Inclusion of Children with Disabilities: The Philippines Experience

In striving to educate as many children as possible and with limited funds to build a separate special education infrastructure to cater to the needs of children with disabilities, inclusive education was officially adopted in 1997 by the Department of Education in the Philippines as a viable educational alternative. This article reports on the current state of affairs for including children with disabilities within regular schools in the Philippines. The ‘Silahis Centres’ (‘school within the school’ concept) is presented as a feasible model for implementing and promoting the inclusion of children with disabilities within regular schools throughout the Philippines. Other aspects related to inclusive education such as teacher education, policies as well as lessons learned so far from inclusion efforts and future challenges are also described.     

An Attempt To Measure and Facilitate Counselor Effectiveness

This study evaluated the use of Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) with videotape (as opposed to more traditional methods) in improving the effectiveness of practicum students. The practicum students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (a) a video-IPR, (b) an audio-IPR, and (c) supervision using an audiotape of a regular counseling session. Three judges were asked to rate videotapes of 54 practicum students conducting their final counseling session with a coached client. The judges rated two time-samplings of the final session by means of a scale consisting of three parts: (a) 33 behavioral and feeling items, (b) a single global evaluation representing the normal curve with the baseline divided into eight equal segments, and (c) a request for the judges to write any adjectives or phases that they felt described the practicum student. The results were not as convincing as had been anticipated. This article discusses possible reasons that the results were not convincing and implications the results have for future research within this area of counselor education.     

Designing Curriculum-Based Mathematics Professional Development for Kindergarten Teachers

This study examines the influence of a year-long mathematics professional development program on Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs, content knowledge, instructional practices, and their students’ achievement. The professional development program is grounded in the theoretical construct of learner-centered professional development and focuses on supporting teachers’ integration of standards-based pedagogies aligned with the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. Data analysis included examining 15 Kindergarten teachers’ mathematics content knowledge, their beliefs about mathematics, their enactment of student-centered pedagogies, and student achievement on curriculum-based assessments. Findings indicated that teachers adopted more student-centered pedagogies and embraced more student-centered beliefs about mathematics teaching during their time in the project. Further, Kindergarten teachers also demonstrated gains in their mathematical content knowledge, and those content knowledge gains were linked to gains in student achievement.     

Record Values and Surviving Glacial Moraines

Estimating the number of glacial advances from surviving glacial debris can, amazingly enough, be cast as a records problem for which there is a substantial statistical literature. As a result, instructors may illustrate method of moments and maximum‐likelihood estimation techniques with an interesting problem in the physical sciences.     

Enhancing nursing home care for seniors: impact of a living classroom on nursing assistant’s education

ABSTRACT

Nursing Assistants (NAs) are the largest workforce in nursing homes, but often lack adequate preparation for their role. The Living Classroom (LC) is an integrated learning approach, whereby a NA program is delivered in a nursing home (NH) in collaboration with a community college. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of the LC. Mixed methods were used to gather data from 48 NA students, 5 faculty, and 42 NH staff over 30 weeks. Students, faculty, and nursing home staff described the LC as a positive learning experience. Students’ gerontological knowledge increased over time (p = .0012). Students reported very positive relationships with program mentors and NH residents. The LC provides a unique approach to prepare NAs to work in nursing homes. This model could expand to other educational programs with a gerontology focus.     

Assessment of Teacher Reactions to a Standards-Based Teacher Evaluation System: A Pilot Study*

This article reports on teachers' reactions to a pilot implementation of a new standards-based teacher evaluation system in a medium-sized Midwestern school district. The system, based on the Framework for Teaching (Danielson, 1996), was intended to serve as the foundation for a new knowledge and skill pay plan for teachers. Teacher reactions were measured using both interview and survey methods. Teachers' overall favorableness toward the system, as measured by the survey, was correlated with acceptance of the teaching standards, perception of the evaluation process as fair and the evaluator as capable and objective, and perception that the evaluation system had a positive impact on their teaching. In interviews, teachers perceived both positive and negative aspects of the system, and for many these more or less balanced each other. While most teachers accepted the evaluation standards and the need for an evaluation system, many also perceived that the system added too much to teachers' workloads and did not provide enough feedback. Based on these results several changes were made in the evaluation system prior to full implementation. The results are discussed with reference to previous research and the Personnel Evaluation Standards.     

The relationship between school belonging,sibling aggression and bullying involvement: implications for students with and without disabilities

Bullying is grounded in the interactions between an individual and complex social–ecological systems. Therefore, bullying involvement is not just confined to the classroom or school. Recent research suggests that sibling aggression may be a predictor for peer-level aggression. These findings may be more relevant for students with disabilities because studies suggest that students with disabilities are disproportionately involved in the bullying dynamic. Therefore, this study explored the intersection between sibling aggression and school belonging on bullying, victimisation and fighting for 14,508 students, including 1183 students with disabilities and 13,325 students without disabilities in grades 6 through 12. As hypothesised, students with disabilities reported higher levels of victimisation, bullying and fighting. Additionally, high levels of school belonging partially buffered fighting and bullying behaviours for students with and without disabilities. These findings demonstrate the importance of establishing an inclusive and safe environment for school-aged youth.     

Progress monitoring with objective measures of writing performance for students with mild disabilities

To adequately monitor progress in writing, a test must show stability and demonstrate a performance profile over time that parallels those of accepted criterion measures. This study investigated the technical adequacy of seven objective indexes of writing quality in monitoring the progress of 36 middle school (Grades 6-8) students with mild disabilities over a 6-month period. The stability of each index was assessed. Holistic ratings of the same writing samples and the Test of Written Language served as validation criteria. Three indexes were moderately correlated with holistic ratings, but were not sufficiently stable over time. Direct, objective writing assessment must be used with caution for progress monitoring, given our present lack of precision in measuring the complex task of writing.