Beginning to read across languages varying in orthographic consistency: Comparing the effects of non-cognitive and cognitive predictors

We examined whether the effect that different non-cognitive and cognitive factors have on reading acquisition varies as a function of orthographic consistency. Canadian (n = 77) and Greek (n = 95) children attending kindergarten were examined on general cognitive ability, phonological sensitivity, and letter knowledge. The parents of the children responded to a questionnaire on home literacy activities and the teachers reported on children's task-focused behaviour. In Grades 1 and 2 the children's word decoding and reading fluency were assessed. Results indicated that direct teaching of letter names and sounds at home was associated with better letter knowledge in both languages. Task-focused behaviour and letter knowledge in kindergarten predicted significantly nonword decoding in Grade 1, but their effect was stronger in English than in Greek. This pattern was not replicated for reading fluency in Grade 2.     

Community partnerships for health information training: medical librarians working with health-care professionals and consumers in Tennessee

In Tennessee, several medical library outreach projects have involved collaborative work with health-care professionals, public librarians, consumers, faith-based organizations and community service agencies. The authors are medical librarians who worked as consultants, trainers and project directors to promote health literacy using PubMed medline and other health information resources in the several funding projects described here. We explain the programmes briefly, focusing on lessons learned and suggestions for those who follow us.     

Work in college and subsequent wage rates

This is an empirical study of early postenrollment wage determinants of white young men in the 1966 to 1971 period. Data are from the National Longitudinal Survey for young men. The focus is on student labor force status as a determinant of postenrollment wage rates. As such, the results are related to the combined employment and college enrollment goal expressed repeatedly in federal work-study programs from the 1930s to date. Results suggest that work while enrolled may not only support the student, but mitigate transition problems to full-time work after enrollment. The major result, found with OLS multiple regression techniques, is that student job holding significantly and positively increased postenrollment wage rates relative to youth who neither worked nor looked for work as students. This indirect effect implies that the social cost of the college work-study program may be less than the federal outlays if the extra work experience enables a youth to obtain a more productive and higher paying job after enrollment.     

Cognitive-behavioural Approaches for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Teacher Survey

This study provided an investigation of the knowledge, implementation and perspectives of Australian teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder regarding cognitive-behavioural approaches, using an anonymous survey. The sample of 270 New South Wales teachers reported a reasonable level of knowledge and implementation of strategies commonly employed in interventions using cognitive behavioural approaches. A modest difference was found in the knowledge and implementation of surveyed strategies between teachers with and without formal qualifications in special education. Incongruent with research evidence, the respondents perceived that cognitive-behavioural approaches were suitable for students from a very young age and with cognitive levels from typical intellectual ability to moderate intellectual disability. The respondents also used the surveyed strategies for various purposes over and beyond those reported typically in the research literature. Directions for future research are suggested.     

“I think it fits in”: using process drama to promote agentic writing with primary school children

Set against the backdrop of children being ‘alienated’ from their writing, this paper is taken from a United Kingdom Literacy Association sponsored project where primary school teachers were trained to use process drama in order to give children more agency in their writing across the curriculum. Here, we use discourse analysis to think about the children's historical creative writing in relation to the drama lessons which are differently framed by the teachers. Building upon a theoretical model of process drama as involving ‘embodied experience’ and writing as problem‐solving, a case is made that process drama can lead to what we term ‘agentic writing’. Agentic writing, we demonstrate, involves children actively translating their embodied experience of process drama into writing by making a range of intertextual borrowings. These borrowings serve both to capture and transform their embodied experience as the children gain agency by standing outside language to achieve ‘double voicedness’ and in doing so write sophisticated texts. Seeing the relationship between process drama and writing in this light, we argue, provides a means of reconnecting children to the act of writing.     

Authentic Pedagogy and Students with Severe Disabilities

This paper describes a project carried out by the first author, an academic in special education, with the other authors, teachers of students with severe disabilities. It aimed to explore the application of the New South Wales (NSW) model of pedagogy, derived from authentic pedagogy, to the education of students with severe intellectual disabilities. The project was directed at students with severe intellectual disability who were unable to use spoken language for receptive and/or expressive communication and who were being taught augmentative and alternative means of communication. The group analysed and reframed the development of communication skills in relation to the elements of deep knowledge, deep understanding and higher order thinking, which are components of the dimension of intellectual quality in the NSW model. This analysis is presented here as an example of the way the authentic pedagogy framework can be applied to teach cognitive skills that are usually assumed by teachers of normally developing students.     

Significant Others‐‐the primary student view of practice in schools

Primary students in the final year of their Bachelor of Education course were invited to give their views on two differently supervised block placements at this time of increased teacher involvement in initial teacher education. They were asked to identify who had been significant for their experience in a mentored and non‐mentored programme, including an identification of the type and value of support received. Their responses are analysed in the context of changing supervision patterns, divisions of roles and sharing of responsibilities. The responses indicate that whilst students value many aspects of their time in school, there is not a single significant other and that good practices in one context can be negative aspects in another. The affective dimension of students’ perceived needs is highlighted and the prominent part taken by other students is recognised. Areas for further investigation are identified and findings are discussed in the light of other recent studies of school‐based training.     

The Effects of Oral Narrative Intervention on the Personal Narratives of Children with ASD and Severe Language Impairment: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine and refine an oral narrative intervention addressing personal narratives of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and severe language impairment. A multiple baseline across participants design investigated the effect of the intervention on the macrostructure of personal narratives. Three five–six year olds participated in a 1:1 intervention that targeted the where, who with, what and feelings of personal narrative. Intervention included macrostructure icons, pictures, modelling and participants telling the entire narrative. Participants received training with two or three narratives each session. The intervention was effective for all three participants. Two participants showed evidence of maintenance and generalisation across settings. The results show that children with autism and severe language impairment may benefit from oral narrative intervention targeting the macrostructure of personal narrative. These results are consistent with previous findings. Areas for future research include investigation of generalisation across people.