‘Close the door on your way out’: parent perspectives on supported transition planning for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Ireland

Students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities encounter complex and circuitous transitions from post‐primary settings to Higher Education. In Ireland, inequitable access to Individual Education Plans, and a lack of policy infrastructure to provide formal transition planning, means that these journeys are varied and uncertain. This study presents findings from surveys completed by parents supporting students with disabilities in their final 3 years of mainstream secondary school (n = 69), and in‐depth interviews with a self‐selected subset of parents (n = 8). Results point to: (i) disparate levels and quality of support and guidance, (ii) fissures in communication channels between parents and schools, (iii) insufficient awareness and understanding of the interplay between disability and successful post‐school outcomes, and (iv) high levels of stress, anxiety and frustration experienced by students, parents and carers.     

Promoting Positive Youth Development Through School‐Based Social and Emotional Learning Interventions: A Meta‐Analysis of Follow‐Up Effects

This meta‐analysis reviewed 82 school‐based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions involving 97,406 kindergarten to high school students (M_age = 11.09 years; mean percent low socioeconomic status = 41.1; mean percent students of color = 45.9). Thirty‐eight interventions took place outside the United States. Follow‐up outcomes (collected 6 months to 18 years postintervention) demonstrate SEL's enhancement of positive youth development. Participants fared significantly better than controls in social‐emotional skills, attitudes, and indicators of well‐being. Benefits were similar regardless of students’ race, socioeconomic background, or school location. Postintervention social‐emotional skill development was the strongest predictor of well‐being at follow‐up. Infrequently assessed but notable outcomes (e.g., graduation and safe sexual behaviors) illustrate SEL's improvement of critical aspects of students’ developmental trajectories.     

Student and recent graduate perspectives on radiological imaging instruction during basic anatomy courses

Recently, faculty at Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Chicago, have made efforts to improve the depth of radiological anatomy knowledge that students have, but no insights exist as to student and resident opinions of how clinically helpful deep anatomical understanding is. A single‐institution survey of second‐ and fourth‐year medical students and postgraduate year 1–4 residents from 11 specialties, composed of five‐point Likert questions, sample examination questions, and narrative response questions, was distributed in 2015. One hundred seventy‐seven of the 466 potential respondents replied (71 residents and 106 students), response rate 38.0%. No nonresponse bias was present in two separate analyses. Respondents generally favored a superficial “identification” question as more relevant to clinical practice, which was positively associated with increasing clinical experience ρ = 0.357, P < 0.001 by point‐biserial correlation. Students and residents most commonly used self‐directed methods to learn medical imaging during their medical anatomy courses (72.6 and 57.7%, respectively). Small group education was least commonly used by students and residents (45.3 and 39.4%, respectively), but most commonly recommended (62.3 and 69%, respectively). A total of 56.6 and 64.8% of students and residents, respectively, reported that having multiple learning methods was “quite” or “extremely” important. Respondents with more clinical experience were more likely to report that a superficial identification question was more clinically relevant than a question testing deeper radiological anatomy knowledge. Small group learning was preferred among students and residents but was the least commonly employed method of instruction. Both findings contrast starkly with current radiological anatomy instructional understanding and practices. Anat Sci Educ 11: 25–31. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

The development of school well-being in secondary school: High academic buoyancy and supportive class- and school climate as buffers

Students experience increasing pressure to perform well and worry about their academic performance before critical school transitions. These challenges may compromise students' school well-being. Drawing on the Model of Personality and Affect for Education (Matthews et al., 2005) as well as on the Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll, 1989), we investigated the buffering role of high academic buoyancy and supportive class- and school climate against decreases in school well-being (i.e., school-related stress, anti-school attitude, and satisfaction with school) among Finnish lower secondary school students (N = 1024) from grades seven to nine. Controlling for gender, fluid intelligence, and parental education, the results of latent structural equation models indicate that academic buoyancy contributed to school satisfaction, while class- and school climate buffered against the increase of anti-school attitude. The study underlines the importance of both personal and contextual factors, contributing differently to students’ school well-being.     

How useful is YouTube in learning heart anatomy?

Nowadays more and more modern medical degree programs focus on self‐directed and problem‐based learning. That requires students to search for high quality and easy to retrieve online resources. YouTube is an emerging platform for learning human anatomy due to easy access and being a free service. The purpose of this study is to make a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the available human heart anatomy videos on YouTube. Using the search engine of the platform we searched for relevant videos using various keywords. Videos with irrelevant content, animal tissue, non‐English language, no sound, duplicates, and physiology focused were excluded from further elaboration. The initial search retrieved 55,525 videos, whereas only 294 qualified for further analysis. A unique scoring system was used to assess the anatomical quality and details, general quality, and the general data for each video. Our results indicate that the human heart anatomy videos available on YouTube conveyed our anatomical criteria poorly, whereas the general quality scoring found borderline. Students should be selective when looking up on public video databases as it can prove challenging, time consuming, and the anatomical information may be misleading due to absence of content review. Anatomists and institutions are encouraged to prepare and endorse good quality material and make them available online for the students. The scoring rubric used in the study comprises a valuable tool to faculty members for quality evaluation of heart anatomy videos available on social media platforms. Anat Sci Educ. 7: 12–18. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Impact and educational outcomes of a small group self‐directed teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum

The complexity of the material being taught in clinical neuroscience within the medical school curriculum requires creative pedagogies to teach medical students effectively. Many clinical teaching strategies have been developed and are well described to address these challenges. However, only a few have been evaluated to determine their impact on the performance of students studying clinical neuroscience. Interactive, 2‐hour, self‐directed small‐group interactive clinical case‐based learning sessions were conducted weekly for 4 weeks to integrate concepts learned in the corresponding didactic lectures. Students in the small groups analyzed cases of patients suffering from neurological disease that were based on eight learning objectives that allowed them to evaluate neuroanatomical data and clinical findings before presenting their case analysis to the larger group. Students’ performances on the formative quizzes and summative tests were compared to those of first‐year medical students in the previous year for whom the self‐directed, small‐group interactive clinical sessions were not available. There was a significant improvement in the summative performance of first‐year medical students with self‐directed clinical case learning in the second year (Y2) of teaching clinical neuroscience (P < 0.05) when compared with first‐year students in the first year (Y1) for whom the self‐directed learning approach was not available. Student performance in the formative assessments between Y1 and Y2 was not significantly different (P = 0.803). A target of ≥70% student scoring above 80% in the final summative examination was met. The current study revealed evidence for the impact and educational outcomes of a self‐directed, clinical teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum for first‐year medical students. Anat Sci Educ 11: 478–487. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

A systematic meta-analysis and meta-synthesis of the impact of service-learning programs on university students’ empathy

Higher education institutions seek not only to prepare students for their chosen profession, but also to develop graduates that are civic minded and make a positive social impact. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on whether participation in service-learning leads to students reporting increased empathy. The study also examines the features within a service-learning placement that contribute to development of empathy. The review followed the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. The authors searched Scopus, ERIC (EBSCOhost), PsycInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science, Medline Complete, Google Scholar and specific service-learning journals not indexed in major databases for studies published before Nov 23, 2020 that met the Bringle and Hatcher (1995) definition of service-learning and measured change in, or development of, empathy. Of 662 records identified, 35 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Overall, across the 14 studies included in the meta-analysis, there was a significant small effect for increase in empathy for those who participated in service-learning compared to those who did not (g = 0.261) and from pre to post service-learning (g = 0.176). Across the 21 qualitative studies, the main feature which appeared to contribute to the development of students’ empathy was direct interactions with the community. This paper provides insight into the efficacy of service-learning as a pedagogy and contributes to our understanding of the educational value of service-learning for universities. We conclude with avenues for future research and implications for practice.     

Signaling text-picture relations in multimedia learning: A comprehensive meta-analysis

The signaling principle recommends emphasizing relevant aspects of a multimedia message by means of signals (e.g., color coding). We determined the effectiveness of signals that highlight correspondences between text and pictures as well as possible boundary conditions by means of a meta-analysis. To this end, 58 potentially relevant articles were identified in a comprehensive search. After rating the studies based on inclusion criteria and correcting for biases, 27 studies were included in the meta-analysis yielding 45 pairwise comparisons with N = 2464 participants. Domain-specific prior knowledge, pacing of the materials, pictorial format, mapping requirements, and distinctiveness of signals were coded as moderators. For transfer and comprehension performance a positive small-to-medium effect size (r = .17, 95% CI [0.11, 0.22]) favoring signaled multimedia material was found, which was moderated by prior knowledge. The findings support the effectiveness of the signaling principle in particular for learners with low prior knowledge.     

Academic and social attributions as predictors of emotional and behavioural difficulties in students referred for learning disabilities and typically achieving students: the female profile in Oman

Identification of children who exhibit emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBDs) has been prioritized in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region including Oman. Research showed that cognitive attribution processes are biased and defective in atypical populations such as students with learning disabilities (LD). The current study examined the relationship between school-based attributions including academic and social attributions and the display of EBDs in students referred for having LD and typically achieving students. The Student Academic Attribution Scale (SAAS), Student Social Attribution Scale (SSAS), and the Arabic version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (A-SDQ) were administered to 135 typically achieving students and 89 students referred for LD. The participants were all females from middle school. Stepwise regression analyses showed that academic and social attributions were more predictive of EBDs in students referred for LD compared to typically achieving students. The attribution profile of students with LD reflected negative symptoms that lead to the display of internalizing and externalizing EBDs. The study findings are discussed in relation to how schools can utilize the cognitive process of attribution to support students with EBDs.     

Links between teachers’ knowledge about special educational needs and students’ social participation and academic achievement in mainstream classes

Teachers' pedagogical knowledge is considered a prerequisite for effective teaching and is also expected to be relevant in highly diverse, inclusive classes. This study examines the social participation and academic achievement of children with and without special educational needs (SEN) due to emotional and behavioral (EBD) and learning (LD) difficulties and the importance of teachers' knowledge of these SEN. In 25 primary school classes with at least one child with SEN EBD (N₁ = 421) and 40 classes with at least one child with SEN LD (N₂ = 715), multilevel analyses revealed poorer performance of students with SEN. Students with SEN EBD also felt less integrated than their peers without SEN. Teachers' EBD knowledge was positively related to every student’s social participation and academic achievement, but teachers’ LD knowledge was unrelated. The results underscore the importance of teacher knowledge for student outcomes in classes with students with SEN.     

Belonging,school support and communication: Essential aspects of school success for students with cerebral palsy in mainstream schools

PurposeInvestigate successful school experiences for students with cerebral palsy (CP); identify and describe learning and participation at school.MethodsA phenomenologically-informed qualitative study using in-depth interviews with students (n = 7), parents (n = 11), teachers (n = 10), principals (n = 9), and allied health (n = 10) was conducted to investigate multiple perceptions. Thematic analysis occurred within and between groups.ResultsThree themes were identified: Students belong and benefit; Classroom enablers that help; Communication is crucial.ConclusionsStudents’ school experiences are enhanced by innovative classroom solutions that support classroom learning and involvement. Students rely on a diverse team that communicate well and implement individualised solutions that enable success.     

Code-oriented instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties: a replication and comparison of instructional groupings

The purposes of this study were to replicate previous research on phonics-based tutoring in kindergarten and to compare treatment effects for students who received individual instruction compared to instruction in dyads. Thirty classroom teachers from 13 urban elementary schools referred at-risk students for participation. Students who met screening criteria were quasi-randomly assigned, within classroom, to one of three conditions: individual tutoring (n = 22), tutoring in dyads (n = 32), or no tutoring (n = 22, classroom instruction only). Twenty-one paraeducators provided 18 weeks of explicit instruction in phonemic skills and the alphabetic code to students during the latter half of kindergarten. Multilevel model results showed that tutored students outperformed non-tutored controls on posttest measures of phonological awareness, word reading accuracy, oral reading fluency, spelling, and comprehension. However, no significant differences were found between the two tutored groups on any measure, suggesting that code-oriented tutoring for pairs of students is a viable alternative to the gold standard of individual instruction.     

The Role of Family Characteristics for Students’ Academic Outcomes: A Person‐Centered Approach

Using data from 1,571 ninth‐grade students (M_age = 14.62) from 82 academic track schools in Germany and their predominantly Caucasian middle‐class parents, configurations of different family characteristics reported by parents were investigated. Latent profile analyses considering academic involvement, family interest, parents’ self‐concept, child's need for support, and parents’ time and energy identified average, indifferent, motivated and engaged, motivated and disengaged, and involved families. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations with students’ motivational (self‐concept, effort, and interest) and achievement outcomes (achievement test and grades) in math were analyzed. Students from families classified as motivated and disengaged showed higher initial levels motivation and achievement. Over 5 months, these students also showed an increase in self‐concept and higher achievement than students from other family types.     

Online discussion compensates for suboptimal timing of supportive information presentation in a digitally supported learning environment

This study used a sequential set-up to investigate the consecutive effects of timing of supportive information presentation (information before vs. information during the learning task clusters) in interactive digital learning materials (IDLMs) and type of collaboration (personal discussion vs. online discussion) in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) on student knowledge construction. Students (N = 87) were first randomly assigned to the two information presentation conditions to work individually on a case-based assignment in IDLM. Students who received information during learning task clusters tended to show better results on knowledge construction than those who received information only before each cluster. The students within the two separate information presentation conditions were then randomly assigned to pairs to discuss the outcomes of their assignments under either the personal discussion or online discussion condition in CSCL. When supportive information had been presented before each learning task cluster, online discussion led to better results than personal discussion. When supportive information had been presented during the learning task clusters, however, the online and personal discussion conditions had no differential effect on knowledge construction. Online discussion in CSCL appeared to compensate for suboptimal timing of presentation of supportive information before the learning task clusters in IDLM.     

An Entity Theory of Intelligence Predicts Higher Cortisol Levels When High School Grades Are Declining

Grades often decline during the high school transition, creating stress. The present research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with the implicit theories model to understand who shows maladaptive stress responses. A diary study measured declines in grades in the first few months of high school: salivary cortisol (N = 360 students, N = 3,045 observations) and daily stress appraisals (N = 499 students, N = 3,854 observations). Students who reported an entity theory of intelligence (i.e., the belief that intelligence is fixed) showed higher cortisol when grades were declining. Moreover, daily academic stressors showed a different lingering effect on the next day's cortisol for those with different implicit theories. Findings support a process model through which beliefs affect biological stress responses during difficult adolescent transitions.     

Assessment criteria for competency-based education: a study in nursing education

This study examined the effects of type of assessment criteria (performance-based vs. competency-based), the relevance of assessment criteria (relevant criteria vs. all criteria), and their interaction on secondary vocational education students’ performance and assessment skills. Students on three programmes in the domain of nursing and care (N = 93) participated in the study. Results show that students who were given the relevant criteria made more accurate assessments of an expert model, performed better on a test and achieved higher instructional efficiency (defined as the relationship between performance and mental effort) compared to students who were given all criteria. Students who were given performance-based assessment criteria made more accurate assessments of an expert model and scored higher on task performance during practice compared to students who were given competency-based assessment criteria. They invested less mental effort in the assessments, resulting in higher instructional efficiency. An interaction effect for the concreteness of answers shows that the combination of performance-based and relevant criteria leads to superior analysis of worked examples compared to the other combinations of criteria.     

Do preservice teacher education candidates’ implicit biases of ethnic differences and mindset toward academic ability change over time?

Teachers' implicit biases about ethnic differences in student achievement and teachers' mindsets have been associated with significant differences in their students’ achievement. In two studies (N = 313; N = 57) with preservice teachers undertaking a three-year teacher education programme aimed at promoting social justice, we found that third-year students showed significantly less implicit ethnic achievement bias and reduced fixed mindsets compared to the first-year preservice teachers. Students from the ethnic minority were found to have the least bias, but still associated student achievement more with the ethnic majority group. It is concluded that more is needed to reduce implicit biases and develop a growth mindset among our preservice teachers.     

Online Assessment of Applied Anatomy Knowledge: The Effect of Images on Medical Students' Performance

Anatomical examinations have been designed to assess topographical and/or applied knowledge of anatomy with or without the inclusion of visual resources such as cadaveric specimens or images, radiological images, and/or clinical photographs. Multimedia learning theories have advanced the understanding of how words and images are processed during learning. However, the evidence of the impact of including anatomical and radiological images within written assessments is sparse. This study investigates the impact of including images within clinically oriented single-best-answer questions on students' scores in a tailored online tool. Second-year medical students (n = 174) from six schools in the United Kingdom participated voluntarily in the examination, and 55 students provided free-text comments which were thematically analyzed. All questions were categorized as to whether their stimulus format was purely textual or included an associated image. The type (anatomical and radiological image) and deep structure of images (question referring to a bone or soft tissue on the image) were taken into consideration. Students scored significantly better on questions with images compared to questions without images (P < 0.001), and on questions referring to bones than to soft tissue (P < 0.001), but no difference was found in their performance on anatomical and radiological image questions. The coding highlighted areas of “test applicability” and “challenges faced by the students.” In conclusion, images are critical in medical practice for investigating a patient's anatomy, and this study sets out a way to understand the effects of images on students' performance and their views in commonly employed written assessments.     

Urban Middle School Students’ Stereotypes at the Intersection of Sexual Orientation,Ethnicity, and Gender

Heterosexual urban middle school students’ (N = 1,757) stereotypes about gender typicality, intelligence, and aggression were assessed. Students (M_age = 12.36 years) rated Facebook‐like profiles of peers who varied by gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Several hypotheses about how the gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation of target peers intersect to shape stereotypes were tested. As predicted, a peer's sexual orientation determined stereotypes of gender typicality, with gay and lesbian students viewed as most atypical. As expected, ethnicity shaped stereotypes of intelligence, with Asian American students seen as most intelligent. Gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation independently and jointly affected stereotypes of aggression. These results demonstrate the value of an intersectional approach to the study of stereotypes. Implications for future research and practice are offered.     

Evaluating a bedside tool for neuroanatomical localization with extended‐matching questions

Neuroanatomical localization (NL) is a key skill in neurology, but learners often have difficulty with it. This study aims to evaluate a concise NL tool (NLT) developed to help teach and learn NL. To evaluate the NLT, an extended‐matching questions (EMQ) test to assess NL was designed and validated. The EMQ was validated with fourth‐year medical students and internal medicine and neurology residents. The NLT's usability was evaluated with third‐ and fourth‐year students, and the effectiveness was evaluated with an experimental study of second‐year students, using the EMQ as the outcome measure. Students were taught how to use both the NLT and textbook algorithms (control) to perform NL, then randomized into either group, and only allowed to use their assigned tool to complete the EMQ. Primary outcome was the difference in mean EMQ scores expressed as a percentage of total score. For EMQ validation, students (n = 56) scored lower than residents (n = 50) (76.7% ± 1.7 vs. 83.0% ± 1.6; mean ± standard error of mean, P < 0.009). The EMQ demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach's α 0.85) and generalizability (G‐coefficient 0.85). Third‐ (n = 77) and fourth‐year (n = 42) students found the NLT user‐friendly and helpful in their learning of NL. In the experimental study, scores were significantly higher for NLT group (n = 94) than for controls (n = 101) (42.5 vs. 37.0%, P = 0.014); the effect size (Cohen's d) was 0.36. The EMQ is validated to reliably assess NL and is generalizable, feasible, practical, and of low cost. The concise and user‐friendly NLT for NL was effective in aiding medical student performance of NL. Anat Sci Educ 11: 262–269. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.