Caregivers of school children with epilepsy: findings of a phenomenological study

Epilepsy is one of the most frequently diagnosed neurological disorders among children. Epilepsy is continuously linked with academic underachievement and social challenges. Despite the implications that these difficulties have for a child's educational success, little is known of how children with epilepsy experience school. Understanding how to best support and accommodate these children can contribute to their positive adaptation and quality of life. The purpose of this phenomenological study by Jillian Roberts and Cheryl Whiting of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is to understand the school experiences of children with epilepsy. Data was gathered through open‐ended, semi‐structured interviews. The caregivers' narratives were transcribed and analysed to elicit the essential experiences of school children with epilepsy. Five categories were elicited from the families' narratives: (1) health‐related issues, (2) family coping, (3) academic experience, (4) social belonging, and (5) awareness. This information will be particularly useful for teachers and allied professionals serving the needs of children with epilepsy – as well as those with other chronic health conditions.     

Views from the field: program directors' perceptions of teacher education and the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing

Arandom sample of directors of programs for the deaf in North America were surveyed to get their views about the skills that teacher education programs need to be teaching future teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The directors were queried about literacy practices, classroom management strategies, and communication strategies used in their programs, and were encouraged to comment freely on the questionnaire items presented to them. Program directors predicted a need for more itinerant and resource teachers. The survey also revealed that programs for the deaf are highly behaviorist (i.e., You do this and you'll get that) in the way they induce students to learn and in how they manage student behavior.     

Test–retest reliability of a battery of field-based health-related fitness measures for adolescents

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to determine the test–retest reliability of existing tests of health-related fitness. Participants (mean age 14.8 years, s = 0.4) were 42 boys and 26 girls who completed the study assessments on two occasions separated by one week. The following tests were conducted: bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to calculate percent body fat, leg dynamometer, 90° push-up, 7-stage sit-up, and wall squat tests. Intra-class correlation (ICC), paired samples t-tests, and typical error expressed as a coefficient of variation were calculated. The mean percent body fat intra-class correlation coefficient was similar for boys (ICC = 0.95) and girls (ICC = 0.93), but the mean coefficient of variation was considerably higher for boys than girls (22.2% vs. 12.2%). The boys' coefficients of variation for the tests of muscular fitness ranged from 9.0% for the leg dynamometer test to 26.5% for the timed wall squat test. The girls' coefficients of variation ranged from 17.1% for the sit-up test to 21.4% for the push-up test. Although the BIA machine produced reliable estimates of percent body fat, the tests of muscular fitness resulted in high systematic error, suggesting that these measures may require an extensive familiarization phase before the results can be considered reliable.     

CD-ROM talking books: what do they promise?

This study describes one teacher's use of multimedia, specifically CD-ROM talking books, in the classroom. The goal of the investigation was to reveal and analyse how a primary (Grade 3) teacher integrated CD-ROM books into her curriculum. Issues emerging from the study included how features of the software interact with features of classrooms, how patterns of instruction are affected by the infusion of technology, and how students interact with the software, and each other, while reading the CD- ROM books     

Double Jeopardy: Testing the Effects of Multiple Basic Skill Deficiencies on Successful Remediation

Prior research has established that the depth and breadth of remedial need in basic skills (math and English) exhibited by a student at college entry are strongly and negatively associated with the likelihood of achieving college-level competency in those subjects (i.e., successful remediation). This well-documented finding is built upon a body of work employing either simple bivariate analyses or regression analyses that assume additive effects. Yet, there are reasons to suspect that multiple basic skill deficiencies, rather than exhibiting additive effects alone, may exhibit a negative multiplicative interaction effect on the likelihood of successful remediation. In this research, I test the hypothesis that the negative effect of math deficiency increases in magnitude with decreasing English competency. Although the data support this hypothesis, I find that this interaction does not have substantive importance in the face of the powerful direct effect of math deficiency on the likelihood of successful remediation in math. Direct all correspondence to the author at the Department of Sociology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 48202 (peter.bahr@wayne.edu). I am indebted to Tim Brown, Willard Hom, Myrna Huffman, Tom Nobert, Mary Kay Patton, and Patrick Perry of the Chancellor’s Office of California Community Colleges for their assistance with the data employed in this study, and to Dr. John C. Smart and the anonymous referees of Research in Higher Education for their recommendations concerning improving this work.     

Is Age Just a Number? A Statewide Investigation of Community College Students’ Age,Classroom Context,and Course Outcomes in College Math and English

Research in Higher Education - Students 25 years of age and older comprise one-third of the population in public two-year institutions, and these students face significant disadvantages in...     

PUBLIC APPROVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND OTHER NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT GOALS IN WESTERN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES

The environmental movement is one of the most successful socialmovements of the twentieth century, and a key reason for itssuccess has been strong public approval of the movement's goalof environmental protection. This paper reports cross-nationaldata on public approval of environmental protection relativeto approval of the goals of other major ‘new social movements’—theanti-nuclear power movement, the nuclear disarmament movement,the women's movement, the human rights movement and the animalrights movement—in Western Europe and the United States.The data come from a 1990 ‘lifestyles and attitudes’survey conducted by Gallup for Reader's Digest, based on nationallyrepresentative samples in the United States and seventeen Europeannations, and show higher public approval for environmental protectionthan for the goals of other new social movements.     

Assisting transition to university: using assessment as a formative learning tool

This study explores the effectiveness of an intervention involving formative assessment in a first‐year core business subject. Students were invited to receive feedback on a draft of their first written assessment during the early weeks of the semester. Consideration is given to the economic and ethical issues raised by the intervention. A multi‐method approach of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis is used. The research finds that the intervention facilitates significantly higher marks in assessments and grades, while assisting student learning overall. Findings are reinforced by comparison with a subject where the intervention was not offered.     

An exploration of teacher's use of iPads for students with learning support needs

This project explored how iPads were being used in a range of K‐12 schools to support the learning of students with a range of learning support needs. Groups of teachers (and other professionals) from the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK were invited to complete an online survey focused on the use of iPads in their classrooms, perspectives of their skill level, and how their school and school districts support the use of iPads. The survey focused on iPad use in classrooms (curriculum and skills); teachers’ skill levels; whether iPads are addressed in the Individualised Education Program (IEP); the systemic support for the iPads; and the perceived benefits and barriers. The results reveal that respondents are using iPads across many areas of the curriculum, which affirms the research in the emerging literature base. However, there are teacher reported differences in the manner and scope of iPad use in the classrooms and also the integration of the iPad in the IEP. The research also highlights variability in reported skill level for the iPad and an increased need for enhanced systemic support, such as training, funding, technical support and administrative support for the use of the iPad as a pedagogical tool.