In evaluation and applied social research, focus groups may be used to gather different kinds of evidence (e. g., opinion, tacit knowledge). In this article, we argue that making focus group design choices explicitly in relation to the type of evidence required would enhance the empirical value and rigor associated with focus group utilization. We offer a descriptive framework to highlight contrasting design characteristics and the type of evidence they generate. We present examples of focus groups from education and healthcare evaluations to illustrate the relationship between focus group evidence, design, and how focus groups are conducted. To enhance the credibility of focus group evidence and maximize potential learning from this popular qualitative data collection method, we offer a set of questions to guide evaluators reflection and decision making about focus group design and implementation.

This article discusses the importance of mixed-methods research, in particular the value of qualitatively driven mixed-methods research for quantitatively driven domains like educational accountability. The article demonstrates the merits of qualitative thinking by describing a mixed-methods study that focuses on a middle school’s system of internal accountability and its perceived collective capacity in relation to external accountability mandates. The study also demonstrates the value of using an overarching instrumental case study framework to extend understandings of theoretical frameworks from previous accountability studies and to illuminate contextual complexities and nuances on multiple levels.

We provide a comprehensive review of the field of subjective well-being in terms of its societal and individual benefits, demographic correlates, theories of origin, and relationship to culture. Interventions to increase well-being are also presented as well as the argument that national accounts of well-being for public policy should be instituted and utilized, alongside economic and social indicators, to both reveal and improve the quality of life within nations.

This article provides basic information for school-based mental health professionals, teachers, staff, and administrators to support students coping with grief, and more specifically, grief related to death. The information is consolidated into guidelines and key points in providing support; suggested children's books and activities; Web sites with additional resources, information, and handouts for parents and teachers; and a list of key readings further explaining how children understand and cope with grief.

Although only 1% to 4% of the U.S. population engages in superficial self-harm (SSH), this behavior is much more prevalent in adolescents, with estimates ranging from 14% to 39%. While current studies primarily focus on clinical interventions, few have investigated SSH from an individual's perspective, and there is little guidance for family, friends, and others who desire to provide assistance. In particular, those in close contact with youth, particularly in schools, need basic information on SSH and suggestions for responding to students at risk. One-on-one, day-to-day, practical and effective intervention is needed. This study investigated the perspectives of 96 young women with a history of SSH. Based on their responses to an Internet survey, friends and mental health professionals were perceived as most helpful in acknowledging the individual's emotional pain and distress. Participants also wanted others to be nonjudgmental, to permit emotional expression, and to acknowledge their availability to offer help. Translated into practice, young women who engage in SSH consider an accepting supportive relationship to be a critical element in their recovery.

School safety, a major concern for students, parents, and school staff, is also a key issue for state and federal legislators who develop educational guidelines and standards. This article summarizes early disasters and the subsequent impact on school-based crisis intervention and safety plans. In particular, children’s mental health services are emphasized as a critical component of crisis intervention. Additionally, based on feedback from State Departments of Education, the current status of school crisis planning across the United States is summarized. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 7:206–223 (2007)]

So I want to take you back to about 20 years ago, as a first year graduate student I was doing a research assistantship with a professor interested in math test performance and motivation. This was the period when the U.S. was equally awed by the Japanese automobile import/production cycle and the Japanese educational system. The systems were both efficient and effective. As part of that assistantship, I helped some staff from the Midwest State Board of Education (MSBE) do a modest longitudinal study. It was all very informal – MSBE and Midwest University (MU) faculty thought it would be interesting to see how the students in 1984 compared with 1974 – called the Decade Study. MU faculty also wanted to pilot some scales assessing student motivation and test anxiety.

Books applicable to the broadfield of program evaluation are reviewed. Books may be reviewed singly or in groups to illuminate similarities and differences in intent, philosophy, and usefulness. Persons with suggestions of books to be reviewed, or those who wish to submit a review, should contact Perry Sailor (Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-2810; phone: 801-797-0090 or e-mail: perrys@cpd2.usu.edu). In general, a review of an individual book should

This article discusses the effects of chronic traumatization on children, and its various manifestations in children. It further explains the typical symptom picture, and elaborates treatment issues unique to working with the effects of chronic trauma. Countertransference issues specific to this area are discussed.

We studied 505 successive contacts to an adolescent outpatient clinic to evaluate (a) how client, referral process, service process, and provider characteristics related to outcome indicators, return after the first visit, the distance in the clinic's process clients proceeded and (b) how many sessions clients were seen. Few client characteristics or referral process variables and none of the provider characteristics were related to status on any outcome measure. The primary association was between service process characteristics and adolescents' use of clinical services, with inclusion of other family members and the presence of a single-service provider throughout the contact being most crucial.