A narrative exploration of how curricula for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties shape and are shaped by the practices of their teachers

This article presents the findings of a study that asked teachers to narrate their interactions with learners from the perspective of the curriculum that the school adopted. Thirteen female teachers, employed at eight special secondary schools for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties in England, participated in the research. They narrated their experiences, which were consequently subject to phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. All the teachers displayed a high degree of individuality and conceptualised their work not straightforwardly as teaching the espoused curriculum, but rather as they themselves being the ‘curriculum‐in‐action’, with their practice lying alongside and only obliquely cognisant of their school's explicit provision. The narratives disclosed ongoing conflict with school leaders being interpreted as a threat to their specific pedagogic practices as well as their professionalism. The research raises questions about the ability of the ‘special curriculum’ to be truly responsive to pupils' needs within this complex pedagogical environment.     

Neoteny,Dialogic Education and an Emergent Psychoculture: Notes on Theory and Practice

This article argues that children represent one vanguard of an emergent shift in Western subjectivity, and that adult‐child dialogue, especially in the context of schooling, is a key locus for the epistemological change that implies. Following Herbert Marcuse's invocation of a ‘new sensibility’, the author argues that the evolutionary phenomenon of neoteny—the long formative period of human childhood and the pedomorphic character of humans across the life cycle—makes of the adult‐collective of school a primary site for the reconstruction of belief. After exploring child‐adult dialogue more broadly as a form of dialectical interaction between what Dewey called ‘impulse’ and ‘habit’, three key dimensions of dialogic schooling are identified, all of which are grounded in a fourth: the form of dialogical group discourse called community of philosophical inquiry (CPI), which is based on the problematisation and reconstruction of concepts through critical argumentation. As a discourse‐model, CPI grounds practice in all of the dialogic school's emergent curricular spaces, whether science, mathematics, literature, art, or philosophy. Second, it opens a functional space for shared decision‐making and collaborative governance, making of school an exemplary model of direct democracy. Finally, CPI as a site for critical interrogation of concepts encountered in the curriculum (e.g. ‘alive’, ‘justice’, ‘system’, ‘biosphere’) and as a site for democratic governance leads naturally to expression in activist projects that model an emergent ‘new reality principle’ through concrete solutions to practical problems on local and global levels.     

Effects and prevalence of responders after a multicomponent intervention on cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents with overweight/obesity: Action for health study

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to verify the effect of a multicomponent intervention on cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRF), and to determine the prevalence of responders on CMRF among children and adolescents with overweight/obesity. This is a quasi-experimental study, developed with 35 children and adolescents with overweight/obesity (control group (CG) = 18; intervention group (IG) = 17), aged between 7 and 13 years. Participants in IG underwent a multicomponent intervention for 12 weeks. The following variables were evaluated: anthropometric measures, maturational stages and CMRF (body fatness, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, high-density and low-density lipoprotein) (HDL-C, LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and AST/ALT ratio. Mixed analysis of variance and the prevalence of responders were used for statistical analysis. There was a significant time x group interaction on body fatness (p < 0.001), HOMA-IR (p = 0.01), HDL-C (p < 0.001), LDL-C (p = 0.009) and TC (p < 0.001). The prevalence of responders for CMRF in IG and CG was respectively: body fatness (47%; 0%; p = 0.04), HOMA-IR (58.8%; 16.6%; p = 0.04); triglycerides (17.6%; 5.5%; p = 0.31); HDL-C (76.4%; 5.5%; p = 0.01), LDL-C (35.3%; 5%; p = 0.08), TC (64.7%; 5%; p = 0.01), AST (5.8%; 0%; p = 0.87), ALT (29.4%; 11.1%; p = 0.24) and AST/ALT ratio (24.4%; 22.2%; p = 0.67). Multicomponent intervention induced positive changes on CMRF along with a higher prevalence of positive adaptations in IG than the CG in some of the cardiometabolic outcomes assessed.     

Gender,Gender Role Identity,and Type of Relationship as Predictors of Relationship Behavior and Beliefs in College Students

The authors explored the relationship of gender, gender role identity, and type of relationship—same‐sex friendship, cross‐sex friendship, or romantic relationship—to relationship behaviors and beliefs among 429 college students. They discuss implications for individual and group counseling, consultation, and primary prevention on college campuses.     

Introduction d'un Modele Conceptuel comme Cadre de Reference dans la Formation Initiale des Instituteurs Primaires (Ecole Normale de l'Etat,Andenne (B) )

The article examines strategies for the training of Primary teachers in Belgium, a level of training which was increased from two to three years duration in 1983. An action research at the EN de l'Etat at Andenne has focused on the conceptual model (following a structure of analysis proposed by Antoine Leon). This model, and the typology of teaching/learning situations which it embodies, permits the student to establish theoretical terms of reference at the outset of training, and to acquire educational insights which relate meaningfully to the goals of teaching. The approach adopted makes certain demands upon the students; for example, they need to take stock, objectively, of their own experiences of learning and must be prepared to question their own assumptions. An important factor in the research has been the use of micro‐teaching, with CCTV, and it is necessary that the students be given an early opportunity to try out their learning from the studio setting in a ‘real’ environment. Overall, however, the experiment, which has been conducted in liaison with the Free University of Brussels, is a promising avenue for achieving the integration of theory with practice.     

THE LISBON CONVENTION ON THE RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE EUROPEAN REGION: AN EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL CO‐OPERATION BETWEEN THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND UNESCO

On the eve of the adoption of the new Council of Europe ‐ UNESCO Convention, this article goes back to the first agreement between the two international organizations to step up their co‐operation in the field of academic recognition and retraces the different stages that led to the final completion of the legal text. It offers an overview of the entire process, analyzing the development of the basic concepts of the Convention, highlighting controversial issues, and demonstrating the complex process of consultation in a wider and diversified Europe that will be brought to completion at the Lisbon Diplomatic Conference. This article, in a slightly different form, will be presented as a background document at the Lisbon Conference.     

Fostering Innovation in Academic Libraries Through Knowledge Creation

Knowledge management (KM) and innovation have been recognized as critical success factors for libraries since 1990s and 1980s, respectively; however, neither is easily achieved. In this context, the current study aims to explore – using structural equation modeling – the extent to which various organizational, technological, and personal factors influence the creation of new knowledge and innovation in academic libraries. More specifically, vision and goals, culture, and structure (formalization and centralization) are explored in terms of organizational factors; IT support is examined in the technological context; and human resources skills and perceptions toward KM are investigated in terms of personal factors. For the collection of primary data a structured questionnaire was developed and distributed electronically to Greek academic library personnel. The final sample comprised 312 professionals from 28 libraries. Results indicate that a visionary leadership facilitates the creation of new knowledge through fostering a culture of collaboration, trust, and learning, providing opportunities for taking initiatives, and creating the appropriate technological environment. All these help libraries develop innovative services, thus responding more quickly and effectively to their changing external environment. Most importantly, library leaders should focus on building a common vision that will guide necessary practices and changes for innovation to be achieved.