SAGE Journal Articles
Abstract
The aim of this study was to pilot test a classroom-based intervention focused on facilitating play and joint attention for young children with autism in self-contained special education classrooms. Thirty-three children with autism between the ages of 3 and 6 years participated in the study with their classroom teachers (n = 14). The 14 preschool special education teachers were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) symbolic play then joint attention intervention, (2) joint attention then symbolic intervention, and (3) wait-list control period then further randomized to either group 1 or group 2. In the intervention, teachers participated in eight weekly individualized 1-h sessions with a researcher that emphasized embedding strategies targeting symbolic play and joint attention into their everyday classroom routines and activities. The main child outcome variables of interest were collected through direct classroom observations. Findings indicate that teachers can implement an intervention to significantly improve joint engagement of young children with autism in their classrooms. Furthermore, multilevel analyses showed significant increases in joint attention and symbolic play skills. Thus, these pilot data emphasize the need for further research and implementation of classroom-based interventions targeting play and joint attention skills for young children with autism.
Abstract
School-related alcohol use is a large but understudied problem in American schools. This investigation examined factors related to aggression at school, particularly the role of alcohol use. School aggression was higher among students who were male, rebellious, had a weak sense of school identification, low academic achievement, and engaged in alcohol use during the school day. General alcohol use was not related to school aggression beyond the effect of school-related alcohol use. Schools that encourage school involvement and alcohol resistance may help prevent problems of student aggression.
Abstract
Domestic violence is reaching epidemic proportions and is designated a national health crisis in the United States. Yet, the stories of abused women and their experiences are only just recently appearing in the literature. The use of coping strategies in dealing with abusive intimate partners is one such area that invites further research. Using the phenomenological method, 17 volunteers discuss their inner resources for surviving abusive experiences and developing ways to protect themselves in future relationships. Women's accounts of abuse experiences add depth to what is known about their strength and portray them as survivors rather than as victims. Future research is called for that adds to the understanding of the inner resources attributed to the women in the study findings.
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to examine how the field of mixed methods currently is being defined. The authors asked many of the current leaders in mixed methods research how they define mixed methods research. The authors provide the leaders' definitions and discuss the content found as they searched for the criteria of demarcation. The authors provide a current answer to the question, What is mixed methods research? They also briefly summarize the recent history of mixed methods and list several issues that need additional work as the field continues to advance. They argue that mixed methods research is one of the three major "research paradigms" (quantitative research, qualitative research, and mixed methods research). The authors hope this article will contribute to the ongoing dialogue about how mixed methods research is defined and conceptualized by its practitioners.