This study explored through applied statistics the importance and confidence levels of African American counselors-in-training core group counseling skills while at the same determining the difference among their colleagues of different ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to assess core group counseling skills while at the same determining the difference among their colleagues of differing ethnic backgrounds. Participants were sixty-eight counselors-in-training enrolled in a Group Counseling Course in the spring of 2015 and fall of 2016.  Of the sixty-eight participants 38 (55.88%) African Americans and 27 (39.71%) White/Caucasian had an opportunity to complete the Core Group Work Skills Inventory - Importance and Confidence (CGWSI-IC) as an extra credit assignment pre- and post their group counseling facilitation experience.  Results suggest African American participants had confidence in determining their effectiveness as group members or leaders. A significant difference and a very large effect between pre-test and post-test of African American counselor-in-training importance level of the individual behavioral items in the CGWSI-IC items were seen. Implications for specific training for African Americans in group counseling for core group counseling skills should be examined.

This work has two objectives. The first is to describe a program to strengthen socio-cognitive abilities in initial education children (called PHSC), which is focused on training teachers on its implementation in the classroom. The second objective is to examine the effectiveness of the program when it is applied in schools with different socio-cultural contexts. It involved a total of 257 initial-level students attending two pre-primary schools in the province of Mendoza. One school was in an urban area of a more stable social environment, and the other in a socially-vulnerable area.  The program was administered by teachers who had been trained for it. Pre- and post-assessments were conducted using socio-cognitive tests on the students. The teachers responded to the Executive Functioning Scale for initial education children before and after implementation of the PHSC program, and parents responded to an on-line survey to find out whether they had noticed any improvements or positive changes after the application of the program. The results suggest the possibility that this program, implemented by teachers, could improve the socio-cognitive abilities in children of both of the different social contexts, as well as being a driver to create conditions of equal opportunities and generate learning benefits in all their students.

This study examines the relationship between prior trauma and post disaster psychological distress in a sample of college students exposed to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas in 2017. College students (n = 324) receive treatment for psychological problems at very low rates, so screening for the most vulnerable students after a disaster is important. While the relationship between prior trauma and post-disaster psychological distress is well established, the evidence for prior disaster exposure as a risk factor outside of other trauma is mixed. Prior trauma was divided into two cumulative risk style indicators: prior traumatic experiences (excluding disasters) and prior disaster exposure. In multiple linear regression models, prior traumatic experiences were significant predictors of post-disaster symptoms of both post-traumatic stress disorder and depression following the hurricane. Prior disaster exposures were not significant in either case. Implications for future screening and analysis of risk factors are discussed.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the first human rights treaty with the ultimate goal of providing conditions conducive to child health and development. The CRC is grounded on four guiding principles: (1) non-discrimination; (2) best interests of the child; (3) the right to life, survival, and development; and (4) respect for the views of the child. These CRC principles are consistent with a social justice approach within the field of school psychology. This article highlights implications for school psychologists and encourages school psychologists to be at the center of the process of measuring, advocating, and actualizing all rights under the CRC, including the right to participation, in schools throughout the world. A summary of the Rights Respecting Schools initiative is offered to provide a concrete example for school psychologists and other school-based professionals.

According to various psychological studies, children’s drawings can tell us more than we can ever imagine. They can tell us stories about their author’s level of education, problems and knowledge gaps. According to the theory on the comparative multi-level picture analysis, drawings reveal the inner world of a child and can be used to improve educational practices to make them more personal. This research study analyses 157 drawings that Bulgarian migrant children that live and study in rural areas of Brazil sent to a researcher. Besides the comparative multi-level picture analysis approach the researcher applied various methods of picture analysis to investigate how the Bulgarian children experience the educational practices in Brazil. Additionally, the parents were interviewed via phone. They provided valuable information on their children’ development and level of success in schools. The study is a very important contribution to the theory of analysis of drawings as well as to the intercultural education theory. Additionally, it has a high comparative value as it was carried in a cross-cultural environment and can be used as a reference for future research studies in this field.