Kit, Irena Phey Ling

This study focused on the experiential learning experiences of eight trainee educational psychologists (school psychologists in the United States) from Singapore who participated in three role-play sessions during a two-day Basic Counseling Skills Training Program. Data collected from transcriptions of video-recorded sessions, a focus group discussion session, and responses to qualitative questionnaires were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's Grounded Theory. The results of this study revealed that Western-style counseling andragogies such as realistic role-plays and immediate instructor feedback could be used effectively to teach Singaporean trainee educational psychologists basic counseling skills, and to broaden their understanding of the role of an educational psychologist. The study also revealed that the experience of failure in a role-play could be a motivator to change their practice both within and outside the classroom.

In order to recruit sufficient special education allied educators for children with mild special education needs in Singapore public schools, the government removed the general education allied educators scheme, and offered its incumbents the opportunity to retrain as Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support). This qualitative research traced the mid-career identity change process of seven allied educators who accepted this offer. Analysis of interviews using Corbin and Strauss’s grounded theory produced 13 themes grouped into five categories. The five propositions derived from these categories showed how participants managed their resistance to professional identity change by recognising the similarities between their current and new roles and identities; and by experiencing the new role under the mentorship of senior Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural Support). This resistance self-management process resulted in participants’ increased commitment to their new identities. Implications for facilitating professional identity changes amongst educators are discussed.

This Singapore study involved a sample of 3776 secondary school students to examine the role of educational hope in moderating the relationships between teacher-student relationship dimensions (instrumental help, emotional support, relationship satisfaction, relationship conflict) and student engagement dimensions (perceived importance of schooling, school belonging, and effort expenditure). Besides its main associations with the student engagement dimensions, educational hope was found to be a significant moderator in the relationships (a) between perceived teacher instrumental help and perceived importance of schooling, and (b) between perceived teacher emotional support and effort expenditure, such that students high on perceived instrumental help or teacher emotional support and educational hope were also those high on the perceived importance of schooling or effort expenditure. This study demonstrates that the constructs, though theorised in Western contexts, have empirical utility and relevance for understanding the engagement of students in the Singapore context. Implications arising from this study are discussed.

This study presents a qualitative exploration that uses three methodological genres (Conversation Analysis, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Modified Grounded Theory) under Elliot’s (1984, 1993) Comprehensive Process Analysis (CPA) framework to analyse the experiences of 16 novice group counsellors (of which 13 were from Singapore and three were from three other Asian countries) in two in-class face-to-face and on-line support groups. The 16 novice group counsellors rotated through the roles of co-facilitators and members.

The data corpus for analysis included transcripts of all face-to-face and on-line support group sessions, as well as individual and co-facilitator reflection papers. Accuracy of data capture and interpretation was enhanced by analytical checks provided by two research assistants and two external auditors, all of whom spoke two or more languages and had exposure to different cultures in the Asia-Pacific region, including the novice group counsellors’ countries of origin.

The occurrence and management of resistance of one group member in each group was deemed to be a significant type of critical incident by participants in both groups. This phenomenon of resistance was analysed using Conversation Analysis (CA) to understand how the groups co-constructed their experiences, and key interactional features were identified. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was then used to understand the meaning behind the novice group counsellors’ actions and experiences during the critical incidents. The results of CA and IPA for each group’s experience were then integrated into a story of its experience of resistance. During this process, the five superordinate themes of resistance, i.e. Responsibility, Authority, Alliances, Approach, and Respect, were identified as common to both groups.

Modified Grounded Theory (Jennings, D’Rozario, Goh, Sovereign, Brogger, & Skovholt, 2008) was used to explore the novice counsellors’ overall experiences of their support groups as members, co-facilitators, and with the face-to-face and on-line modalities. The study yielded three categories with two themes each for members’ experiences, four categories with 18 themes for co-facilitators’ experiences, and six categories with a total of 14 themes for participant’s experiences on face-to-face and on-line platforms. At the end of this process, a model of participants’ overall experiences was constructed using seven superordinate themes divided into three time-frames, Pre-Group, Support Group and Post-Group. Findings revealed that 15 out of 16 members reported enhanced self-awareness, and experienced their support groups as enjoyable and therapeutic. Twelve co-facilitators also reported having increased self-awareness of counselling styles, strengths and weaknesses. Fifteen participants were supportive of using the face-to-face modality for training, but only eight participants were supportive of using the on-line platform for training.

Overall, the superordinate theme of Alliance, as found in the stories of resistance, was also responsible for the overall membership experience of participants. The results and implications of this study are also discussed.

The primary objective of this study was to find out which factors influenced the crisis pregnancy decision-making process of adolescents in Singapore. In particular, the study looked at whether an adolescent's decision-making process was influenced by her level of cognitive development, social and psychological factors such as her family and friends, and cultural and societal factors, such as her community. The study also looked at whether these adolescents went through decision-making processes which led to specific pregnancy decisions, according to a theoretical framework, which combined the Systems Theory, the Adolescent Decision-Making Theory and the Crisis Theory.

The study was conducted in four phases, namely, 1) analysis of quantitative data collated from counselling notes of 171 adolescents who attended face-to-face counselling sessions at the Pregnancy Crisis Service (PCS) over a 3-year period, 2) formulation of a checklist of factors for pilot interviews with a counselor and single mother, 3) interview of pilot interviewees and creation of a final list of interview questions from pilot interview data, and 4) interviews of subjects, i.e., counselors, volunteers and adolescents.

For the quantitative study, all records of adolescents from the Pregnancy Crisis Service were used to form the sample. All counselors from the Pregnancy Crisis Service, Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, Rosevilla, and Andrew and Grace Home, and some volunteers from the Pregnancy Crisis Service, were interviewed. Convenience sampling was used for the interviews with adolescents.

The study found that an adolescent's decision-making was indeed influenced by three main factors, i.e., her level of cognitive development, her family and friends, and cultural and societal values. Within these three main factors, there were a multitude of other influencing factors and issues. However, not all of these factors contributed equally to each type of pregnancy resolution, i.e., abortion, parenting and adoption. Influencing factors for each type of pregnancy resolution and their perceived importance were also identified according to the theoretical framework. Some factors figured prominently in most of the crisis pregnancy resolutions. The most important factors were the attitudes and beliefs of and the degree of support given by the adolescent's parents and family for a particular course of action. The adolescent's ability to process the different facets of her diliemma, and take into account long term consequences, also contributed greatly to the decision-making process. Finally, cultural and societal attitudes towards single motherhood were found to be influencing factor for adolescents considering abortion, but not for those considering parenting.

Other significant findings were also discussed and presented. Limitations of this study, as well as its implications for future research in the areas of sexuality education and counselling strategies were explored at the end of this paper.

Research on Asian Indian American indicates anunder-utilization of mental health services within this minority group. This chapter provides a cultural profile of individuals from this ethnic minority group. The primary focus of this chapter is to provide culturally sensitive guidelines for practice in psychological assessment and counseling when working with Asian Indian Americans. The first section provides an overview of the cultural context of the Asian Indian American in terms of issues related to formation of ethnic identity and degree of acculturation, the importance of family, gender roles and expectations, and commonly held cultural beliefs, values and customs. It also indicates potential stressors that may be commonly experienced among Asian Indian Americans. The second section describes the attitudes towards mental illness, disability and help seeking behaviors prevalent among Asian Indian Americans that act as a deterrent in accessing mental health services. The third section provides culturally sensitive recommendations to increase accessibility and acceptance of mental health services among Asian Indian Americans. Guidelines include solutions to increase service utilization by customizing service delivery methods to fit client needs, using systems based and directive approaches to understand the Asian Indian American client, allocating counselors based on client values and gender preferences, and collaborating with medical professionals and indigenous healers to provide more comprehensive mental health services to this minority population.