Engaging Graduate Students in Cultural Experiences Early: The Development, Implementation, and Preliminary Student Perceptions of a Community Engagement Clinical Experience

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are called to serve an increasingly diverse patient population in the United States. This increased diversity highlights the need for clinicians to be educated early in their careers about best practices to serve patients and clients from diverse backgrounds. In this clinical focus article, the authors present the development, implementation, and preliminary perceptions of a culturally responsive clinical experience for speech-language pathology graduate students designed to engage them early in their learning career. Method: The pilot program was based on pillars of experiential learning and community engagement. Graduate students attended trainings aligned with a model of culturally relevant care to prepare them to conduct speech and language screenings and small group language enrichment in English and Spanish. Results: Preliminary analyses of student reflections indicated themes of positive perceptions about the experience and provided preliminary support for students learning about working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations in an early, intentional, and focused experience. Conclusions: Early personnel preparation to culturally responsive care is crucial to meet the needs of future caseloads. Further research into the effectiveness of this kind of program is necessary to identify which variables may have the most impact on a student's cultural sensitivity, awareness, knowledge, and skills.

A Mixed Design Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary Transition Graduate Program

The authors describe the implementation and impact of a graduate-level transition personnel preparation program for transition specialists. This program was based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) standards for transition specialists. Over 200 special educators were prepared in a 2-year part-time graduate program where interdisciplinary, practice-based preparation was provided. Participants completed five courses and one practicum designed to prepare them to meet the standards for transition specialists. Competency ratings significantly improved after program completion. Focus group responses suggested that the program design had features that had major impact on the areas of policy, collaboration, and leadership. Collaboration and interdisciplinary activities emphasizing the roles of transition professionals were described throughout the article, showing how transition specialists, career/technical educators, and rehabilitation counselors are mutually supportive of youth with disabilities achieving postschool goals. The authors recommended further research on how this kind of preparation might be disseminated and replicated.

State of the Practice of Team Science in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate engagement in collaborative research (team science) and perceptions of related knowledge and skills to inform personnel preparation and workforce development efforts. Method A questionnaire was used to solicit information about the team science–related experiences of 220 doctoral students, faculty, and research scientists in speech-pathology and audiology. Additionally, the questionnaire surveyed participants' perceptions of readiness, benefits, and challenges to team science. Results Results demonstrated low percentages of respondents had received training in collaborative research (17%), and those with training were more likely to engage in cross-disciplinary collaborative research. Group differences were found with female researchers reporting lower psychological safety than male researchers. The most frequently cited advantages of team science included diverse perspectives, collective expertise, innovative ideas, and productivity. Conversely, common challenges included time constraints, finding collaborators, and differing expectations. Implications Because this study yielded group difference in psychological safety between groups that differed in gender and position, results suggest additional efforts may be necessary to ensure that imbalances in the power structure of members are not allowed to dissuade members from actively contributing to team activities. Additional training opportunities in team science could support the degree to which professionals in communication science and disorders engage in collaborative research. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.15506034

Positioning Practices of Orientation and Mobility Specialists When Teaching Street Crossings: Is There a Standard Approach?

Introduction: An important skill for orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists to have is to monitor clients appropriately when they are learning to cross intersections. Techniques books provide some suggestions for positioning during street crossings, but no research has been conducted about consensus or priorities for making appropriate decisions on positioning. The purpose of this study was to investigate general positioning decisions using visual monitoring techniques. Method: A total of 234 participants (practicing O&M specialists, preservice O&M students, and O&M university personnel) completed a 40-question survey. The survey included demographic questions, diagrams of intersections that participants used to select positioning locations, questions about lanes of threat, and questions about important factors to consider when positioning to monitor safety. Commonality of selections were analyzed and compared with demographic information. Results: The greatest consensus was found for all intersection types when the client is positioned on the corner waiting to cross and for identification of the first lane of threat. More variable position selections were made for monitoring during the crossings, and the second and third lane of threat selections were also more variable. Factors respondents indicated as most important to consider when positioning aligned with their positioning choices overall. Discussion: Personnel preparation programs may want to consider to what extent they teach considerations for positioning before and during crossings, and whether the predominant tendency to put oneself between the client and traffic warrants additional conversation. Future research should look at more complex intersections and the additional nuances used to make positioning choices. Implications for practitioners: Practitioners should reflect on whether they actively change their positioning decisions based on the situation and type of intersection versus tending to use a standard strategy.

Counteracting Dysconscious Racism and Ableism Through Fieldwork: Applying DisCrit Classroom Ecology in Early Childhood Personnel Preparation

Early childhood personnel preparation programs must prepare future early educators who can counteract racism and ableism to provide all children with an equitable and just education. We applied Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) Classroom Ecology to early childhood and specifically to preschool settings. We argue that early childhood personnel preparation programs can utilize this framework to prepare preservice early educators to facilitate more equitable experiences for Children of Color with disabilities and their families. We discuss the importance of preparing future early educators to counteract racism and ableism through their fieldwork experiences. We also provide a brief overview of DisCrit in relation to early childhood personnel preparation and present DisCrit Classroom Ecology to apply the framework components to preschool fieldwork.

THEORETICAL ISSUES OF IMPROVING INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS

The author of the article clarifies theoretical aspects of institutions and institutional support for innovative systems. The author proposed a definition of the Institute category. The classification of institutional support for innovative activities of enterprises was developed. The life cycle of the innovation process was supplemented with a subsystem for personnel preparation to absorb generated knowledge, which allows unlocking the internal innovation potential of the organization.

Developing pre-service O&M specialists’ reflective practices to improve problem-solving opportunities during instruction

The ability of instructors to promote problem-solving abilities is an important pedagogical skill. Providing well-planned problem-solving opportunities is especially vital in orientation and mobility (O&M) lessons. During personnel preparation programs, pre-service O&M specialists would benefit from developing a keen awareness of how well they encourage problem-solving in their instruction. This mixed-methods study reports on a process in which nine pre-service O&M specialists engaged during their blindfold techniques course. Each participant taught two lessons to a peer in their course, engaging in a retroactive think-aloud after each lesson. The process focused participants on the types of questions they asked to promote thinking and engaged them in reflection on how well the lesson met their intended objectives. Results indicated qualitative benefits noted by the participants of engaging in the process and also highlighted a need for further work with pre-service O&M specialists on question asking and allowing problem-solving and thinking opportunities during basic lessons.

Enhancing position of Azerbaijan in the world of petrochemicals business with innovative expansion of Industrial Parks

The article explores the current situation in the world of petrochemical business and the role of industrial parks in enhancing Azerbaijani’s position in this field. The characteristics of polymer plants investment in the Sumgait Chemical Industry Park have been identified. Future demand for petrochemicals and global market share for different polymer products have been evaluated among different regions of the world. The effect of petrochemicals sector on environment, namely its role in air and water pollution was not ignored as well. The petrochemical plants were founded based on the innovative expansion of industrial parks in Azerbaijan which will eliminate country’s dependence on imports. The statement that thousands of new employment positions will be opened by small and medium enterprises using the final products of these plants as raw materials and subsequently potential increase in export of our country was clarified. Human capital development and professional personnel preparation for petrochemical industry have been highlighted and characterized.