An ecosystemic approach for understanding inclusive education: An Indian case study

India is currently faced with the formidable task of fulfilling its commitment towards Education for All. This paper presents findings of a multi-level study, which explored the various meanings, and efforts towards inclusive education in an Indian context. Using an ecosystemic framework, it discusses the many complex ways in which efforts have been influenced by international developments and socio-cultural factors within the national context. This paper discusses the emergence of inclusive education, as being about the education of children with disabilities. It places specific focus on exploring the impact that narrowly constructed notions of “ability” and “disability” have on efforts undertaken at the government and school level. The paper concludes by arguing for a need to understand inclusive education, not only in terms of new terminology, policies and legislations, but also by critically examining the beliefs and values that underpin its developments.     

A case for quantitative treatment verification in science teaching research

Educational studies that attempt to identify variables contributing significantly to student learning of science concepts often rely on careful construction of operational definitions as a means of controlling treatment variables. It is argued that this is not sufficient in a behavioral experiment such as in a science classroom because students may not behave as planned. In such research, quantitative treatment verification is necessary. A survey of the use of treatment verification in science teaching research is presented as well as one such procedure in detail. If the researcher finds significant differences between treatment groups on dependent measures, and if differences for student-teacher behaviors between treatments are quantified and determined to differ significantly, the researcher has a much stronger case for arguing causation than if treatment verification had not been employed.     

Designing schools for quality: An international,case study-based review

Universal access to primary schools is a key millennium development goal, still proving difficult to deliver in low-income countries. Schools designed for the poorest remain inadequate for the numbers enrolled, and for the basic needs and functions of today’s classrooms. The key issue is overcrowding; classrooms designed for forty regularly accommodate more than sixty due to the use of outdated international classroom design standards. These schools also have poor access to infrastructure; electricity, drinking water, sanitation, and ICT/library spaces. This paper highlights these issues and suggests strategies for improved school design through the evaluation the EdQual research project school case studies, the author was involved with, and also recent international examples It is argued that schools designed considering these issues, can become ‘hubs’ for development; providing local assets that can be shared by their communities.     

An innovative intervention for treatment of child and adolescent aggression: An outcome study

The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce aggressive behavior among children and adolescents. The study encompassed 70 special education students with behavioral problems in 10 schools (grades 5‐9) in Israel. These students were identified by teachers as aggressive children, based on a 10‐item questionnaire that referred to verbal and physical aggression. The children were randomly divided into experimental and control conditions. A short‐term multidimensional program utilizing bibliotherapy and clarifying processes was introduced to the experimental students, while the control students remained in their homeroom groups. The Achenbach Self‐Report and Teacher Report scales were administered to the students before and after treatment. Results indicated significant gains on both measures: The intervention was effective in promoting adjusting behavior and particularly in reducing aggression. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The prediction of private demand for education: An Indonesian case study

A number of methodologies, including the estimation of manpower needs and of the rate of return to investment, offer ways and means by which governments in the third world can define an appropriate level of supply of formal education. However, in practice, the desires of individual families for education for their children determine the actual level of utilization of the education supplied by government, and, acting through the private sector, also directly influence the level of supply. This study, based on a survey of rural families in several provinces in Indonesia, is an attempt to search for variables, and combinations of variables, which predict the actual utilization of schooling by individual families. The analysis suggests that the following are useful predictors: variables indicative of the provision of educational opportunity, some structural characteristics of the family, the family's economic status and the value orientations of the family toward education. A number of variables, more directly related to family demand, and of a more complex nature, are identified for investigation in further research.

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Zusammenfassung Verschiedene Methodologien einschliesslich der Schätzung des Bedarfs an Arbeitskräften und des Ertrags von Investitionen bieten Regierungen in der Dritten Welt die Möglichkeit, den Bedarf für Schulerziehung festzustellen. In Praxis bestimmen jedoch die Wünsche der einzelnen Familien bezüglich Ausbildung ihrer Kinder das Ausmass, in dem von den Bildungsmöglichkeiten, die die Regierung zur Verfügung stellt, Gebrauch gemacht wird. Über den privaten Sektor beeinflussen sie auch direkt den Umfang des Angebots. Diese auf einer Erhebung bei ländlichen Familien in mehreren Provinzen Indonesiens beruhende Studie stellt einen Versuch dar, Variable und Kombinationen von Variablen zu finden, mit deren Hilfe die tatsächliche Benutzung schulischer Einrichtungen durch die Familien vorausgesagt werden kann. Die Analyse ergibt, dass die folgenden dafür nützlich wären: Versorgung mit Bildungsmöglichkeiten, Familienstrukturmerkmale, wirtschaftlicher Status der Familie und Einstellung der Familie zur Bildung. Eine Anzahl komplizierterer und direkter auf die Familienwünsche bezogener Variablen werden zum Gebruach in weiteren Untersuchungen empfohlen.

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Résumé Plusieurs méthodologies incluant l'estimation du besoin en main-d'oeuvre et du taux de rentabilité de l'investissement permettent aux gouvernements du tiers monde de déterminer un niveau approprié d'offre de systèmes d'enseignement. Cependant dans la pratique les désirs de chaque famille particulière pour l'éducation de ses enfants déterminent le niveau réel d'utilisation de l'enseignement dispensé par le gouvernement, et, agissant par l'intermédiaire du secteur privé, ils influencent directement le niveau de l'offre. Cette étude basée sur une enquête sur les familles rurales dans plusieurs provinces d'Indonésie, est une tentative de recherches de variables et de combinaisons de variables prédisant l'utilisation réelle de l'instruction par chaque famille particulière. L'analyse suggère que les facteurs suivants sont d'utiles éléments de prédiction: les variables indiquant la présence d'opportunités éducationnelles, les caractéristiques structurales de la famille, le statut économique de la famille et la valeur qu'accorde la famille à l'éducation. Plusieurs variables en relation plus directe avec les demandes des familles et d'une nature plus complexe ont été établies pour faire l'objet de plus amples recherches.

     

一例人际关系焦虑的案例报告

人际关系焦虑是因人际交往紧张引起的一种情绪状态。主要表现在对现实或想象的人际交往情境感到过分担心、紧张、焦虑,甚至抑郁,还伴有失眠、植物神经功能失调等,并对社会功能产生影响。在本案例中,求助者和同学、老师交往时感到困难,害怕交往,甚至和同学产生矛盾,出现焦虑烦躁情绪,影响了学习。心理咨询师根据对求助者临床资料的评估,结合心理测验,做出一般心理问题的诊断,采用认知行为疗法,并辅以合理情绪疗法,达到了的预期的咨询目标。     

Use of national parks for outdoor environmental education: An Australian case study

Abstract

The need for environmental education through outdoor education experiences is becoming increasingly evident in outdoor education theory and practice. In Australia, this environmental focus is reflected in recent outdoor education curriculum documents, particularly in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). For many outdoor education teachers who do not have expertise in environmental education, this curriculum development presents a challenge. Outdoor education teachers frequently use National Parks to help them address this challenge.

The study examined the educational objectives and roles of teachers and park staff involved in environmental education through outdoor education in National Parks in Victoria, Australia. This paper discusses findings related to the teachers' educational objectives and roles while those of the park staff are examined in a separate paper. The findings indicate that the teachers often lack the environmental knowledge and skills needed to teach some aspects of the curriculum thus making the role of the park ranger or education officer particularly significant in educating teachers as well as students. Issues are raised about the training of outdoor education teachers and of park rangers to meet the environmental education needs of outdoor education students. Questions are also raised about the appropriateness of using National Parks for outdoor education purposes.     

Use of national parks for outdoor environmental education: An Australian case study

The need for environmental education through outdoor education experiences is becoming increasingly evident in outdoor education theory and practice. In Australia, this environmental focus is reflected in recent outdoor education curriculum documents, particularly in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). For many outdoor education teachers who do not have expertise in environmental education, this curriculum development presents a challenge. Outdoor education teachers frequently use National Parks to help them address this challenge.

The study examined the educational objectives and roles of teachers and park staff involved in environmental education through outdoor education in National Parks in Victoria, Australia. This paper discusses findings related to the teachers' educational objectives and roles while those of the park staff are examined in a separate paper. The findings indicate that the teachers often lack the environmental knowledge and skills needed to teach some aspects of the curriculum thus making the role of the park ranger or education officer particularly significant in educating teachers as well as students. Issues are raised about the training of outdoor education teachers and of park rangers to meet the environmental education needs of outdoor education students. Questions are also raised about the appropriateness of using National Parks for outdoor education purposes.     

An investigation of trauma-centered inpatient treatment for adult survivors of abuse

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine a comprehensive inpatient treatment program designed for adult survivors of childhood abuse with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHOD: One hundred and thirty-two formerly abused individuals completed clinician-administered and self-administered measures of PTSD symptomatology at admission and discharge. All participants experienced a range of physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse as children prior to the age of 17. Approximately one-third of these individuals also completed measures at 3-months postdischarge and 1-year postdischarge. Data were collected using a clinician-administered PTSD measure and self-administered PTSD measure at admission and discharge. On admission, all participants met criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that the program was effective in reducing symptoms from admission to discharge. Additionally, treatment gains were maintained at 1-year postdischarge. CONCLUSION: The findings of this investigation suggest that the current intensive inpatient group treatment program appears to reduce PTSD symptoms effectively for a sample of adult survivors of abuse.     

Mature student markets: An institutional case study

Warwick University, a research-led institution, has, in common with other universities, sought to expand its provision for mature students by developing new part-time and full-time degree programmes. Separate but related research projects have surveyed the students involved, looking at their characteristics, educational backgrounds and study purposes. This paper examines the extent to which distinct or overlapping markets for mature students are catered for by the different degree programmes offered.     

Three measures of returns to education: An illustration for the case of Spain

In this article, in a context of wage equations with sample selection, we propose a novel interpretation of the partial effects linked to education as additional measures of returns to education that complement the traditional one, which is directly obtained from the estimation of the wage offer equation. Using European Household Panel data for Spain these partial effects were calculated. The results show that there are incentives in Spain for investing in education not only because it means an increase in wages but also because it raises the probability of obtaining any wage at all.     

有机磷农药生产废水处理工程实例

福建某化工有限公司是以生产有机磷农药为主的企业．该农药生产废水经预处理、生化处理和后处理，出水达到国家《水综合排放标准》（8978—96)一级标准．通过实例探讨并验证有机磷农药废水预处理的重要性及综合处理技术的可行性．     

An advocacy project for multicultural education: The case of the Shiyeyi language in Botswana

Multicultural education respects cultural differences and affirms pluralism which students, their communities and teachers bring to the learning process. It is founded on the belief that a school curriculum which promotes the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity and human dignity is most likely to result in high academic achievement and quality education. In Botswana, English is the official language and medium of instruction and Setswana is the national lingua franca which is used for formal occasions in the villages and other informal settings. Any other languages spoken by unrecognised tribes are banned from use in schools or the media, including minority languages taught before independence in 1966, This paper describes the Shiyeyi Language Project, initiated by the Wayeyi tribe, which advocates for a multicultural model of education where children learn in their mother tongue and about their local culture at an early stage, then add the national language, and eventually an international language as medium of instruction. The project operates within an unfriendly political and legal context, but has achieved some results. Continued efforts, especially as supported by similar language projects, have the potential to change the situation in Botswana.     

Literary precocity: An exceptional case among exceptional cases

This article presents the case of Geoffrey, a prolific 5‐year‐old writer. It examines his writing and how his intrapersonal factors and propitious environment contribute to his prodigious output. Childhood precocity is presented as an age‐based comparable rather than as an adult‐based predictor, consistent with Jackson's (2000) domain‐specific developmental theory of giftedness. Geoffrey demonstrated highly precocious writing, both in production and in sophistication, and he demonstrated these abilities across a range and variety of content topics. The convergence of contributing influences evident in Geoffrey's life supports a growing literature on the coalescence factor within precocity. This implies that parents and educators have to carefully consider their influences. Suggestions are made concerning how developmental models of giftedness may need to expand to accommodate precocious writers.     

An urban school renewal program: A case analysis

Conclusion One of the most gratifying returns was a chance comment offered by a teacher as we walked across the lawn toward a local fast food restaurant. We were chatting about what he had experienced during the preceding two years. You know, he said, when we began this, I didn't see many hopeful signs, but I think that most of us (teachers) feel now that we work in the best high school in the city. The source may have been biased, and rigorous controls were obviously lacking, but that is the way one teacher perceived the changes. Many gained planning, leadership, problem solving, and other important behavioral and coping skills that contributed in interactively subtle, but nevertheless real ways.Can good things be made to happen in urban schools? The quantified data are equivocal, but we believe that the associations among interventions and perceived changes support cautious optimism.     

An extreme case of action learning at BAT Niemeyer

Becoming a ‘winning organization’ when one currently is an ‘ugly ducking’ can be a difficult and strenuous task. BAT Niemeyer in the Netherlands succeeded in making such a transformation over the course of four years. Action learning was used, among other methods, to steer part of this transformation, in which employee involvement was heavily emphasized. In the following article, it is described how action learning was used by the company and what resulted from this. Some of the difficulties involved in the process are also set out. Some of the ‘lessons learned’ for action learning development are briefly discussed as well. Although action learning was not used in all of the firm's initiatives to realize the abovementioned transformation, we think these lessons can be drawn nevertheless.