Ascertaining teachers’ perceptions of working with adolescents diagnosed with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder

There are few studies that have directly examined teachers’ perceptions of children with ADHD, particularly children in the adolescent age range. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of general‐education ninth through twelfth grade teachers regarding working with adolescent students with ADHD. Sorted responses from a sample of 100 general‐education high school teachers were analysed and then represented visually using a concept‐mapping technique. The final concept map suggests that teachers perceive adolescents with ADHD along two dichotomies of thematic clusters on an orthogonal axis. Clusters at the top area of the concept map suggest perceptions related to high confidence and willingness, while clusters at the bottom suggest perceptions related to uneasiness and frustration. Clusters along the left side of the concept map suggest perceptions related to behaviour issues, while clusters along the right side suggest perceptions related to classroom teaching issues. Central to the vertical and horizontal dichotomies is a solitary central dimension, which highlights training as an important component of teachers’ perceptions of adolescents with ADHD.     

‘The Trouble with Normal’: (re)imagining sexuality education with young people

What do young people believe sexuality education ought to be about? It is within the absence of a sustained and critical consideration of the possibilities and politics of engaging in research with rather than for young people in the reimagining of sexuality education that this paper is positioned. Data were generated as part of an 18-month Youth Participatory Action Research study in one co-educational secondary school with 43 student co-researchers (15–17 years). The findings presented are not intended to provide conclusive statements about future directions for sexuality education, but rather provide a platform on which to discuss how young people’s ideas align with or diverge from current practice and debates surrounding what sexuality education should, could or ought to be about.     

Researching the everyday: young people’s experiences and expressions of citizenship

This paper reports on a research study which drew attention to the constitutive nature of the everyday world in young people’s subjectivities and practices of citizenship. Central to the aim of this research was a need for alignment between the focus of the research (‘everyday’ citizenship), with methods which could illuminate the day-to-day experiences of being a citizen. In this paper, I re-examine some of the ‘everyday’ data generated by two research methods which were initially discounted as rambling or divergent. This data characteristically had frequent interjections, incomplete sentences, questions and queries, or a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty. Through a re-analysis of this data, I consider the potential it offers to contribute conceptual and theoretical insights into young people’s citizenship dispositions and practices. The research revealed the diverse, complex and contested understandings of citizenship that young people were forming in the context of day-to-day social and spatial interactions.     

‘I'm ready for a new chapter’: The voices of young people with autism spectrum disorder in transition to post-16 education and employment

This study explores the views and experiences of 12 young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in transition to post-16 education and employment, in light of the changes introduced by the new special educational needs and disability (SEND) legislation in England. The extension of provision until the age of 25, and the introduction of person-centred education, health and care (EHC) plans, have given a significant place to the views of young people with SEND and their families. The views, wishes and aspirations of young people must be captured in the newly developed plans, reflecting the statutory requirement for local authorities to systematically record these in a biopsychosocial way, focusing on participation and well-being. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people with ASD attending specialist settings or receiving specialist support under the new EHC plans. These were analysed inductively, through thematic analysis. The findings suggest that at the time of transition, young people with ASD want to become increasingly more independent, present ambivalent feelings about their future and acknowledge the relevance of support systems in their lives. Implications for practice and future research are discussed, in light of the new English policy context.     

Post-secondary education for young people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review of stakeholders’ experiences

Post-secondary education (PSE) is an important option in the educational and employment paths of students with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, PSE for young adults with ID is not in wide use across the world. Different issues might affect the geographical spread of PSE programmes. Some of these are related to the attitudes, expectations and/or funding for those programmes. In this systematic review, the PSE experiences of different stakeholder groups (young adults with ID, their parents, PSE staff and students without a disability) were examined by reviewing findings across 22 studies that investigated PSE for students with ID. This examination encompassed attitudes and motivation to engage with PSE, as well as stakeholders’ perceived barriers and facilitators in accessing and remaining in the three PSE models (separate, inclusive and mixed). Students with ID and their parents were the stakeholder groups least represented in the available evidence. Findings suggested that most stakeholder groups reported positive experiences of PSE derived mostly from gains in social skills and independence. Several barriers to accessing PSE were reported by each group, namely physical and academic barriers by students with ID, an understanding of the PSE system by their parents, and the lack of training by PSE staff. Evidence from the present review seems to indicate that inclusive PSE models were associated with a more positive experience across stakeholder groups.     

‘Bring on the dancers’: reconceptualising the transition from school to work

Our understanding of the transition from school to work has traditionally been underpinned by a three-stage model. This is one in which the first stage is a preparatory one, where the focus is on school, followed by a second transition stage and ending in a third stage, the successful entry to work. This is a model that has been challenged by work from the ‘cultural studies’ school but still informs much contemporary work. The study of freelance dancers’ entry into work reveals a very different experience of the transition. Rather than a sequence of experiences of school, preparation for work and then entry into established employment, the dancer’s experience is one of coterminus experiences of work, vocational training and family life that can start before the entry into primary education. This represents a serious challenge to the three-stage model as a general model for conceptualising transitions. Using the experience of the dancers and building on the work of Becker and Wyn, this paper explores how the concept of belonging points the way forward towards a more comprehensive conceptualisation of the transition.     

Autistic young people’s experiences of transitioning to adulthood following the Children and Families Act 2014

Changes to special educational needs and disability (SEND) legislation in England were implemented in 2014. Here, we evaluate the impact of these changes from the perspective of 80 autistic young people aged 16–25 years. Using an online survey and/or interviews, we examined young people’s views on three key principles of the SEND reforms: the help and support provided to them; whether they were given a say in the choices and support that they were offered; and their satisfaction with their educational journeys and outcomes. The results paint a mixed picture. Our sample of young people reported varied experiences regarding the help and support they received, and how much of a say they had regarding the choices and support available to them. The types of schooling they accessed played a role here: young people in mainstream schools highlighted particular challenges in accessing appropriate support, while many young people in special schools said they felt well supported. Parental advocacy was crucial for all young people, as was having key ‘champions’ in the form of teachers who really knew them well. The need for the development of general life and self-advocacy skills was apparent, however, especially in preparing the young people for life after school. Encouragingly, most of our participants were generally happy with their current situation, despite identifying several areas for further improvement. Overall, the results highlight the importance of listening to—and learning from—autistic young people, throughout their educational journeys and especially as they transition to adulthood.     

‘Learning the basics’: young people’s engagement with sexuality education at secondary schools

School-based sexuality education remains a key response to the HIV epidemic. Drawing on findings from an ethnographic study, this study explores how young people engage with sexuality and HIV- and AIDS-related education as it is delivered through the Life Orientation (LO) learning area in South Africa, in order to understand the dynamics that support or hinder engagement. Focus group discussions were held with Grade 9 and 11 learners (aged 14–18 years) from 16 randomly selected public secondary schools across three provincial districts. Results show that enjoyment of LO education was related to perceived relevance and distinctiveness, informal lesson delivery, subjective assessment standards and seemingly minimal effort. However, the perception of reduced effort tarnished the status of LO and young people’s motivation to participate. Learner engagement is influenced by a variety of cognitive, affective and behavioural pathways including internalised discourse around HIV and AIDS, gender and sexuality; the quality of youth–educator relations and teaching competencies; peer pressures; and broader cultural dynamics. The cultivation of a learning environment in which young people share and debate their views promotes engagement and critical thinking. In-service and pre-service educator training, structured activity plans and monitoring are recommended to advance the content knowledge and pedagogy of educators.     

‘Getting the pieces together’: negotiating the transition from pre-service to in-service teacher

For beginning teachers to make the transition to full professional membership they need to increase their professional knowledge of the art and science of teaching. This paper explores the difference in knowledge growth between beginning teachers who commence teaching in fragmented teaching situations in the first two years of teaching, and their colleagues who have stable, secure and continuing employment during this time. This paper argues that the employment context in which beginning teachers take up their profession has a significant, but hitherto largely unacknowledged, effect on the capacity of teachers to develop the craft of teaching (Elbaz, 1983 Elbaz, F. 1983. Teacher thinking: A study of practical knowledge, London: Croom Helm.  [Google Scholar]); on their continuing commitment to the profession; and on their self-confidence and self-image as teachers It is concluded that long-term, secure employment in one school, with full responsibility for a class of students and access to effective mentoring, is necessary if beginning teachers are to move beyond ‘survival’ to developing competency in the first two years of teaching.     

Merleau-Ponty’s ‘wild Being’: Tangling with the entanglements of research with the very young

Abstract

This article draws on a study of infant participation in research, and work in philosophical-empirical inquiry, to illuminate some of the inexhaustible entanglements constituting the collective relational landscape of educational research of particular encounters, which have been called moments of wonder. Working with Merleau-Ponty’s philosophical notions of wild Being and flesh, I look closely at one such ‘moment’, as lived as an entanglement of embodied self, worldly things, and other selves that collectively comes into being whilst opening onto time and space. I see this account as demonstrating the value of learning to see the ‘collective’, wherein individualities are engendered, for developing new understandings of early childhood education (ECE) relational landscapes, specifically in relation to ‘participatory’ research with very young children – and educational research more generally.     

‘You realise it could happen to you’: the benefits to pupils of young mothers delivering school sex education

This paper presents data from a study of four projects in which young mothers deliver school sex education sessions, with the aim of giving pupils ‘informed choices’ regarding their sexual behaviour. Eleven focus group discussions were carried out with pupils, and semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 14 young mothers in order to assess the extent to which the sessions were of value in this way. The findings show that pupils perceived the sessions to be beneficial, not necessarily through providing new information as implied by the notion of ‘informed choice’, but because they fostered a deeper level of understanding and acceptance of the potential consequences of their decisions regarding sex and contraception. The main reason for this outcome, that is pupils' beliefs that they were hearing the whole truth from their peers, is demonstrated and critically explored in relation to the young mothers' own perceptions of the sessions. The implications of the somewhat different understandings of the sessions that emerged for the key notion of ‘informed choice’ are considered.     

‘The city snuffs out nature’: young people’s conceptions of and relationship with nature

This paper reports a study of 384 13–14-year olds’ written responses to open-ended questions about their understanding of and relationship with ‘nature’. Using constant comparative method the responses were coded, categorised and themed. Most students held scientific conceptions of nature (excluding humans) and a utilitarian relationship with nature, a predominantly anthroprocentric worldview. A small number held aesthetic conceptualisations and an intrinsic value relationship: an ecocentric worldview. A substantial number of students however were neither anthroprocentric or ecocentric but rather expressed a conception of and relationship with nature which reflected aspects of Bonnett’s ‘human-related’ relationship (Bonnett, M. 2004. Retrieving Nature: Education for a Post-humanist Age. Oxford: Blackwell). The findings from this study challenge a simple binary approach in which students’ environmental worldviews would be analysed as either predominantly anthroprocentric or ecocentric. Bonnett’s ‘human-related’ relationship to nature reflects a more complex view of the world. Analysis revealed interesting differences, however, between students according to their urban/rural location, gender and school type.     

Lower income students and the ‘double deficit’ of part-time work: undergraduate experiences of finance,studying and employability

This paper explores how the various pressures of finance, employability and part-time work are experienced by undergraduates studying in an English Red Brick University. Drawing on the results of a 3-year qualitative study that followed 40 students throughout their 3 years of studies (n? = 40, n? = 40, n? = 38, n_total = 118), the paper details three dimensions by which students understood their part-time employment experiences: the characteristics of employment types; motivations for employment and the challenges of shaping their employment experiences around their studies. It is argued that the current shortfalls in the student budget and the pressures of the employability agenda may actually serve to further disadvantage the lower income groups in the form of a ‘double deficit’. Not only are discrepancies between income and expenditure likely to mean that additional monies are necessary to study for a degree, the resulting need for part-time employment is also likely to constrain both degree outcome and capacity to enhance skills necessary for ‘employability’.     

‘Due to all this fear,we’re getting less freedom’: young people’s understandings of gender and sexual violence in New Delhi,India

This paper explores young people’s understandings of gender and sexual violence in New Delhi, India, based on multi-method research conducted with young people (aged 15–17) in three co-educational secondary schools. Fieldwork took place shortly after the 2012 Delhi gang rape that sparked widespread debates about violence against women in India, and so sexual violence became an important frame for students’ discussions around gender and sexuality. Young people’s understandings are considered within gender narratives – of ‘can-do’ and ‘vulnerable’ girlhood, and of ‘hero’ and ‘good boy’ masculinities – which already shaped their day-to-day experiences of schooling. Findings suggest that tensions arising from these often contradictory narratives led to frustrations among girls, while the dominance of conversations about sexual violence led to confusions in both girls’ and boys’ understandings of sexuality. Reflections are offered on ways schools can better support young people as they learn about gender and sexuality from diverse and contradictory sources.     

To know,to decide,to act: the young child’s right to participate in action for the environment

This article draws on a research study that focused on young children’s involvement in an environmental curriculum that created for them opportunities to display their competence and confidence through knowing, deciding and acting for the environment within a supportive early childhood setting. When young children are involved in making decisions that affect their lives, including those decisions regarding sustainability and the natural environment, they are capable in contributing to the decision-making that leads them to purposeful action. The research revealed the importance of honouring the young child’s right to know about social and environmental issues; to be part of conversations and possible solutions; to have their ideas and contributions valued; to seek solutions with others in order to be able to take meaningful action. The article explores the notion that when the rights of young children are respected, they are confident advocates for the environment and for a more sustainable world.     

‘You don’t want to come out from the crowd because you are a girl’: gendered differences in young people’s participation in sexuality education in Uganda

Notions of ‘participation’ in sexuality education has gained considerable traction in recent years – with participation being regarded as a fundamental right and a critical means to empower young people. However, the notion has increasingly been subject of debate, with critics problematising the manner in which participation is operationalised, and questioning the assumed impact of participation in relation to sexuality education goals. This paper contributes to these debates by examining the under-researched gendered dimensions of participation of young people in sexuality education. It utilises data from a qualitative study conducted in 2015 on young women and men’s (10–15 years old) perceptions of their participation in the dance4life programme, an in-school sexuality education programme in Jinja district in eastern Uganda. The paper highlights subtle but important differences between young men and women’s participation in the programme, which are arguably reflective of existing gendered hierarchies. We conclude by providing recommendations on how to address gender differences in participation.     

‘Taking your mob with you’: giving voice to the experiences of Indigenous Australian postgraduate students

Indigenous Australian postgraduate students experience different barriers from those encountered by non-Indigenous students. In the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study, Indigenous students are more likely to come from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have lower personal incomes and lack family and other networks supportive of engagement with tertiary, and especially postgraduate, study. While there is a growing literature on Indigenous participation in higher education, with the exception of a few notable examples, there is little known about the effectiveness of support mechanisms and issues for Indigenous students undertaking postgraduate study. Drawing on interviews with current and past Indigenous postgraduate students at The University of Queensland, this paper problematises the postgraduate experience for Indigenous Australian students, identifying common themes in their accounts. It also discusses one of the outcomes of the project along with planned future developments that aim to provide better support for Indigenous Australian postgraduate students at The University of Queensland. By knowing and acting upon the kinds of mechanisms that can assist Indigenous postgraduate students, the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous student participation in postgraduate study can begin to be addressed.     

‘I'm always up against a brick wall with them’: parents' experiences of accessing support for their child with a newly recognised developmental disorder

Three of the most prevalent developmental disorders (DDs) are autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). As part of a study screening for DDs in Greater Manchester, UK, a unique opportunity was taken to explore parents' experiences of receiving reports about their child's previously unrecognised DD. Six parents out of a possible 16 took part in interviews, which were analysed thematically. Findings drawn from parental responses revealed a number of barriers to accessing support for their child's additional needs, including perceived resistance from schools, particularly for quiet, well-behaved girls, and difficulty in accessing assessment or referrals. There needs to be greater awareness of additional needs in children without externalising behaviours, the presence of gender-specific differences in the presentation of DDs, and FASD as a commonly occurring DD. Ultimately, better support for children with DDs would reduce the burden of unmet needs for the children and their families, and for wider services.