‘We are getting there slowly’: lesbian teacher experiences in the post-Section 28 environment

Prior to the subtraction of Section 28 from the 1988 Local Government Act in 2003, a substantial amount of research was published that specifically examined the experiences of lesbian physical education (PE) teachers. This article contributes to the existing academic literature by exploring the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual teachers working in a post-Section 28 school environment. Drawing on life history interviews of two lesbian PE teachers, we offer insights into how the abolition of Section 28 has affected their lives. Comparable to previous studies, both women reported feeling fearful of the consequences of identifying as lesbian and employed various strategies in order to maintain a divide between their public and private lives so as to conceal their sexual identities from colleagues, pupils and parents. However, in contrast to much of the previous literature, we found that the teachers in this study also identified with narratives of resistance. Despite being fearful of coming out at work, they nevertheless remained committed to coming out when the context is appropriate, to challenging the heteronormative symbolic order configured around the heterosexual/homosexual binary and to more proactively promoting sexual diversity and tolerance in schools.     

Dyadic effects of gratitude on burden,conflict, and contribution in the family caregiver and sibling relationship

Family caregivers are a quickly growing population in American society and are potentially vulnerable to a number of risks to well-being. High stress and little support can combine to cause difficulties in health and personal relationships. Siblings are, however, a possible source of protection for the at-risk caregiver. This study examines the relationships between caregiver burden, relational conflict, individual contribution, and gratitude exchange between caregivers and their siblings as they attend to the issue of caring for aging parents. Dyadic data were collected through an online survey and were analyzed using a series of actor–partner interdependence models. Dimensions of gratitude related to reduced caregiver burden, improved care-related conflict, and promotion of greater contribution to caregiving.     

From principle to practice: community consultation regarding access to Indigenous language material in archival records at the State Library of New South Wales

In the context of Indigenous languages, archival science in Australia continues to move from a theoretical framework of considering record subjects as third parties to a ‘participants model’. In a participants model framework record subjects are considered co-creators and custodians of the intellectual property of the record. However, the shift from theory to practice is still an under-described challenge currently facing archival professionals. This article reports on an experience of applying guidelines developed by First Languages Australia (FLA) and National and State Libraries of Australasia (NSLA) aimed at enhancing the rights of Indigenous Australians over records that contain Indigenous language material. A team of researchers from the State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) Indigenous Services branch and Western Sydney University engaged with four Indigenous language groups to evaluate records containing Indigenous language material held at the SLNSW. On viewing the archival records of Indigenous language material members of community groups expressed a diversity of opinions and suggestions. This feedback was grouped by the authors into the following themes: painful remembrance of the provenance of the archival record, evaluations of the value of the documents, custodianship and use of the language material, and access to the SLNSW records. The authors found that participants in the study substantially shaped the process of implementing the protocols.     

Assessing school climate within a PBIS framework: using multi-informant assessment to identify strengths and needs

A multi-method, multi-informant method was used to collect data from diverse stakeholders about school climate to inform school improvement efforts as part of the Positive Behaviour Intervention Supports (PBIS) framework. Teachers, administrators, school staff and students completed surveys and parents participated in focus groups to gather perspectives about school climate. Respondents identified safety as a strength at the school, staff and student results suggested interpersonal relationships as an area for improvement and staff identified parent involvement as an area for growth. Both positive and negative perceptions of school climate emerged from the parent focus group. While there are limitations to the generalisability of the results, this case study provides a useful approach for schools to assess their school climate and establish goals for improvement.     

Employing subgoals in computer programming education

The rapid integration of technology into our professional and personal lives has left many education systems ill-equipped to deal with the influx of people seeking computing education. To improve computing education, we are applying techniques that have been developed for other procedural fields. The present study applied such a technique, subgoal labeled worked examples, to explore whether it would improve programming instruction. The first two experiments, conducted in a laboratory, suggest that the intervention improves undergraduate learners’ problem-solving performance and affects how learners approach problem-solving. The third experiment demonstrates that the intervention has similar, and perhaps stronger, effects in an online learning environment with in-service K-12 teachers who want to become qualified to teach computing courses. By implementing this subgoal intervention as a tool for educators to teach themselves and their students, education systems could improve computing education and better prepare learners for an increasingly technical world.     

Using a Standardized Task to Assess the Quality of Teacher–Child Dyadic Interactions in Preschool

Research Findings: This study explored the quality of teacher-child interactions within the context of a newly developed standardized task, Teacher-Child Structured Play Task (TC-SPT). A sample of 146 teachers and 345 children participated. Children who displayed the highest disruptive behaviors within each classroom were selected to participate. Teacher-child dyads (n=345) participated in a play session that included free play and clean-up tasks. We adapted two coding schemes to assess the quality of both teachers’ and children’s interactive behaviors during these two tasks. The coding schemes exhibited internal and inter-rater reliability. Significant associations with classroom-level teacher-child interactions and children’s observed classroom engagement provide support for the measure’s validity. Differences in teacher and child-interactive behaviors across the two tasks (free play versus clean-up) suggest that task features may affect the quality of teacher-child interactive behaviors. Practice and Policy: Examining the interactions of different teacher-child dyads within the same standardized context will allow researchers to better understand the child and teacher factors that contribute to the quality of those interactions. Thus, use of this task in future field-based research may help to assess the impact of early interventions and professional development efforts that target improvement in the quality of teacher-child interactions.     

Revealing a bilingual science teacher’s dynamic views and practice about science and language teaching through dialogic reflections

Adopting a sociocultural perspective, we construct a case study exploring how a middle school bilingual science teacher reflected and acted when engaged in dialogue, co-teaching, and a newly designed unit on plate tectonics. Sources of data include video of classroom interaction and audio recordings of daily debriefs between the bilingual science teacher and second author. Dialogic reflections between these individuals reveal how the new curriculum, the dialogue, and co-teaching with the second author mediated the teacher’s emerging abilities to think and act in different ways at that sociohistorical moment in time. Based on these findings, we highly encourage professional development experiences to include ongoing dialogic reflection and co-teaching to “shake” teachers’ views and practice. These initial connections can indicate inroads into helping teachers broaden understanding of bilingual science education.

     

!Kung Infancy: The Social Context of Object Exploration

The present study consists of new analyses of systematic observations of Kung infants made by Konner during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Our intent was to examine claims about the role of object sharing in development by describing how Kung infants develop interest in objects and how their caregivers act toward them when they are engaged in object-related acts. Results indicated that infants first displayed sustained interest in objects beginning at 4 months of age and that, beginning at about 8 months, they also began to engage in relational play and to give objects to others. Others tended to ignore infants during episodes of object manipulation and play, but moments of object offering were often socially embedded. These findings provide support for claims that there are universal changes in infants' involvement with objects and that their involvement is channeled in a culturally relevant manner by their caregivers.     

Improving Narrative Writing Skills of Secondary Students with Disabilities Using Strategy Instruction

Writing standards and objectives outline complex skills for narrative essay writing at the secondary level. Students with disabilities often produce disorganized narratives with fewer narrative elements than their peers without disabilities. A multiple-probe design was used to examine effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development for the Pick my genre then idea, Organize my notes, Write (POW) + Setting, Tension, rising Action, Climax, Solution (STACS) strategy on narrative essay-writing skills for 6 secondary students with disabilities. Results indicated students improved the quality of their narratives and included a greater number of strategy-specific and story grammar elements following instruction. Students were also able to transfer skills across a history or social studies setting and could more accurately differentiate narrative writing prompts from expository and persuasive writing prompts. Treatment acceptability results indicated students found instruction beneficial.     

Scoping the barriers to implementing policies for inclusive education in Rwanda: an occupational therapy opportunity

Introduction: Education is a fundamental right for all children, including those with disability [UN (United Nations). 2013 UN (United Nations). 2013. General Assembly, 68th Session. The Way Forward: A Disability-Inclusive Developmental Agenda Towards 2015 and Beyond: Report of the Secretary-General (A/68/95). June 14. (Masthead). (2012 Readex microfiche). [Google Scholar]. General Assembly, 68th Session. The Way Forward: A Disability-Inclusive Developmental Agenda Towards 2015 and Beyond: Report of the Secretary-General (A/68/95). June 14. (Masthead). (2012 Readex microfiche).]. Rwanda has numerous policies for inclusive education but has not been successful in implementing these standards nationally. A multisectoral approach, including interdisciplinary liaisons, is cited to achieve inclusive education. Occupational therapy services recently introduced in Rwanda contribute to reducing obstacles and facilitating the transition of children with disabilities into mainstream classrooms. Overcoming the barriers to inclusive education requires first identifying them before solutions are postulated. Objectives: This research maps the literature to demystify the barriers to implementing national policies for inclusive education. Methods: A scoping approach guided by the Arksey and O'Malley [2005. “Scoping Studies: Towards a Methodological Framework.” International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8: 19–32] five-stage methodological framework was employed. Results: Seven themes emerged that impede the adoption of inclusive education: financial constraints, physical barriers, insufficient teacher training, cultural attitudes and discrimination, over-reliance on foreign aid, inadequate policies and legislation and ignoring cultural context in policies. Future research: Using a multisectoral approach with occupational therapists, a strategic demonstration project is recommended to: (a) re-operationalise policies, (b) prepare the environment and community, (c) train teachers, and (d) evaluate outcomes. The findings have the potential to assist other regions in identifying challenges to, and adopting, inclusive education in the future.