Parental perspectives on educational programmes for students with high support needs

This paper presents the outcomes of interviews with 29 parents of school-aged students with high support needs, centred on aspects of educational programming and service delivery. The aim of the study was to better understand the views and experiences of parents in relation to priority curriculum areas, programme development, perspectives on integration and socialization, and factors that support student alertness and engagement. This is an area that has received little attention to date in the literature.     

The ABC’s of Chinese: maternal mediation of Pinyin for Chinese children’s early literacy skills

In the present study, maternal Pinyin mediation and its relations with young Chinese children??s word reading and word writing development were explored. At time 1, 43 Mainland Chinese children and their mothers were videotaped on a task in which children were asked to write 12 words in Pinyin (a phonological coding system used in Mainland China as an aid to reading Chinese characters) with help from their mothers. The videotapes were later coded on a scale (adapted from Aram & Levin, 2001) of mothers?? writing facilitation techniques. Scores on this scale of maternal mediation of Pinyin uniquely explained children??s reading of Chinese words, but not writing of Chinese words, after statistically controlling for maternal education and age, and children??s non-verbal IQ, age, and phonological awareness. At time 2, 22 of the children from time 1 were further tested on Chinese word reading and word reading task 1?year later. After controlling for children??s age and non-verbal IQ, maternal Pinyin mediation uniquely explained 6% of the variance in children??s word writing and 7% of the variance in children??s word reading performance at time 2. Results underscore the potential importance of the maternal scaffolding role for reading acquisition both theoretically and practically in a domain not previously explored (i.e., use of a common coding system (Pinyin) for learning to read, rather than word reading itself).     

A comparative study of the impact of mainstream and special school placement on the behaviour of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The current study examined the impact of school placement in mainstream or special settings on the behavioural functioning of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Children were assessed at the start of the school year and then again at the end of the school year using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. Children with ASD made improvements in both types of placements; however, those children in specialist provisions made greater improvements in areas of conduct and socialisation. These results confirm other recent demonstrations of superior performance in special schools for children with ASD. The need to re‐address specialist school placement as a viable alternative to mainstream education for children with ASD is discussed.     

A Comprehensive Plan for Library Support of Online and Extended Education

ABSTRACT

Acknowledging Arizona State University's (ASU) long-term goal of 100,000 students in online degree programs and recognizing the 8 new 100% online undergraduate programs slated to come online in 2010, ASU Libraries is planning for the continued integration and relevance of the library to online students and programs. During the summer and fall of 2009, the ASU Libraries Task Force for Online and Extended Education met to develop the elements of a Comprehensive Plan for Library Support of Online Programs. The plan includes: (1) guiding principles for library support of online and extended education; (2) a needs assessment and environmental scan; and (3) a sustainable and scalable plan for library support of the online programs. This article discusses the process of developing the comprehensive plan.     

Pond life that ‘know their place’: exploring teaching and learning support assistants’ experiences through positioning theory

Teaching and learning support assistants (TLSAs) are notoriously underpaid and undervalued as members of school workforces in England and elsewhere in the world, where the discourse of support has worked to legitimize their poor status. This article reports and explores empirical findings through the lens of positioning theory. This theoretical approach has revealed ways in which the positions occupied by TLSAs are consolidated in social acts and discursive practices that contribute to a narrative that is shared and understood by those positioned and those positioning. The multiplicity of, and sometimes competing, positions occupied by TLSAs are revealed through different readings of the collective storylines of pond life and knowing one’s place that determine a set of social and occupational practices. These serve to illustrate the discursive fights TLSAs were engaged in to assert their professionalism in schools and to challenge their low status.     

Teacher Professional Development Through a Collaborative Curriculum Project – an Example of TPACK in Maine

Maine’s one-to-one laptop program provides an ideal opportunity to explore conditions that optimize teacher integration of technology-focused curriculum into the classroom. EcoScienceWorks (ESW) is an ecology curriculum that includes targeted simulations and a code block programming challenge developed through an NSF-ITEST grant. The project was designed as a collaboration that included simulation software developers; middle school science teachers; the Maine laptop program; environmental educators; an external evaluator; and a lead organization experienced in teacher guided curriculum development. Thus, each of the elements of TPACK (technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge) worked together to produce the final ecology simulation-centered curriculum. In 2008–2009, the ESW curriculum became available statewide through the Maine laptop program. Partner teachers have transitioned their classrooms to more learning-centered environments through the use of technology and have become teacher leaders. The collaborative approach to technology focused curriculum development used in this project is a model for TPACK professional development.     

Preparing teachers to teach pupils with special educational needs in more inclusive schools: evaluating a PGCE development

As we move towards a more inclusive education system in the UK, there is a real need to equip teachers to work in more diverse classrooms from the start of their teaching careers. In this article, Gill Golder, teaching and research fellow (physical education), Brahm Norwich, Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, and Phil Bayliss, senior lecturer in special educational needs and education studies, all based in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of Exeter, describe developments in Exeter's secondary phase Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme. The authors set their account in the context of policy requirements in England and international trends towards more inclusive teacher education. They report on an initiative designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes of trainee teachers and to equip them to differentiate their teaching to meet the individual needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs. This initiative involved all trainees working intensively with one pupil, supported by the SENCo in their teaching practice school. Building towards a form of dispersed teacher preparation that may have applications in other contexts, the programme offered student teachers a systematic strategy for individualised teaching and the support of web-based resources. Gill Golder, Brahm Norwich and Phil Bayliss include evaluations from student teachers, SENCos and principal subject tutors in their report. They conclude that this is a promising way of working, which highlights the national and international need to develop practical ways of enhancing initial teacher education in relation to special educational needs and inclusion.