Educational e-books: a support for vocabulary and early math for children at risk for learning disabilities

Mathematical learning difficulties can originate at an early age. However, research on young children’s math development, especially those who are at risk, is in its early stages. The current study is the first to examine the effects of an activity with an educational e-book on emergent math with 52 preschoolers at risk for learning disability (ALD). The effects on their emergent vocabulary of the e-book intervention was also tested. The findings revealed that following the intervention, children in the experimental e-book group improved both their vocabulary and early math skills as compared to the control group who engaged in their regular preschool activities. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Building common knowledge at the boundaries between professional practices: Relational agency and relational expertise in systems of distributed expertise

The article develops an earlier account of relational agency (IJER 2005). Its starting point is a view of practices as knowledge-laden and emotionally freighted sites of purposeful and expert activity. Arguments therefore draw on cultural historical analyses of activities, practices and the institutions that shape them. Relational agency in inter-professional activities is seen to be mediated by common knowledge which is built in interactions at the points where the boundaries of practices intersect. The focus will be the development of common knowledge, described by Carlile (2004, p. 557) as a capacity to ‘represent the differences now of consequence and the ability of the actors involved to use it’, at the sites of intersecting practices. The argument, supported by evidence from four recent studies of interprofessional work, is that building and using common knowledge is an important feature of the relational expertise required for working across the practice boundaries on complex tasks.     

Self-esteem and academic achievement: a comparative study of adolescent students in England and the United States

Utilizing mixed methodology, this paper investigates the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement for young adolescents within two Western cultural contexts: the United States and England. Quantitative and qualitative data from 86 North American and 86 British adolescents were utilized to examine the links between self-esteem and academic achievement from the beginning to the end of their academic year during their 11th–12th year of age. For both samples, quantitative results demonstrated that fall self-esteem was related to multiple indicators of later year academic achievement. While country differences emerge by the end of the year, math appears to have a consistent relationship with self-esteem in both country contexts. Qualitative analyses found some support for British students’ self-perceptions as more accurately reflecting their academic experience than the students from the United States.     

Learning to talk: community support and views of parents from socially disadvantaged families

Part of a multimethod ethnographic study that aimed to explore the knowledge of local parents concerning children learning to talk is described. The study was carried out with parents from several different ethnic and language groups in a socially disadvantaged part of Sheffield, a large city in the northeast of England.
In the phase of the study reported here, parents (either English, Urdu/Punjabi and Arabic speakers) took part in interviews, as well as contributing to the validation of the project. This study found that parents from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds living in this socially disadvantaged area, believed learning to talk to be very important and that family, community, including faith community, and professionals, have roles in promoting learning to talk. They indicated that local community groups, including faith communities, could play a positive role in supporting and developing their knowledge.
This paper will be of interest to those seeking innovative ways to support parents in socially excluded communities, particularly parents of children learning to talk, and so contribute to better outcomes for children, families and communities. It also contributes to our understanding of the development of parental knowledge about learning to talk in socially disadvantaged communities.     

Building school support systems for parents of handicapped children: The parent Education and Guidance program

The Parent Education and Guidance Program was motivated by the belief that the fostering of a positive, ongoing relationship between the school and home can have a significant bearing on the development of family strengths for coping with a handicapped child. The training program utilized parent support groups and professionals from various fields to involve parents of handicapped children in group process directed toward the holistic approach to meeting the child's social, emotional, and intellectual needs. During the course of the program it became apparent that parents needed the help and support of other parents who shared similar difficulties related to having a handicapped child in the family. Issues related to developing personal awareness as well as interpersonal skills were dealt with at the parent meetings. An atmosphere of mutual understanding and support between members of the Child Study Team and parents developed as a result of less formalized and more relaxed contact during the 8-month program.     

A support group for parents of children on a waiting list for an assessment for autism spectrum disorder

Parents of children waiting for a diagnostic assessment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience distress and anxiety while they wait. The present small-scale study took place in a multi-disciplinary therapeutic service in Ireland for children with ASD and was run between April and September 2011. The first author, an educational psychologist on a multi-disciplinary team, designed a qualitative, three-staged study to look at ways of supporting parents of children on the waiting list for assessment. Focus group discussions were analysed using thematic content analysis to identify themes to facilitate the development and evaluation of a pilot parent education group. Findings suggested that the ASD “journey” begins when the disorder is first raised as a possibility. Parents want information about ASD and the diagnostic process at this point. Parents reported benefits from the pilot group through meeting professionals involved in assessment, being supported by other parents, and learning strategies to help their children.     

Difficulties and support at school for children following renal transplantation: a case study

In an interesting example of inter-agency collaboration, researchers from Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham City Hospital here use a case study to shed light on some of the peer relationship issues and the support needs of young people with medical conditions. They consider that the concerns raised by the case study suggest schools need to address these proactively rather than reactively.     

Beyond employer engagement and skills supply: building conditions for partnership working and skills co-production in the English context

Education providers and employers working together to prepare young people and adults for employment is internationally accepted as a key factor in effective technical and vocational education. In the English context, however, we argue that two related orthodoxies have prevailed – ‘employer engagement’ and ‘skills supply’ – in which education providers have striven to gain employer involvement in their programmes and meet their skills needs. The effectiveness of these twin orthodoxies has been limited by the ‘New Low Skills Equilibrium’ (NLSE) involving a symbiosis of weaknesses on both the education and employer sides. The article draws on findings of a two-year research and development programme in East London which explored the process of education-employer partnership working to support inclusive growth in key economic sectors. The research suggested that this aim was best supported by processes of ‘co-production’ that actively involved both partners in attempting to address features of the NLSE. The research also pointed to constraining factors. The article concludes by identifying the conditions required for the realisation of co-production approaches that include the development of new collaborative structures – High Progression and Skills Networks (HPSNs) – involving a wide range of social partners at the local and regional levels.     

Voices of children and parents from elsewhere: a glance at integration in Italian primary schools

This study involves 35 research participants: 20 immigrant parents (primarily mothers from South America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East) and 15 primary school children, aged 10–11. These children were born outside Italy and primary school was their first encounter with the Italian educational system. We observed their processes of integration through their stories and those of their parents. Our investigation aims to identify factors that support or inhibit their school integration. We adopt an ecological research paradigm, proposing a vision of knowledge as rooted in natural life contexts, focusing on subjectivity. Analysis of the data led to identification of core categories concerning these families’ experiences and their children's encounters with Italian schools. This paper focuses on the children's perspectives of their experiences with school.     

Vulnerable children of mentally ill parents: towards evidence‐based support for improving resilience

The increasing prevalence of mental illness among parents always represents a stressor affecting the biopsychosocial development of a child. However, due to varying inherent resilience factors, not all children are affected to the same extent. The presence of evidence‐based resilience factors is able to minimise or prevent the adverse effects associated with the parental disorder. Fostering an attachment to a healthy adult – including professionals in the social field – and providing information about the disorder are regarded as two important preventive factors. The need for specific individualised intervention programmes for this group of forgotten children is highlighted, and a specific method of assessment is presented.     

高校后勤服务质量标准与绩效考评刍议

“以优质服务求发展，以科学管理创效益”是新时期高校后勤服务的理念。制定服务质量标准、实施绩效考评是提高服务水平，促进高校后勤标准化、规范化、科学化建设的必要措施。这些措施使得高校后勤服务质量“软指标”，实现“刚性化”。服务质量标准为绩效考评提供可供检测、分析的明确对象；绩效考评是检查、判断是否实现了服务质量标准的必要环节。     

Learning Economics at a distance: Quality and impact of expertise. A study with Open University students.

The research reported in this article is, considering the hypotheses, a replication of an earlier investigation with a different experimental population and in a different experimental setting. Where, in the earlier study, regular university students were involved, in the present study we focus on students studying in a distance education and open learning setting. One of the methodological difficulties with this research population is to reach a large and representative sample. As a consequence, the experimental group in the present study is limited in number, thus denying access to statistically significantly results in relation to all hypotheses tested.

Notwithstanding these methodological difficulties, the results are helpful to draw conclusions in relation to the quality and impact of expertise. As in the earlier study, attention was paid to the construction of a set of tests to grasp the complex nature of prior knowledge at the content level. The instruments used during the earlier study were improved in relation to their psychometric qualities.

Concerning the hypotheses about the quality of expertise, the results of this investigation revealed that students with different educational backgrounds and studying different diploma‐types, possess a complex of different expertise components.

In relation to the impact of prior knowledge on the acquisition of subject‐oriented knowledge, regression analysis reveals that expertise accounts for 37‐42% of the variance in post‐test scores. The optimization of the instruments used was helpful to differentiate to a better extent the impact of the three different expertise tests.

Since the results of the present study are consistent with the findings of the earlier study in relation to the quality and impact of expertise, more weight can be given to the arguments that can be put forward to support students, in the initial stage of their studies, to cope with the demands of specific domains to be studied.     

The struggle for language: perspectives and practices of urban parents with children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Research is scarce on young children with hearing impairments growing up in urban environments. A qualitative study was used to explore and describe the perspectives and practices of these children's parents. An ethnographic approach enabled documentation of parents' routines, daily activities, thoughts (perceptions), and behaviors (practices). In-depth interviews and observations were the primary data sources. Data collection occurred within a 6-month period. Research questions focused on efforts parents make independently and with others (e.g., educational staff, family members) to facilitate and support their child's efforts to communicate and acquire language. Nine parents, two grandparents, and six staff members disclosed their perspectives and practices. While similarities and differences arose, universal perspectives and practices emerged among the parents that are discussed as prevailing themes. Results suggest that the parents' struggle, systemic barriers, and the urban environment are the greatest challenges facing families. Addressing these challenges will contribute to establishment of truly equitable and effective interventions for urban children, whether deaf or hard of hearing, their parents, and other family members.     

Assessing and cultivating support for strategic planning: searching for best practices in a reform environment

This study examines the similarities and differences in faculty and administrator perspectives on strategic planning in Kentucky, a state in the United States undergoing extensive reform of its public, postsecondary system. The findings suggest that three variables are critical to faculty and administrative support for strategic planning activities: (i) depth of implementation of strategic planning outcomes, (ii) type of institutional decision making and (iii) level of support for state reforms. The findings help suggest some best practices that institutions can adopt to cultivate both faculty and administrative support for strategic planning activities.     

The failure of a decision support system: inconsistency in test grading by teachers

This paper examines the interaction between the contribution of established criteria to objective assessment of examinations, and the effect of mental fatigue induced during the process. Copies of 31 compositions, previously awarded a grade of 80 percent by specialists, were stacked in three randomly arranged sequences. Sixty teachers graded the compositions in sequential order. Thereafter, they re-evaluated every essay according to each of six criteria. These scores were used to generate a series of accumulative grades. In both scoring procedures, the grades rose in a time-dependent fashion, indicating impairment of judgment, apparently as a result of mental fatigue. Differences between the two assessments suggest that the criteria were not used efficiently in the original evaluation of the teachers. This may be explained by the phenomenon of bounded rationality.     

Inclusive and collaborative practices in co-taught classrooms: Roles and responsibilities for teachers and parents

As a step towards inclusion, co-teaching has received attention in the last two decades. This paper discusses the roles and responsibilities of co-teachers in Greek mainstream classrooms and the input of parents. Using a multiple case study research design, we sought to explore and evaluate co-teaching practices with regard to role understanding, responsibilities in classroom management and the relationship of co-teachers and parents. Our findings provide evidence for separate rather than complementary roles with little actual co-teaching practice. We argue for both political and practical changes regarding co-teachers' and parents' roles, as necessary for the enhancement of co-teaching.     

Learning Environments and Learning Styles: Non-traditional Student Enrollment and Success in an Internet-based Versus a Lecture-based Computer Science Course

Colleges and universities are increasingly using information technologies to enhance the learning environment. Many educational institutions offer Internet-based on-line courses in an effort to meet the educational needs of students. The primary goal of this research was to determine if there is a relationship between students' preferred learning environment (i.e. face-to-face or on-line) and their learning style. The secondary goal was to determine if there were any differences in the academic success of students in the face-to-face versus on-line sections. Participants were adult (ages 22+ years), non-traditional computer science students given the option to take a face-to-face lecture-based or an on-line Internet-based computer science course. Results revealed that computer science students in the face-to-face learning environment were more likely to have the Assimilator learning-style, whereas computer science students in the on-line Internet-based learning environment were more likely to have the Converger learning-style. Student academic success did not reliably differ as a function of learning environment selection. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of learning style characteristics of computer science students, learning styles and gender differences and implications of student academic success in on-line vs face-to-face environments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Follow-up of children “at risk” of child abuse: Effect of support on emotional and intellectual development

This study is a follow-up of 47 children previously reported, who were referred to one paediatric unit and found to be “at risk” of child abuse. They were classified as “Satisfactory” (12), “Unsatisfactory” (18), and “Uncertain” (17), on the basis of breakdown of natural parenting, growth failure, developmental delay, behaviour disturbance and nonaccidental injury. Three years later, of 6 “unsatisfactory” children still with natural parents, 3 were unchanged and 3 had deteriorated. Of 10 fostered children from this group, 4 were considered normal and 5 had improved. Of 17 children in the “Uncertain” group, 3 are reclassified as “Satisfactory,” 3 are now “Unsatisfactory” and in 3 significant organic disease makes attribution of disability difficult. Ten out of 12 children in the “Satisfactory” group have remained in this category. These findings point to the conclusion that in those families where child rearing practices are so poor as to produce emotional and developmental impairment, the usual social work support and other conventional methods are not able to reverse the harm and in some cases to prevent further deterioration.