Educators’ Challenges of Including Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Classrooms

Although children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly being placed within mainstream classes, little is known about the challenges that teachers encounter with including them as full participants in the class. This qualitative study draws on a purposive sample of 13 educators who have experience teaching children with ASD within two cities in Ontario, Canada. Through in-depth interviews we asked about teachers’ challenges regarding creating an inclusive environment within their classroom. Teachers reported several challenges, including: understanding and managing behaviour; socio-structural barriers (i.e., school policy, lack of training and resources); and creating an inclusive environment (i.e., lack of understanding from other teachers, students and parents). Teachers recommend that more resources, training and support are needed to enhance the education and inclusion of children with ASD.     

Destabilising equilibriums: harnessing the power of disruption in participatory action research

ABSTRACT

This article draws on insights gained from three projects described as participatory action research (PAR) undertaken in the UK. What binds them together is that each project coordinator raised the issue of the under-representation of opportunities for disruption in the possible trajectory to knowledge democracy.

PAR places a relational process at the centre of the research practice. It brings together people with varied knowledges, perspectives and experiences and aspires to be a non-hierarchical, relational, collaborative endeavour. This challenges the traditional hierarchical hegemony of the external expert in research situations. Bringing people together does not, however, equate to shared agency, authentic participation and knowledge democracy. For different knowledges to be created previous knowledges need to be disrupted.The argument raised in this paper is that a neglected element of PAR has been the deliberate intent to nurture disruption within communicative spaces in relationally based engagements. It is posited that the disruption of beliefs and assumptions that underpin local actions, is an important enabler of other voices and knowledges being recognised and acted upon. The three projects described reveal how and why the harnessing of power through disruption contributes to creating a functional knowledge democracy for more radical change.     

Optimizing the breakaway position in cycle races using mathematical modelling

In long-distance competitive cycling, efforts to mitigate the effects of air resistance can significantly reduce the energy expended by the cyclist. A common method to achieve such reductions is for the riders to cycle in one large group, known as the peloton. However, to win a race a cyclist must break away from the peloton, losing the advantage of drag reduction and riding solo to cross the finish line ahead of the other riders. If the rider breaks away too soon then fatigue effects due to the extra pedal force required to overcome the additional drag will result in them being caught by the peloton. On the other hand, if the rider breaks away too late then they will not maximize their time advantage over the main field. In this paper, we derive a mathematical model for the motion of the peloton and breakaway rider and use asymptotic analysis techniques to derive analytical solutions for their behaviour. The results are used to predict the optimum time for a rider to break away that maximizes the finish time ahead of the peloton for a given course profile and rider statistics.     

Imagined Adulthood: Resources,plans and contradictions

In this paper we illustrate the contradictory consequences of female individualization by exploring young people's imagined futures, drawing on an analysis of 'lifelines' collected as part of an ongoing longitudinal qualitative study of young people's transitions to adulthood. We discuss the method and compare lifelines across the sample. We suggest that while there are areas of consensus (such as the hetero-normative goal of marriage and children by 35) the traditionally gendered transitions to adulthood are under pressure, a pressure that is exerted most strongly by working class young people. Through three contrasting case studies we illustrate how the ways in which young people imagine their futures are constrained by the resources and possibilities of their particular social locations.     

The Role of Communication in Public Opinion Processes: Understanding the Impacts of Intrapersonal, Media, and Social Filters

This study examined multiple factors associated with the processof public opinion including relevant predispositions, mediause, interpersonal discussion, and perceptions of communityopinion in order to test a theoretical model of public opinion.We conceptualized these factors as intrapersonal, media, andsocial ‘filters’ within the public opinion process.To test the impact of these filters, we conducted a survey withtwo independent samples—the first sample was collectedduring the introduction phase of a community ballot issue andthe second just a week before the issue vote. Findings indicateall three filters impacted public opinion regarding the ballotissue. Within these filters, important subprocesses were analyzedto better understand each filter's contribution to the formationof public opinion. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression equationsused to test the proposed process model revealed that the intrapersonalfilter accounted for a substantial amount of the overall variancein public opinion, but that media and social filters were alsoimportant predictors. Results highlight the importance of communicationvariables in the formation of public opinion. Received for publication May 4, 2006. Accepted for publication April 19, 2007.     

‘It just makes you feel invincible’: a Foucauldian analysis of children's experiences of organised team sports

The childhood years are highlighted as a crucial time when ongoing participation in physical activity can be nurtured and maintained. The nurturing of a child's proclivity to participate in organised sport normally falls into the domain of adults. While both parents and coaches have been identified as key influences on children's enjoyment of sport, some negative perceptions exist about their roles. Although children's perspectives are increasingly being acknowledged as valuable, it would appear that young children are still marginalised as active participants in areas of health-related research. The primary objective of this study was to give space to children's views of organised sport and to examine how adult behaviours affected these children's enjoyment of sport. This qualitative study utilised eight focus group interviews with a total of 30 children (aged 6–11 years) in the Greater Auckland area of New Zealand. This paper presents a Foucauldian discourse analysis of children's views relating to their sporting experiences. Children articulated three discursive constructions of sport: sport as competition, sport as fun and sport as fair play. The dominance of sport as competition would appear to serve the needs of coaches and parents more than those of children. Coaches who appear to be firmly positioned within a competitive discourse of sport use their power to support coaching practices that clash with the guidelines provided for them by their sporting bodies. Our analysis shows that many children may be exposed to discursive practices that are not conducive to a child-centred sporting environment. Through the exercise of disciplinary measures, there is pressure on children to conform to the normative behaviours associated with a dominant competitive sport discourse.