Hard-of-Hearing Adolescents and Identity Construction: Influences of School Experiences, Peers, and Teachers

This qualitative study explored the identity construction of seven adolescents who attended special classes for hard-of-hearing (HH) students for part or all of their elementary school years. Results of open-ended group interviews and written questionnaires indicated that the students strongly identified as HH people. School experiences and interactions with teachers and HH peers appeared to be major influences on this choice. The findings support the position that a HH identity may exist separate from the culturally Deaf identity. The findings also suggest that HH students need to connect with other HH individuals whether or not they assimilate into the hearing world or decide to participate in both the hearing and Deaf worlds.     

The Profile of Multiple Language Proficiencies: A Measure for Evaluating Language Samples of Deaf Children

This article reports the process of creating a developmental measure that assesses the multilingual capabilities of deaf children and the problems that were encountered. Because deaf children may be using more than one method of communication (e.g., sign language skills and spoken language skills), it is important to evaluate their skills as completely as possible. In a pilot study, we used a nominal scale that assessed language skills based on a single continuum, with good English and good American Sign Language (ASL) skills as its two extremes and approximately equal skills in both as the midpoint. In the main study, a more complete measure was created, the Profile of Multiple Language Proficiencies (PMLP). The PMLP uses a single scale that represents the different stages of language development that can be observed in both English and ASL. The PMLP showed reasonable initial reliability and has good promise as an easy-to-use measure of developing language skills in children who use multiple modalities of communication. Using the PMLP as a prototype, we discuss some of the issues that influence the reliability and validity in evaluating such a scale and how these can be overcome or avoided.     

Children's Individual Experiences in Early Care and Education: Relations With Overall Classroom Quality and Children's School Readiness

This study examined relations among children's individual experiences, global classroom quality, and school readiness. Preschool children from low-income backgrounds (N = 138; M = 62.16 months; SD = 3.93; range = 55?70) were observed in their early care and education settings, and their language and cognitive skills were assessed. Research Findings: Individual children in classrooms with small group sizes had higher quality individual experiences even though global classroom quality was not necessarily better. Higher levels of global classroom quality did not ensure that every child in the classroom was engaged fully in available interactions and activities. Children with disabilities were generally enrolled in classrooms with higher global quality and had higher quality individual experiences than those without disabilities; however, children without disabilities enrolled in these inclusive classrooms did not necessarily have a higher level of individual experiences than those in non-inclusive classrooms. Children's individual experiences and the global quality of their classrooms were associated with their social skills. Only the quality of children's individual experiences was found to be related to the quality of their relationships with teachers. Practice or Policy: Ratings of children's individual experiences provide information beyond that provided by global ratings of classroom quality and have potential for informing efforts to individualize educational programs.     

Public Libraries and the Opioid Crisis,Part 1: Context and Commitment

Public libraries have been significantly affected by the opioid crisis. The fact that patrons can enter libraries freely and do not need a reason to be there has resulted in overdoses occurring in many such buildings throughout the country. In response to this, library directors have developed plans of action that, in some cases, include training librarians to administer the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone. This present article – the first in a two-part study – is based on interviews with representatives from libraries that have been significantly affected by the opioid crisis. After describing these community circumstances, the authors analyze various ways that each library has prepared to respond to overdoses and other emergency situations.     

Cardiorespiratory and Perceptual Responses to Arm Crank and Wheelchair Exercise Using Various Handrims in Male Paraplegics

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of 10-in [025–m] versus 16-in [0.41-m] wheelchair handrims on cardiorespiratory and psychophysiological exercise responses during wheelchair propulsion at selected velocities. Fifteen male paraplegics (27.0 ± 5.5 yrs) performed three discontinuous exercise tests (ACE = arm crank ergometer; WERG = wheelchair roller ergometer) and two 1600-m performance-based track trials (TRACK) under simulated race conditions. There were no significant differences in HR, VO₂, V_E, HLa, or category-ratio ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) using different handrims during wheelchair propulsion at 4 km-h¹. In contrast, at 8 km-h^?1 subjects demonstrated a 13% lower steady state VO₂ (p < .05) using the 10-in handrims, coincident with a 23% lower V_E Steady state HR during WERG at 8 km-h^?1 using the 10-in (124.4 ± 39 b.min^?1) or 16-in (130.6 ± 4.6 b.min^?1) handrims were not significantly different. There were also no significant differences between ACE or WERG conditions during maximal effort for VO₂ or V_E. However, HRpeak during ACE was 7% higher than HRpeak during WERG16 (183 ± 15 b.min^?1 vs. 171 ± 12 b.min^?1, p < .05), and whole blood HLa during ACE was also significantly higher (by 2.3-2.5 mmol; p < .05) compared to WERG. There were no significant differences for HR, performance time, or RPE between trials using different handrim diameters during the 1600-m event. In contrast, HLa was significantly lower using smaller handrims (9.9 mmol) compared with larger handrims (11.3 mmol), paralleling a similar difference in the laboratory. Although these data demonstrated few significant differences of physiologic responses between trials using different handrims, there was a tendency for a lower metabolic stress using the smaller handrims.     

Educator understanding of childhood traumatic brain injury: a New Zealand perspective

ABSTRACT

Approximately 15% of New Zealand children will experience a traumatic brain injury during their school years. Given that educators play an important role in facilitating the successful school re-entry and recovery of these students, it is paramount that educators have adequate knowledge of childhood traumatic brain injury. This study used an online questionnaire to assess knowledge traumatic brain injury among 20 New Zealand educators. It also identified what services educators were aware of within their schools and communities that could assist with the management of students with brain injury, and what further training or information educators required to feel confident in supporting these students in the school environment. Results indicated that although educators possessed sound general understanding of traumatic brain injury, they had some misconceptions regarding the implications and recovery trajectories of these injuries during childhood. Educators reported the need for training relating to diagnostic criteria and strategies for supporting students with traumatic brain injury in the classroom. Providing educators with information and training on how to identify traumatic brain injury and manage the needs of students with traumatic brain injury will allow them to facilitate inclusive and supportive educational opportunities, leading to improved outcomes for these students.     

Are there long-term consequences of pain in newborn or very young infants?

Physiologic studies indicate that very early pain or stress experiences have more than immediate consequences for infants. Assessment and care of pain are complex subjects made even more complex and challenging when the individual experiencing pain is a very young infant. This review provides evidence that significant and long-lasting physiological consequences may follow painful insults in the very young, including changes in the central nervous system and changes in responsiveness of the neuroendocrine and immune systems to stress at maturity.     

An Action Research Project on Preparing Teachers to Meet the Needs of Underserved Student Populations

The focus of this action research study was on the initial stage in reforming our teacher preparation programs. We designed, conducted, evaluated, and revised the components of our teacher preparation programs that were aimed at providing preservice teachers with the confidence and knowledge needed to meet the needs of youth populations underserved in science education. The conceptual framework of this study predicted that providing preservice teachers with experiences in teaching science to at-risk youth in a nonformal educational setting and that exploring these experiences in a seminar setting will increase the teachers’ confidence and knowledge in regard to teaching science to children from underserved populations. The community-based experience allowed for an experience in which 20 preservice teachers taught in a situation in which at-risk youth were the majority, thus spotlighting their needs in a manner traditionally not experienced by these prospective teachers. A two-phase methodological design (J. Creswell, 1994) was utilized to answer the questions: (a) Did the plan lead to the desired outcomes? and (b) What strategies fostered or hindered progress toward the desired outcomes? The findings of this study were utilized to develop our next action step in preparing teachers to foster science literacy for All Americans.     

Classroom materials

Five children and five families

Scholastic Book Series, 904 Sylvan Avenue Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 07632

The Bowmar nature series: The ways off plants

Bowmar Publishing Corporation 4563 Colorado Los Angeles, CA 90039

Science experiences for young children

Rosemary Althouse and Cecil Main, Jr. Teachers College Press Teachers College, Columbia University New York and London, 1975 1234 Amsterdam, N. Y. 10029

Walker Plays: Mythology Curriculum Associates 6 Henshaw Street Woburn. Mass. 01801