The effectiveness of a special school experience for improving preservice teachers’ efficacy to teach children with special educational needs and disabilities

Increasingly, preservice teachers are required to demonstrate their ability to effectively cater for the needs of a diverse range of learners, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Higher education institutions (HEI) delivering teacher education programmes are responsible for promoting the development of inclusive practices. This multi-method study assessed the effectiveness of a special school experience for preservice teachers at one HEI in England. A total population sample of 48 preservice teachers completed self-efficacy questionnaires at three time points during their training; and 13 took part in qualitative semi-structured interviews towards the end of the study. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) findings from the questionnaire data showed that the experience had a significant positive impact on preservice teachers’ self-efficacy, improving knowledge, understanding and confidence to teach inclusively. A thematic analysis of the qualitative findings revealed that the experience challenged preservice teacher expectations about learners with SEND, developing understanding about learner needs and effective differentiation. This article concludes with recommendations for effective inclusion training for preservice teachers.     

Pasifika students: teachers and parents voice their perceptions of what provides supports and barriers to Pasifika students' achievement in literacy and learning

The changing ethnic population of schools in New Zealand challenges our educators to respond proactively in reviewing how students from minority groups develop effective literacy and learning skills. Pasifika students' achievement levels in literacy, particularly reading and writing literacy, has been an area of national focus for the Ministry of Education, teachers, teacher educators and the Pasifika community. For many students from a minority ethnic group, the interpretation of texts from a different culture provides challenges for teachers that require mediation in the construction of meaning. Our previous research accordingly asked Years 5–9 Pasifika students in mainstream schools in the South Island of New Zealand to tell us what they saw as supports and barriers to their literacy learning. The study that is the subject of this present article built on that research by asking the teachers and parents of Pasifika students in a cluster of schools to state what they thought supported or hindered literacy learning for these youngsters. Our particular aim was to enhance identification and understanding of pedagogical practices and family/community factors which influence literacy learning outcomes for Pasifika students during the primary school years. The research found that Pasifika students' literacy learning, and overall learning, was more likely to be enhanced when Pasifika values, language identities and cultural knowledge were made an implicit part of teaching and learning practices.     

Hierarchical Models of Social Competence in Preschool Children: A Multisite,Multinational Study

The generality of a multilevel factorial model of social competence (SC) for preschool children was tested in a 5‐group, multinational sample (N = 1,540) using confirmatory factor analysis. The model fits the observed data well, and tests constraining paths for measured variables to their respective first‐order factors across samples also fit well. Equivalence of measurement models was found at sample and sex within‐sample levels but not for age within sample. In 2 groups, teachers’ ratings were examined as correlates of SC indicators. Composites of SC indicators were significantly associated with both positive and negative child attributes from the teachers’ ratings. The findings contribute to understanding of both methodological and substantive issues concerning SC in young children.     

Effective Early Literacy Skill Development for Young Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners: An Experimental Study of Two Methods

Ninety-four Spanish-speaking preschoolers ( M age = 54.51 months, SD  = 4.72; 43 girls) were randomly assigned to receive the High/Scope Curriculum (control n =  32) or the Literacy Express Preschool Curriculum in English-only ( n =  31) or initially in Spanish transitioning to English ( n =  31). Children's emergent literacy skills were assessed before and after the intervention in Spanish and English. Children in the English-only and transitional groups made significant gains in their emergent literacy skills in both Spanish and English compared to the control group, The English-only and transitional models were equally effective for English language outcomes, but for Spanish-language outcomes, only the transitional model was effective. The results suggest that a targeted early literacy intervention can improve Spanish-speaking preschoolers' preliteracy skills.     

Temperament, Harsh and Indulgent Parenting, and Chinese Children's Proactive and Reactive Aggression

This study examined the additive and interactive effects of temperament and harsh and indulgent parenting on Chinese children's proactive and reactive aggression. Participants were 401 children ( M age = 9.29 years, 203 girls) and their parents who were recruited from 2 elementary schools in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The results showed that children's sensation seeking was associated with proactive aggression, whereas anger/frustration was associated with reactive aggression. Both subtypes of aggression were negatively related to children's effortful control but positively related to harsh parenting. Significant Temperament × Temperament and Parenting × Temperament interactions were also found. The findings point to similarities and differences between proactive and reactive aggression in relation to children's temperament and harsh and indulgent parenting in the Chinese context.     

Web-enhanced case-based activity in teacher education: a case study

Recent work in case-based reasoning (CBR) reinforces the importance of situated learning, expert cases, and authentic tasks and activities for novice learners. As novices engage CBR environments, they apprentice in the experts’ practices while developing the understanding, knowledge and skill of a given community. This study examined how prospective teachers, as novices in a semester-long course, engaged and developed expert-like practices using the case knowledge of experienced teachers who teach with technology. By engaging experienced teachers’ knowledge and skill via Web-enhanced cases, prospective teachers refined their understanding of teaching culture and teaching with technology as they transitioned to the teaching community.     

Effects of a Brief Mindfulness Based Group Intervention On College Students

Increases in the number of college students seeking mental health services require counseling centers to explore innovative strategies to provide effective and efficient treatments. Group interventions offer an alternative to traditional individual counseling, allowing centers to serve more students with fewer clinical staff (Burlingame et al., 2016). Of current group modalities, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been growing in popularity as an effective approach for addressing college students’ increasingly complex needs. This study describes the evaluation of a three-session mindfulness-based intervention on students’ mindfulness, symptoms, and stress. Compared to a comparison group of 109 students not seeking counseling center services, 78 students who received the intervention reported increased mindfulness, and decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress at the end of the group. Furthermore, improvements in mindfulness mediated intervention effects on symptoms of depression and anxiety. These gains were generally maintained 3 weeks later. These findings support the benefits of brief group interventions for college students. Suggestions for modifications to the intervention and for future research are discussed.     

Acute kinematics changes in marathon runners using different footwear

The effects of running with or without shoes on injury prevention have been extensively studied, and several investigations have assessed biomechanical differences between them. However, findings are not consensual and further insights on biomechanical load associated with differently shod or barefoot conditions may be needed. This study aimed to observe if habitually shod marathon runners show acute alterations when running barefoot or with minimalist shoes, and to determine whether the running kinematical adaptations of wearing minimalist shoes were similar to barefoot running. Twelve male marathon runners ran on the treadmill at their average marathon pace in different footwear conditions: habitual running shoes, minimalist shoes, and barefoot. High-resolution infrared cameras and visual 3D software were used to assess kinematic data. The following parameters were studied: foot strike angle, cycle time, stance time, normalized stride length, hip, knee, and ankle angular position at initial contact, and their respective range-of-motion (ROM) during stance phase. Contrary to the expectations, it was found that highly trained habitually shod elite marathon runners changed their lower limb kinematic pattern both when running barefoot or wearing minimalist shoes. Minimalist shoes showed a trend towards intermediate biomechanical effects between running with and without shoes.     

“You have to do something beyond containing”: developing inclusive systems in a partnership of primary schools

Reducing fixed term exclusions (FTE) in primary schools is a difficult proposition. This research discusses how a partnership of primary schools developed more inclusive systems to support students previously given FTEs for disciplinary purposes. Longitudinal data from interviews and documentary sources trace the development of an approach amongst primary schools with previously high levels of FTE. The process of developing a model of transferred inclusion (TI) within the partnership led to schools changing practices around behaviour management, thus developing more inclusive systems. The paper elaborates on partnership work around the TI project that opened up discussion and questioning of practice around behaviour, leading to schools thinking about their systemic practice. The benefits of TI, therefore, were a prompt for development, rather than just an intervention to reduce exclusions. Changes in practice supported through the TI process lead to claims that substantive change would not have happened without the TI project.