Parental experiences of dealing with disputes in Additional Support Needs in Scotland: why are parents not engaging with mediation?

Partnerships with parents, particularly in the field of education, have featured prominently in policy rhetoric for many years, but routes of redress have not had much attention until relatively recently. The development of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the UK reflects the situation in several jurisdictions (e.g. Norway, Germany, the Netherlands) where citizens can choose not to go to court to resolve administrative disputes. Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning [ASL]) (Scotland) Act 2004 local authorities must establish and publicise procedures for identifying and meeting the needs of children requiring additional support for learning. The Act and Code of Practice advocate early intervention to prevent disagreements about the provision for additional support from escalating into more serious disputes, with local authorities required to provide information about, and access to, independent mediation for parents. In Scotland the ASL Act 2004 has resulted in four routes available for redress in the area of Additional Support Needs which include both mediation and litigation type processes: ? Informal mediation

? Formal mediation

? Adjudication

? Tribunal

This article uses case study information from parents in three local authorities in Scotland to explore why independent mediation is being under-used by schools and parents, and what factors influence this. Questions are raised regarding the large numbers of parents who are unaware of mediation, the attitudes towards and use of independent mediation by local authorities and the suitability of independent mediation, particularly when the dispute is over resources.     

Constructive Interference: Wikis And Service Learning In The Technical Communication Classroom

Four service-learning projects were conducted in technical communication courses using wikis. Results confirm previous findings that wikis improve collaboration, help develop student expertise, and enact a “writing with the community” service-learning paradigm. However, wikis did not decenter the writing classroom as predicted by previous work. Instructors using wikis to scaffold client projects should calibrate standards for evaluation with students and client, and they may need to encourage clients to stay active on the wiki.     

Assessing a novel application of web-based technology to support implementation of school wellness policies and prevent obesity

Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing public health concerns in the United States. Because schools are a critical site to promote wellness and prevent obesity, extensive policy and legislative efforts have focused on school-based food services, nutrition education, physical education, and overall physical activity. Unfortunately, research indicates that most of these policies prove ineffective due to insufficient implementation. A small number of web-based programs have emerged that are designed to support the implementation of school wellness policies. The purpose of the current study is to present and interpret findings from an evaluation of the web-based portion of a program implemented throughout the state of Pennsylvania. In total, 192 registered users completed a survey designed to evaluate their utilization and perceptions of the web-based features of the Health eTools for Schools program. Participants represented the following stakeholder groups: school nurses, teachers, wellness coordinators, administrators, and food service directors. Findings indicate the web-based portion of the Health eTools for Schools program is comprehensive, well-designed, and has the potential to support implementation of school wellness policies geared toward obesity prevention. At present, the web-based features are most effective in providing school nurses with tools and resources to execute their roles related to obesity prevention. Applications supporting other groups such as teachers and food service directors require further development to be equally effective. The number of programs with this focus is likely to increase and further research is needed to address other aspects of these programs as well as their impact on student level outcomes such as eating habits, body mass index, physical activity levels, and physical fitness.