Collaborative action research in Northern Canadian rural and Indigenous schools: learning about young children’s oral language in play contexts

This article reports on collaborative action research in twelve northern rural and Indigenous communities in four Canadian provinces. Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, grade one, and Aboriginal Head Start teachers worked with university researchers in three universities to create action research projects with the aim of supporting children’s oral language and writing through play in their classrooms. Inductive analysis of focus group data shows that teachers gained understandings about play as a context both for supporting and for authentic assessment of young children’s oral language. The building of trusting relationships, built through ongoing collaboration with colleagues within their schools and across four provinces, in addition to collaboration with university researchers over a number of years, was viewed as particularly influential to teachers’ professional learning. Additionally, teachers talked about the value of opportunities to contribute to the development of teaching and assessment tools. Participating teachers came to see themselves as making valuable contributions to professional knowledge beyond their northern communities. The 4R’s for conducting research in Indigenous contexts (reciprocity, respect, relevance, and responsibility) provide a framework for deriving implications from this collaborative research. It is important that the results of collaborative action research conducted in rural and Indigenous schools be widely disseminated to provide alternative perspectives to curriculum, research and practice that tend to be urban-oriented.     

Marketing the ‘Broad Line’: Invitations to STEM education in a Swedish recruitment campaign

In many Western societies, there is a concern about the tendency of young people not choosing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and occupations. In response, different initiatives have been launched. If one believes that science should have a place in more young people's lives, an important question is to what extent recruitment campaigns communicate messages that open up for STEM education to become relevant in young people's identity formation. Here, we analyse a Swedish government-initiated, primarily Internet-based recruitment attempt (‘The Broad Line Campaign’) aimed at increasing the number of young people choosing the natural science programme in upper secondary school. The campaign is based on marketing principles and deliberately draws on identity issues. The data analysed consists of campaign films and written resources describing the campaign. Data are analysed by use of the constant comparative approach in order to produce categories describing different messages about why to engage in STEM education. These messages are then analysed from an identity perspective using the concept of subjective values. Our results show that the messages communicated in the Broad Line campaign emphasise utility value, attainment value and relative cost rather than interest-enjoyment. The campaign communicates that the natural science programme is to be associated with a high attainment value without establishing relations to the field of science. Finally, potential consequences of the communicated messages in the campaign are discussed in light of previous research.     

Professionalism,governance and inclusive education – A total population study of Swedish special needs educators

ABSTRACT

Prior research shows that special needs educators (SNEs) have had problems defining their occupational roles and jurisdiction, particularly regarding inclusive education. There are two occupational groups of SNEs in Sweden, namely special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) and special education teachers. In this paper, we use the collective name SNEs to refer to both groups. Here, results from a total population study of Swedish SNEs are presented (N?=?3367, response rate 75%). The aim is to explore differences in SNEs’ interpretation of school difficulties and if these differences are influenced by SNEs’ employment in different parts of the school organisation. Statistical cluster-analysis was used to categorise SNEs into five distinct groups based on how they view the problems of pupils in school difficulties. Key concepts employed in the analysis are, primarily organisational vs occupational governance in relation to professional jurisdiction. Findings suggest that SNEs are less unanimous in their views of school problems, than prior research indicates. The variance is partly due to where they work in the school organisation, but we also find indications that different groups of SNEs experience different forms of governance with regard to their professionalism. The results are important due to the scope of the data and method of analysis as well as the illustrated variance of professional values and situations of SNEs and the potential consequences for the development of inclusive education.     

Reading Strategies in Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment caused by Periventricular Leukomalacia

Four children with cerebral visual impairment caused by periventricular leukomalacia were followed in an ethnographic clinical case study for two years during their process of learning to read in mainstream classes. When compared to children with ocular visual impairment, children with cerebral visual impairment often exhibit an uneven cognitive profile with visuo-spatial deficits but good verbal capacities. One main problem for children with deficits due to periventricular leukomalacia is decreased visual acuity with crowding, that is, an inability to identify symbols in a line, while single symbols of the same size may be identified. A question addressed in the study is what kind of strategies does the child with "crowding" problems develop in reading long words in print. Could Braille, as a sequential reading medium, be an alternative for the child with simultaneous visual problems? Two children were offered both Braille and print reading as reading media, one of whom preferred Braille after two years of training. The other two children read ordinary print without any special teaching. After two years, considerable differences in reading acquisition and reading strategies could be detected among the four children. No single factor seemed to account for the differences. Individual factors as well as teaching methods could be reasons for the differences.     

Ionized Calcium Measurement in Serum and Plasma by Ion Selective Electrodes: Comparison of Measured and Calculated Parameters

To determine the concentration of ionized calcium (iCa) collected in lithium heparin and gel tubes and to correlate the measured iCa with calculated iCa. Anaerobic fasting blood samples were simultaneously collected from healthy laboratory workers in lithium-heparin and gel tubes. iCa, pH, total calcium (CaT), total protein and albumin were measured. Ionized Ca was calculated with albumin and globulin values using an appropriate formula. Mean iCa in gel tubes showed a positive constant bias of 0.08 mmol/L (p < 0.001) when compared to lithium heparin results. The mean pH of blood taken in lithium heparin and gel tubes was non-significant (p = 0.3). Measured iCa poorly correlated with CaT (r = 0.2, p = 0.1) and calculated iCa (r = 0.2, p = 0.2). To evaluate the calcium status direct measurement of iCa must be done rather than using the formulae for iCa determination. In addition serum is recommended as the choice of sample for iCa determination in comparison to plasma samples.     

CRITICAL FEATURES OF VISUALIZATIONS OF TRANSPORT THROUGH THE CELL MEMBRANE—AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF UPPER SECONDARY AND TERTIARY STUDENTS’ MEANING-MAKING OF A STILL IMAGE AND AN ANIMATION

Images, diagrams, and other forms of visualization are playing increasingly important roles in molecular life science teaching and research, both for conveying information and as conceptual tools, transforming the way we think about the events and processes the subject covers. This study examines how upper secondary and tertiary students interpret visualizations of transport through the cell membrane in the form of a still image and an animation. Twenty upper secondary and five tertiary students were interviewed. In addition, 31 university students participated in a group discussion and answered a questionnaire regarding the animation. A model, based on variation theory, was then tested as a tool for distinguishing between what is expected to be learned, what is present in the visualizations, and what is actually learned by the students. Three critical features of the ability to visualize biomolecular processes were identified from the students’ interpretations of the animation: the complexity of biomolecular processes, the dynamic and random nature of biomolecular interactions, and extrapolation between 2D and 3D. The results of this study support the use of multiple representations to achieve different learning goals.     

Pedophilic sexual interests and psychopathy in child sexual abusers working with children

Research has identified stable and dynamic characteristics in child sexual abusers working with children (CSA-W) that may distinguish them from other child sexual abusers (CSA). However, in previous research CSA-W have usually been included in the group of extra-familial CSA (CSA-E). Two hundred and forty-eight forensic-sexological reports about CSA conducted by the Federal Evaluation Centre for Violent and Sexual Offenders in the Austrian Prison System were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred and nineteen intra-familial CSA (CSA-I), 66 CSA-E, and 38 CSA-W were compared with regard to static risk factors, indicators of psychopathy, and pedophilic sexual interests. CSA-E had the highest risk of recidivism as measured by the Static-99 total score, followed by CSA-W. Furthermore, CSA-E had more previous convictions than CSA-W. Both CSA-E and CSA-I had higher total scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised than CSA-W. CSA-W had the highest prevalence of pedophilia diagnoses according to DSM-IV-TR criteria, as well as the highest rate of pedophilia with an orientation toward male children, and the highest frequency of male victims. CSA-W also had the highest total scores in the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests. CSA-W seem to constitute a group with particular risk factors and criminogenic needs, that is, they show more indicators of pedophilic sexual interests but less general antisociality and psychopathy, and would thus seem to be distinguishable from other CSA. Future research should focus in particular on evaluating differences in the grooming strategies used by CSA-W to commit and disclose child sexual abuse, as well as on the resources of this particular offender group.