Research staff and public engagement: a UK study

Public engagement plays an important role in the contemporary UK academy, and is promoted through initiatives such as Beacons of Public Engagement and research grant ‘Pathways to Impact’. Relatively little is known, however, about academic experiences of such engagement activities. This study focuses on one staff group, contract researchers, to explore the perceived challenges and opportunities of public engagement. Qualitative and quantitative data—from a web-based survey and three focus groups—are used to show that, while engagement activities are often seen as rewarding, the challenges involved in participating in them are profound. While researchers report practical needs, such as for logistical support or communication training, key barriers relate to the conditions of contract research more generally, and specifically to job insecurity, transiency, and lack of autonomy.     

Changing families,changing childhoods: changing schools?

This paper reports key findings from a study of young people’s engagement in ‘atypical’ activities in their families. The project focused on young caring and language brokering as two roles that are not assumed to be ‘normal’ activities for children and young people. The findings presented are from a survey of 1002 young people and from one‐to‐one interviews with a sample selected from the survey sample. The voices of young people in the interview study are used in the paper to illustrate the diverse range of childhood experiences. The paper discusses some of the ways in which pastoral systems in schools can take account of diverse childhoods and family needs more effectively than they have done in the past.     

Inclusive education: Ireland's education provision for children with special educational needs

The concept of inclusive education is a relatively new phenomenon within the Irish education system, with considerable developments in government policy only occurring since the early 1990s. These developments are aiming to advance special education provisions and legislation for individuals with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN). This increased attention is illustrated by the Special Education Review Committee (SERC) report, the report of the Government Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, A Strategy for Equality (1996 Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities (1996) A strategy for equality , Report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities . [Google Scholar]), the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) Discussion Document (1999), Special Educational Needs: Curriculum Issues, the Education Act, the Equal Status Act and the recently published Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Bill and the Disability Bill (2004). However, despite these advancements in SEN developments, it can be argued that the Irish government and education system still fall short of providing a rights-based education to all children with a disability or SEN in the state. This article discusses the educational provision for children with SEN from 1990 to 2004.     

THE IMPROVEMENT OF VERBAL FLUENCY IN THE ELDERLY: THE EFFECTS OF PRACTICE ON THE SET TEST AND AN ALTERNATE FORM

The effects of prior practice on the Set Test (ST), a test of verbal fluency, were examined in a group of 30 relatively able patients aged 62‐94 in a continuing care geriatric ward. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups, a specific prior practice group (ST on Day 1 and again 24 hours later), a nonspecific prior practice group (an alternate form of the ST on Day 1, ST 24 hours later) and a control group (conversation on Day 1, ST 24 hours later). Analysis of ST performance showed no significant difference between the two experimental groups and the control group on day 2, but significant improvements for the two groups from days 1 to 2. The clinical implications of this finding are discussed. Analysis of the psychometric characteristics of the ST and the alternate form showed the tests to have high internal consistency and reliability, although further data are needed before the two forms are regarded as parallel.     

Wilson and his sources

EXPERIMENTS ON MASS COMMUNICATION. By Carl I. Hovland, Arthur A. Lumsdaine, and Fred D. Sheffield. (Volume III of Studies in Social Psychology in World War II) Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1949; pp. x+345. $5.00.

SPEECH OF OUR TIME. Edited by Clive Sansom. London: Hinrichsen, 1948; pp. 228. $4.50.

AN INDEX TO ARISTOTLE. By Troy Wilson Organ. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19.48; pp. vi+181. $5.00.

THE PREPARATION OF SERMONS. By A. W. Blackwood. New York and Nashville: Abingdon‐Cokesbury Press, 1948; pp. 272. $3.00.

PREACHING AND THE DRAMATIC ARTS. By E. Winston Jones. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1948; pp. ix +123. $2.00.

FEMALE PERSUASION. By Margaret Farrand Thorp. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919; PP. 254. $3.75.

PLAIN WORDS. A Guide to the Use of English. By Sir Ernest Gowers. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1948. Distributed by the British Information Service, New York; pp. 94. $1.15.

THE ART OF ACTING. By John Dolman. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1919; pp. xx+313. $3.50.

BUILDING A CHARACTER. By Constantin Stanislavski. New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1049; pp. xx+292. $3.50.

FROM NATIVE ROOTS. By Felix Sper. Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, 1948; pp. 341. $4.00.

TWENTY‐FIVE BEST PLAYS OF THE MODERN AMERICAN THEATRE. Edited with an Introduction by John Gassner. New York: Crown Publishers, 1949; pp. xxvii+756. $5.00.

A MANUAL OF PRONUNCIATION. By Morriss H. Needleman. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1949; pp. cxxiii+323. $4.00.

PORTUGUESE‐AMERICAN SPEECH. An outline of Speech Conditions Among Portuguese Immigrants in New England and Elsewhere in the United States. By Leo Pap. New York: King's Crown Press, 1949; pp. xi+223. $3.00.

A MINIATURE TEXTBOOK OF FEEBLEMINDEDNESS. By Leo Kanner, M.D. Child Care Monographs, No. 1. New York: Child Care Publications, 1949; pp. 33. $1.25.

FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING FOR RADIO. Drama, Talks, Continuities, and Non‐dramatic Features with Guidance in Program Planning, Production, and Marketing. By Rome Cowgill. New York: Rinehart and Company, 1949; pp. vi + 295. $3.50.

SPEECH METHODS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. By Carrie Rasmussen. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1919; pp. ix + 340. $3.50.

HOW TO SPEAK THE WRITTEN WORD. A Guide to Effective Public Reading. By Nedra Newkirk Lamar. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1949; pp. 175. $2.50.

VOICE AND DICTION. By Victor A. Fields and James F. Bender. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1949; pp. viii+368. $4.00.

PRACTICAL DEBATING. By Luther W. Courtney and Glenn R. Capp. New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1949; pp. viii+308. $3.25.

YOU AND YOUR SPEECHES. By E. C. Buehler. Lawrence, Kansas: The Allen Press, 1949; pp. 226. $3.00.

38 BASIC SPEECH EXPERIENCES. A Guide for Student and Teacher. By Clark S. Carlile. St. Louis: John S. Swift Company, 1949; pp. xvi+153.     

Local partnerships: blowing in the wind of national policy changes

Drawing on data from a three‐year study (2008–2011) of partnerships of schools and colleges delivering the 14–19 Diplomas in England, this article examines how the dynamics of local partnerships were shaped by a contradictory policy landscape in which some policies strongly promoted collaborative working whilst others reinforced competition between institutions. Semi‐structured interviews with 136 Diploma consortium leads and case studies of 30 Diploma consortia were undertaken. Most partnerships founded in direct response to government demands for collaboration were strategically and operationally less effective than those that had been formed earlier as a positive, dynamic response to locally identified interests/needs and had evolved over time. When key levers towards collaboration were removed by the new UK Coalition government (2010) and new policies restated the arguments for institutional autonomy and competition between institutions, the fragility of the ‘enacted’ partnerships became immediately apparent. Although members of Diploma consortia with a history of effective partnership working remained committed to the principle of collaboration, other policy developments such as the introduction of the English Baccalaureate and the recommendations of the Wolf Review on vocational education contributed to uncertainty about whether partnership working could, or indeed should, be sustained.     

Understanding of epilepsy by children and young people with epilepsy

There is a striking dearth of studies focusing sensitively and in depth on the mainstream educational experiences of children with epilepsy, as viewed by those children themselves. The one‐year project (2006–7) reported here addresses that gap. Children’s perceptions about mainstream teachers’ understanding of epilepsy and school‐based needs are particularly interesting and this work breaks new ground in that connection. The authors report findings from two complementary qualitative methods of data collection: (1) an e‐survey of 44 self‐selected children and young people with epilepsy, and (2) interviews (mainly individual) in mainstream schools with 22 children/young people with epilepsy. Overall, the children and young people (aged 7–18) were clear about the nature of their condition, including seizures. For many, there was an implicit reluctance in accepting epilepsy as a “part of them”; self‐reported feelings of secrecy, stigma and shame abounded. This had repercussions for how schools were seen to need to respond with sensitivity and knowledge‐based understanding. Taking a qualitative methodological approach revealed important insights into complex concepts like stigma in the school context. This was illustrated in children and young people’s readiness to talk about their feelings of “difference” in relation to others when given the opportunity to do so sensitively. The findings have important implications for how schools and services work in a genuinely fully inclusive way with children and young people who have epilepsy.     

Unique Effects of a Family Literacy Program on the Early Reading Development of English Language Learners

Research Findings: The present study evaluated the effects of a Family Literacy program on the early English reading development of speakers of English as a first language (EL1s) and English language learners (ELLs). The study included a linguistically and culturally diverse sample of 132 kindergarten children and their parents. Families in the experimental group participated in a 9-week intervention program that was designed to promote early literacy in the home, whereas those in the control group did not receive the intervention. Both the experimental and control groups included EL1 and ELL children. Dependent variables included children's gains in alphabet knowledge, conventions of print, and meaning. Results indicated that ELL children in the experimental group made greater gains in their knowledge of the alphabet and their ability to infer meaning from print than EL1 children in the experimental group and both ELL and EL1 controls. There were no language group differences in children's gains in conventions of print. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that Family Literacy programs are associated with differential effects on the English reading development of EL1 and ELL children. Educational implications related to the development and implementation of effective Family Literacy programs for diverse communities are discussed.     

Does Poor Handwriting Conceal Literacy Potential in Primary School Children?

Handwriting is a complex skill that, despite increasing use of computers, still plays a vital role in education. It is assumed that children will master letter formation at a relatively early stage in their school life, with handwriting fluency developing steadily until automaticity is attained. The capacity theory of writing suggests that as automaticity develops, the proportion of working memory dedicated to the mechanics of handwriting is reduced, releasing capacity for the planning, composing and editing of content. This study examined the handwriting ability of 284 mainstream primary school children and explored possible associated factors. Correlations were found between poor handwriting, lower cognitive and literacy scores, and a longer duration for handwriting tasks. Giving children the opportunity to practise their handwriting sufficiently to increase the level of automaticity may release working memory to be applied to the cognitive demands of the task and may potentially raise their level of attainment.