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Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers need both motivation and interpersonal skills in STEM disciplines. The aims of the study were to identify clusters of adolescents who vary in math and science motivation and interpersonal skills and to explore what factors are related to membership in a high math and science motivation and interpersonal skills cluster. Participants included 467 adolescents (312 female; M[subscript age] = 15.12 to SD = 1.71 year) recruited from out-of-school STEM programs in the US and UK. Findings from latent class analyses revealed four clusters, including a "High Math and Science Motivation and Interpersonal Skills" group, as well as groups that exhibited lower levels of either motivation or interpersonal skills. STEM program belonging, and STEM identity are related to membership in the high motivation and skills cluster. Findings provide insight into factors that may encourage motivation and interpersonal skills in adolescents, preparing them for STEM workforce entry.

Developmental science research often involves research questions developed by academic teams, which are tested within community or educational settings. In this piece, we outline the importance of research-practice partnerships, which involve both research and practice-based partners collaborating at each stage of the research process. We articulate challenges and benefits of these partnerships for developmental science research, identify relevant research frameworks that may inform these partnerships, and provide an example of an ongoing research-practice partnership.

The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are rife with inequalities and under‐representation that have their roots in childhood. While researchers have focused on gender and race/ethnicity as two key dimensions of inequality, less attention has been paid to wealth. To this end, and drawing from the Social Reasoning Development approach, we examined children's and adolescents' perceptions of STEM ability and access to opportunities as a function of wealth, as well as their desire to rectify such inequalities. Participants (n = 234: early childhood, n = 70, mean age = 6.33, SD =.79; middle childhood, n = 92, mean age = 8.90, SD =.83 and early adolescence, n = 62, mean age = 12.00; SD = 1.16) in the U.K. (64% White British) and U.S. (40% White/European American) read about two characters, one high‐wealth and one low‐wealth. In early childhood, participants reported that the high‐wealth character would have greater STEM ability and were just as likely to invite either character to take part in a STEM opportunity. By middle childhood, participants were more likely to report equal STEM abilities for both characters and to seek to rectify inequalities by inviting the low‐wealth character to take part in a STEM opportunity. However, older participants reported that peers would still prefer to invite the high‐wealth character. These findings also varied by ethnic group status, with minority status participants rectifying inequalities at a younger age than majority status participants. Together these findings document that children are aware of STEM inequalities based on wealth and, with age, will increasingly seek to rectify these inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers need both motivation and interpersonal skills in STEM disciplines. The aims of the study were to identify clusters of adolescents who vary in math and science motivation and interpersonal skills and to explore what factors are related to membership in a high math and science motivation and interpersonal skills cluster. Participants included 467 adolescents (312 female; M age = 15.12 to SD = 1.71 year) recruited from out-of-school STEM programs in the US and UK. Findings from latent class analyses revealed four clusters, including a "High Math and Science Motivation and Interpersonal Skills" group, as well as groups that exhibited lower levels of either motivation or interpersonal skills. STEM program belonging, and STEM identity are related to membership in the high motivation and skills cluster. Findings provide insight into factors that may encourage motivation and interpersonal skills in adolescents, preparing them for STEM workforce entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses that a board and staff committee formed to advocate for the rights of dependent children can positively affect their treatment by other community agencies. In a specialty hospital serving chronically ill and disabled children, a patient advocacy committee was established to combine the skills of professional staff members with the power of lay board members for institutional problem solving and effecting social change. The rationale for the formation of this committee was based on three principles. At Blythedale Children's Hospital, Valhalla, New York, the development of a board-professional committee to advocate for patients was spurred by external and internal changes and needs. Historically, the board had been involved with staff and children in day-to-day operational issues in the tradition of early charitable organizations. As the institution developed into a hospital, with specialists to serve the increasingly complex needs of children requiring long-term treatment for physical problems, interaction between members of the board of trustees and staff lessened.

This paper describes the use of the group method to study and treat parents of hospitalized asthmatic children. The needs of parents as revealed by the group process are discussed, and the implications for treatment of both child and family are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article focuses on comments from readers on various issues. One reader, expressing her opinion on an article has written that her general reaction to the interesting article "Informed Consent: For Whose Benefit?" in the November 1981 issue is that she has no problem with advocacy being an appropriate role of the social worker in medical settings in the areas of achieving informed consent. In her judgment. the case material presented fails to document that the patient's rights were violated at the time the worker informed the patient that the doctor was planning surgery. Therefore she believes this to be an unfortunate choice of illustrative case material. Further, although one may applaud the eagerness of the student to help her client, the example represents poor practice and inadequate supervision in a medical setting. The supervisor did not teach nor did the student practice in a collaborative fashion. Expressing an opinion on the same article another reader has written that the article is out of place in the journal.