Teacher Support Teams for Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools: evaluating a teacher-focused support scheme

This paper reports on part of an evaluation of teacher support teams (TSTs) as a special education needs (SEN) support strategy in primary schools. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, it focuses on areas derived from a theoretical framework for understanding schools’ approaches to SENs. TSTs were set up and run in six of the eight schools, with meetings of between 30 and 45 minutes, usually during lunchtime or after school. Most of the referrals were about behaviour problems, though many were about learning difficulties. The support included providing emotional encouragement, specific approaches to managing behaviour, teaching strategies and consulting others. Referring teachers reported that their TST experience led to increased confidence and some improvements in the children, while TST members themselves believed that they had gained much from the TST experience. Overall the study showed the feasibility and benefits of setting up TSTs in primary schools. The findings are discussed in terms of the wider benefits of TSTs and their relevance to special needs policies and the implementation of the SENs code of practice.     

Cultural Considerations: Interpretations of blame and perceived ability among children in India

In the first study, children's ability attributions following teacher blame was assessed for 218 Tamil-speaking children in India between 6 and 12 years of age. Indian children of all ages attributed low ability to the child that was blamed and high ability to the child who was not blamed by the teacher. This finding does not conform to expectations based on studies conducted in the West. In the second study, children between the ages of 6 and 12 were given questionnaires that attempted to explore their conceptions of ability and effort. It was found that the Indian sample did not clearly distinguish between ability and effort. Studies conducted in the West have found that older children clearly differentiate between ability and effort and value ability more than effort. The reasons for these culturally different findings in children's attributions is examined, and several possible explanations are offered.     

The pedagogical value and the interdisciplinary nature of inductive processes in forming generalizations: Reflections from the classroom

The tendency to generalize from specific experiences leading to new, more abstract concepts is a natural aspect of human thought. Generalizations are the end result of an inductive process that begins with the identification of similarities in seemingly disparate situations. It is the existence of such generalizations that makes it possible for us to understand each other and the world around us. It is pedagogically weak to present generalizations to students and expect them to know how and when to apply them. On the other hand if students experience the inductive process in classrooms and discover generalizations, they are likely to remember and use this process when tackling other problems. The authors illustrate the pedagogical value of such an approach and the interdisciplinary nature of the inductive process by reflecting on teaching practices in English literature and mathematics in a high school classroom. In particular the authors reflect on how the inductive process was applied to four short stories and four problem-solving situations, which resulted in high school students arriving at generalizations that characterized the stories and the problems. A conceptual model that illustrates how inductive processes facilitate generalizations in the classroom is presented.     

Lecturer Confidence Building: The Use of Age Progression and Ego Enhancement

Twenty‐two university academics lacking confidence in their lecturing ability had two treatment sessions embracing age progression in the form of a success scenario and ego‐enhancement in the form of positive suggestions. A hypnotic induction involving the academics going ‘inside’ their bodies, finding the area of greatest comfort, relating into that comfort, and watching the flow of their breath as they allowed each out breath to take away tension was used to enhance a pleasant fantasy in which they recalled their best teaching performance. This was revived in their imaginations and embellished to become a total success experience to be carried forward to their next lecture. A Confidence Thermometer, designed to measure the academics self‐estimate of their confidence level, was administered before treatment, one week after completion of the second training session and as a follow‐up six months later. In addition, on the two latter occasions, the academics completed anecdotal reports recording their impressions of the treatment. Both Confidence Thermometer scores and the anecdotal reports indicated that confidence level was significantly higher both immediately after treatment and at the six month follow‐up.     

Embracing the complexity of inclusive science classrooms: Professional development through collaboration

There are no panaceas and no shortcuts. Man is an amphibious being who lives simultaneously or successively in several universes: in the world of matter, the world of mind, the world of spirit; in the individual world and in the social world; in the homemade universe of his own artifacts, institutions, and imaginings, and in the given, the God-made universe of nature and grace. In the very nature of things none of the major problems confronting such a being can possibly be a simple problem. Those who seek simple solutions for complex problems may have the best of intentions; but unfortunately there is an original sin of the intellect in our habit of arbitrary oversimplification. Those who act without taking precautions against this vice of their intellectual nature doom themselves and their fellows to perpetual disappointment. (Aldous Huxley, 1953, p. 1.)     

Medical journals and effective dissemination of health research

Clinical medical journals have not been effective in meeting the information needs of practitioners and bridging the gap between clinical research and practice. The slow adoption of results of clinical research is at least partly due to the failure of clinical journals to disseminate information in a way that would motivate practitioners to change practice. Although implementation is primarily a local process, medical journals are in a unique position to advance implementation by modifying their focus and adjusting their contents. Strategies that may be useful include publication of pre‐appraised evidence summaries and ‘clinical bottom‐lines’ and giving importance to systematic reviews and large evaluative research articles as they represent higher levels of evidence and have greater potential to change practice. Clinical journals should encourage researchers to consider how and by whom the findings will be used and provide information on implications for implementation such as possible strategies that may work, cost‐effectiveness, side‐effects and potential barriers to implementation. Medical journal publishers should explore ways to cooperate so that findings of landmark clinical trials could be shared thus reducing the ‘scatter’ of medical information. Electronic media offers numerous advantages such as quick accessibility and linking of information, and medical journals should capitalize on such innovations. There is a paradigm shift in health care practice as evidence is consciously and explicitly incorporated into individual patient care. Medical journals need to change to reflect this change in practice and provide practitioners with valid and relevant information.