The Concept of Inclusive Education: Teacher Training and Acquisition of English Language in the Hearing Impaired

Three languages are widely used in schools in Kenya – English, Kiswahili and Kenya Sign Language. Many pupils with hearing impairments are taught separately from the mainstream, in specialist settings. The fact that most of the formal teaching, assessment and examination processes in Kenyan schools rely upon spoken and written English compounds the separation of these pupils from the mainstream of education and, potentially, from the mainstream of society. In this article, Gertrude Wamae, graduate assistant in the Department of English and Linguistics at Kenyatta University, and Rachael Kang'ethe-Kamau, lecturer in the Department of Special Education at Kenyatta University, discuss the relationships between language, hearing impairment and inclusion in the Kenyan context. The article suggests that the use of signed exact English would enhance opportunities for inclusion for those with hearing impairments and that programmes of teacher training need to take account of persuasive research in this area. The article closes with a plea for further research, carried out collaboratively by educationalists, linguists, teacher trainers and practitioners, to develop policies and practices suited to more inclusive futures. The article is based on a paper presented to the International Conference on Inclusive Education run by Maseno University in September 2002.     

Whiteboards,Blanket Forts,and Autonomy: Using Self-Determination Theory to Improve Library De-Stress Programming

In recent years, librarians at Valparaiso University have adopted a user-centered programming model, allowing students to choose their own library de-stress programs during finals. After several semesters of using this approach, the authors sought to examine whether students felt a sense of agency in suggesting and voting on programs and whether this agency affected students’ motivation to attend de-stress programs. The authors conducted two focus groups with undergraduate students. Results suggest that most students are more interested in attending programs that they personally suggested or voted for, deriving intrinsic rewards from the autonomy of having their voices heard.     

‘Now the Scene Appears Chang’d’: Amabel Countess De Grey,Lifecycles and the Visitor Experience of English Watering Places, 1775–1826

This article examines the visitor experience of England’s watering places during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Using the diaries and correspondence of Amabel Countess De Grey, it explores the ways in which the motivations, expectations and activities of elite female visitors changed as they reached different stages in their lifecycle. Discussion focuses on the use of mineral waters as a medical treatment; how patterns of sociability differed between spas and seaside resorts; and how attitudes and habits changed with age.     

A knock to the system: A new sociotechnical systems approach to sport-related concussion

Broader contextual factors that influence concussion management have tended to be overlooked. To address this, the present study used a sociotechnical systems approach to identify perceived responsibilities and applied strategies for three domains of concussion management (i.e., prevention, identification and treatment). Participants were 118 members of the community rugby union system in Australia (69.2% male). Participants from throughout the rugby system (e.g., players, parents, coaches, club management) were asked open-ended questions about their perceived responsibilities and the strategies they use for concussion management. It was found that (a) proper training, technique correction and education were recurrent prevention themes; (b) the majority of key stakeholders felt that they could consistently identify concussion; however, medical aids (medics) were the only system actors who stated a responsibility to use standardised concussion assessment measures and (c) less than one third of the respondents indicated their involvement in treating concussion. This study identifies specific junctures in the system that prevents effective concussion management strategies. A sociotechnical systems approach improves the understanding of concussion prevention, and management beliefs and behaviours.     

Information recall of younger and older skilled athletes: The role of display complexity,attentional resources and visual exposure duration

This study was concerned with the interactive role of experience of athletic skill with other relevant environmental variables (display complexity, attentional resources, exposure time of stimuli) on perception (recall) of structured handball game situations. Nineteen experienced (older) and 19 less experienced (younger) handball players were assigned randomly either to ball‐bouncing (diverted attention) or to calm seated (focused attention) conditions. In each of the two conditions, the subjects were exposed to a total of 36 slides containing 2–3, 5–6 and 8–10 players. Eighteen slides were exposed for 0.5 s and 18 for 1.0 s. All the slides contained structured defence and offence situations. Recall scores were subjected to repeated‐measures ANOVA using attention condition and age as between‐subject factors and task complexity and exposure duration as within‐subject factors. The results showed that the recall of less experienced players deteriorated more than the recall of more experienced players following exposure to complex displays (≥ 8 players) while engaging in a secondary task (bouncing). The findings suggest that research paradigms should be applied in the field of sport which share both ecological validity and a potential to discover the cognitive substrates underlying experience and age in skilled motor performance.     

When screens replace backyards: strategies to connect digital-media-oriented young people to nature

Abstract

Children’s connection to nature (CTN) is declining with each generation, a concerning trend given that CTN is positively linked to wellbeing and environmentalism. A primary cause of this decline is that twenty-first-century youth engage with screens for several hours each day, which to a large extent replaces nature-based play. Researchers have proposed that this change represents a transition in human orientation, particularly in Westernized societies, from nature (biophilia) to digital media (videophilia). Interventions promoting nature-based play must acknowledge digital-media use as a competing leisure pursuit, but the literature presents little guidance for designing programs that will attract young people who are more oriented toward digital media than nature. Drawing on a wide breadth of research, we address this gap through (1) exploring the implications of videophilia for nature-based programming and (2) summarizing recommendations from a narrative literature review for designing interventions that appeal to digital-media-oriented youth.     

Students' reasoning about chemical bonding: The lacuna of repulsion

This article concerns a lacuna in chemistry students' reasoning about chemical bonding. Although chemistry students are familiar with the charges that make up the atom––both positive and negative––they refer only to the attraction between unlike charges. Specifically, they ignore the repulsion between the positive nuclei. We named this disregard of repulsion the lacuna of repulsion. Repulsion is a crucial component in the force-based explanation of chemical bonding, presenting the bond as a dynamic equilibrium between attraction and repulsion electrical forces. We noticed this lacuna incidentally while interviewing chemistry students for a bigger project aimed at supporting students in understanding the force-based explanation of chemical bonding. This article describes our systematic qualitative study of the lacuna of repulsion and its impact on mental models of 23 high school chemistry students. Our findings show that students use six mental models, most of them built upon each other. Beginning from a simple mental model that describes the chemical bond as electrons, continuing with the including attraction forces, and completing with repulsion and a dynamic view of the bond. Only when one considers both attraction and repulsion forces and understands the dynamic balance between them is it possible to build the force-based dynamic mental model of chemical bonding.     

Silent Partners: Developing a Critical Understanding of Community Partners in Technical Communication Service-Learning Pedagogies

Although many technical communication teachers and programs integrate some form of service-learning pedagogy, there is a dearth of technical communication research on the silent partners of these projects: the community partners. Drawing upon research data from 14 former community partners of professional writing service-learning courses, the authors suggest that understanding community partners’ own self-defined stakes in service-learning projects can challenge hyperpragmatist representations of community partners and aid us in the continued creation, management, and critical evaluation of service-learning pedagogies and curricula.