Learning to Draw and Drawing to Learn

Young children enter formal schooling with a repertoire of modes of representation with which they try to make sense of the world – drawing, modelling, role play, storying, emergent literacy and numeracy. In drawing they use mark making for kinesthetic pleasure and later learn to repeat patterns and shapes intentionally. From these repeated marks they begin to explore the potential of drawings to represent what they know. A parallel set of drawing strategies with an explicit communicative function develop through social relationships at home or in pre-school/care settings. Children observe and mimic modes of representation and absorb the semiotics modelled by adults or older children in the community/culture[s] in which they are reared. On entering formal school, the messages children receive from the culture of classrooms is that the modes of representation that are valued are the formal symbolic modes of literacy and numeracy whereas teachers perceive drawing as useful for occupational or recreational purposes. Ironically, as children are cultured into ‘academic’ achievements, they lose out on opportunities to engage in alternative modes of representation/symbolic systems, which may offer opportunities for cognitive challenge at higher levels. Thus, whilst pushing children to perform ‘academically’ in the early stages of schooling, we underestimate them ‘intellectually’. At elementary school level children’s mark-making is shaped into a ‘catch-all’, narrative/representational style of drawing across all subjects. Children often elect to explore their own personal, culturally specific ways of drawing outside school as ‘home art’. In school their capabilities in using alternative modes of representation as tools for learning wither away.     

Classroom studies into cognitive style in mathematics for pupils with dyslexia in special education in the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK

The project reported here was designed to explore the cognitive style used by pupils with dyslexia when answering a range of mathematical questions. The research involved 132 pupils aged between 9 and 13 years, including 66 pupils in mainstream and 66 pupils in specialist schools, in three countries in Europe.
Detailed studies of the methods used by pupils attempting the given questions on a test of cognitive style suggested that they fell into two main categories. These pupils were observed when completing the test and their responses were categorised accordingly. The resulting numerical data were then analysed for differences between pupils within each country and between their non-dyslexic counterparts.
The results showed significant differences in the balance of cognitive styles employed by pupils with dyslexia as opposed to their non-dyslexic counterparts. Also there were interesting differences occurring between the pupils with dyslexia within the three countries on initial testing. Further differences were established after a six-month intervention period, suggesting that the characteristics of different curriculum models do have an impact upon pupils' flexibility as learners.     

Tutor and teacher timescapes: Lessons from a home-school partnership

A partnership project was developed in which parents volunteered to support teachers in training years 1-3 children in computer skills at a primary school in a small, low socio-economic community. This article identifies the ways teachers and the ‘tutors’ (as the volunteers were called) understood the value of the project. ‘Being a teacher’ and ‘being a volunteer’ were structured by different forms of social engagement, which in turn influenced the ways individuals were able to work with each other in collaborative processes. We argue that the discursive practices encoded in homeschool-community partnership rhetoric represent ruling-class ways of organising and networking that may be incompatible with those of people from low socio-economic backgrounds. When such volunteers work in schools their attendance may be sporadic and short-term whereas teachers would like ‘reliable’ ongoing commitment. This mismatch wrought of teachers’ and volunteers’ differing everyday realities needs to be understood before useful models for partnerships in disadvantaged communities may be realised.     

Ensuring Indigenous cultural respect in Australian undergraduate nursing students

Like other Westernised countries, Australia’s history of colonisation, racism and oppression has impacted upon Indigenous Peoples’ health and well-being. It is also evident that institutional racism and ongoing colonisation are present in the Australian health system. Better preparation of health professionals to work in a culturally respectful way can contribute to addressing health disparities and prejudices. One approach to enabling the development of cultural respect is through embedding an Indigenous graduate attribute (IGA) across curricula and ensuring the process is thoughtfully developed and assessed. This paper describes and discusses the process of developing an assessment criteria template (ACT) to assess Indigenous cultural respect in an undergraduate nursing degree programme. Critical to the project was meaningful engagement with Indigenous stakeholders and Indigenous leadership to inform the development and implementation process. Although the context will vary globally due to the diversity of Indigenous Peoples and each country’s history of colonisation, by publishing this work, we intend to provide transparency into the process we undertook to embed and assess an IGA ACT in an undergraduate nursing curriculum. We hope this is helpful for other tertiary institutions internationally who are also engaging in this space.     

Home Visiting Among Inner-City Families: Links to Early Academic Achievement

This study examines the long-term effects of a home visiting program, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, on students from mostly low-income, Latino families (n = 254). Children who were in the home visiting program during their early years were compared with a similar demographic group who participated in prekindergarten in the same inner-city area but did not participate in home visiting. Data linked participation in home visiting to state test scores and other information from public schools through the end of elementary school. Research Findings: Secondary data analyses tested for intervention effects on reading and math achievement in an urban school district using 4 waves of data covering kindergarten through 5th grade. Growth curve modeling showed that participation in home visiting predicted higher academic achievement through the 5th grade. Practice or Policy: Parent-focused intervention during early childhood appears to have a lasting impact on children’s achievement. In addition to parent engagement, quality school curriculum and quality instruction affect achievement in elementary school. A comprehensive curriculum focus throughout the early school years should be implemented regardless of preparation for high-stakes testing.     

The Play-Literacy Interface in Full-day Kindergarten Classrooms

The increasing accountability framework in Kindergarten education has put pressure on teachers to ensure that students reach certain literacy milestones before proceeding to the subsequent grade. One result of this shift is a tension between an emphasis on academic learning and the use of developmentally appropriate practices, such as play. However, there is evidence that play can be an effective context for literacy development. This study investigated the enacted integration of literacy learning and play-based pedagogies. Semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers who taught using a play-based Kindergarten program revealed differences in their beliefs about the role of play for literacy learning. Two groups of teachers emerged from the data analysis. The play and development group. Consisted of five teachers who dichotomized play and learning while the integrated play and learning group consisted of seven teachers who combined play and learning. Teachers in the play and development group expressed the concept that play may not be the best approach for literacy learning and were less likely to integrate the two. Teachers in the integrated play and learning group believed play was important for children’s literacy learning and articulated a range of strategies for integration. Classroom observations of children’s play showed evidence of more literacy-play integration by students in the integrated play and learning group. Teachers in this group were also more likely to become involved in children’s play, which supported children’s literacy engagement during play. Although there were differences in play-literacy integration between the groups, all teachers expressed challenges associated with implementing a play-based learning program.