Assertive Discipline in a school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

The management of difficult and disruptive behaviour continues to be an issue in many classrooms. In this article, Jeremy Swinson, a senior educational psychologist and honorary lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, and Mike Cording, an education consultant working in Southport, consider the impact of in-service training on the use of Assertive Discipline in a school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). Swinson and Cording report improved rates of 'on-task' behaviour for pupils across the age range and reduction in numbers of disruptive incidents. These changes in pupil behaviour mirror an increase in teachers' use of positive feedback and praise. Swinson and Cording argue that these techniques are effective even for those pupils who are seen as being disaffected or very discouraged.     

Prayers,punishment, and perception: an analysis of the response to the Tony Stewart – Kevin Ward Jr. incident on Facebook

The purpose of this study was to analyse the response to Tony Stewart’s first public statement following the Kevin Ward Jr. incident and determine how individuals were discussing the incident on Facebook utilizing the theoretical lens of framing. A total of 14,888 comments from 4594 users were analysed with the qualitative software Leximancer. Two frames emerged from the data analysis including judgement and knowledge. Within those frames were five themes including fault, accident, conviction, racing knowledge and evidence. These themes were bi-directional in nature, which allowed users to place blame, question other users’ knowledge, analyse the nature of the incident itself, express support or disdain and call for further examination of the incident. This study’s findings highlight how Facebook can be utilized as a platform for individuals to create an organic framework and attribute their own meaning to a controversial incident.     

Prevalence and determinants of symptoms of common mental disorders in retired professional Rugby Union players

The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD) (distress, anxiety/depression, sleeping disturbance, adverse nutrition behaviour, adverse alcohol behaviour and smoking) among retired professional Rugby Union players. The secondary aim was to explore the associations between stressors (life events, Rugby Union career dissatisfaction) and the health conditions under study. Therefore, cross-sectional analyses were conducted on baseline questionnaires from an ongoing prospective cohort study of retired professional Rugby Union players. An electronic questionnaire was established using validated questionnaires to assess symptoms of CMD and stressors. The electronic questionnaire was subsequently distributed to retired players by the national Rugby Union players’ associations in France, Ireland and South Africa. Among 295 retired professional Rugby Union players (mean age of 38 years), prevalence rates were 25% for distress, 28% for anxiety/depression, 29% for sleeping disturbance, 62% for adverse nutrition behaviour, 15% for smoking and 24% for adverse alcohol behaviour. A higher number of life events were associated with distress (OR?=?1.2; 95% CI 1.1–1.4), anxiety/depression (OR?=?1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.1), sleeping disturbance (OR?=?1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.1) and adverse nutrition behaviour (OR?=?1.8; 95% CI 1.3–2.5). A higher level of dissatisfaction of the player's Rugby Union career was associated with distress (OR?=?0.9; 95% CI 0.8–1.0), sleeping disturbance (OR?=?0.9; 95% CI 0.9–1.0), smoking (OR?=?0.9; 95% CI 0.9–1.0) and adverse nutrition behaviour (OR?=?0.9; 95% CI 0.8–0.9). In conclusion, our study suggests that prevalence of symptoms of CMD is high among retired professional Rugby Union players, being associated with both a higher number of life events and a higher level of Rugby Union career dissatisfaction.     

Effects of rule changes on physical demands and shot characteristics of elite-standard men’s squash and implications for training

The physical demands and rally characteristics of elite-standard men’s squash have not been well documented since recent rule changes (scoring and tin height). This information is needed to design optimal training drills for physical conditioning provided here based on an analysis of movement and shot information. Matches at the 2010 (n = 14) and 2011 (n = 27) Rowe British Grand Prix were analysed. Rallies were split into four ball-in-play duration categories using the 25th (short), 75th (medium), 95th percentiles (long) and maximum values. Cohen’s d and chi-squared tests of independence evaluated effects of rally and rule changes on patterns of play. The proportion of long, middle and short shots was related to the duration of the rally with more shots played in the middle and front of the court in short rallies (phi = 0.12). The frequencies of shots played from different areas of the court have not changed after the adoption of new rules but there is less time available to return shots that reflect the attacking nature of match play for elite-standard men players. Aspiring and current elite-standard players need to condition themselves to improve their ability to cope with these demands using the ghosting patterns presented that mimic demands of modern match play.     

Learning from Evaluation at the Open University II. Helping students to learn from audio-visual media

Much of previous media research suggests that there are no significant differences between the teaching effectiveness of different media. As a distance teaching institution, however, the Open University is highly dependent on media to perform functions which in a more conventional context would be handled by live, face-to-face, tuition. Consequently, the University has a keen interest in exploiting the special properties of different media to the full, and in developing students' skills to handle different media. The new technology foundation course, T101 'Living with Technology', attempts both of these aims with some success. The main conclusions drawn from a study of the way audio-visual media are used in the course are that the characteristics of television, radio and audio-cassettes do lend themselves to particular teaching functions but that, in a distance teaching context, a factor of overriding importance is the extent to which any educational medium is accessible and controllable by the learner. The findings also suggest that students can be helped to learn more effectively from audio-visual media, providing a carefully structured approach is taken to the gradual development of learning skills, and the various media are well integrated with each other.     

The Politically and Culturally One-Sided Campus: Causes, Consequences, Remedies: Pernicious Politicization in Academe: Victims of the One-Sided Campus: Advocacy in the College Classroom

The three papers that follow were delivered on 22 April 2006 at a conference of the California Association of Scholars at the Annenberg School on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The aim of the panelists was to diagnose the political and cultural imbalance in higher education, to analyze its causes and consequences, and to look for remedies. Other essays from that conference may appear later in AQ.     

Modelling and the Nation: Institutionalising Climate Prediction in the UK, 1988–92

Minerva - How climate models came to gain and exercise epistemic authority has been a key concern of recent climate change historiography. Using newly released archival materials and recently...     

Including Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability in National Assessment: Comparison of Three Country Case Studies through an Inclusive Assessment Framework

The assessment of educational progress and outcomes of pupils is important to all concerned with education. This includes testing which is undertaken for accountability and award bearing purposes. This article examines how students with special educational needs and disability (SEND) are included in assessment. An “inclusive assessment” framework is outlined based around three core features: (1) all students are included and benefit from assessment; (2) assessments are accessible and appropriate for the diverse range of children in the education system; and (3) the full breadth of the curriculum is assessed (including curriculum areas of particular relevance to students with SEND). Assessment policies and practice in three countries (England, Ireland and the US) are drawn upon to demonstrate how the framework usefully enables between-country comparisons and within-country analysis. This analysis shows that in comparison to Ireland, the US and England have highly developed system-based approaches to assessment which seek to “include all” (feature 1) and be “accessible and appropriate” (feature 2). However, the analysis highlights that a consequence of such assessment approaches is the narrowing of the curriculum around topics that are assessed (most notably literacy and mathematics). Such approaches therefore may be at the expense of wider curriculum areas that have value for all students, but often of particular value for those with SEND (feature 3). It is argued that within such systems there may be a danger of neglecting the third feature of the inclusive assessment framework, i.e. ensuring that the full breadth of the curriculum is assessed. A consequence of such an omission could be a failure to assess and celebrate progress in relation to educational outcomes that are relevant to a diverse range of students.