Recurring themes

Many schools experience playtime and lunchtime disputes in the playground. Some schools employ games or activities in an attempt to improve discipline. This article gives consideration to the extent that a playground ethos can be improved, and the number of less-severe disputes reduced, through the introduction of playground games.     

Multitasking With TV: Media Technology,Genre, and Audience Influences

This study explored how media technologies, TV content genres, and demographic and trait individual differences influence the amount of media multitasking while viewing TV, or “second screen viewing,” among college undergraduates. A dual structural and audience factor approach examines influences on multitasking while viewing TV, and a limited capacity theory guides an examination of the effect of TV genre on multitasking while viewing. Survey data reveal that media technology access, sex, age, trait immersive tendency, and multitasking preference predict greater multitasking and that individuals are most likely to multitask during sports content and least likely to during dramatic content.     

Improvements in school climate associated with enhanced health and welfare services for students

School improvement initiatives are needed to better meet the needs of underprivileged students, to reduce underachievement and to break a continuing cycle of disadvantage. This article describes part of a school improvement initiative in New Zealand that provided additional funding for school nurse and social worker services in nine secondary schools with the most disadvantaged students in New Zealand. It describes the nature and delivery of services provided by the social workers in these schools. In addition, the article reports changes over time in staff and student views about school climate including a comparison with non-participating schools of similar socioeconomic status. The findings indicated that school climate is a useful intermediate measure of the effectiveness of school improvement initiatives. There were significant improvements in staff views about school climate over time, with staff views about school climate becoming more favourable on scales measuring Improvements in the Last 12 Months and Support for Ethnic Diversity compared to eight non-participating schools. Student views were more favourable on scales measuring Satisfaction with School, Support for Achievement and Support for Ethnic Diversity, compared to the non-participating schools.     

Teenage girls' perceptions of the functions of relationally aggressive behaviors

Adolescent girls reported on their experiences both as perpetrators and as victims of several distinct forms of relational aggression. Details of these incidents were gathered from 114 ethnically diverse ninth and tenth graders via a secure online survey. The frequency with which girls perpetrated or were targeted for particular acts of relational aggression was assessed and, based on the responses, a computer program randomly selected one item (i.e., gossip, ignoring, or exclusion) for which each girl was asked to recall a specific experience and answer follow‐up questions. Perceptions of the goals and functions of specific relationally aggressive acts were assessed, as well as how the perpetrator or victim felt at the time of the incident. Ignoring or “giving the silent treatment” appeared to be a unique form of relational aggression inasmuch as the girls perceived different motives, or functions, for ignoring compared with gossip and exclusion and felt worse at the time of the ignoring incident, both when they were reporting as aggressors and as victims. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Understanding parent advocacy during the transition to school of children with developmental disabilities: three Canadian cases

Research has shown the benefits of parent involvement for student participation in education. Parent advocacy is a critical form of involvement by parents for children who are young, have disabilities, and are making transitions. Studies have classified forms of parent advocacy but have not illuminated the components necessary for effective parent advocacy. In this study of three families of children with developmental disabilities making the transition to kindergarten, we examined the applicability of Test’s conceptual framework of self-advocacy (CFSA) for guiding research and interventions for parent advocacy. The four components of CFSA were all reported in the parents’ experiences of advocacy. These cases highlight how parent advocacy is similar to, and more complex than, self-advocacy and suggest that parent advocacy is also influenced by the parent’s perceptions of the child’s needs and is context specific. In these cases, advocacy during transition reflects the parent’s priorities for the child’s inclusion.     

New Kids on the Block

Have you heard of the term ＇tweenager ＇？ It＇s the new slang word being used in the UK to describe children at either eight-12 or ten-13 years old. They are between being a junior and a teenager, you see. Why are the press and media suddenly referring to kids in this way？     

A Modern Royal Family

I In certain countries of the world, the king or queen is still considered to be a demi-god. The UK is not one of those countries. It＇s tree that up until the 17th ccntmy, the British king or queen was believed to rule by＇ divine fight＇, which was the idea that God chose the king or queen to rule and that he or she was therefore above the law. The idea that the monarch was above the law ended with the English Civil War, in which King Charles the First was imprisoned and then beheaded in 1649.     

Promoting and Providing Expert Guidance in Work-intensive Clinical Settings

This paper discusses how expert guidance can be best provided in work intensive clinical settings. The adequacy for supporting learning in the clinical practicum for health care disciplines is often complicated by the intensive work practices in healthcare settings. Often, clinicians’ work is so intense that the scope for providing close guidance for students is quite restricted. The case advanced here draws on a range of empirical work to propose how clinician-student interactions might be optimized through the provision of a clinical supervisor to assist clinicians develop collegial relationships and acquire skills in guided learning such as demonstrating and role-modeling. These roles can contribute in essential ways to the development of learning environments where clinicians have the opportunity to facilitate the learning of others as part of their workload, and without being burdened by the requirements of teaching and assessment processes. It differs from other approaches because although clinicians partner students and provide feedback to them, clinicians are not expected to formally assess or award a grade for student performance. Assessment and remedial action, when required, is undertaken by the role of a designated clinical supervisor qualified to perform such activities.