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The extent to which people choose their professions and professions choose their practitioners is not always clear; it is in all likelihood a simpatico process. But, growing attention to the study of careers can help elucidate the nexus of personal and professional forces that underpins this complex dynamic. This line of inquiry can also advance knowledge of how it is that individual scholars come to shape the essential features and directions of a profession at a particular point in its history. I use oral life history methods to develop an account of Eileen Gambrill's emergence as an "influential" in the course of American social work. I begin with a brief overview of the context of the project. I then describe the range of narrative methods which I drew on to craft an account of her personal and professional development vis-à-vis the profession's zeitgeist at the time. I begin the account itself by defining an influential to establish her status in the field. I then turn to the alchemy of dispositional and situational conditions which, beginning in early life and extending throughout her formal education, furthered her development in this role. I close with a few examples of the significant outcomes of her influence as an integrative scholar who focused her career on bettering the lives of others through evidence-informed, expertly delivered, ethically responsible social work practice.

Although support groups are the most popular source of education and support for the growing number of grandparents who are rearing their grandchildren, the nature and efficacy of these groups have not been documented. This article presents data from an exploratory study of an 8-week school-based small group intervention. Comparison of pre- and posttest measures showed a reduction in depressive symptoms and in use of distancing as a coping strategy. Seeking social support and planful problem solving increased, as did knowledge about grandparent- related social services. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.

Increasingly, middle-aged and older adults are parenting grandchildren and other young kin in 'skipped generation' families. Changes in the multigenerational family structure, devastating social problems in our inner cities, notably the substance-abuse and HIV/AIDS epidemics of the 1980s, and public policy and ethnocultural norms that govern kin care are discussed as contributing factors to this phenomenon. Recent studies focusing on grandparent caregivers of color, as well as policy and programmatic responses to the rapid growth of this family configuration, are discussed. The author offers recommendations for assessing and building on existing strengths and addressing the service needs of grandparent caregivers and their families through direct practice and public policy.

The passing of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009) provides a new policy context and a new series of opportunities to strengthening the quality dimensions of primary education in India. The Act further reinforces the suggestions made by the National Curriculum Framework of 2005. Given the recent developments where new provisions are put into place for revision of textbooks, teacher recruitment and training, student assessment and tracking, and so on, we hope that this study contributes to the understanding of district-level concerns pertaining to public primary textbooks and the wider curriculum approach. This working paper is second in the series of three research studies conducted under MDEP's first year's commitment to understand and analyze the primary education scenario in the two districts. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of empirical research to study the key gaps and challenges in the policies and practices pertaining to curriculum in public primary schools in our two districts of Morigaon, Assam and Medak, Andhra Pradesh. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations to the local governments and education authorities that it has derived from an assimilation of findings from different sources. It encourages the local departments of education to view educational needs of their region through an integrated approach. It encourages the local offices to partner with other actors in the field to better understand educational quality and achievement and its determining factors: student health and nutrition, textbook design, teacher training, school participation, district level education and budget planning, school environment, and monitoring and evaluation.

BackgroundDespite the centrality of family in Indian society, relatively little is known about family‐based communication concerning sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS in rural Indian families. To date, very few family‐based adolescent HIV‐prevention interventions have been developed for rural Indian youth. This study conducted formative research with youth aged 14 to18 years and their parents in order to assess the feasibility of conducting a family‐based HIV‐prevention intervention for rural Indian adolescents.MethodsEight focus groups were conducted (n = 46) with mothers, fathers, adolescent females and adolescent males (two focus groups were held for each of the four groups). All focus groups consisted of same‐gender participants. Adolescents aged 14 to18 years old and their parents were recruited from a tribal community in rural Maharashtra, India. Focus group transcripts were content analyzed to identify themes related to family perceptions about HIV/AIDS and participation in a family‐based intervention to reduce adolescent vulnerability to HIV infection.ResultsSix primary thematic areas were identified: (1) family knowledge about HIV/AIDS; (2) family perceptions about adolescent vulnerability to HIV infection; (3) feasibility of a family‐based programme to prevent adolescent HIV infection; (4) barriers to participation; (5) recruitment and retention strategies; and (6) preferred content for an adolescent HIV prevention intervention.ConclusionDespite suggestions that family‐based approaches to preventing adolescent HIV infection may be culturally inappropriate, our results suggest that a family‐based intervention to prevent adolescent HIV infection is feasible if it: (1) provides families with comprehensive HIV prevention strategies and knowledge; (2) addresses barriers to participation; (3) is adolescent friendly, flexible and convenient; and (4) is developmentally and culturally appropriate for rural Indian families.