Volume 40, No. 1 January 2009
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Monitor on Psychology Volume 40, No. 1 January 2009 |
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APA News APA, UVA receive $1 million grant to foster future researchers APA and the University of Virginia received $1 million to study how science-specialized public high schools contribute to the development of future researchers. APA and UVA hope to answer the following questions: • Are specialized high school graduates more likely to remain in the science, math and technical field than students with similar achievements who attended traditional public high schools? • Which instructional practices at specialized schools are associated with keeping students in the science, math and technical track in college? • Do specialized high school graduates hold perspectives on professional success and ethical behavior that differ from non-specialized-school graduates? One of the study's central goals is to understand the educational and career consequences for specialized-school students who remain in scientific fields of study, says Rena F. Subotnik, PhD, director of APA's Center for Psychology in Schools and Education. APA and UVA want to gain insight on the educational practices that are strongly associated with these outcomes. Specialized public schools are still not widely accessible, Subotnik says. APA and UVA hope the study's findings will lead to policy changes that will enable more youth from underrepresented groups to attend these schools. Only 27 states offer science, mathematics and technology talent programs.
APA has become a founding member of the Science and Human Rights Coalition of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The coalition, which launched this month, encourages scientists to lend their expertise to further human rights. So far, the coalition has focused mostly on areas such as geospatial technology, water testing and data collection. AAAS, for example, has been analyzing satellite images for evidence of village destruction and human rights violations on the Georgia-Russia border at the request of Amnesty International. APA joined the coalition to act on psychologists' commitment to human rights and open up opportunities for concerned APA members on the coalition's working groups, says Clinton Anderson, PhD, of APA's Public Interest Directorate, who represents APA on the coalition. The coalition has working groups on the welfare of scientists, on science ethics and human rights, on service to the human rights community, on information resources, and on service to the scientific community. "Although APA has policy resolutions on human rights, APA hasn't had much explicit involvement in human rights activities," says Anderson. "We hope to support APA members who have interest in applying psychological science to human rights and in increasing psychology's role in human rights advocacy." Other coalition members include the American Chemical Society, the American Sociological Association and the Association of American Geographers. For more information, visit http://shr.aaas.org/coalition/index.shtml.
Comment on APA's accreditation policy APA's Commission on Accreditation is proposing three clarifications to its Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology. The first item introduces two new regulations to clarify diversity recruitment and retention and diversity education and training for doctoral, internship and postdoctoral programs. The second item seeks to clarify the definition of "empirically supported procedures" as used in doctoral and internship programs. To view these proposals, visit http://apaoutside.apa.org/AccredSurvey/public/. Comments will be accepted until March 23.
Save the date for the accreditation assembly The Commission on Accreditation invites you to attend the third annual Accreditation Assembly, May 29–30 in San Diego. The assembly will offer sessions on various aspects of the accreditation process, and will address broad issues and challenges within the field, such as external forces on accreditation. Attendees are typically involved with psychology programs or training councils. Visit www.apa.org/ed/accreditation for more details.
Committee will revise standards for educational and psychological testing The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, long considered to be the definitive source for information concerning sound test development and use, are being revised. Designed to establish criteria for appropriate development, use and interpretation of tests, the standards have been widely cited by states, federal agencies, private organizations, legislative bodies and even the U.S. Supreme Court. They are based on the premise that effective testing and assessment requires test developers and users to be knowledgeable about validity, reliability and other measurement issues. The committee is being co-chaired by Barbara Plake, PhD, distinguished professor emerita at the University of Nebraska, and Lauress Wise, PhD, principal scientist at the Human Resources Research Organization, Monterey, Calif. They, along with 13 other members, will revise and update the standards to reflect current research and best practices. The revision continues a long collaboration of APA, the American Educational Research Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education. The committee plans to hold its initial meeting early this year. Questions about the committee and its work should be sent to Marianne Ernesto. —J. Clark
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