Conceptualising Intergenerational Lived Experience: Integrating Art–Moving–Well-Being across Disciplines,Communities and Cultures

Art and movement are motivating forces in, through, and beyond education. As populations age, there is an increasing need to support physical and social well-being. Yet, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a reported exponential increase in feelings of loneliness across generations. Complex challenges require trans-disciplinary solutions, and this paper represents a joint effort within and across disciplines, communities and cultures to find ways to ameliorate this silent epidemic. In this paper, we propose a cross-disciplinary conceptual framework where Aboriginal Artists and Knowledge Holders, Teacher Educators, and Physical and Occupational Therapists come together to explore theoretical and pedagogical insights that encompass intergenerational art–moving–well-being practices, reducing feelings of loneliness and improving social connections across generations. There are two main aims of this paper; first, to better understand current studies that report on integrating art–moving–well-being practices, and the effect this has on health and well-being of intergenerational participants (under 10-year-olds, 20+ year olds and 50+ year olds). Second, based on community needs, the long-term aim is to propose a flexible art–moving–well-being conceptual model that is scalable, sustainable and based on social and relational support systems. We propose a model that is flexible and adaptable within and across our local community and beyond. We argue that feelings of loneliness are unique to each individual, and there is a need to connect specific intergenerational programmes with art–moving–well-being practices that readily engage and integrate varied communities and cultures in sustainable ways and thus, contribute to thriving communities.     

Primary prevention of reading failure: Effect of universal peer tutoring in the early grades

Reading is typically considered a survival skill in our technology- and literacy-bound culture. Individuals who struggle with learning to read are at significantly elevated risk for a number of negative outcomes, including school failure, under- and unemployment, and special education placement. Thus, those who do not learn to read fluently will likely be a greater drain on society's resources. The authors examined the effects of a universal (school district-wide) implementation of a well-validated peer-tutoring reading intervention as a system-wide prevention measure in kindergarten through Grade 3 in a small metropolitan area in Canada. Results suggest that nearly all children demonstrated improved reading fluency over time. Yet those at highest-risk for poor outcomes, including those living in poverty and those who face learning challenges due to English as a second-language status or special education enrollment, did not make parallel gains to same-age peers in more affluent schools. Implications for educational policy are discussed.     

Recruiting older adults as participants in applied social research: Applying and evaluating approaches from clinical studies

While issues of recruiting older persons in clinical trials are well known, efficacious strategies in the recruitment process in applied social research are less explored. As more research becomes community-based, it is useful to see, if effective clinical-trial recruitment strategies can be applied to social and applied research studies. The goal of this article is to examine clinical recruitment strategies used with older adults (e.g. print and electronic advertising, referrals, and community-partnered approaches) in applied social research studies and to illustrate issues arising from the use of each recruitment approach with older adults in real-life settings. Experiences from four community-based, social research studies are included to show how some of the most successful clinical recruitment strategies fare in social gerontological studies. Specific guidelines are provided about how recruitment strategies can aid in future study planning and improved recruitment of older participants in social research.     

Single Mothers’ Experiences of Support at Their Young Children’s School: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach

This phenomenological study explored six single mothers’ experiences of support at their young children’s school. Themes resulting from interpretative phenomenological analysis suggest the single mothers experienced tangible (e.g., school resources, school-wide events, structural flexibility, teachers’ formal communication) and intangible (e.g., caring relationships with school faculty and staff, experiencing teachers as parenting partners, perceiving acceptance from the school environment) forms of support from their children’s school. Furthermore, results suggest these single mothers experienced intangible supports more prominently than tangible forms of support. The support needs of these single mothers at their young children’s school were also explored including the mothers’ desire for stronger relationships with other parents and families at the school.     

The UK National Arts Education Archive: Ideas and Imaginings

The National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) is housed and maintained by the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), and managed by YSP coordinators and educators with a well‐established volunteer programme. This year, 2017, as part of the celebrations of the YSP's 40th anniversary, the Archive will hold its own exhibition entitled Treasures Revealed: a collection of items selected by people who have been involved in the Archive, whether as donors, volunteers, researchers, artists, trustees or steering group members. In parallel with the exhibition, this article aims to give voice to a selection of individuals and groups associated with the Archive, discussing their interests and experiences of it, and their thoughts on its value and importance as a repository of arts education materials, ideals and practices. Our primary motivations were to consider these different voices in relation to the purpose, direction and relevance of the NAEA today. These exchanges raise fundamental questions and debates about what art education is and what it might become, and how these historical collections, and creative engagements with it, might help to shape our contemporary thinking.     

Are preservice teachers prepared to teach struggling readers?

Reading disabilities such as dyslexia, a specific learning disability that affects an individual’s ability to process written language, are estimated to affect 15–20% of the general population. Consequently, elementary school teachers encounter students who struggle with inaccurate or slow reading, poor spelling, poor writing, and other language processing difficulties. However, recent evidence may suggest that teacher preparation programs are not providing preservice teachers with information about basic language constructs and other components related to scientifically based reading instruction. As a consequence preservice teachers have not exhibited explicit knowledge of such concepts in previous studies. Few studies have sought to assess preservice teachers’ knowledge about dyslexia in conjunction with knowledge of basic language concepts. The purpose of the present study was to examine elementary school preservice teachers’ knowledge of basic language constructs and their perceptions and knowledge about dyslexia. Findings from the present study suggest that preservice teachers, on average, are able to display implicit skills related to certain basic language constructs (i.e., syllable counting), but fail to demonstrate explicit knowledge of others (i.e., phonics principles). Also, preservice teachers seem to hold the common misconception that dyslexia is a visual perception deficit rather than a problem with phonological processing. Implications for future research as well as teacher preparation are discussed.