suggest that these African American students felt a strong sense of positive identity with their small school, despite racist public perceptions of it. Within the classroom, students continued to face persistent low academic expectations despite the school's pursuits of equity.

This ethnographic case study examined the experiences of African American students within an urban school detracking reform initiative, which was intended to replace tracking practices through the institution of small schools. Over the course of a year, the researchers interviewed administrators, teachers, and students while gathering observational data from classrooms to explore the political nature of the reform and its impact on how students were viewed and treated by their teachers. Although this school reorganization aimed to expand opportunities for African American students, ultimately the data illustrated that restructuring efforts failed to change teachers' attitudes and academic expectations, thereby denying students equitable educations. We found colorblindness to be a key factor that informed teachers' persistent low expectations for students of color that reproduced tracking practices and inequitable opportunity structures in the smaller schools, thereby reinforcing the former stereotypes of low achievement for those students. This study calls for educators to challenge the racial ideologies of academic achievement, vis-a-vis teachers' colorblind expectations, through political, normative, and technical dimensions of change to actualize educational equity in urban schools.

There is a paucity of literature examining the relationship between executive and social functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-three school-aged children with ASD participated. Executive functioning was measured using the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition and Differential Ability Scales, Second Edition, and the teacher-rated Behavior Rating of Inventory of Executive Function. Independent assessors observed children's social functioning on the playground while children with ASD and their peers completed a survey to measure peer friendships and rejections. Overall, poorer executive functioning was associated with increased playground isolation and less engagement with peers. This suggests that metacognitive skills such as initiation, working memory, and planning and organization are associated with children's social functioning.

This one-year ethnographic case study focused on students of color from a West Coast High School who faced a variety of academic challenges. Collectively, they shared perspectives on school improvement, and among the recommendations was the importance of mentorship in the classroom to develop students' aspirational, navigational, and informational capital for academic resiliency, high expectations, and success. This article highlights the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, such as students and teachers, on the qualities of mentorship practices. Using these data, a framework was developed to promote mentoring as an interrelated process in classroom instruction to ignite a new perspective on school reform. In this particular context, this study concludes that these students of color viewed mentorship as a critical component that was often missing in their high school careers. In an effort to improve students' experiences in the classroom, this article argues that teachers must develop critical mentoring skills, beyond what is traditionally considered as mentoring services, as a pedagogical tool to assist students to overcome their academic challenges and achieve school success.

Many Latinas encounter negative expectations regarding their chances of attending college in the United States. Dominant narratives legitimize these structural and relational negations by depicting Latinas as a group that voluntarily lowers their expectations of themselves as they move through the education pipeline. To increase the representation of Latinas on college campuses, postsecondary institutions are financially incented to become Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Through the lens of resilient resistance, this qualitative study asks the following questions: (a) How do first-generation college-going Latinas define their educational expectations for postsecondary education? and (b) How do first-generation college-going Latinas enact their educational expectations through the practice of resilient resistance at a Hispanic-Serving Institution? Through the stories of four Latina undergraduates at a 4-year HSI in the American Southwest, this study contends that participants' refusal to accept other people's disbelief ignited their postsecondary education pursuits. As their own educational expectations were overrun by the expectational status quo, the participants utilized their cultural values of familismo to enact resilient resistance as they navigated inbetween institutional spaces. This article calls upon universities to establish equitable conditions within Latinas' educational environments and to actively direct resources toward their ability to leverage human agency, build coalitions, and recenter their own expectations for college success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a paucity of literature examining the relationship between executive and social functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-three school-aged children with ASD participated. Executive functioning was measured using the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition and Differential Ability Scales, Second Edition, and the teacher-rated Behavior Rating of Inventory of Executive Function. Independent assessors observed children's social functioning on the playground while children with ASD and their peers completed a survey to measure peer friendships and rejections. Overall, poorer executive functioning was associated with increased playground isolation and less engagement with peers. This suggests that metacognitive skills such as initiation, working memory, and planning and organization are associated with children's social functioning., Author(s): Laura MacMullen Freeman [sup.1] , Jill Locke [sup.2] , Erin Rotheram-Fuller [sup.3] , David Mandell [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) 0000 0001 0381 0779grid.417276.1Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, USA (2) [...]

Although social impairments are considered the hallmark deficit of autism, many behavioral intervention studies rely on cognitive functioning as a primary outcome. Fewer studies have examined whether changes in cognition are associated with changes in social functioning. This study examined whether cognitive gains among 192 students from 47 kindergarten-through-second-grade autism support classrooms participating in a year-long behavioral intervention study were associated with gains in social functioning. Children's gains in cognitive ability were modestly associated with independent assessors' and teachers' evaluations of social functioning but were not associated with changes in parent ratings. Observed social gains were not commensurate with gains in cognition, suggesting the need both for interventions that directly target social functioning and relevant field measures of social functioning.

This study examined the social impact of being a typical peer model as part of a social skills intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were drawn from a randomized-controlled-treatment trial that examined the effects of targeted interventions on the social networks of 60 elementary-aged children with ASD. Results demonstrated that typical peer models had higher social network centrality, received friendships, friendship quality, and less loneliness than non-peer models. Peer models were also more likely to be connected with children with ASD than non-peer models at baseline and exit. These results suggest that typical peers can be socially connected to children with ASD, as well as other classmates, and maintain a strong and positive role within the classroom.

Background: This study compared two interventions for improving the social skills of high functioning children with autism spectrum disorders in general education classrooms. One intervention involved a peer-mediated approach (PEER) and the other involved a child-assisted approach (CHILD). Method: The two interventions were crossed in a 2 x 2 factorial design yielding control, PEER, CHILD, and both PEER and CHILD conditions. Sixty children participated from 56 classrooms in 30 schools. Interventions involved 12 sessions over 6 weeks, with a 3-month follow-up. Outcome measures included self, peer and teacher reports of social skills and independent weekly observations of children on their school playground over the course of the intervention. Results: Significant improvements were found in social network salience, number of friendship nominations, teacher report of social skills in the classroom, and decreased isolation on the playground for children who received PEER interventions. Changes obtained at the end of the treatment persisted to the 3-month follow-up. Conclusions: These data suggest that significant improvements can be made in peer social connections for children with autism spectrum disorders in general education classrooms with a brief intervention, and that these gains persist over time.

The study reported here evaluated a self-determination intervention using the empowered curriculum for students with visual impairments. The perceptions of students, family members, and teachers of the usefulness of the chosen curriculum were also evaluated. Despite design limitations, the qualitative data suggest that the students enjoyed the empowered curriculum and found it to be useful. (Contains 2 tables.)

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a continuum of cognitive and social problems that vary considerably in both impact and presentation for each child affected. Although successful interventions have been developed that target specific skill deficits often exhibited by children with autism, many of those interventions are exclusively behavioral in nature, and do not address the cognitive components of presenting problems. The use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to address issues related to ASD, however, has been increasing. More specifically, CBT interventions have often been used to address issues of anxiety for children with ASD, and these promising results may be useful to inform practices in schools. This review examines existing literature on CBT interventions that have been evaluated with children with ASD and suggests methods and implications for adapting these interventions for use within the school setting. (Contains 2 tables.)

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are increasingly included in general education classrooms in an effort to improve their social involvement. Methods: Seventy-nine children with ASD and 79 randomly selected, gender-matched peers (88.6% male) in 75 early (K-1), middle (2nd-3rd), and late (4th-5th) elementary classrooms across 30 schools completed social network surveys examining each child's reciprocal friendships, peer rejection, acceptance, and social involvement. Results: Across grade levels, peers less frequently reciprocated friendships with children with ASD than students in the matched sample. While children with ASD were not more likely to be rejected by peers, they were less accepted and had fewer reciprocal friendships than matched peers at each grade level. Although 48.1% of children with ASD were involved in the social networks of their classrooms, children with ASD were more likely to be isolated or peripheral to social relationships within the classroom across all grade levels, and this difference is even more dramatic in later elementary grades. Conclusions: In inclusive classrooms, children with ASD are only involved in peers' social relationships about half of the time, and appear to be even less connected with increasing grade level. Promoting children with ASD's skills in popular activities to share with peers in early childhood may be a key preventive intervention to protect social relationships in late elementary school grades.

Including children with autism in regular classrooms has become prevalent; yet some evidence suggests such placements could increase the risk of isolation and rejection. In this study, we used social network methods to explore the involvement of children with autism in typical classrooms. Participants were 398 children (196 boys) in regular 2nd through 5th grade classes, including 17 children (14 boys) with high functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome. Children reported on friendship qualities, peer acceptance, loneliness, and classroom social networks. Despite involvement in networks, children with autism experienced lower centrality, acceptance, companionship, and reciprocity; yet they did not report greater loneliness. Future research is needed to help children with autism move from the periphery to more effective engagement with peers.