Practical Experience of Blended Mentoring in Higher Education

The need of a guided and supervised learning has become the cornerstone of the new model of higher education. One response to such need has been the introduction of mentoring programs to facilitate student learning and to provide guidance. In this way, the main aim of our study is to determine the extent to which the implementation of information technology (IT) into a traditional mentoring program, improves students’ global satisfaction, and therefore its effectiveness. A survey was conducted of program participants’ overall satisfaction with the mentoring and also with each of the activities carried out. We concluded that the inclusion of IT in a traditional (face-to-face) mentoring model increases overall student satisfaction with the program, and thus its effectiveness. The findings obtained can serve as a resource to clarify the importance of educational interventions in the field of student guidance, to design new mentoring programs and to improve existing ones.     

Do fine motor skills contribute to early reading development?

Background

Little is known about how fine motor skills (FMS) relate to early literacy skills, especially over and above cognitive variables. Moreover, a lack of distinction between FMS, grapho‐motor and writing skills may have hampered previous work.

Method

In Germany, kindergartners (n = 144, aged 6;1) were recruited before beginning formal reading instruction and were administered a host of FMS, early reading skills and cognitive measures.

Results

Analyses indicate that FMS related less strongly than grapho‐motor skills to emergent literacy skills. Controlling for grapho‐motor and cognitive skills, FMS did not generally explain unique variance in emergent literacy skills.

Conclusions

The link between reading and motor skills is highly differential. Findings did not suggest that pure FMS played a significant role in early reading development, however, its close cousin grapho‐motor skills – even when devoid of the cognitive knowledge of letters – did.

Implications for practice

What is already known about this topic

• Fine motor skills (FMS) are considered an important school readiness indicator
• FMS play a role in cognition and language development
• Some research suggests that FMS might be important for reading

What this paper adds

• First study to look differentially at FMS and emergent literacy
• FMS was considered separately from grapho‐motor and handwriting skill
• Links between these motor skills and a broad range of emergent literacy and cognitive skills were investigated

Implications for practice and/or policy

• FMS may be important in the development of grapho‐motor skills
• Grapho‐motor skills appear, in turn, linked to reading
• Fostering children's grapho‐motor skills may be important in kindergarten

     

Characteristics of Swedish preschools that provide education and care to children with special educational needs

In Sweden, preschool inclusion is embraced and preschools are open for children both with and without special educational needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of a number of preschool units in Sweden that provide education and care to children with special educational needs with regard to organisation, resources and quality. The purpose was also to provide reflections on the usefulness of different structured observation rating scales designed to assess preschool quality. Eight preschool units located in four Swedish districts were visited. A total of sixteen 5-year-old children with special educational needs/disability and forty typically developing children of the same age participated. The data sources were structured observation rating scales (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Caregiver Interaction Scale and Inclusive Classroom Profile), ABILITIES Index questionnaire, unstructured observation, interviews, conversations and documents. Two overall typologies of preschool units were identified: the comprehensive units enrolled children with various special educational needs/disability, while the specialised units enrolled children with the same disability. The staff resources were greater in the specialised units. The overall quality in the observed units ranged from low to good. In units educating children with a disability diagnosis, the quality was never low. None of the preschool units was scored as having a good inclusive environment. The structured observation rating scales complemented each other and covered, in part, different quality aspects of the units. The study shows that there is a large variation in quality between the units and that there is a need to further develop the quality of the preschool units and of the services for children with special educational needs in Swedish preschools.     

Challenges Faced by Canadian Social Work Field Instructors in Baccalaureate Field Supervision

ABSTRACT

This article examines the challenges faced by social work field instructors in two Canadian provinces. The results are based on the responses from 239 field instructors to a questionnaire survey. Findings highlight student difficulties, administrative issues with the social work schools, and practicum setting challenges. These demands hinder the optimal implementation of social work field education, reveal the concerning gatekeeping role of schools of social work, and discourage some social workers from taking on (or continuing) as field instructors. Implications for social work student placements, supervision of students, academic programs, and directions for future research are presented.     

An examination of some difficulties in integrating Western science into societies with an indigenous scientific tradition

Few would argue that science and technology have had an impact throughout the world. When we speak about such impacts we are implicitly talking about Western science. Historians of science (especially in science textbooks) tend to place the beginnings of modern science at the time of Bacon, with a slight nod to Greek influences. There is little or no recognition of the scientific traditions of Eastern societies (such as China, India, and the Islamic world) and other indigenous cultures. Although there is no argument that science did not develop in the same manner in these societies, it is argued that they have a scientific tradition that should be considered when incorporating modern science into those societies. The difficulties in doing that are discussed, as is the question of the universality of science. The universality of science as a systematized set of processes for learning about the world is supported, but the culture that has arisen around it, resulting in a certain arrogance, is not. It is argued that the benefits of science and technology can be incorporated without the loss of cultural integrity if the society takes over its own research agenda and paradigms and maintains pride in its own traditons. The role of science education in this process is discussed.     

Creative visualization activities

This collection of activities is directed toward developing within children an awareness of their own inner authority and ability to choose and the resulting sense of responsibility, freedom and self-esteem.This article is reprinted from He Hit Me Back First! by Eva D. Fugitt © 1973 B. L. Winch and Associates/Jalmar Press, 45 Hitching Post Drive, Bldg. 2, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274. Used with permission from B. L. Winch and Associates/Jalmar Press.     

Telework in academia: associations with health and well-being among staff

Higher Education - As the development of technical aids for telework has progressed, work has become more flexible in time and space. Among academics, the opportunity to telework has been embraced...     

Numbers don’t speak for themselves: strategies of using numbers in public policy discourse

Educational Studies in Mathematics - In mathematics education, there is general agreement regarding the significance of mathematical literacy (also quantitative literacy or numeracy) for informed...     

Non-abused preschool children's perception of an anogenital examination

OBJECTIVE: An anogenital examination is usually part of the standard medical assessment in children evaluated for suspected sexual abuse, and the emotional impact on the child has been studied. The primary aim of this study was to assess non-abused preschool children's responses to an anogenital examination. METHOD: One hundred and fifty-eight children (119 girls), aged 5-6 years old, were recruited by self-selection from a town community in Norway. After a full medical "top-to-toe" examination, including an anogenital examination with use of a colposcope, the children were asked for their reactions to different parts of the examination. The instrument used was a Faces Rating Scale with five faces, ranging from smiling to crying. Parents and nurses also completed questionnaires regarding their perceptions of the children's reactions. RESULTS: The results from the self-report scales showed that only 7.7% of the children rated the anogenital examination as somewhat negative, but the children rated the anogenital part of the examination as significantly more distressing than the examination of their ears and mouth. Microbiological swabbing from the anogenital area was most frequently mentioned as something the children disliked. Complementary data from the parents supported the children's responses regarding the anogenital part, but also emphasized the importance of good preparation and a "child-friendly" atmosphere when performing the examination. CONCLUSIONS: Most preschool children, who have no history of sexual abuse do not find an anogenital examination traumatic if the examination is well planned and performed by experienced professionals in a supportive atmosphere.     

PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS�� INITIAL CONCEPTIONS ABOUT PUPILS�� DIFFICULTIES IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS: A POTENTIAL RESOURCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

A crucial issue for prospective teachers (PTs) in their education is to develop pedagogical content knowledge (PCK; i.e. how to make a topic comprehensible to pupils). However, research has shown that PTs may have tacit ideas about teaching that act as filters preventing consideration of unfamiliar and discrepant ideas. These ideas must be elicited and taken into consideration in order to be modified. Therefore, PTs’ explicit conceptions may constitute a valuable resource in teacher education. The aim of this study was to investigate PTs’ ideas about pupils’ difficulties, at a topic-specific level, upon beginning the teacher education programme. The “Lesson Preparation Method” was used in four case studies to elicit the conceptions of 32 PTs regarding pupils’ difficulties in four specific science and mathematics topics: plant growth, gases, equations and heat and temperature. In all four topic groups (n = 5 – 11), there was a variety of initial conceptions about pupils’ difficulties, which were categorised into two to five topic-specific categories. Although, initially, PTs may not have expressed any notions about pupils’ difficulties, conceptions were elicited by using the Lesson Preparation Method. Furthermore, we found that the initial ideas corresponded with earlier research on pupils’ difficulties, which could provide a potential resource when creating a scaffolding context in teacher education programmes where PCK development is stimulated.