chronicle of race,sex, and schools september‐october 1976

Though, in theory, black students may have access to equal educational opportunity by occupying the same classroom space as their peers, they do not necessarily enjoy the same quality of experience. This inequality results from the race-related beliefs and norms and white privilege embedded in United States society. This study deconstructed one white teacher's practices with respect to the literature on effective teachers of black students and caring. The idea of culturally relevant caring emerged and was explored in relation to the teacher's actions that enabled black students to access the quality of experience enjoyed by their white counterparts.     

Place conditioning with d-amphetamine: The effect of the CS-UCS interval and evidence of a place avoidance

In Experiment 1, a dose-response study of place conditioning with amphetamine was conducted. Male Sprague-Dawley rats receiving 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 2.0, 5.0, 7.5, or 10.0 mg/kg of d-amphetamine underwent 104-day cycles of place conditioning. On alternate days, each rat was injected with its designated dose of amphetamine while confined to its originally nonpreferred end of a three-compartment, straight alley box. On intervening days, each rat was injected with saline while confined to its originally preferred compartment. Following each 4-day cycle, a choice test was administered in which each rat was allowed 20 min of access to the entire alley box. Doses of amphetamine (≥0.5 mg/kg) induced a significant avoidance of the compartment in which amphetamine had been administered. In Experiment 2, animals received 0.0, 0.5, 2.0, or 5.0 mg/kg of amphetamine and underwent place conditioning procedures identical to those for the animals in Experiment 1. Unlike in Experiment 1, the animals were given a single choice test following 104-day place conditioning cycles. All groups that received amphetamine exbibited-a-eonditioned place avoidance. In Experiment 3, the effect of various CS-UCS intervals on place conditioning with 2.0 mg/kg of amphetamine was examined. Animals that received amphetamine immediately following their removal from the chamber exhibited a conditioned place avoidance.     

Developing inclusive practice: teacher perceptions of opportunities and constraints in the Republic of Ireland

There has been a significant policy shift from parallel systems of special and mainstream education in the Republic of Ireland towards provision underpinned by enabling legislation with a presumption for inclusion. The role of teachers in establishing inclusive learning environments is critical and it is generally accepted that inclusive practice relies to a large extent on teacher knowledge, skills, understanding, capacity and attitudes. This exploratory study aimed to gather information on teachers' attitudes about inclusion, and perceived constraints in creating inclusive learning environments. A range of schools from urban, semi-urban, provincial and rural backgrounds were included and data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n?=?24) including all principals, class teachers and support staff in the participating schools. Teachers recognised the challenge of responding appropriately to diversity within schools and are generally supportive of the principle of inclusion. However, there are clear concerns around their individual capacity and the capacity of their schools to develop inclusive learning environments. A positive school ethos was a significant factor in ensuring inclusive practice. International research indicates that the complex mix of positive teacher beliefs combined with fears and perceived inadequacies is quite common in the evolution of practice towards inclusive learning environments.     

Accessing mainstream: examining the struggle for parents of children who have learning difficulties

In the past decade Ireland has witnessed substantial changes in policy and provision for children with general learning difficulties as government policies and legislation increasingly underpin the move towards more inclusive provision. Despite this series of policy initiatives parents of children who experience Down syndrome and general learning difficulties can encounter serious obstacles in gaining access to mainstream education for their children.
This research project was a study of the experiences of a small sample of parents of children who experience Down syndrome and general learning difficulties in relation to their efforts to access appropriate education and education supports for their child in the mainstream school setting. These parents had to invest extraordinary levels of time, energy, and resources in their struggle to get these children into mainstream school and to support their progress there. At local school level these parents and children had positive experiences, but life has taught them that society offers acceptance as a favour, so they cannot confidently expect acceptance by schools and teachers as a right.     

Power Drawing

Power Drawing is the education programme of the Campaign for Drawing initiated by the Guild of St George. Primarily a research and development programme, it focuses on drawing in schools and other educational settings and investigates how the use of drawing can help children and young people learn in a variety of subjects. The intention is to develop a range of strategies, methods and techniques to support learning through drawing. This paper explains the ideas underpinning the programme, how it is organised and the research methods used. It describes and reflects on the experience of the first year of the action research, and comments on some of the satisfactions and tensions that have emerged. It outlines how these will influence further development.     

Tradition versus Technology: Careers Fairs in the 21st Century

The traditional methods ofgraduate recruitment do not adequately meet theneeds of the changing profile of students andgraduates. As industry becomesinternationalised, the needs of employers arealso changing. Graduate recruitment is inresponse to short term needs and varying levelsof experience are required. A case study methodwas used in Dublin Institute of Technology toevaluate the effectiveness of a virtual careersfair in providing greater access to jobopportunities for students and graduates.Access by employers to potential employees wasalso measured. Findings showed that whileaccess improved, other issues requiringattention emerged.