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The preparation of police officers for work in a multicultural society has become a major concern for police departments, local governments, and the general community. This article provides a critique of the methods used in cultural diversity training and suggests a number of principles and strategies for conducting this training. Rather than a standardized training format, the article proposes that diversity training provide participants with skills to develop and maintain cultural competence. This application suggests that successful cultural diversity training is didactic and experiential. encouraging officers to “connect” with the communities they seek to understand.

During field experiences, preservice teachers often are asked plan and teach a lesson and then to reflect on their teaching. The purpose of this paper is to examine the guided reflections of 66 preservice teachers after they planned and implemented a primary source-based lesson in an elementary classroom. The project occurred during the preservice teachers’ enrollment in a social studies methods course.

This qualitative study utilized a fieldwork approach as the methodological framework. This approach provided data that allowed the researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the preservice teachers’ experiences. Data were analyzed using Bogdan and Biklen’s (1998) content unit of analysis. Descriptive and interpretive coding schemes were used to analyze data using a priori categories of successes and challenges.

The preservice teachers were able to engage in technical and practical reflection, considering strategies used in the classroom and their effects on student learning, but they were unable to reflect at the critical level, thinking about moral and ethical decisions. The themes and subthemes that many of the preservice teachers identified as successes, others identified as challenges.

This study highlights the importance of preservice teachers engaging with primary sources, as well as with frequent, meaningful, and ongoing field experiences. Teacher educators need to provide multiple opportunities for teacher candidates to reflect broadly and deeply on their teaching practice and student learning. Additional research needs to be conducted to assess the impact of preservice teachers use of primary sources in the elementary classroom.

The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships of self-care behavior, illness representation and diabetes knowledge with A1C (level of glycemic control) in 124 incarcerated persons.

Using a cross-sectional design, summary scores and items from the self-care inventory revised, brief illness perception questionnaire and the spoken knowledge for low literacy in diabetes were evaluated using linear regression to assess their relationship to A1C.

Metabolic control was suboptimal for the majority of inmates with diabetes. The final regression model was statistically significant (F (3, 120)=9.51, p=0.001, R²=19.2 percent). Higher log10 HbA1C (A1C) was associated with lower personal control beliefs (B=−0.007, t (122)=−2.42, p=<0.02), higher self-report of diabetes understanding (B=0.009, t (122)=3.12, p=0.00) and using insulin (B=0.062, t (122)=2.45, p=0.02).

Similar to findings with community dwelling participants, enhancing diabetes personal control beliefs among inmates may lead to lower A1C.

Highly structured environments with limited options for self-care, personal choices and readily available health care may give some incarcerated persons with diabetes no motivation to improve diabetes control even if they have an understanding of what to do.

While there is abundant research in the community describing how these factors influence A1C levels, research of this nature with incarcerated persons with diabetes is limited. Findings will inform diabetes programming during incarceration to better prepare inmates for reentry.