Towards Inclusive Learning Environments (TILE): Developing the ‘Roadmap for the Inclusion of Students with Special Educational Needs in Vocational Education and Workplace Settings’

Twenty years after UNESCO's Salamanca Statement enshrined international action for provision for children, youth and adults with special educational needs within the regular educational system, this article presents the current underpinning international and national UK context for developing inclusion in vocational education and training and workplace settings. This context is explored through the justification for developing an EU‐funded project entitled ‘Towards Inclusive Learning Environments (TILE)’ and the creation of an associated audit tool, the ′Roadmap for Inclusion′, by a partnership group consisting of universities and VET settings from Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia and England.     

NAVIGATING SOCIAL NETWORKING AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY: ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN TRAINING PROGRAMS

Social networking and social media have undoubtedly proliferated within the past decade, allowing widespread communication and dissemination of user‐generated content and information. Some psychology graduate programs, including school psychology, have started to embrace social networking and media for instructional and training purposes; however, there have not been any consistent ethical guidelines or standards among training programs relating to how trainers, graduate students, and practitioners should use social networking and social media professionally. This article draws on the current yet limited research on social networking and social media, and addresses the ethical challenges when managing both professional and personal online identities in school psychology. Two relevant case scenarios are discussed, along with suggested guidelines for developing technological policies for school psychologists. Future directions in research and practical implications for trainers, graduate students, and practitioners are explored.     

Primary Health Care Providers' Knowledge Gaps on Parkinson's Disease

In order to determine primary health care providers' (PCPs) knowledge gaps on Parkinson's disease, data were collected before and after a one-hour continuing medical education (CME) lecture on early Parkinson's disease recognition and treatment from a sample of 104 PCPs participating at an annual meeting. The main outcome measure was the proportion of questions answered correctly by each PCP before the lecture. We measured the change in proportion of correct answers before and after the lecture (delta). Ninety-nine percent of the PCPs who attended the lecture returned the questionnaire. The level of knowledge on Parkinson's disease before the lecture was relatively low, particularly in management (61.4%) and diagnosis (34.4%). PCPs' perceived knowledge was not associated with the number of correct responses on management at baseline. Test scores significantly improved after the CME lecture. Our results show that PCPs' baseline knowledge of diagnosis and management of Parkinson's disease and self-perceived knowledge on this topic are relatively limited. Appropriately, United States reaccreditation programs do not only rely on self-perception. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the impact of CME in knowledge retention and patient care in Parkinson's disease.     

The reform of post‐16 education and training and the lessons from Europe

Abstract

With the future shape of Britain's post‐16 education and training still undecided policy makers are increasingly looking abroad for new models to follow. The educational debate has become internationalized. As in the late 19th century it is the pressure of economic competition from Europe which has galvanized British interest in the relative ‘success’ of training in countries such as France and Germany.

This paper examines the current use and misuse of comparative examples in British debates over reform. It analyses the systems of vocational education and training (VET) in France, Germany, and Sweden and assesses what lessons, if any, we can draw from them for the reform of British VET.     

Cultural dimensions of decisions about educational participation among 14‐ to 19‐year‐olds: the parts that Tomlinson doesn't reach

The continued increase in levels of educational participation and patterns of attainment among young people from less advantaged social backgrounds suggests that class cultures can no longer be seen as providing significant barriers to educational progression. Indeed, it can be argued that this increase in educational participation has been facilitated by a processes of cultural convergence in which the benefits derived from qualifications are more or less universally acknowledged. At the same time, it is clear that some young people are put in positions at school that effectively promote processes of cultural resistance as survival strategies.

This paper provides an overview of some of the ways in which class cultures impact on patterns of educational participation. It draws on three recent studies in an attempt to differentiate barriers to educational progress that can be tackled through school reforms from those that originate or are constantly reinforced in the community. In the light of these observations of the cultural dimensions of the educational decisions of 14‐ to 19‐year‐olds, a brief assessment is made of the likely impact of the Tomlinson proposals.