Science Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Meta‐Analysis

Although science has received much attention as a political and educational initiative, students with learning disabilities (LD) perform significantly lower than their nondisabled peers. This meta‐analysis evaluates the effectiveness of instructional strategies in science for students with LD. Twelve studies were examined, summarized, and grouped according to the type of strategy implemented. Effect sizes (ES) were calculated for each study. Across all studies, a mean ES of .78 was obtained, indicating a moderate positive effect on students with LD science achievement. Findings also align with past reviews of inquiry‐based instruction for students with special needs, indicating that students with LD need structure within an inquiry science approach in order to be successful. Additionally, results suggest that mnemonic instruction is highly effective at increasing learning disabled students' acquisition and retention of science facts.     

Elitism and Meritocracy in UK Universities: the UK Needs Investment in its Labour Force

This article summarises previous academic research into university education, distinguishing between arguments for and against improving access. Several views are summarised, including structural‐functionalism, which claims that powerful social groups maintain their status and income, and human capital theory, which focuses on employee productivity. Almost all viewpoints discussed in this article support meritocracy. UK universities differ in their openness to people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many universities, referred to here as ‘inclusive’, deserve credit for encouraging disadvantaged people to become students; in contrast, ‘exclusive’ universities tend to have fewer disadvantaged students than expected. There are barriers facing disadvantaged students, including unequal access to universities, which can at least partly be explained by private schools for rich pupils and financial burdens at university causing some students to take paid work (reducing time available for study). The UK spends less per student on universities than the world average and less than half as much as some European countries. The UK Government could increase university funding, concentrating on universities that are most inclusive and that tend to have the largest problems in affording sufficient staff and teaching facilities. This investment would give long‐term benefits to the UK economy.     

Community College Counseling: Why Are Research Outcomes So Elusive?

This article focuses on counseling research in the community college context. The article suggests the need for a robust community college knowledge base, describes some limitations of the current community college literature, and suggests a framework for more effective work in this area. The authors’ own experiences and selected examples of published studies are used as illustrations of the hurdles encountered and solutions available when examining counseling theories, practices, and outcomes in 2‐year settings.     

Assessing the special education professional development needs of northern Malawian schoolteachers

This research examines special needs education professional development needs among both general and special education schoolteachers in northern Malawi. A semi‐structured questionnaire with open and close‐ended questions was used for the research. Quantitative and thematic analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which teachers believe that students with disabilities should be educated together with students without disabilities, the importance of professional development for teaching students with disabilities, prioritised professional development needs regarding special education knowledge, and self‐identified needs for successful special education classrooms. Results indicate that teachers are generally in favour of inclusive practices and identify a high need for special education professional development. Participants identified training and resources to teach students with visual impairments or auditory impairments as a high priority. Participants noted a need for improved infrastructure, more educational materials, and recognition by the government for work in special education.