Policy changes in post–school learning for people with disabilities and learning difficulties and the implications for practice

In this article Liz Maudslay argues that a strong infrastructure is required in the post–school sector if people with disabilities and learning difficulties are to benefit from the recent changes in post–school education. In her analysis of these legislative changes she considers the implications of issues such as transition, the place of specialist colleges, excluded groups and the role of multi–agency working.     

Young children at risk of literacy difficulties: factors predicting recovery from risk following phonologically based intervention

This longitudinal project identified young children at risk of literacy difficulties and asked why some of these children fail to benefit from phonologically based intervention. Reception class children were screened to identify a group at risk of literacy difficulties and a matched group of children not at risk. Profiles were compiled for each child including measures of reading, spelling, memory, rapid naming, vocabulary and phonological awareness. A daily, 15‐week, small group intervention was implemented with 67 at‐risk children. Those who had not made progress in their literacy following this intervention participated in a second, individually administered intervention. The results indicate that letter knowledge and expressive vocabulary are key factors mediating a child's ability to benefit from a phonologically based intervention. Findings are discussed in the context of a lexical restructuring account of the development of spoken word recognition.     

Landmarks in the professional and academic development of mid-career teacher educators

This paper focuses on the professional and academic development of mid-career teacher educators from two universities in England. The objectives of the study were to analyse and compare the career experiences of teacher educators; in particular, to identify stages of development, landmark events and contextual factors affecting professional learning and academic identities. In-depth biographical interviews were carried out with 12 teacher educators, together with living graphs of their career paths. Clear landmarks were identified in both contexts, with development in teaching seen as largely positive, while research development was much more varied. Teacher educators who were further on in their careers saw research development as transformative personally as well as academically. In analysing the findings within a sociocultural learning framework, the authors draw in particular on Swennen et al.’s model of teacher educators’ sub-identities, Akerlind’s categorisation of an academic identity and Eraut’s contextual and learning factors.     

Service-Learning Among Nontraditional Age Community College Students

In recent decades, many institutions of higher education have responded to community and student learning needs through the development of service-learning programs (Sapp & Crabtree, 2002 Sapp , D. A. , & Crabtree , R. D. ( 2002 ). A laboratory in citizenship: Service-learning in the technical communication classroom . Technical Communication Quarterly , 11 ( 4 ), 411 – 431 .[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Community colleges have been noted as leaders in the establishment of service-learning programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand the service-learning experiences and subsequent outcome of nontraditional age students at a community college. The study utilized the three commonly noted best practices in service-learning as a guide in the exploration of literature and data: (a) connection between course material and the service experience through reflection; (b) the extent to which it is perceived that participation in service-learning had an impact on the community; and (c) the training or orientation activities incorporated into the service-learning experience. Using case study methodology, multiple data sources were collected and analyzed, including faculty member surveys, course syllabi, agency surveys, student surveys and semistructured interviews. Findings of the study revealed a number of implications for practice, as well as recommendations for future research. This study revealed the critical importance of postreflective assignments in helping students connect their service experience to course content and better understand community needs, yielded an understanding of how appreciative agency representatives and working with others at the agency enhanced the service-learning experience, explained how informal means by which to receive an orientation to the service agency are of value, and confirmed previous research that suggests intention to volunteer after graduation can be attributable, at least in part, to students’ participation in service-learning.     

Reading Within Families: Taking a Historical Perspective

This article draws on a study which was designed to extend understanding of habitual and committed adolescent readers. The study brought together four theoretical perspectives – the social, cultural, spatial and historical – as a way of re-imagining the field of reading. The historical perspective is the one foregrounded here, offering views of reading as a long-term, intergenerational process, in this instance constructed through setting adults’ comments about reading alongside those of their children or grandchildren. Analysis of data from two of the research methods employed in the study – semi-structured small-group interviews and interviews conducted by the students themselves with a parent or grandparent – suggests that there is a strong argument to be made for attending more closely to adolescent readers from a historical perspective, as well as from social, cultural and spatial perspectives, in order to understand better some of their subtle characteristics as they shift over time rather than as they appear when viewed merely in the here-and-now.