Professional Educational Psychology and Community Relations Education in Northern Ireland

The events in North Belfast surrounding the children of Holy Cross Primary School have reminded us all, graphically, of how long and tortuous the path to lasting peace in Northern Ireland might be. In this very timely article, the author describes his practice-based research aimed at informing the processes of school improvement for peace and reconciliation. The analysis involves an exploration of the contribution that professional educational psychology might make to community relations education and to the broader project of inclusion and social reconstruction in Northern Ireland. The present article intends to contribute towards local debate concerning a reappraisal of the educational psychologist role. Furthermore, to be relevant to all educational psychologists who are interested in the contribution of schooling towards improved intergroup relationships and peace education.     

Collaborative skill instruction for promoting positive interactions between mentally handicapped and nonhandicapped children

Structuring cooperative learning activities has been shown to be an effective technique for integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped students. Previous research in this area has focused on the relative effects of cooperative versus competitive and individualistic learning situations upon peer relations and academic achievement. Few investigations have examined the various elements within the cooperative learning model that appear to promote positive peer interactions among handicapped and nonhandicapped students. The present study evaluated the influence of collaborative skill instruction versus no collaborative skill instruction on the social interaction behaviors of moderately/severely handicapped and nonhandicapped students participating in group science activities. These data reveal that students receiving collaborative skill instruction interacted more positively with one another than those who did not receive the instruction.     

A time of transition: exploring special educational provision in the Republic of Ireland

Special educational provision in the Republic of Ireland has experienced significant changes in the past decade. A combination of interrelated factors including litigation, legislation, parental advocacy and international developments has radically altered the landscape of special education. As a result of these changes the move towards establishing inclusive learning environments appears irreversible though many critical issues remain to be addressed at this time of transition. This study examines how key stakeholders in primary education perceive the challenge of responding appropriately to increased diversity. The results indicate that many barriers remain in the development of inclusive learning environments. The conceptual understanding of special educational needs (SEN) was seriously deficient and this affected the coherence of policy and service delivery. The system lacked strategic leadership, according to participants, and this restricted the capacity to support schools. School capacity to deliver quality education for children with SEN was constrained by the serious shortfall in the range and level of skills required and opportunities for professional development available. There was strong support for the principle of inclusion into mainstream though this was principally perceived in terms of the development of socialisation skills. It was concluded that in this transition phase schools required strategic leadership from policy‐makers to address the many challenges that remain in the establishment of inclusive learning environments.     

A strategy for the assessment of bilingual handicapped children

Because of current federal legislation, educators must assess children with possible handicapping conditions and plan an individual education program for each child with a special need. Past trends are inadequate for these two purposes, and, furthermore, have placed bilingual, culturally different children into special education classes disproportionately to their representation in the general population. What needs to be recognized by measurement experts and educators is that no one test method is sufficient for the assessment of bilingual children. This paper discusses past measurement directions and makes recommendations for the assessment of bilingual, culturally different children.     

Facilitating communication between education and health services: the provision for children with speech and language needs

In this article, James Law, Marie Gascoigne and Nina Soloff, of the Department of Language and Communication Science at City University, London; Geoff Lindsay and Sue Band, of the Institute of Education, University of Warwick; and Nick Peacey and Julie Radford, of the Institute of Education, University of London, explore provision for children with speech and language needs. The authors report the outcomes of Government-funded research into the provision of speech and language therapy services and identify 13 key themes which emerge from a review of these findings. They proceed to make a series of important and challenging recommendations, many of which focus on the need for enhanced collaboration at a range of levels.     

Integrating and partnering services in schools – an emerging model in Northern Ireland

In this paper Caroline Karayiannis provides an account of recent developments regarding the links between services in schools. She presents an overview of practices in Northern Ireland, particularly illustrating these with ‘snapshot’ voices of some of the key sectors in these endeavours.     

Higher Education in Further Education: Northern Ireland

This paper reviews the provision of higher education courses in the further education sector in Northern Ireland. It charts the evolution of policy through the 1990s by examining major policy documents. It notes the chronic absence of reliable statistical and research evidence during this period. The available statistical evidence is reviewed. Key themes are identified including: localism, ‘non‐evidence based policy making’, higher education versus the demand for skills and community relations and equality. The innovative concept, now it would appear doomed, of the Springvale campus for west Belfast is examined. Finally, the paper notes that there is an urgent need to provide strategic direction to the further education sector as a whole.     

A survey of school psychologists' practices for identifying mentally retarded students

Surveys containing questions about identifying mentally retarded students were mailed to 500 randomly selected school psychologists, of whom 160 (32%) returned completed, usable forms. The Wechsler scales were the most frequently used tests for deriving IQ scores, which together with adaptive behavior scale scores were rated as most influential in identification-placement decisions. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales were rated as the most used instruments for assessing adaptive delays. School psychologists were in less accord on issues such as the use of alternative norms for minority and lower SES students (35% confirmed their use), the application of an adaptive behavior standard score of 70 (47.7% indicated such use), and whether an established IQ score, such as 70, could be treated flexibly (27.2% stated they sometimes identified students with scores above the cut-off value). Suggestions are made for future research and current practice.     

Educational brokering: New services for adult learners

This paper describes a fast-growing variety of programs that directly enable adult learners to pursue educational and career plans within their communities. Educational brokering serves an intermediary role between individual clients and the vast array of educational resources in a region. This paper considers the missions of brokering—advisement, assessment, and advocacy—its organizational arrangements, and the sources of its support and development. Specific successes and impacts of brokering are presented, as is the importance of the brokering idea to several larger public policy issues. Efforts currently underway to expand brokering activities on a national level are also discussed.Dr. Heffernan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Higher/Postsecondary Education at Syracuse University and is Coordinator of Research and Editor of theBulletin of the National Center for Educational Brokering. He has been assisted in the preparation of this article by Francis U. Macy and Donn F. Vickers, Director and Associate Director, respectively, of the National Center for Educational Brokering, 405 Oak Street, Syracuse, New York 13203.     

Severe Learning Difficulties in Northern Ireland: Leaving School

Responsibility for pupils with severe learning difficulties in Northern Ireland was only recently taken by the education authorities. The findings of research into the school leaving arrangements are described by Dr Ian Wells, senior research officer with the Northern Ireland Council for Educational Research (NICER), Belfast.     

Crises as catalysts for change: re-energising teacher education in Northern Ireland

Background: Teacher education has been the subject of a seven-year review culminating with the issuing of a consultation document Teacher education in a climate of change: The way forward (Department for Employment and Learning and Department for Education 2010). Issues of rationalisation, demographic trends, the over-provision of teachers and the cost of initial teacher education inter alia dominated the agenda.

Purpose: The paper seeks to assess the ways in which the current economic climate, student tuition fees, reduced income from government and the declining demographic situation will affect recruitment, on the profile of applicants to teacher education, on widening access and participation, and on models of teacher education. As the environment becomes increasingly globally competitive, issues surrounding the nature, quality, cost and content of programmes will be analysed.

Sources of evidence: Data that informs the paper derive from multiple sources including education policy documents, review and strategy documents, research reports and relevant research literature. It will be complemented by the author's knowledge and experience as a teacher, teacher educator and international researcher, and sustained contributor to the formulation, implementation and evaluation of teacher education policy in NI.

Main argument: With the predicted reduction in expenditure for higher education in NI likely to be considerable over the next four years, substantial cuts in teacher education are inevitable. At a time when participation rates for under-represented groups are being encouraged, higher student fees and reduced quotas will impede the goal of achieving a more equitable teaching workforce. Rather than concentrating on the uncertainties that characterise the current economic climate, it will be important not to focus exclusively on survival and sustainability but on longer-term opportunities for transforming and re-conceptualising teacher education.

Conclusions: All of the current national teacher education review documents in England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland highlight the need to improve teacher education. Irrespective of the constraining global financial situation, a career-long model for teachers' professional learning is overdue. It is possible, even in financially challenging circumstances, to realise the opportunities for creative change to ensure that teacher education maintains its high standards and reputation. Enhanced resourcing by itself does not necessarily guarantee enhanced provision.     

A consumer survey of educational provision for deaf and hard of hearing students

The researchers report the results of a survey of 140 deaf and hard of hearing students attending integrated or self-contained high school classrooms in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The survey was designed to gather information about educational experiences and preferences for various types of educational placements. There were no gender differences in placement, but there were hearing status differences (81.6% of the students in segregated placements had severe or profound hearing losses, compared to 52.4% of the students in integrated settings). Even though students were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the different placement options, 80% indicated that they were generally satisfied with their current placement. One implication is that a range of options seems to be more appropriate than a one-size-fits-all model, at least from students' perspectives. The views and preferences of students should be considered when educational provisions are designed for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.     

A transition model for placement of handicapped children in regular and special classes

Mainstreaming and deinstitutionalization are current phenomena which call for a variety of handicapped children to be transitioned to a range of educational settings not previously available to them. A model is presented in which critical transition parameters are conceived as functionally related continua, indicating degrees of readiness for both special and regular classroom settings. The model is based upon actual experience in placement of disturbed, learning disabled, and retarded children into school settings after discharge from a psychiatric hospital.