Mental health among former students with special educational needs who are now in their mid‐30s

This article discusses how psychosocial health in adolescence influences adult mental health among former students with special educational needs in Norway. These individuals have been followed prospectively from their teens and into their mid‐30s. The study is inspired by life course perspectives with an emphasis on cumulative processes. The logistic regression analysis reveals that the risk of suffering from adult mental distress is higher among those with psychosocial difficulties in their juvenile years compared with those without such problems. Our results also show that the mental health of subjects who experienced health problems and received social security benefits in their late 20s is negatively affected when they are 33 to 34 years of age. In addition, the risk of poor adult mental health is considerably higher for females than males. Receiving assistance from teaching assistants in the classroom at upper secondary school does not seem to be conducive to subsequent positive mental health.     

Who donates their body to science? An international,multicenter, prospective study

The altruistic act of body donation provides a precious resource for both teaching and researching human anatomy. However, relatively little is known about individuals who donate their bodies to science (donors), and in particular whether donors in different geographical locations share similar characteristics. A multicenter prospective survey of donors registering during 2010 in three different geographical locations, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Republic of South Africa, was conducted to identify donor characteristics. The 28-question survey included sections on body donation program awareness, reasons for donating, giving tendency, education, ethnicity, relationship status, occupation, religion, and political preference. Two hundred surveys (81%) were returned [New Zealand 123 (85% response rate), Republic of South Africa 41 (67%), and Ireland 36 (92%)]. Results indicate that donors share certain characteristics including reason for donating (80% cited a desire to aid medical science as the main reason for wishing to donate their body); family structure (most donors are or have been in long-term partnerships and ≥ 85% have siblings); and a higher proportion with no religious affiliation compared to their reference population. Some variations between locations were noted including donor age, the mode of program awareness, occupation, relationship status, political preference, organ donor status and with whom donors had discussed their decision to donate. This information could be important for assisting the identification of potential body donors in new and established bequest programs.     

An institutional North Star: the role of values in presidential communication and decision-making

Mission statements have been a staple of higher education institutions for decades, but little is known of how they are used as a tool for institutional decision-making. Using three distinct data sources, this study relies on framing theory to analyse the perceptions of university presidents in the United States on the role of mission statements in deciding when and how to communicate. Further, we compare the espoused values of university mission statements to the statements university presidents made following the 2016 US presidential election. Findings indicate presidents view mission statements as central to their decision to communicate and our analysis reveals some congruence between mission statements and public statements.     

The role of family literacy classes in demystifying school literacies and developing closer parent–school relations

This paper is based on a large study of family literacy provision in England, which was carried out between July 2013 and May 2015. It explored the impact of classes on parents’ relations with the school and their children, and their ability to support their children’s literacy development. The study involved 27 school-based programmes for pupils aged between five and seven, and their parents. It used mixed methods, which involved surveys of 118 parents and 20 family literacy tutors, telephone interviews with a sub-sample of 28 parents, analysis of teaching plans and observations of classes. Findings showed that parents wanted to learn the ways the school was teaching their child to read and write, and by demystifying school literacy pedagogies and processes the programmes developed greater connectivity between home and the school, and parents felt more able to support their children’s literacy development at home.     

ENVISION: the effectiveness of a dual‐level professional development model for changing teacher practice

The ENVISION professional development model uses active teacher involvement in inquiry and inquiry‐based teaching to enhance teachers' understandings about inquiry‐based study of local environmental problems and teaching science using inquiry. Teachers also design and implement professional development for their school‐based colleagues about teaching environmental science through inquiry. Therefore, professional development is conducted at two levels. ENVISION staff train teachers directly (called Level I participants) and these Level I participants in turn train their school colleagues (called Level II participants). The study reported here was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of this dual‐level professional development strategy. Results based on the first two years of the program revealed that: Level I participants enhanced their understanding of inquiry and inquiry teaching, with 25 out 30 (83%) changing their classroom practice; and that 21 out of 31 (68%) of Level II participants changed their classroom practice as a result of participating in Level I peer training. Peer training that involved modeling and practicing techniques and activities was particularly effective in producing change in practice for Level II teachers.     

Perceptions of communication content and life satisfaction among the elderly

This investigation examines the reported conversational content of elderly interaction as it relates to the ability of aged individuals to adapt successfully to life. One hundred twenty individuals over the age of 65 living in three separate environments completed the Adult Communication Survey. Results indicate that reports of certain topics of conversation covary with reported life satisfaction. This result is complex mitigated by living environment. The theoretical as well as pragmatic implications of these results are discussed.