Reflections on infusing evidenced-based inclusion practices in early childhood community college programs through a collaborative professional development model

ABSTRACT

Inclusion means that students with disabilities have access to high-quality and effective instruction, as well as specialized services as needed, within least restrictive environments. We believe there are no limits on who can or should participate in and benefit from inclusion and we were interested in perceptions resulting from professional development designed to support including young children with disabilities in classrooms with their natural neighbors and peers. We present reflections from application of a community of practice model in which university-based faculty worked closely and collaboratively with community college instructors to infuse ideas, concepts, and content from the field of special education into associate degree early childhood education coursework.     

Mentoring partnerships in science education

The authors use an action research (AR) approach in a collegiate studio physics class to investigate the power of partnerships via conferences as they relate to issues of establishing a student/mentor rapport, empowering students to reduce inequity, and the successes and barriers to hearing students’ voices. The graduate teaching assistant (TA, Author 1) conducted one-on-one conferences with 29 students, elicited student opinions about the progress of the course, and talked with faculty, TAs, and an undergraduate supplemental instructor for other sections of the course. At the end of the semester, the students reported increased knowledge of the TA as a person and as an instructor, and vice versa. Sixty-five percent of students reported no interest in changing circumstances to make it easier to talk about personal concerns with the TA. College students reluctantly voiced their opinions about the course, possibly due to the power structure of the classroom. Other TAs in the department expressed mostly disinterest in the project, while faculty members were interested in student learning but skeptical of student empowerment. A case study of one student is presented, wherein his attendance improved in the course and he received additional help outside class, both possibly as a result of the student/TA conferences. Students in this studio physics section were more likely to interact directly with faculty or TAs during lectures, but less likely to do so during lab sessions, than were students in a non-studio physics section.     

Implementation strategies for educational intranet resources

Recent events in UK Higher Education have caused university schools to look toward alternative means of enhancing and monitoring the quality of the service they provide. One approach utilises networked learning and teaching resources, in particular intranets. Two Schools at the University of Brighton commenced independent implementation of intranets at similar times. The subjects of the case studies are the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences Intranet (SPI) and the Business School Intranet (BSI). This paper describes the two alternative strategies for intranet implementation, demonstrates the differing degrees of staff and student utilisation of these learning and teaching assets, identifies barriers to success within each and proposes solutions to address them. The paper proposes a unified strategy for effective intranet implementation and suggests measures to manage organisational resistance to change.     

Working with families of children with special needs

Katie Sefton, Richard M. Gargiulo, and Stephen B. Graves are with the School of Education, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Alabama at Birmingham.     

Interactive health-hygiene education for early years: the creation and evaluation of learning resources to improve understanding of handwashing practice

ABSTRACT

This study reports the findings of a mixed method research study (qualitative and quantitative) on the effectiveness of specifically developed learning resources and workshops on handwashing for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in the UK. The A Germ’s Journey educational resources were developed to aid both young children’s understanding and engagement with microbiology and hand hygiene, currently there are limited learning resources that teach young children about the cause and effect of germs. The methods used to evaluate the resources in this study include: questionnaires (completed by parents and teachers), observations of the children during the workshops using the resources and follow-up interviews with teachers. The data was collected in six individual case studies (three in inner city locations and three in rural locations) consisting of EYFS classes in primary schools and nurseries. Results found that the developed learning resources were successful in aiding children in EYFS’s knowledge of germs and related health issues (80–100% (p?<?0.05) of parents and teachers strongly agreeing/agreeing), with teachers reporting that they had seen an increased understanding in their pupils since participating in the workshops.     

Implementing community-based comprehensive sexuality education with high-risk youth in a conservative environment: lessons learned

Although comprehensive sexuality education programmes have the potential to improve the sexual health and well-being of young people, many socially conservative rural states in the USA have laws and policies restricting school-based comprehensive sexuality education and supporting abstinence-only education. This paper describes the process of building a community-university partnership to implement a community-based comprehensive sexuality education peer education programme for high-risk young people and presents preliminary findings from a longitudinal evaluation. Through purposive recruitment, the sample included 386 young people (mean age) who were more diverse than the local community. Important university-community partnership components included (1) establishing local connections and legitimacy, (2) adapting and tailoring programmes to meet community context, (3) sustainability planning, and (4) flexibility, persistence, and patience. Building community trust and capitalising on the mutual benefits of community-university partnerships are effective methods of building community sexuality education programming in a conservative environment. Tailoring evidence-based approaches to comprehensive sexuality education in a politically restrictive environment shows promise in improving the sexual and reproductive health of young people.     

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS AS MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS: THE IMPACT OF STAFFING RATIOS AND MEDICAID ON SERVICE PROVISIONS

As one out of five children in the United States demonstrate some type of mental or behavioral health concern warranting additional intervention, federal policies have emphasized the need for school‐based mental health (SBMH) services and an expansion of Medicaid reimbursement for eligible children and families. Most youth access mental health services at school; therefore, it is important to evaluate how staffing ratios, credentialing, and state Medicaid policies may influence school psychologists’ involvement in the delivery of SBMH services. A survey of 192 school psychologists found that as practitioner to student ratios increased, the availability and provision of SBMH services decreased. As state Medicaid policies have been found to influence the provision of mental health services at school, current study results demonstrate an association between state level Medicaid policies and the number of school psychologists qualified to bill for Medicaid‐reimbursable services. Implications for service delivery and policy development are discussed.     

The development and implementation of the Art of Happiness intervention for community-dwelling older adults

Research has shown that positive psychology interventions can enhance subjective well-being and reduce depression, however, efficacy on older adult populations has not been widely examined. Specifically, subjective well-being, life satisfaction, optimism, and positive emotions have been shown to improve health and longevity. The present study soughts to develop and evaluate an intervention with the goals of enhancing positive mental health among older adults. The Art of Happiness is a theory-based, eight-week intervention that was conducted at three senior centers in the state of Delaware. Each 90-min class examined a different topic including: (1) defining happiness, (2) stress management, (3) reflecting on happiness, (4) compassion and human connection, (5) forgiveness, (6) transforming suffering, (7) mindfulness, and (8) humor. Pre and post questionnaires assessed participant subjective happiness, stress, gratitude, life satisfaction, depression, mindfulness, arousal states, and general demographic and health information. This paper outlines the formative and process evaluation methodology related to the Art of Happiness project.     

How research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books led to planning a joint approach to e-book policy and practice across UK and Ireland healthcare libraries

The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e-books in the NHS are, what they are using e-books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non-use of e-books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e-books to inform policy and practice.     

Test Anxiety and Metacognitive Performance in the Classroom

Educational Psychology Review - Test anxiety is a context-specific academic anxiety which can result in poorer academic and metacognitive performance. We assessed how the quantity and relative...