How to share the process of graduate advising

This paper starts a two-part series on graduate advising that integrates concepts from adult learning, leadership, and psychology into a conceptual framework for graduate advising. A companion paper provides guidance on how to communicate effectively in graduate advising. Here, we present concepts and tools that enable advisors and graduate students to collaborate effectively and share the responsibility for the student’s learning. We specifically discuss (1) how to promote learning about learning to help students make sense of their experience and identify their supervision needs; (2) how to clarify roles and address conflicts of interest between different roles; and (3) how to establish an effective, learning-centered working relationship. By making the advising process explicit, using the concepts and worksheets presented here, advisors will contribute to the training of the next generation of graduate advisors.

How to communicate effectively in graduate advising

This paper completes a two-part series on graduate advising that integrates concepts from adult learning, leadership, and psychology into a conceptual framework for graduate advising. The companion paper discussed how to establish a learning-centered working relationship where advisor and graduate student collaborate in different roles to develop the student’s competence and confidence in all aspects of becoming a scientist. To put these ideas into practice, an advisor and a student need to communicate effectively. Here, we focus on the dynamics of day-to-day interactions and discuss (1) how to provide feedback that builds students’ competence and confidence, (2) how to choose the way we communicate and avoid a mismatch between verbal and nonverbal communication, and (3) how to prevent and resolve conflict. Miscommunication may happen out of a lack of understanding of the psychological aspects of human interactions. Therefore, we draw on concepts from Educational Transactional Analysis to provide advisors and students with an understanding of the psychological aspects of graduate advising as a basis for effective communication. Case studies illustrate the relevance of the concepts presented, and four worksheets ( Supplementary Material ) support their practical implementation.

Primary care workers' perception of disturbed children and the agencies they use to help these children

The aim of this study was to investigate how workers from primary care agencies perceived children who might be considered disturbed and to elucidate those factors that caused them to refer a child or family to a specific agency for help. Questionnaires were distributed to various referring agencies and for comparison to Child Guidance Clinic Staff. The questionnaire had two components, the first examined the type of contact that the professionals had with other agencies. The second asked them to read theoretical case histories and answer questions about how they perceived the child and family, what agencies they might use and what types of treatment they felt were most appropriate. The results obtained are presented and their implications for the organization of child psychiatric services discussed.