Some Guideline Proposals for Teacher Education

This paper has been based closely on an address presented at the Institute of Education, Singapore, in February 1985.     

The relationship between dyslexia and Meares‐Irlen Syndrome

Meares‐Irlen Syndrome (MIS) is characterised by symptoms of visual stress and visual perceptual distortions that are alleviated by using individually prescribed coloured filters. Coloured overlays (sheets of transparent plastic that are placed upon the page) are used to screen for the condition. MIS is diagnosed on the basis of either the sustained voluntary use of an overlay or an immediate improvement (typically of more than 5%) on the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test (WRRT). Various studies are reviewed suggesting a prevalence of 20–34% using these criteria. Stricter criteria give a lower prevalence: for example, 5% of the population read more than 25% faster with an overlay. It has been alleged that MIS is more common in dyslexia, but this has not been systematically investigated. We compared a group of 32 dyslexic with 32 control children aged 7–12 years, matched for age, gender and socio‐economic background. Participants were tested with Intuitive Overlays, and those demonstrating a preference had their rate of reading tested using the WRRT with and without their preferred overlay. Both groups read faster with the overlay, and more so in the dyslexic group. ANOVA revealed no significant effect of group, but a significant improvement in WRRT with overlay (p=0.009) and a significant interaction between group and overlay (p=0.031). We found a similar prevalence of MIS in the general population to that in previous studies and a prevalence in the dyslexic group that was a little higher (odds ratio for >5% criterion: 2.6, 95% confidence limit 0.9–7.3). The difference in prevalence in the two groups did not reach statistical significance. We conclude that MIS is prevalent in the general population and possibly a little more common in dyslexia. Children with dyslexia seem to benefit more from coloured overlays than non‐dyslexic children. MIS and dyslexia are separate entities and are detected and treated in different ways. If a child has both problems then they are likely to be markedly disadvantaged and they should receive prompt treatments appropriate to the two conditions. It is recommended that education professionals as well as eye‐care professionals are alert to the symptoms of MIS and that children are screened for this condition, as well as for other visual anomalies.     

Is anyone out there listening? Explaining low reciprocal interactivity during televised lessons in a developing country context

In face‐to‐face teaching, the educator is able to directly mediate learning and gauge the level of the learners’ English proficiency. Teleteaching makes this virtually impossible, as learners are invisible and thus immediate intervention in learning or estimations of proficiency are much more difficult to achieve. TELETUKS Schools1 TUKS is the original name of the university given in 1908 (Transvaal Universiteits Kollege) and the nickname by which the institution is commonly known in popular parlance. View all notes—a community project of the University of ­Pretoria—aims to assist Grade 12 learners prepare for their final examinations via interactive, televised lessons in key subjects. This article seeks to explain why learners refrain from participating during educational transmissions even though technology permits bi‐directional audio links. Understanding why viewers are reluctant to interact during transmissions could help educationists exploit the unique instructional potential of television, especially in remote areas of developing countries or where resources are severely limited. The results of a questionnaire survey conducted during a TELETUKS winter school (2002) suggest that limited language skills and the medium of instruction (English)—compounded by the nature and complexities of the medium—are possible reasons why the anticipated learner‐presenter interaction remains exceptionally low. This exploratory study also shows that further research in the form of in‐depth participant interviews; direct observation of learner participation and content analysis of televised lessons ought to establish the deeper, underlying reasons for low interactivity.     

Letter names, letter sounds and phonological awareness: an examination of kindergarten children across letters and of letters across children

In this study 149 kindergarten children were assessed for knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, phonological awareness, and cognitive abilities. Through this it examined child and letter characteristics influencing the acquisition of alphabetic knowledge in a naturalistic context, the relationship between letter-sound knowledge and letter-name knowledge, and the prediction of Grade 1 phonological awareness and word identification from these variables. Knowledge of letter sounds was better for vowels and for letters with consonant–vowel names than for those with vowel–consonant names or names bearing little relationship to their sounds. However, there were anomalies within each category reflecting characteristics of the individual letters. Structural equation modelling showed that cognitive ability, comprising receptive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning, rapid automatized naming of colours, and phonological memory significantly contributed to alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness. In turn, letter-name knowledge but not phonological awareness predicted letter-sound knowledge and subsequent reading skill.This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the first author. Thank you is extended to the participating schools and children and to Ian Newby-Clark for his orientation to AMOS. Michelle Bell, Shelly Moretti and Jodi Page have since graduated from the University of Guelph     

Integrating studients with special educational needs into mainstream schools in OECD countries

After graduating from the University of London in psychology, Peter Evans completed his Ph.D. in the field of special education. He directed a research project, funded by the Department of Education and Science, on curriculum development for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. Subsequently he became responsible for programmes on special education at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Peter Evans has published many books and scientific papers in the area of learning difficulties. Recent books includeIntegrating students with special needs into mainstream schools (1995) andOur children at risk (1995).     

解决分布式需求的内在冲突

2006年8月,GEN(I网络创新的全球化环境)项目组公布其项目的设计原则。来自普林斯顿大学、麻省理工大学、华盛顿大学等学校的十二位专家编写了这份报告。该报告阐述了GENI的研究范围、用户的需求、需求的内在压力,以及工程设计的原则。报告指出了GENI的价值主张,广泛的部署、多样化可扩展的网络技术集合、对真实用户流量的支持仍是GENI关注的原则和方向。上期已经介绍第一部分——“分布式需求定义GENI的重心”,本期刊出第二部分——“解决分布式需求的内在冲突”。     

Functional school refusal subtypes: Anxiety,avoidance, and malingering

Chronic school refusal has traditionally been classified under broad categories such as school phobia and truancy. However, the need for improved recognition and treatment of school refusal has heightened efforts to identify subtypes of school refusal behavior. Recent efforts have focused on functional subtypes of school refusal. This article purposes to extend recent efforts by showing that the three basic subtypes of anxiety, avoidance, and malingering are not only functional, but consistent with refusal characteristics, empirical evidence from factor analysis and clinical diagnosis over the past decade, and treatment approaches. Such extension is intended to aid practitioners in further understanding and using functional subtypes. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.