Opportunities for a democratic pedagogy: a comparative study of South African and Swedish teachers' attitudes to inclusive education

This paper is based upon the collaboration between two research groups from Stockholm University and the University of South Africa. The main objective is to compare attitudes between South African (SA) and Swedish teachers regarding inclusive education (IE). IE in this paper is examined as a distinct part of the Swedish welfare system. The method used can be characterised as a combined, quantitative and qualitative research design with a purposive sampling. A similar adapted questionnaire was distributed in the two countries. The Swedish teachers in our data are more pro‐inclusion and more hesitating to accommodate learners with barriers in special schools. However, both the Swedish and the SA teachers in the study are hesitating towards the feasibility to implement IE practically. A team approach is concluded to be an adequate pedagogy for supporting IE both in South Africa and Sweden.     

TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN TWO LANGUAGES: A TEACHING DILEMMA OF MALAYSIAN CHINESE PRIMARY SCHOOLS

This paper discusses a teaching dilemma faced by mathematics teachers in the Malaysian Chinese primary schools in coping with the latest changes in language policy. In 2003, Malaysia launched a new language policy of teaching mathematics using English as the language of instruction in all schools. However, due to the complex sociocultural demands of the Malaysian Chinese community, mathematics is taught in both Mandarin and English in the Malaysian Chinese primary schools. Teachers faced the dilemma of code-switching between English and Mandarin particularly in low-performing classes. A substantial amount of class time was spent in translating, especially the mathematical terminologies. Findings of this study imply that further research studies are needed to examine the effectiveness of teaching mathematics bilingually versus monolingually in a Malaysian context.     

Land of misfit toys: Mothers’ perceptions of educational environments for their children with Down syndrome

Inclusive education is defined as educating students with disabilities in general education programmes with their non‐disabled peers. In order to create a successful learning environment for all children, general and special educators must be responsive to all students’ needs. Although inclusive education practices were developed over 15 years ago, some educators may be unwilling or unprepared to employ this model. A total of 546 teachers from 54 schools in southern New Jersey in the United States completed surveys to determine whether they displayed the dispositions, knowledge and skills necessary to implement inclusive education. Results of the surveys were analysed to determine whether significant differences in attitude and skill levels exist between special and general educators and the impact of their years of teaching on their readiness for inclusion. The analysis yielded an agreement that children with disabilities profit from interactions with non‐disabled peers. Although special educators appear more knowledgeable of inclusive practices, they are more likely to see the benefit of a segregated environment. Teachers with greater than seven years of experience voiced the continued need for administrative support, planning time and professional development opportunities.     

An investigation of relationships between students’ mathematical problem-posing abilities and their mathematical content knowledge

The importance of students’ problem-posing abilities in mathematics has been emphasized in the K-12 curricula in the USA and China. There are claims that problem-posing activities are helpful in developing creative approaches to mathematics. At the same time, there are also claims that students’ mathematical content knowledge could be highly related to creativity in mathematics, too. This paper reports on a study that investigated USA and Chinese high school students’ mathematical content knowledge, their abilities in mathematical problem posing, and the relationships between students’ mathematical content knowledge and their problem-posing abilities in mathematics.     

Teaching Clinical Social Work in Spanish: Cultural Competency in Mental Health

We have developed a new graduate elective in the MSW degree program called Evaluación e Intervención en Español (Assessment and Intervention in Spanish). This class, taught entirely in Spanish, is designed to train Spanish-speaking MSW students in culturally and linguistically competent clinical practice with Hispanic clients. In this case study, we summarize the course.     

Perception of self-selected running speed is influenced by the treadmill but not footwear

In this study, we examined whether self-selected overground running speed was consistent (1) with perceived overground speed on the treadmill and (2) among barefoot and three footwear conditions. Participants ran across a 20-m runway 10 times for each overground condition, with running speed calculated from kinematic data. For the treadmill condition, the participants were instructed to run at a speed that felt similar to their overground speed. This treadmill speed was chosen upon perception, with the display covered from the participant's view. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to detect differences in speed between overground and treadmill running, and also among barefoot and footwear conditions. Coefficient alpha (α) was calculated to determine repeatability of observations in each overground condition. The speed was higher during overground (3.65 ± 0.40 m/s) than treadmill (2.25 ± 0.75 m/s) running but did not differ among the barefoot and the three footwear conditions. Overall, overground speed was highly repeatable within an individual (α = 0.96–0.98). Researchers might consider using self-selected speed when investigating overground running mechanics with different foot–ground interface conditions. The influence of treadmill on the perception of speed may be related to shear force, running duration, joint load control, and/or other psychological factors.     

Non-librarian health professionals becoming librarians and information specialists: results of an Internet survey

OBJECTIVES: To obtain basic information about non-librarian health professionals who become librarians and information specialists. METHODS: The survey was a Web-based questionnaire. A non-random sample of persons was obtained by posting messages to several large Internet electronic discussion groups. Individuals who met the selection criteria and were willing to participate filled out a Web-based form designed using common gateway interface (CGI) programming. RESULTS: 118 forms were analyzed. Three subgroups of participants were identified and statistical comparisons among these groups were carried out for many of the quantitative questions. Information concerning reasons they left their original field; factors influencing their choice of the field of library and information science; reactions of family, friends, and colleagues; and interactions with patrons and other information about this group was obtained and summarized. A health sciences background was seen as helpful in the new career as information specialist. Most people were happy with their new profession despite negative reactions from colleagues, relatives, and, occasionally, patrons. Feelings of regret and abandonment of their patients were noted by some. Many persons did not know that peers had made similar career changes. CONCLUSIONS: A health sciences background imparts an expertise in both the vocabulary and subject matter of medicine that non-biomedical individuals would not ordinarily have. Although becoming a librarian may be perceived as a very positive career change for an individual, societal opinion and pressure can make such a career change difficult. Nevertheless, participants in this survey demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with their new careers and are quite happy with their work.