Lessons from lockdown: Autistic students,parents and mainstream schools

This paper reports on the findings of a BERA-funded small-scale project that explores the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on the educational experiences of autistic children and young people who attend mainstream schools and their parents/carers in England. We observe that, unsurprisingly, lockdown resulted in associated stresses for families. However, our main argument is that for the participants, the pandemic has not been experienced to the same extent as is popularly understood; that is, causing major disruption to children's schooling experiences and/or unusual levels of social isolation. Using the concept of stigma as a theoretical resource, we argue that this is because the families with whom we spoke were already experiencing, pre-COVID-19, disrupted schooling and degrees of social isolation. Indeed, for many of the young people, the break from school occasioned by lockdown allowed them a release from the more negative and stigmatising aspects of their routine experiences within school. We therefore argue that the disruption of the pandemic sheds light on how stigma shapes students' daily school experiences.     

家长如何成为学校教育变革的动力

学校教育改革以促进儿童的发展和幸福为宗旨，家长应该关心、支持改革，并且推动学校开展求真务实的改革。家长的教育态度对学生及教师的影响力、家长所拥有的教育咨询与选择权利使其能够成为学校教育改革的积极动力．而家长教育观念落后、家校沟通不畅成为阻碍学校教育变革的因素。有效的亲职教育和多元的家校沟通机制将能够确保家长推动学校教育变革的能量得以充分发挥。     

略论中小学英语课堂教学中补充交际活动的必要性及策略

教学是一种双向活动,这种活动不仅是教师与学生或学生与学生之间的一种信息交流,而且也是一种思想、情感交流.本文根据晋中和鲁西北地区中小学英语教学现状,以现代教学理论为基础,对在中小学英语课堂教学中补充交际活动的必要性及策略进行了阐述.     

Involving parents in schools: Toward developing a social-intervention technology

Emphasis is on parents and public elementary schools in lower socioeconomic areas. A rationale for direct parental involvement in the school's instructional and policy-formulation processes is presented. Neighborhood and school social factors are identified, especially those related to the change process in schools, since these could potentially hinder the development of parental involvement. Finally, organization development is examined as a promising means of minimizing difficulties.

---

Résumé Cet article traite surtout des parents et des écoles élémentaires publiques des quartiers déshérités au point de vue socio-économique. L'auteur expose la raison d'être de l'intervention directe des parents dans les méthodes d'enseignement et dans l'élaboration de la politique éducative. Il identifie les facteurs sociaux représentés par le quartier et l'école et insiste sur les facteurs propres à la nature du processus d'évolution dans les écoles, étant donné que ces facteurs pourraient faire obstacle au développement de l'engagement des parents. L'auteur conclut que le développement de l'organisation représente une méthode prometteuse qui pourrait faciliter la tâche dans ce domaine.

---

---

OISE     

The role and contribution of Nurture Groups in secondary schools: perceptions of children,parents and staff

Many secondary schools are now establishing Nurture Groups, an intervention primarily designed for infant school-aged children. However, there is little research indicating that this intervention can be applied effectively to secondary settings. The main aim of this research was to explore how Nurture Groups are implemented into the secondary sector and whether they can be a beneficial intervention for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The implementation of three secondary school Nurture Groups was examined through the views of 17 secondary school staff and eight parents using focus groups, and six children who had attended the Nurture Groups through individual interviews. Findings indicated that secondary school Nurture Groups can be a valued resource and have benefits for young people. However, they often have a different emphasis from those originally devised by Boxall, because of the developmental differences between sectors. Recommendations for secondary school Nurture Group practitioners are provided.     

英语中的交际能力和交际文化初探

本文从英语交际能力和交际文化两个方面进行了初步的探索,其中在交际能力中从交际能力概念的提出、交际能力概念的理论来源、交际能力理论的内容和发展方面进行了阐述,在交际文化中从打招呼的文化、寒暄文化、称呼文化、赞扬与祝贺文化五个方面进行了阐述。     

Ethnography at a distance: globally mobile parents choosing international schools

The research we report on was conducted from our computer desktops. We have not met the people we have studied; they are part of what Eichhorn described as a “textual community”, gathered around the threads of online conversations associated with a website servicing the needs of English-language speakers in Germany. The thread in question started in 2008 with a query from someone about to move to Berlin, seeking advice about the best international school in which to enrol her three children. The ensuing conversations are revealing, not only because of the schools canvassed and the manner in which they are discussed, but also because of the schools that are not charted into the discussion. This paper raises questions about qualitative research methodologies in online settings, particularly in relation to studies of the global middle-class. It examines claims about an emerging commitment to “nonlocal ethnography” and the surmising one can make about research subjects one never meets, but who remain comprehensible because of the broader cultural context in which they are situated. The research carries the promise of “rich enough” ethnography, reflecting a commitment to understanding what people do, documenting and analysing the intricate realities influencing and shaping individual choices people make, the complexities they face and the realities they help create. The fact that it was done “at a distance”, in so-called virtual spaces, does not undermine its ethnographic authenticity.     

Integrated schools and intergroup relations in Northern Ireland: the importance of parents

Background: Integrated schools were established in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. With an explicit intention to build better relations between Catholics and Protestants, it has an intuitive appeal in a society which has long experienced sectarian division. Whilst the sector has attracted considerable research, less is understood about how parents’ perceive the approach adopted by schools to build intergroup relations.

Purpose: The present article seeks to address the gap in the literature by exploring parents’ views of integrated education. Drawing on theories of intergroup contact, the paper seeks specifically to explore how parents and head teachers perceive and negotiate the approach that the schools adopt to build intergroup relations.

Method: In an attempt to probe the deeper meanings that participants attach to integrated education, a qualitative research approach was adopted; semi-structured interviews were carried out with 17 parents and 2 head teachers in two integrated primary schools.

Findings: Through the data analyses, three main aspects were evident. Firstly, the study reveals something of the relational dynamic between head teachers and parents and the significance of this relationship for determining how intergroup relations are pursued in integrated schools. Secondly, it highlights the nebulous nature of identity salience and the practical challenges of making identity salient within mixed identity contexts. Finally, the study suggests the value of qualitative approaches for exploring intergroup contact initiatives.

Conclusions: Overall, the paper demonstrates the inherent challenges of establishing an integrated school where good relations will be developed when multiple interpretations of what constitutes an appropriate response to difference and diversity prevails.     

Making it work for their children: white middle-class parents and working-class schools

The white middle-class parents who chose to send their children to urban comprehensives largely rejected engaging in the usual competitiveness for educational success. Nevertheless the parents in our study still found themselves wittingly or otherwise captured by that same discourse. Their children are high achievers and are regarded as a valuable resource for their comprehensive schools generating high volume capital. However, in spite of this, the parents do not leave such success to chance. Drawing on an ESRC-funded research project (Educational Choices and the White Urban Middle-Classes RES-148-25-0023) we analyse how middle-class parental involvement is part of the age old process of social reproduction and the transmission of parents’ middle-class privilege to their children, almost regardless of their intentions. Not only are the parents interventionist in their children’s schooling, they draw on and dispose their own privileged capitals to prepare and position their children for educational success.     

Provision for youngsters with autistic spectrum disorders in mainstream schools: what parents say — and what parents want

Relatively little research has focused on parental perceptions and experience of educational provision in mainstream settings for children and young people with autism. Much of that which has been undertaken (and certainly that which is most widely cited) has tended to rely on samples which may not be sufficiently representative. In the study reported here, Philip Whitaker, of the Children and Young People's Service in Northamptonshire sought the views of every parent or carer of a child with an autistic spectrum condition living within one English county. Almost half the parents of the 350 children attending mainstream schools responded to a questionnaire exploring their experiences, views, attitudes and levels of satisfaction. The analysis looks at the differences and similarities between the experiences and views of the 'satisfied' and 'dissatisfied' groups of parents.
Overall, 61% of respondents reported themselves satisfied with the provision being made for their children. The extent to which parents felt that school staff understood (and empathised) with their children's difficulties, and the perceived flexibility of the schools' responses to the children's needs were the factors which most sharply differentiated the two groups of parents. The extent and quality of reciprocal communication between home and school also seemed strongly associated with levels of satisfaction. The two groups of parents shared many concerns, with the schools' role in promoting social development and social relationships emerging as a high priority. Philip Whitaker discusses the implications of these findings for schools and for the development of local authority provision founded in mainstreaming.     

Forging links between parents and schools: a new role for Teaching Assistants?

Elaine Logan and Anthony Feiler discuss findings from the Literacy Early Action Project, a home based scheme for Reception children at risk of struggling with literacy. During the project, Teaching Assistants (TAs) made regular visits to children's homes, sharing ideas for literacy learning with parents and other family members. The article concludes that TAs are exceptionally well positioned to take on innovative roles, developing links between home and school.     

Making the difference with active parenting; forming educational partnerships between parents and schools

Although parental involvement is often a priority on the quality agenda of schools for primary and secondary education, it is still not usual to involve parents as an educational partner in the actual learning process of their child. Rather than adopting an open approach, teachers tend to tell parents what they should do or keep them at a safe distance. At the same time, parents are increasingly becoming better informed, more critical and thus are more strongly positioned towards school. They address teachers more directly in case of problems or disappointing results of their child. Clearly, this might lead to a negative impact on the mutual relationship especially when parents’ emotional involvement conflicts with a professional and detached attitude of teachers. Based on the results of several studies that provide ample evidence that parental involvement in the learning process can improve learning outcomes, it is argued that there is much to be gained in forming educational partnerships between parents and schools. Different dimensions of active parenting are discussed, as well as prerequisites for successful implementation.     

The Culture Project: diasporic negotiations of ethnicity,identity and culture among teachers,pupils and parents in Chinese language schools

Notions of culture, ethnicity and identity are highly political (and also personally meaningful) issues within diasporic communities. Complementary schools are particularly interesting sites in this respect, as they are often set up with an explicit cultural agenda of ‘preserving’ or ‘maintaining’ ‘traditional’ culture and language within diasporic communities. In this paper, we draw on qualitative data from an ESRC funded study conducted in six Chinese complementary schools to consider how pupils (n=60), parents (n=24) and teachers (n=21) in these schools construct and negotiate issues of culture and identity. We consider the ways in which the cultural agenda of the schools is constructed and experienced, teasing out the ways in which cultural discourses and pupil identities are deployed (and resisted, reworked) within the space of Chinese schools. Finally we consider the extent to which the schools are perceived by the young people to be ‘successful’ (or not) in their efforts to make pupils feel ‘more Chinese’.