Characteristics of primary teacher training programmes on inclusion: a literature focus

Background: The implementation of inclusive education creates challenges for classroom teachers who have to meet the learning needs of students with and without special educational needs (SEN). Research has revealed that teachers’ readiness and willingness to accommodate the learning needs of students with SEN was determined by their training. Though much research on teacher training and inclusive education has been conducted over two decades, less is known about the adequacy of such training in terms of components and effectiveness.

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to present a focused analysis of: (1) studies that examined, in detail, the components of teacher training programmes for pre-service or in-service teachers in regular primary schools in terms of content, length, etc., and (2) consideration of the effectiveness of these training programmes.

Design and methods: The literature review was restricted to empirical studies published in international peer-reviewed journals after 1994 (i.e. since the Salamanca statement was signed) by using the electronic browser ‘EBSCO host Complete’. After applying the keywords ‘teacher’ and ‘educator’, they were combined with the following terms: training, disabilities, inclusion, inclusive education, impairment, special educational needs, children with special needs and disorder. The search was deliberately restricted to papers where study participants were pre-service or in-service teachers in regular primary schools, and ultimately yielded a small core of 13 studies for detailed review. The first research question was analysed in terms of the training programme’s structure and content, covering aspects such as type of disability, topic, length, medium of course delivery and learning activities. For the second research question, the effectiveness of the quantitative studies was evaluated based on the Cohen’s d effect size, whereas the qualitative studies were considered as effective based on the calculation of percentage of non-overlapping data (PND).

Conclusions: Analysis indicated that the majority of training programmes focused on attitude, knowledge and skills. The training programmes were also centred on what might be considered short-term practice and supplemented with field experiences. Although the training programmes appeared to have positive effects on teachers’ attitudes, knowledge and skills, follow-up sessions and students’ outcomes measures may increase training effectiveness.     

Dropout from Secondary Education: all's well that begins well

Despite the increased attention to students leaving secondary education without a diploma numerous students still dropout yearly. This paper makes a distinction between the ‘individual perspective’ and the ‘institutional perspective’ of dropping out. The former is explored by multinominal logit models. We observe that particularly motivation of the student and interest in schooling of his/her parents are crucial predictors of the individual dropout decision. The institutional perspective is examined by ordered logit models. In particular, we discuss the influence of the first year of secondary education by analyzing the large differences in the number of dropouts in Dutch first year classes. We observe that, more than motivation, the first year of secondary education is crucial in shaping the dropping out decision.     

Phonological Awareness and Rapid Automatized Naming as Longitudinal Predictors of Reading in Five Alphabetic Orthographies with Varying Degrees of Consistency

ABSTRACT

Although phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) are confirmed as early predictors of reading in a large number of orthographies, it is as yet unclear whether the predictive patterns are universal or language specific. This was examined in a longitudinal study across Grades 1 and 2 with 1,120 children acquiring one of five alphabetic orthographies with different degrees of orthographic complexity (English, French, German, Dutch, and Greek). Path analyses revealed that a universal model could not be confirmed. When we specified the best-fitting model separately for each language, RAN was a consistent predictor of reading fluency in all orthographies, whereas the association between PA and reading was complex and mostly interactive. We conclude that RAN taps into a language-universal cognitive mechanism that is involved in reading alphabetic orthographies (independent of complexity), whereas the PA–reading relationship depends on many factors like task characteristics, developmental status, and orthographic complexity.     

Developing alternative frameworks for exploring intercultural learning: a critique of Hofstede's cultural difference model

Hofstede's model of cultural difference has been used widely for exploring aspects of culture in educational settings. In this paper, we review Hofstede's model and explore some of its limitations, particularly in relation to the field of higher education. These limitations include an oversimplification of cultural differences, inconsistencies between his categories, lack of empirical evidence from educational settings and overall a model of culture as static (instead of dynamic). We argue that educationalists interested in the field of students’ experiences in internationally diverse settings ought to treat Hofstede's model more critically. Other models are recommended that take into account flexible notions of culture, based on research evidence from a range of educational settings, which can be critically and explicitly examined against different educational theories.     

Discrimination between Demodex folliculorum (Acari: Demodicidae) isolates from China and Spain based on mitochondrial cox1 sequences

For a long time, classification of Demodex mites has been based mainly on their hosts and phenotypic characteristics. A new subspecies of Demodex folliculorum has been proposed, but not confirmed. Here, cox1 partial sequences of nine isolates of three Demodex species from two geographical sources (China and Spain) were studied to conduct molecular identification of D. folliculorum. Sequencing showed that the mitochondrial cox1 fragments of five D. folliculorum isolates from the facial skin of Chinese individuals were 429 bp long and that their sequence identity was 97.4%. The average sequence divergence was 1.24% among the five Chinese isolates, 0.94% between the two geographical isolate groups (China (5) and Spain (1)), and 2.15% between the two facial tissue sources (facial skin (6) and eyelids (1)). The genetic distance and rate of third-position nucleotide transition/transversion were 0.0125, 2.7 (3/1) among the five Chinese isolates, 0.0094, 3.1 (3/1) between the two geographical isolate groups, and 0.0217, 4.4 (3/1) between the two facial tissue sources. Phylogenetic trees showed that D. folliculorum from the two geographical isolate groups did not form sister clades, while those from different facial tissue sources did. According to the molecular characteristics, it appears that subspecies differentiation might not have occurred and that D. folliculorum isolates from the two geographical sources are of the same population. However, population differentiation might be occurring between isolates from facial skin and eyelids.     

A "dry and wet hybrid" lithography technique for multilevel replication templates: Applications to microfluidic neuron culture and two-phase global mixing

A broad range of microfluidic applications, ranging from cell culture to protein crystallization, requires multilevel devices with different heights and feature sizes (from micrometers to millimeters). While state-of-the-art direct-writing techniques have been developed for creating complex three-dimensional shapes, replication molding from a multilevel template is still the preferred method for fast prototyping of microfluidic devices in the laboratory. Here, we report on a "dry and wet hybrid" technique to fabricate multilevel replication molds by combining SU-8 lithography with a dry film resist (Ordyl). We show that the two lithography protocols are chemically compatible with each other. Finally, we demonstrate the hybrid technique in two different microfluidic applications: (1) a neuron culture device with compartmentalization of different elements of a neuron and (2) a two-phase (gas-liquid) global micromixer for fast mixing of a small amount of a viscous liquid into a larger volume of a less viscous liquid.     

在体育教学中培养学生创新精神与实践能力的研究

运用对比教学实验法与跟踪研究,对学生的创新精神与实践能力进行研究.采用x2和t检验的方法对获得的数据进行统计处理.实验结果证明,<全国普通高校体育教育专业本科必修课程和选修课程方案>能够培养出厚基础、宽口径,适合社会需求的体育人才."程序教学与时空认知相结合的教法"和"自学--指导式教学法"不仅能培养学生的自学能力,开发智力,而且对提高学生的理论、技术水平和运动成绩,特别在培养学生"三会"和分析问题与解决问题、教学管理实践能力和创新能力等方面具有非常良好的效果.     

The effects of teacher support,parental monitoring,motivation and self-efficacy on academic performance over time

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study aimed to investigate the contribution of teacher support and parental monitoring to academic performance over three years, testing the...