Northern Ireland head teachers’ perceptions of inclusion

Inclusion has been a central educational issue for well over a quarter of a century, with continuing emphasis worldwide on initiatives by governments, Higher Education Institutions and schools that respond to the needs of children and young people with learning difficulties, disabilities or other disadvantage. This paper reports how Northern Ireland head teachers interpret inclusion in the nursery, primary, post‐primary and special sectors. Those in mainstream schools showed whole‐hearted commitment to the philosophy and practice of inclusion, and could critically examine what they have achieved so far. However, they recognized persistent and varied constraints both within and beyond their schools. Head teachers in the special sector perceived their schools to have a multiple role in providing for pupils with the greatest need, reintegrating those on placement into their regular schools, and offering outreach support to mainstream colleagues. The implications for all aspects of teacher education were identified, for beginning teachers, for more experienced practitioners and for the head teachers themselves. A number of key factors were suggested to make inclusion work.     

Farewell to Grant Maintained Status: the future of self-governing schools

Within 15 months of New Labour being elected to Government in May 1997, a new framework for the organisation of schools in England and Wales was on the statute books. In September 1999 the legislation was implemented and three new categories of schools: foundation, voluntary and community, replaced all previous classifications. Thus, the opportunity for state schools to 'opt out' and become self-governing, grant maintained (GM) schools was abolished. Indeed, all schools, regardless of their category, are now required to have local education authority representatives on their governing bodies. This article reports on empirical research carried out between September 1997 and the end of 1998-the period when the new framework was being shaped. The research is concerned with GM schools' headteachers' and chairs of governors' views and interpretations about the future governance of their schools.     

A journey of self‐discovery: an intervention involving massage,yoga and relaxation for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties attending primary schools

This study reports on an intervention involving massage, yoga and relaxation delivered to young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Children (n = 126) were invited to participate in the Self‐discovery Programme (SDP) with parental consent. A total of 107 children aged 8–11 years completed the SDP and all measures. Children were allocated to a Control (n = 54) or Intervention (n = 53) group. The results indicate that children in the Intervention group showed improvements in self‐confidence, social confidence, communication and contributions in class. Children in the Intervention group were noted by teachers to use skills learned on the SDP during the school day.     

The reality of living with AD/HD: children's concern about educational and medical support

A diagnosis of AD/HD may tell us that the child has the core characteristics of inattentiveness, impulsivity and or hyperactivity, but it fails to convey the extent to which the social context of the child's environment manipulates these characteristics. This article reports on how children with a diagnosis of AD/HD view the impact their social environment has on their behaviour; providing us with insight into how educational and medical intervention strategies are failing to achieve their potential. The findings suggest that if children with AD/HD and their families are to benefit from educational and medical intervention then stakeholders need to work together to provide coordinated and consistent support.     

The construction of a questionnaire to evaluate the science orientedness of students' identities as learners from a cognitive perspective

Forming a science-oriented identity is considered a process underlying both interest and achievement in science education. A questionnaire is developed for describing “identities as learners” and evaluating their science orientedness. The instrument (k = 65) focuses on cognitive aspects. An internal coherence of .88 was found. Five subscales were defined that proved interrelated yet distinguishable. A pilot amongst 40 students from Dutch general secondary education showed that preferring science over non-science subjects and relatively high grades for sciences subjects were strongly correlated to science orientedness of the learner identity (r_s  = .65; p < .001). The results support the reliability and validity of the questionnaire but also point to the importance of identity as a central concept in studying science education. It is concluded that we made a promising step in constructing an instrument for monitoring the development of cognitive aspects of science-oriented identities during (innovative) science education.     

Predicting Robust Learning With the Visual Form of the Moment-by-Moment Learning Curve

We present a new method for analyzing a student's learning over time for a specific skill: analysis of the graph of the student's moment-by-moment learning over time. Moment-by-moment learning is calculated using a data-mined model that assesses the probability that a student learned a skill or concept at a specific time during learning (Baker, Goldstein, & Heffernan, 2010 Baker, R. S. J. d., Goldstein, A. B. and Heffernan, N. T. 2010. “Detecting the moment of learning”. In Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems 25–34. In V. Aleven, J. Kay, & J. Mostow (Eds.),pp.Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 2011). Two coders labeled data from students who used an intelligent tutoring system for college genetics. They coded in terms of 7 forms that the moment-by-moment learning curve can take. These labels are correlated to test data on the robustness of students’ learning. We find that different visual forms are correlated with very different learning outcomes. This work suggests that analysis of moment-by-moment learning curves may be able to shed light on the implications of students’ different patterns of learning over time.     

Predicting College Students’ Intergroup Friendships Across Race/Ethnicity,Religion, Sexual Orientation,and Social Class

This study seeks to expand the literature on predicting friendship diversity beyond race/ethnicity to include religion, social class, and sexual orientation. Survey packets elicited information regarding up to four close friendships developed during college. Additional measures assessed pre-college friendship diversity, participation in college activities and diversity education, intergroup attitudes, and interpersonal communication apprehension. A total of 588 friendships (213 intragroup and 375 intergroup) were reported by 151 college students. Pre-college friendship diversity was the primary predictor of college friendship diversity across each intergroup dimension. Implications for prejudice reduction are discussed.     

Preparing Preservice Teachers for Success in NCLB's Kindergartens: Learning from Experienced Teachers' Strategies for Managing Professional Relationships with Colleagues and Parents

Kindergarten has undergone dramatic changes since the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002. The literature on the challenges facing kindergarten teachers as a result of NCLB focuses primarily on curricular and instructional issues; little attention has been paid to NCLB's impact on the relational aspects of kindergarten teaching, such as partnership with parents and collaboration with colleagues. To address this gap, this article presents findings from a recent qualitative study of two veteran kindergarten teachers' challenges managing their relationships with the first-grade teachers at their school and with their students' parents. Participants demonstrated a range of successful strategies for responding to these difficult relational situations. Because many preschool and primary grade teachers are presently facing similar challenges, this study can contribute to teacher educators' ongoing efforts to ensure our programs prepare students to be effective in today's NCLB–influenced classrooms.