Advocacy leadership and the deprofessionalising of the special educational needs co-ordinator role

The UK government is proposing to replace M-level national award for special educational needs co-ordination training, mandated for SENCos in England, with an unaccredited national professional qualification. Such downgrading of their qualification level is intended to significantly increase the number of qualified SENCos; however, this is likely to reduce SENCos' capacity to exercise ‘advocacy leadership’ in support of students at risk of marginalization and social exclusion. We reject a neoliberal political discourse of continual improvement that neglects the need for critical literacy and research-informed inclusive practice on the part of SENCos, and suggest that endemic exclusionary practices in English schools are more likely to go unchallenged. The move towards nonaccredited SENCo status risks their deprofessionalisation, and this proposal is linked to an academisation agenda and efforts to normalize a trichotomised education system (comprising mainstream, ‘special’ and ‘alternative’ provision) by presenting such changes as an improvement.     

Book reviews

The Peer-Reviewed Journal: A Comprehensive Guide through the Editorial Process by Gary Michael Smith, Chatgris Press New Orleans, USA, 80 pp & 63 pp of Figs., $35.00, ISBN 0-9658380-0-5 The Book in the United States Today edited by Richard Abel and Gordon Graham, Transaction Publishers, 1997., ix, 280 pages., Index., ISBN: 1-56000-972-1 (pbk), $21.95 / £14.95.     

What is literacy for students with severe learning difficulties? Exploring conventional and inclusive literacy

This paper arises from research into inclusive literacy for pupils with severe learning difficulties who do not learn to read and write conventionally. The ultimate aim of the study was to seek out examples of good practice in teaching and learning literacy that includes students with severe learning difficulties and disseminate them as widely as possible. Thirty-five schools were visited and observations made in 122 lessons. Sixty-one teachers were interviewed and their paperwork examined. Ten focus groups and five 'expert witnesses' were consulted, alongside desk-based research designed to locate 'good practice'. Teachers used a mixture of conventional (e.g., texts) and non-conventional (e.g., pictures, film and oral) media, although more observations were made of conventional literacy teaching (e.g., phonic work) than of non-conventional (e.g., filmmaking). Results from the research suggest that few students with severe learning difficulties are likely to learn to read and write conventionally (i.e., read for pleasure, work and study) and teachers may be relying too much on teaching traditional literacy to them. It may be useful to explore teaching and learning around alternative media such as still and moving images, live theatre and storytelling, digital technology and the arts. Although some teachers are making good use of these media, the potential of these media for providing inclusive literacy experiences could be further developed.     

Teachers’ Role in Students’ Learning at a Project-Based STEM High School: Implications for Teacher Education

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - This study explored how teachers engage and support students at a project-based STEM high school to identify key elements defining...     

Phonemic awareness,spontaneous writing,and reading and spelling development from a preventive perspective

This study examined the nature of the relationship between phonemic awareness and reading and spelling development and focused particularlyon the development of early self-directed writing. The spontaneous writing attempts of 44 first-graders were followed on 6 test occasions from the start of grade 1 (7 years) until the middle of grade 2. The children were divided into 2 groups, one group (N = 21) with a high level of phonemic awareness on entry into grade 1 (HPA) and one group (N = 23) with a low level on entry (LPA). The connection between level of inventedspelling used in the self-directed writing and later reading andspelling achievement in grades 1 and 2 was investigated. The results showed remarkable differences between the two groups. Level of invented spelling at Time 1 was highly predictive of both reading and spelling achievement at the end of grades 1 and 2, but only for the HPA group. With Time of Mastery regarding phonemic spelling as the independent variable and reading and spelling at the end of grade 2 as the dependent variable, regressions analysis indicated strong direct effects of early phonemic spelling upon later reading and spelling development, but only for the LPA children. The two groups showed different patterns of development in learning to read and spell during grades 1 and 2.     

Mediating HIV/AIDS Strategies in Children’s Literature in Zimbabwe

The Ministry of Education and Culture in Zimbabwe has introduced an intervention into the school curricula to complement the already existing mechanisms in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The literature in this programme is said to be designed to develop children’s knowledge of HIV/AIDS and to maximise both individual and community commitment to the safest protective behaviour possible. This paper argues that despite the Ministry’s efforts there is a dearth of such literature which would depict human relations and experiences in the context of HIV/AIDS in the corpus of Zimbabwean children’s literature in schools. It proposes that more fiction about HIV/AIDS could effectively complement the current non-fictional texts used in most Zimbabwean schools. This paper seeks therefore, to clarify the need for fictional narratives in which the disease plays a part since they will provide the main context in which young children learn to cope with the realities associated with HIV/AIDS through education. It posits that Zimbabwean children’s literature should also depict the conceptual framework within which health, human interaction and sexuality are understood in relation to the epidemic. Hazel Tafadzwa Ngoshi is with the department of English and Communication, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. She teaches Renaissance and 20th century English literature and autobiography. A holder of a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Zimbabwe, her research interests include children’s literature and autobiography. Currently, she is writing a book on Zimbabwean female (auto) biographies. Juliet Sylvia Pasi holds a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Zimbabwe. She teaches Communication and African literature in the department of English and Communication at the Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. Currently, she is researching on aspects of orality in Zimbabwean children’s literature and the mediation of gender identities in African literature.