Considering Social Validity in Special Education Research

This article is part of a special LDRP research-to-practice series introducing key concepts to enable special education practitioners and other nonresearchers to be more informed research consumers. In the article, we explore how social validity is assessed in special education research and how to interpret social validity assessments. Rather than focusing on measuring intervention effects, social validity involves assessing the social importance of the goals, procedures, and outcomes of interventions and programs. We define social validity, provide questions to consider when examining assessments of social validity in research papers, review approaches commonly used to assess social validity with examples from the research literature, and make recommendations for reconciling findings of positive intervention effects on targeted outcomes but absent or negative findings related to social validity in a study. Our take-home message is that considering social validity assessments helps research consumers interpret study findings and informs how to apply findings in practice.     

Exploring the Experiences of Preschool Teachers Working with Children Living with Parental Mental Illness

Early Childhood Education Journal - Children exposed to the risk factors associated with parental mental illness are seen to be at risk of developing cognitive, emotional, and behavioural...     

A Laplace pressure based microfluidic trap for passive droplet trapping and controlled release

Here, we present a microfluidic droplet trap that takes advantage of the net Laplace pressure force generated when a droplet is differentially constricted. Mathematical simulations were first used to understand the working range of the component; followed by finite element modeling using the CFD software package to further characterize the behavior of the system. Controlled release of the trapped droplets is also demonstrated through both a mechanical method and a chemical method that manipulates the total pressure exerted on the trapped droplet. The unique design of this trapping device also provides the capability for selection of a single droplet from a train, as well as droplet fusion.     

A feminist poststructuralist examination into the President’s Challenge Physical Fitness Awards Program

The purpose of this viewpoint is to systematically synthesise the intersection of research that focuses on poststructuralism as related to a physical education discourse (namely President’s Challenge Physical Fitness Awards Program). A feminist poststructuralist framework will be used to investigate the ways in which the hegemonic design of norm‐referenced youth fitness tests influence students’ gendering of the body through the notion of the normalised body. We propose that the tests and qualifying standards that are markedly different for prepubescent girls and boys fosters a gendered continuum that forces some students into dominant positions, while others are pushed to the margins.     

Examining Secondary Special Education Teachers’ Literacy Instructional Practices

This study presents findings from a survey of secondary special education teachers who teach reading. Respondents were 577 special education teachers from a large Midwestern state who completed an online or mail survey. Results based on quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate predominant foci of secondary special education teachers’ reading instructional practices were teaching vocabulary and comprehension, engaging in ongoing formative assessment, and incorporating technology into instruction. Major themes included the widespread use of commercial reading programs and a bifurcation of instructional roles. These findings are discussed in relation to the national discourse on adolescent literacy and current schooling initiatives including the Common Core State Standards and Multi-tiered Systems of Support.     

A Framework for Defining Contextual Features of Training and Coaching Practices

Training and coaching are cited frequently to achieve different goals, by different people, across different fields. Who provides training and coaching and where and how they are provided may influence the effectiveness of the training and coaching efforts, making the clear identification of these contextual features of paramount importance to successful implementation and dissemination of training and coaching programs. First, we propose a framework for elucidating these contextual features, and then we apply this framework to a circumscribed review of the literature on parent training and coaching in early intervention services to assess its utility. We discuss the extent to which contextual features have been described in this body of research, offer additional considerations for applying the framework based on this review, and propose possible implications of our findings for implementation, dissemination, and future research efforts.     

Self–Injury and Suicide: Practical Information for College Counselors

The relationship between self–injury (SI) and suicide is largely unclear. However, researchers have suggested that clients who self–injure are at a heightened risk of suicide (Chapman & Dixon–Gordon, 2007 ; Toprak, Cetin, Guven, Can, & Demircan, 2011 ). Thus, it is important that college counselors be knowledgeable about both SI and suicide. In this article, the authors provide an overview of SI and suicide, as well as practical information for college counselors.     

Der Einfluss von aufmerksamkeitslenkenden Instruktionen auf das Erlernen einer Schlagbewegung im Golf

Among other things instructions serve the purpose of directing the recipient’s attentional focus. Several studies have demonstrated the advantage of an attentional focus away from one’s body (external) and towards the effect of the movement over an attentional focus on the movement itself (internal). In contrast, other studies have shown that the advantage of an external focus cannot be generalized. The present study utilized a golf putting task to investigate the effectiveness of an internal versus an external focus. Furthermore, the present study investigated whether participants complied with the instructions with the respective focus during the learning phase. Moreover, in addition to the performance on the putting task the movement execution was also examined. The results showed that the internal as well as the external group switched between the internal and external focus and additionally modified a neutral focus. There was no correlation between hitting performance and movement variability, but a correlation between the neutral focus and the movement variability was found. The results challenge empirical analysis and the results of research about attentional focus.     

The Distribution of Privacy Risks: Who Needs Protection?

It is commonly accepted that the use of personal information in business and government puts individual privacy at risk. However, little is known about these risks-for instance, whether and how they can be measured, and how they vary across social groups and the sectors in which personal data are used. Unless we can gain a purchase on such issues, our knowledge of the societal effects of information technology and systems will remain deficient, and the ability to make and implement better policies for privacy protection, and perhaps for a more equitable distribution of risk and protection, will remain impaired. The article explores this topic, examining conventional paradigms in data protection, including the one-dimensional view of the 'data subject,' that inhibit better conceptualizations and practices. It looks at some comparative survey evidence that casts light on the question of the distribution of privacy risks and concerns. It examines theoretical issues in the literature on risk, raising questions about the objectivity and perception of the risk of privacy invasion.