In search of a new, linguistically and culturally sensitive paradigm in deaf education

For more than a century, educators have recognized the low academic achievement of deaf children in America. Teacher training programs in deaf education historically have emphasized medical-pathological views of deaf people and deaf education rather than appropriate pedagogies that draw upon and build on deaf students' linguistic and cultural knowledge. A recent and growing interest in educating deaf children bilingually acknowledges the value of American Sign Language and English in the classroom. The authors address the dire need for prospective teachers and teacher educators to rethink their views of deaf people and, in doing so, rethink the teaching methodologies in deaf education.     

Children with autism illuminate the role of social intention in word learning

To what extent do children with autism (AD) versus typically developing children (TD) rely on attentional and intentional cues to learn words? Four experiments compared 17 AD children (M age=5.08 years) with 17 language- and 17 mental-age-matched TD children (M ages=2.57 and 3.12 years, respectively) on nonverbal enactment and word-learning tasks. Results revealed variability in all groups, but particularly within the AD group. Performance on intention tasks was the most powerful predictor of vocabulary in the AD group but not in the TD groups. These findings suggest that word learning cannot be explained exclusively by either attentional or intentional processes, and they provide evidence of a special role for intentional understanding in the vocabulary development of AD children.     

Supporting the education and well-being of children who are looked-after: what is the role of the virtual school?

The Children and Families Act (2014) placed a statutory responsibility on local authorities in the UK to establish a virtual school headteacher with the role of championing the education of all children looked-after within that authority. The current research was designed to illuminate how virtual schools are currently supporting educational outcomes for children looked-after, not only through educational interventions, but also through supporting broader psychological factors that might impact on attainment such as attachment, relationships and mental health. Virtual school headteachers from 29 local authorities completed an online survey about the services they provided to three target groups—children looked-after, foster carers and schools—with a particular focus on the transition years from primary to secondary school, which have been identified as being a difficult time for children looked-after. Using inductive thematic analysis, four overarching themes to service provision were identified: enhanced learning opportunities, specific transition support, well-being and relationships, and raising awareness. Direct work, interprofessional working and the development of supportive environments, particularly guided by attachment theory, were identified as important areas of practice. Practice is discussed in relation to resilience and ecological systems theory and suggestions for future research are identified.

     

Nutrition for the young athlete

Athletics is a popular sport among young people. To maintain health and optimize growth and athletic performance, young athletes need to consume an appropriate diet. Unfortunately, the dietary intake of many young athletes follows population trends rather than public health or sports nutrition recommendations. To optimize performance in some disciplines, young athletes may strive to achieve a lower body weight or body fat content and this may increase their risk for delayed growth and maturation, amenorrhoea, reduced bone density, and eating disorders. Although many of the sports nutrition principles identified for adults are similar to those for young athletes, there are some important differences. These include a higher metabolic cost of locomotion and preferential fat oxidation in young athletes during exercise. Young athletes, particularity children, are at a thermoregulatory disadvantage due to a higher surface area to weight ratio, a slower acclimatization, and lower sweating rate. An appropriate dietary intake rather than use of supplements (except when clinically indicated) is recommended to ensure young athletes participate fully and safely in athletics.     

Physique and performance for track and field events

Evidence of the importance of physique in the athletics disciplines is supported by the persistence of certain characteristics over long periods, despite marked secular changes in the source population. These characteristics may also result in physiological benefits such as effective thermoregulation or a greater power-to-weight ratio. Coaches and athletes are often convinced of weight or fat loss benefits based on personal or anecdotal experience, intuition, and "trained eye" observation of successful competitors. This may entice athletes into adopting unbalanced, erratic or highly restrictive eating patterns that increase the risk for nutrient deficiencies, and disordered eating. Despite heavy training loads and often extreme diets, some athletes fall short of their physique goals as ultimately phenotype is under genetic control. Professionals assisting athletes with physique management need to be highly skilled in anthropometry and require a thorough understanding of sports-specific nutrition requirements. Careful assessment of the risks and benefits of various approaches to weight and fat loss is required before they are recommended to athletes.     

Job burnout and the school psychologist

School psychologists participating in a workshop on burnout completed Freudenberger's Burnout Questionnaire (1980), identified major job-related stressors, and responded to a list of suggested supervisory, individual, and organizational strategies for prevention. Slightly less than half of the participants appeared on the questionnaire to have burnout problems. Age, years of experience, and sex were not significantly related to the burnout score. Major identified stressors included excessive caseloads, lack of time, and lack of support or appreciation. Reactions to the strategies were positive and hopeful. Implications for training were drawn.     

Children born at risk: What's happening in kindergarten?

Many studies examine the development of infants born at risk for medical and developmental problems during the early years of life, but far fewer follow these children into their school years. This project compared high-risk vs. low-risk children in their performance on the WPPSI at pre- and postkindergarten levels. In general, both groups of children demonstrated increases in performance; however, their patterns of performance were different. The high-risk children showed increases predominantly in the Performance areas of the test, whereas the low-risk children demonstrated increases predominantly in the Verbal areas.     

Community Consultation in Developing Museum Projects: A Case Study Using the Repertory Grid Technique

Good community consultation is a powerful tool in developing new museum projects and exhibitions, facilitating a more effective delivery of service to a diverse public. Existing techniques for both user and community consultation are limited with front end evaluation particularly undeveloped in the sector, often providing no meaningful base by which to compare project outcomes. Tension exists between government, which values quantitative data, and researchers who argue qualitative methods are more appropriate for evaluating community projects. This article reports a pilot study using the repertory grid technique to examine a ‘socially excluded’, ethnically diverse local community's perceptions, expectations and previous experiences of similar projects, to provide a benchmark against which to compare outcomes. This research formed part of the front end evaluation for a New Deal for Community's Project run by Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust. The repertory grid technique was developed in psychological studies as a means of understanding respondents' own world views, and is particularly helpful in working with people with poor language skills. Although this study only used the technique qualitatively, it can be used to combine both quantitative and qualitative data, providing more robust data for evidence-based policy decisions. Using the repertory grid technique, respondents were able to list both perceived and practical barriers to participation in projects. The technique also enabled them to articulate what would motivate them to become involved in future projects. The repertory grid technique has significant potential for use in community consultation and project evaluation as a means of understanding local residents' perceptions and its visual representation means that its findings can be easily understood by participants, policy-makers and practitioners.     

Maximal heart rate declines linearly with age independent of cardiorespiratory fitness levels

There have been many conflicting observations between the linear or curvilinear decline in maximal heart rate (HR_max) with age. The aim of this study was to determine if linear or curvilinear equations would better describe the decline in HR_max with age in individuals of differing cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels. Treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX) results from participants (1510 men and 1134 women; 18–76 years) free of overt cardiovascular disease were retrospectively examined using cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs. Participants completing ≥2 CPX with ≥1 year between test dates were included in the longitudinal analysis (325 men and 150 women). Linear and quadratic regressions were applied to age and HR_max for the whole cohort and respective CRF groups (high, moderate, and low, relative to age and gender normative values). To test for differences among linear, quadratic, and polynomial equations, the change in R² (cross-sectional analysis) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) (longitudinal analysis) from the linear to the more complex models were calculated. The quadratic or polynomial regression in the cross-sectional analysis, marginally improved the variance in HR_max explained by age compared to the linear regression for the whole cohort (0.2%), moderate fit group (0.3%), and low fit group (0.8%). With no improvements in the high fit group. BIC did not improve for any CRF category in the longitudinal analysis. In conclusion, the minimal differences among linear, quadratic, and polynomial equations in the respective CRF groups, emphasizes the use of linear prediction equations to estimate HR_max.