A view from the coal face: UK research student perceptions of successful and unsuccessful collaborative projects

Studies of the effectiveness of collaborative research partnerships between industrial and academic institutions rarely focus on understanding success as perceived by those involved in the research activities. We explore the extent to which three classes of potential success factor are correlated with perceived collaborative research success; supervisor characteristics, project management characteristics, and communication characteristics. Findings are based on a questionnaire-based survey of 348 doctoral students supported by the UK Research Councils’ Engineering Doctorate (EngD) and Co-operative Awards in Science & Engineering (CASE) schemes. Conclusions describe how the experience of collaboration as a process influences and how successful students consider the collaboration to be for themselves and the collaborating institutions.     

Parental experiences of the “Time Together” home visiting intervention: an Attachment Theory perspective

This paper reports the results of research into parental experiences of the Somerset (UK) “Time Together” home visiting intervention, with regards to its impact on the parent-child relationship. The research was carried out using an Attachment Theory lens in order to understand the qualitative experiences of seven parents of children in the early years who were identified as being socially isolated and/or having difficulties relating to their child. The key findings were that parents experienced a change within their notion of self, seeing their child as a separate self and seeing the world more through their child’s eyes. They experienced a wider range of play activities which brought about greater levels of attunement and enjoyment. The parent and home visitor relationship served to empower parents. A flow diagram was created to illustrate the processes of the research interactions and outcomes. This provides a model of how parents can be supported to experience greater enjoyment within their relationship with their child, and increase their level of social engagement.     

Family Narratives of Biliteracy

This article explores the concept of narratives of biliteracy or how two bilingual mothers defined biliteracy for their families through the construction of narratives. This study is approached through a theoretical discussion of narratives to investigate how the two families constructed certain versions of their realities as they observed, interpreted and made sense of their children's experiences in reading in two languages. After presenting each family's narrative, this study will explore how underlying these narratives are language‐driven ideologies that allowed each mother to construct different meanings of bilingualism and biliteracy for their families. The findings and conclusion suggest that these language‐driven ideologies were based on how the mothers discussed the positive and negative effects that learning in two languages has on their children's educational and transnational experiences.     

Group Projects for First-year University Students: an evaluation

During the academic year 1992-93, Level 1 students in the biosciences were required to carry out group projects over a two-week period. A class of 120 students, divided into groups of four, was given one of three projects, the assessment of which contributed to their final end-of-semester marks. Students' views of the projects were assessed using a comprehensive questionnaire. The issues addressed include (1) student perceptions of project work; (2) student perceptions of working as part of a small team/group; (3) student perceptions of skills attained during the course of the group project work. The results of this study indicate positive outcomes from such practical work.     

Adventures with the globe: Early childhood geography

Do you know which continent looks like an ice cream cone, a capitalA, or a frowning face? Just ask the four-year-olds at the West Virginia University Nursery School, and they'll tell you. Learning the names and shapes of the continents was part of their studies about the globe.     

School-to-work experiences: curriculum as a bridge

Because workers must be prepared to constantly update their skills and reeducate themselves for new skills, lifelong learning must be a goal for every teacher and student. The curriculum provided during educational experiences should pave the way for attainment of this goal. This is particularly true for deaf and hard of hearing students. School-to-work (STW) has become an umbrella term for activities, experiences and opportunities that prepare students for the world of work, such as youth apprenticeships, mentoring, internships, job shadowing, career exploration, and integration of academic and vocational curriculum. This article provides historical background on STW, laws shaping requirements for STW programs, and research supporting STW components. Recommendations are provided for curricular elements of an STW program, and trends in STW are forecast.     

Parental Perceptions of Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The research presented in this article analyses 242 written responses to interview questions conducted with families who live in the United States to explore parental perceptions of disabilities. The data were analyzed through a case study methodology and discourse analysis. Findings from this study illustrate how parents drew upon both medical metaphors and sociocultural factors to discuss their perceptions of their or their children’s perceived learning disabilities.     

Ignoring free, appropriate, public education, a costly mistake: the case of F.M. & L.G. versus Barbour County

In 2000, the 11th Circuit Court provided the largest single award in special education history to date, approximately $2.5 million, to two teenaged students who were deaf. The students were judged to have been denied a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), having spent their academic careers in generic special education classes for students with multiple disabilities without the benefit of access to a communication system; the services of a certified, qualified teacher of the deaf; or related services. This article describes the case from the perspective of FAPE, least restrictive environment, and due process in the presence of guardians who did not understand the implications of the Individual Education Program (IEP) teams' decisions; presents a chronology of the case; explores the implications for various stakeholders; and discusses the catastrophic impact on the social, emotional, communication, and academic development and earning potential of the students.     

Transformational Partnerships: A New Agenda for Higher Education

In this article we develop the concept of transformational partnership and illustrate how such an understanding has enriched the relationship between a particular university and a school system. Transformational partnerships are different in purpose, nature, and strategies from transactional partnerships. They are based upon genuine engagement and a focus on common goals and mutual benefits. In transactional partnerships each institution pursues its own goals with little consideration of mutual goals or shared purpose. The areas of community engagement, leadership, and transformational partnerships provided key concepts for analysing the case study showing how higher education institutions can think and work differently with other institutions, organizations, and groups to achieve mutual benefits.     

A review of mentoring deaf and hard-of-hearing scholars

ABSTRACT

Diversification of the scientific workforce usually focuses on recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities but often overlooks deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) persons. Usually classified as a disability group, such persons are often members of their own sociocultural linguistic minority and deserve unique support. For them, access to technical and social information is often hindered by communication- and/or language-centered barriers, but securing and using communication access services is just a start. Critical aspects of training D/HH scientists as part of a diversified workforce necessitates: (a) educating hearing persons in cross-cultural dynamics pertaining to deafness, sign language, and Deaf culture; (b) ensuring access to formal and incidental information to support development of professional soft skills; and (c) understanding that institutional infrastructure change may be necessary to ensure success. Mentorship and training programs that implement these criteria are now creating a new generation of D/HH scientists.