The role and contribution of Nurture Groups in secondary schools: perceptions of children,parents and staff

Many secondary schools are now establishing Nurture Groups, an intervention primarily designed for infant school-aged children. However, there is little research indicating that this intervention can be applied effectively to secondary settings. The main aim of this research was to explore how Nurture Groups are implemented into the secondary sector and whether they can be a beneficial intervention for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The implementation of three secondary school Nurture Groups was examined through the views of 17 secondary school staff and eight parents using focus groups, and six children who had attended the Nurture Groups through individual interviews. Findings indicated that secondary school Nurture Groups can be a valued resource and have benefits for young people. However, they often have a different emphasis from those originally devised by Boxall, because of the developmental differences between sectors. Recommendations for secondary school Nurture Group practitioners are provided.     

‘He's just enthusiastic. Is that such a bad thing?’ Experiences of parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Parenting a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a challenging experience. The hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention of a child with ADHD often put parenting skills to the test. The present study thus aimed to explore the experiences of parents of children with ADHD in Ireland. Eighteen parents of 7–12-year-old boys with a diagnosis of ADHD took part in open-ended interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out on the interview content. Six major themes were identified: (1) getting your head around ADHD; (2) the child takes over; (3) emotional impact; (4) inconsistency of structural supports; (5) ignorance and discrimination; and (6) it's not all bad. Results are discussed in terms of the need to implement family-centred supports for ADHD. The importance of educating the population at large about ADHD is also discussed. Finally, the need to take a more positive, strengths-based approach to ADHD is highlighted.     

News You Can Use or News That Moves?

This study investigates how journalists covering international humanitarian crises make decisions regarding what types of information to include in stories. Specifically, the inclusion/exclusion of solutions-oriented information is addressed, since crises represent a key time during which the potential for international engagement is discussed in the mainstream media. Interviews with journalists covering hunger crises in Africa reveal an internal tension between maintaining a neutral, unbiased position and writing in a way that supports engagement and action. Ironically, perhaps, journalists find that including solutions-oriented information amounts to unethical and biased coverage, despite the fact that inclusion of solutions to social problems is an accepted and institutionalized aspect of the US news media’s mandate to the public. Reasons for this seeming contradiction are discussed, and I argue that solutions-oriented information not only can be included without demonstrating bias, but that it ought to be included to support ethical coverage that properly informs citizens about potential paths for political engagement.     

Approaches to digital methods in studies of digital religion

This article reviews digital methodologies in the context of digital religion. We offer a tripod model for approaching digital methods: (a) defining research within digital environments, (b) the utilization of digital tools, and (c) applying unique digital frames. Through a critical review of multiple research projects, we explore three dominant research methods employed within the study of digital religion, namely, the use of textual analysis, interviews, and ethnography. Thus, we highlight the opportunities and challenges of using digital methods.     

产学研科技创新的竞争力形成机理研究

采用半结构访谈与书面案例研究及实践现象观察的定性研究方法,提炼出产学研科技创新竞争力的主要影响因素,向固定的对象发放大量的调查问卷,基于结构方程模型的方法,运用SPSS18.0和AMOS7.0等统计软件进行数据分析和假设检验,研究产学研科技创新的竞争力形成机理,得到相关研究结论,并从产学研科技创新竞争力的4个主要影响因素等方面提出相关对策建议.     

Ethical competence – a comparison between the Swedish and the Icelandic curricula and some teachers’ views

The aim of this article is to highlight some conceptions of ethical competence identified in interviews with teachers in religious education in Sweden, and within analyses of policy documents in a Swedish and an Icelandic educational context. As a starting point we take seven interviewed teachers’ comments about what they view as important ethical competences for their pupils to have. A comparative analysis of Swedish and Icelandic policy documents with regard to the conceptual understandings of ethical competence is made, as well as a comparison between the policy documents and teachers’ comments. The Icelandic curriculum is chosen because it differs from the Swedish one in a sense relevant to an analysis of the teacher interviews. The analyses imply a tension between theoretical and analytical conceptions of ethical competence and an action competence. Finally, some possible threads to consider in developing a broadened and deepened understanding of ethical competence are outlined.     

Getting in Touch with our Feminine Sides? Men's Difficulties and Concerns with Doing Intensive Interaction

Andrew Culham has been a lecturer in further education for seven years. During this time he has worked primarily with students with learning difficulties. He now works for Oxford and Chen/veil College as a coordinator of provision for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties within the supported learning curriculum unit. In this article, Andrew Culham addresses a number of concerns expressed by male practitioners using Intensive Interaction.
The issues raised in this article are based on the outcomes of a research project that used a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results indicate that men who use Intensive Interaction are concerned about issues of touch, especially when working with female clients, and about the potential for their interactions with learners to be misinterpreted and misrepresented. Respondents suggest that targeted professional development opportunities are required to support men in delivering programmes of Intensive Interaction and to provide practical responses to their difficulties. Intensive Interaction has been demonstrated to be of benefit to people with learning difficulties. Andrew Culham proposes that professionals, colleagues and managers can support male practitioners more effectively through policy creation, staff development and professional dialogue. He argues that an 'inclusive' support structure should be established to provide all staff with practice-focused advice and guidance.