EMBRACEMENT AND ENTICEMENT: A THERAPEUTIC NURSERY GROUP FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN

In response to the increasing number of referrals to the Children's Unit of Autistic and disturbed children between two and four years a therapeutic nursery group was established. By beginning treatment as early as two years it was hoped that further withdrawal could be arrested. Therapy was aimed at involving the children in a simulated family group with a male and female therapist and through rewarding play experiences to encourage learning and modify behaviour. Treatment procedures and outcome for the first twenty children referred to the programme over a three year period are described.     

Misbehavior or Missed Opportunity? Challenges in Interpreting the Behavior of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly being included in early childhood classrooms that include typically developing peers and in general education classrooms once they enter school. Many of these learners have the requisite academic skills to be successful, yet their social communication and behavioral challenges often impede their successful inclusion in general education settings. The challenges educators may experience when interpreting and responding to some behaviors exhibited by young students with ASD are explored and analyzed using an illustrative case vignette of a Kindergarten child with ASD. Recommendations for analyzing the communicative function of children’s behavior and for embedding social communication opportunities in inclusive classroom settings are described.     

Independent learning crossing cultures: learning cultures and shifting meanings

This paper contrasts the notion of ‘independent learning’ as perceived by two informant groups at a UK institution of higher education: (1) teachers, educators and providers of education and (2) their students or ‘consumers’ of education. Both informant groups are staff and students studying in a culture different to that of their first education. They are identified in their receiving institution as ‘international’, or have identified themselves as such. The experience of transition into a UK University was explored with both informant groups, through interviews and focus groups, over a cycle of two years. ‘Independent learning’ as rhetoric and practice emerged for both groups as an issue in their transition from familiar to unfamiliar learning culture. Three key insights emerged. Firstly, a mismatch is identified between teacher perceptions and student interpretation of ‘independent learning’ expectations and practice. Secondly, it emerges that student experience of the learning culture is in a state of continuous flux, evolving between first arrival and end of programme through cycles of bafflement and empowerment. Finally, both students and teachers identify a number of strategies for dealing with this experience of ‘transitional’ independence. The paper concludes by recommending a notion of ‘phased scaffolding’ that might inform educational practice and by reflecting on the implications for the educator in revisiting received educational discourse from the perspective of participants negotiating a second learning culture.     

A DIALECTICIAN RESPONDS TO A PHILOSOPHER WHO HOLDS AN ORTHODOX VIEW OF KNOWLEDGE

The purpose of this paper is to examine and reject a number of criticisms which can be made against a dialectical approach to educational knowledge by proponents of an orthodox epistemology.     

Born Again Phonics and the Nursery Rhyme Revival

People know what they do; they frequently know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does . (Michel Foucault, quoted in Dreyfus & Rabinow, 1983, p. 187)     

Which English? Standard English and Language Variety: Some Educational Perspectives

The aim of this paper is to provoke thought on the role of standard English in the early years of education. It examines the nature and function of a standard and highlights its close relationship with political aims and its potential for liberation and oppression. The reality of language variety and bilingualism is outlined and leads to a discussion of standard English and early schooling. The paper concludes with some suggestions for avoiding the standard English trap.     

Reciprocal (and Reductionist?) Newswork

This paper builds upon previous research that examines participatory forms of “reciprocal journalism” and “public communication” led by high school and college students in Miami, Florida, USA, in the fall of 2014. In this study, the students’ assessment of local and national media coverage is used to reveal greater details inherent in examining participatory methods of newswork. Collectively, students said that media coverage emphasis on local and national public officials instead of residents and community members who experience sea-level rise first-hand, combined with a lack of scientific explanation of and solutions for sea-level rise reduced the event's potential to build reciprocal relationships with younger audiences.