Parental perspectives on the transition to secondary school for students with Asperger syndrome and high‐functioning autism: a pilot survey study

The transition to secondary school is a common cause of stress and anxiety, which can be exacerbated by the innate characteristics associated with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high‐functioning autism (HFA). This study aimed to explore experiences of the transition to secondary school for students with AS/HFA from the parental perspective. Seventeen parents of children with AS/HFA from the north of England completed an online questionnaire about their child's school transitional experience. Responses indicated that there were a number of factors that influenced the experiences of pupils with AS/HFA at school and the preceding transition, including anxiety, bullying, friendship and support at school. Girls with AS/HFA presented with unique issues not commonly seen in the male dominated condition. The transition to secondary school was seen to encompass a number of difficulties for students with AS/HFA. Health and educational services can learn from the experiences explored in this survey in order to inform future practice.     

Post-primary school teachers’ knowledge and understanding of autism spectrum disorders

Current national policy in the Republic of Ireland advocates for the inclusion of students with learning difficulties in mainstream schools. With Asperger’s syndrome (AS) specifically, it is essential that teachers understand the syndrome and are well versed in appropriate approaches to effectively create an inclusive environment for these students in the mainstream classroom. This paper explores teacher knowledge and understanding of AS while also exploring what affects their confidence in educating students diagnosed with the syndrome. Data collection pre-dated changes to the DSM-V and as such AS is used throughout this paper. A survey was distributed nationally to a random sample of qualified post-primary school teachers. The findings revealed that teachers did not appear to possess an adequate level of knowledge and understanding in relation to the syndrome. Continued professional development programmes in the area appeared to have minimal effect, with those completing programmes scoring only marginally better than those who did not (2.85%). These findings are of concern if these teachers are then expected to foster an inclusive environment, particularly when a high proportion of teachers have previously taught a student diagnosed with the syndrome and their knowledge remains limited.     

Teachers’ social representation of students with Asperger diagnosis

While progress has been made for including students with disability into mainstream schools, trends point to problems for students with Asperger syndrome (AS) diagnosis who have a propensity to dropping out of school. Teachers’ perceptions and understanding of AS will affect expectations and the attainment of educational targets. Thus, to avoid barriers to students’ learning and participation, there is a need to shed light on teachers’ perceptions and beliefs that bear on teachers educational provision for students with AS. The aim of the study was therefore to elucidate mainstream teachers’ representations of students with AS by using the theoretical framework of Social Representation Theory and particularly looking at the effects of the sex of the teacher, grade level being taught and when the teachers received training themselves. Teachers in mainstream schools in Sweden were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire (N?=?170). Data were collected through an association task where the participants were asked to produce up to five words or phrases for the stimulus phrase ‘student with Asperger diagnosis’. The data were analysed through categorisation. We found that two-thirds of the macro-categories of mentions relate to ‘disabling aspects’, ‘individual needs’ and ‘individual characteristics’, while a third of the elements were tied to the environment and educational provision. Our results suggest that a medical approach dominates especially earlier trained teachers; however, there is a tendency to view the school environment as increasingly important. Representations about the disabling aspects decreased with the increase in the grades being taught, whereas the educational aspects increase with the increase in grades. Male teachers are more prone to relate to environmental aspects and educational provision while female teachers more often relate to needs and disability. We conclude that teachers tend to view AS from a medical approach but that the school environment is seen as increasingly important.     

Life at university with Asperger syndrome: a comparison of student and staff perspectives

Although increasing numbers of students with disabilities are accessing higher education, there is relatively little information about the needs of students with Asperger syndrome (AS). Crucially, students themselves have rarely been included in research examining their needs or the supports they might find helpful. Three focus groups, one with students with AS and two with staff were conducted to explore the challenges, barriers and supports to students' successful progress through one university in the UK. Thematic analysis revealed some key differences between staff and student perspectives, particularly with regard to impact of sensory sensitivities and daily life difficulties on academic progress. Students and staff also held differing views about what is helpful, relating to disclosure of diagnosis and the value of formal social supports. The study highlights the importance of developing services beyond traditional academic supports that students with AS themselves feel are valuable.     

Setting free the spirit of English in the Brecon Beacons: The value of learning outside the classroom

In this paper, I draw on interviews with two colleagues, student comments and my own experiences of leading and developing a two day residential course for A Level English Language students at the beginning of Year 12 to explore the role that out-of-school learning can have in 'setting free the spirit of English'. I argue that not only is it possible to use creative and imaginative approaches to learning in English within the constraints of the curriculum but also that these approaches are valuable experiences which can underpin and enhance pupils' learning.     

论高等职业教育行业英语课程设置的理据

高职行业英语课程是伴随着国内高职教育内涵建设工程实施而兴起的特色新概念,已成为高职院校英语课程教学改革的热点,热潮背后的问题迫使人们再度追问和全面审视其开设的理据。高职课程类型与教育类型的关系是其存在的逻辑前提,高职英语课程教学目标的多元性和学生职业生涯发展的特定英语需求是其存在的根本原因,行业英语课程赖以生存的土壤、课程本身的比较优势以及相关大型实证调查反馈的现实诉求等因素是其存在的必要条件,系列要素为高职行业英语课程的设置提供了系统理据。     

基于实用性的高职英语课程建设探讨

高职英语课程建设对高职非英语专业学生英语水平的提高至关重要。基于高职英语实用性,从课程设置、课程内容、教学方法、教学团队、实践条件、课程评价、课程特色与创新、努力方向八个方面,对高职英语课程建设问题进行了阐述。     

理工科学生大学英语后续课程教育的调查

本调查以一般院校理工科学生为调查对象，采取访谈和问卷形式，对他们在校及毕业后对大学英语后续课程的态度和意见进行调查。并在调查基础上，指出理工科学生大学英语后续课程的教育和外语教学具有重要意义。     

Experiences of university life for students with Asperger’s Syndrome: a comparative study between Spain and England

Research has consistently shown that young people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) are likely to experience increased anxiety during new social situations; yet, studies have been regionally and culturally bound. The aim of this study was to explore how higher education students with AS experienced attending university in two European countries: the UK and Spain. The objective was to find out if experiences differed between the two countries in relation to contrasting support arrangements and what kinds of interventions might aid students’ social well-being at university, an important learning outcome for future practice. This small-scale comparative exploratory study incorporated life-history interviews with nine students with AS. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes significant to both groups of students in Spain and the UK emerged from the data: social relationships, ‘special interests’, ‘environment’ and ‘support mechanisms’. Students with AS need and want clear, unambiguous and structured information from academics; support to get to know others in ‘small special interest groups’; more designated ‘quiet zones’ across campuses; and above all, a move away from ableist notions of AS. To our knowledge, this is the only Spanish–UK comparative study of university students with AS.     

新课程下小学英语教师职前教育课程改革探讨

课程是教育的载体,是培养目标的具体化,小学英语教师职前教育课程设置决定着小学英语师资的培养质量。高等师范院校英语教育专业的课程体系存在着培养目标定位不准确、课程目标模糊、课程结构不合理、课程设置与小学英语教育脱节等问题。所以,应从培养目标与课程目标的准确定位、课程结构的整体优化、课程设置与小学英语教育的紧密衔接等方面进行具有全程规划性的调整与改革,重构一个科学合理的小学英语教师职前教育课程体系。     

电子学档平台下基于图式理论的学术听力能力培养

国内外相关文献研究发现,缺少背景知识是影响学生学术讲座听力的重要因素之一,但由于大学英语课程设置的限制,学生在课内提高学术讲座听力能力难以真正实现。实验结果表明,以电子学档为依托,基于图示理论的学术讲座听力训练模式,可以弥补因课程设置造成的课堂上学术听力训练不足的缺陷,帮助学生养成听学术讲座前积极搜索信息建立相关知识图式的习惯,提高学术讲座听力的有效性。     

Moving beyond the minimum: socially just pedagogies and Asperger’s syndrome in UK higher education

A year‐long longitudinal study was conducted to gain insight into the lives of eight students who had a label of Asperger’s syndrome during their transitions into higher education in the UK. Reflecting on life history data, the findings suggest that universities might actually be maintaining and (re)producing barriers that perpetuate the exclusion and ghettoisation of disabled people. The analysis goes beyond an acknowledgement of institutional disabling practices to pinpoint the subtle impacts of issues of pedagogy, learning, teaching, and assessment. It is argued, therefore, that inclusive education needs to engage more directly with the specific issues faced by learners with the label of Asperger’s syndrome. However, rather than viewing this as an issue of special education for distinctly impaired learners, Asperger’s syndrome must be understood with reference to wider questions of how higher educators respond to diversity and difference.     

二语习得理论对少数民族学生英语教学的作用

运用二语习得理论,从大纲的制定、教学环境的创设、评估体系的构建等方面,对少数民族学生的在汉英语教学提出建议,旨在促进该类学生的英语学习,同时也为教育工作者和管理者提供参考。     

创新理念在船舶专业外语课程改革中的体现

目前高职船舶专业外语课程体系中存在着课程设置不科学、教材建设不规范、评价体系不健全等问题。针对这些问题,就如何在教材构建、课程设置、评价体系等方面提出了创新性的变革,从而改变传统的专业外语课程体系模式,完善专业外语课程建设理论,进一步改变船舶专业外语的教学现状,增强学生的学习积极性和就业竞争力。     

基于职业能力本位的高职视听说与行业英语的教学改革实践与分析

能力本位(CBE即Competence-Based Education)的高职教育观,是指在高职教育中,强调以能力培养而不是以学术知识体系学习作为课程教学的基础、培养目标和评价标准。针对目前高职高专学生的英语现状以及公共英语教学改革现状,探索能力本位的应用人才培养的教学模式,以职业性作为高职公共英语课程发展的方向,实践性作为高职公共英语课程的实现方式,树立工学结合的概念,从而解决高职高专学生的英语课堂教学问题,提高高职高专非英语专业学生应用英语的能力和水平。     

需求理论视角下大学英语后续课程模块化设置的问卷调查与研究

本文以需求理论为框架,以问卷形式调查学生对大学英语后续课程设置的需求,并进行了数据统计与分析,探究后续课程设置的科学合理体系,为今后大学英语后续课程的教学提供理论指导和现实依据,具有一定的现实意义与实用价值。     

基于语篇的多维度大学英语教学建构及效度

20世纪80年代,功能语言学派已提出基于语篇的教学理念,强调语言是有机的系统。基于语篇的多维度大学英语教学模式,要求教学者从观念到实际操作都从语篇功能出发,设立语言使用情景,让学生体验语言的语篇功能,在用中学。在教学试验中,基于语篇的多维度大学英语教学模式不仅是可行的,而且对提高学生英语综合运用能力也有较好的效果。     

“课赛融合”模式在高职公共英语教学中的实践

以辽宁省职业院校技能大赛高职组英语口语（非专业）赛事研究作为切入点,致力于研究如何将技能大赛模式引入高职公共英语分层次课堂教学,也就是用“课赛融合”的模式来引导公共英语课程设置,调整教学内容,带动课程改革,促进学生英语运用能力,尤其是听说能力的培养。     

Do resource bases enable social inclusion of students with Asperger syndrome in a mainstream secondary school?

This research identifies the way in which one secondary school with a resourced provision for students with Asperger syndrome promotes social inclusion for them, and the perceptions of staff members and parents on the social experience of schooling for these children. Interviews were conducted with five teachers, two learning support assistants, and the head of the resourced provision. Questionnaires were completed by eight parents of students with Asperger syndrome who attend the provision. The research found that a positive social experience of schooling was perceived by members of staff and parents due to the additional support of the resource in teaching social skills, providing a safe place and support from the learning support assistants. Some negative perceptions of social experience were also reported, which highlighted the need for educational provision for students on the autism spectrum to be considered at an individual level.     

二语习得理论下的大学英语隐性课程建设

大学英语第三次改革强调外语课程从传统的“2＋1”模式变为“3＋1”模式,两者的不同之处在于后者把计算机网络技术与外语教学结合起来.各高校响应改革的号召,在硬件设备做了大量工作,如购置电脑,配备多媒体教室及建立大学英语自主学习中心等,教材也由传统的纸质教材改为配有光盘的可以进行网上学习的网络教材,但是改革的重点只是从英语显性课程方面着手,强调了从改善课堂教学来促进学生的英语学习.根据二语习得理论及语言学习的特点,英语的外部环境建设对学习者语言习得起关键作用,所以文章在二语习得理论的基础上探讨从外部环境方面开发和利用大学英语隐性课程,进而满足不同层次不同要求的大学生英语学习.