Invisible children? The need for support groups for siblings of disabled children

Previous research and first-hand experience suggest that a child with a disability can have a profound effect on family life. Although the need for sibling support has been acknowledged in legislation, the implications for non-disabled siblings remain unclear. In this article, Angie Naylor, lecturer in psychology, and Phil Prescott, senior lecturer in childhood and youth studies, both based at Edge Hill, review a number of key themes emerging from the literature on sibling support. They go on to report the findings from an in-depth study of one sibling support group. The work was carried out in partnership with Barnardo's in the north-west of England and involved setting up a sibling support group, in response to an analysis of local need, and evaluating its impact. This research indicates a clear need for further service provision to meet the needs of the siblings of disabled children who attended the scheme. Angie Naylor and Phil Prescott argue for a reinvigorated debate about the needs of such children and champion the importance of listening to children and valuing what they have to say. The results of this small-scale evaluation project have clear implications for future research and, potentially, for policy and practice.     

Reading pedagogy, “Evidence” and education policy: learning from history?

This paper examines the report of the Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy (Department of Education, Science & Training (DEST) 2005) and explores the claims it makes about reading pedagogy and the centrality of particular “methods” or “approaches” to teaching backed by “scientific” evidence. Discourse analysis of the report shows that its logics allow only certain kinds of evidence to count in policy, and that it reduces difficult social and political issues to questions of technique. This allows the report to recommend an approach whereby qualitative insights and practitioners’ experience can be bypassed through valorising methods developed and verified by scientific researchers. The report’s claims are considered genealogically in the light of historical cases from the early nineteenth century, where educational reformers struggled with the issue of how to educate the children of the poor. In one, the monitorial system promoted by Lancaster in England, there was a focus on reading which made teachers or monitors artefacts of a standardised method. By way of contrast, in Scotland, a classroom approach developed by Stow (1854) made the teacher central to the process, as someone who sensitively interpreted and extended students’ experiences with texts. Stow’s approach would form the model for the modern classroom in compulsory state schooling, while the monitorial system would eventually be abandoned as ineffective. The historical cases demonstrate the dangers of approaches to policy that fail to account for the complex interplay between teacher, student and text in the reading lesson.     

University Admissions and the Prediction of Degree Performance: an Analysis in the Light of Changes to the English Schools’ Examination System

The United Kingdom's Department for Education has recently changed the nature of the AS‐level examinations normally taken by students aspiring to enter higher education degree courses one year into their post‐compulsory education. In the face of protests from universities and other institutions that this would both harm students’ progression towards the A‐level qualifications, on which entry to English universities is normally based, and make it difficult for universities determining which of their applicants were best placed to benefit from their degree courses, the Department conducted research which it claimed showed that degree outcome could be predicted as well from the results of GCSE examinations taken one year before AS‐levels as from AS‐levels themselves. This paper critiques those analyses and their conclusions showing, through a re‐analysis and extended interpretation of the Department's data, that AS‐levels provide a more reliable predictor of degree performance in 2011 than GCSEs and that many students who performed better at AS‐level than at GCSE gained a place, and performed well, at a university with high entrance standards.     

Helping patrons find locally held electronic resources: An interlibrary loan perspective

The University of North Texas Libraries provide extensive online access to academic journals through major vendor databases. As illustrated by interlibrary loan borrowing requests for items held in our databases, patrons often have difficulty navigating the available resources. In this study, the Interlibrary Loan staff used data gathered from the ILLiad interlibrary loan management system to investigate why patrons request locally available materials. This study resulted in recommendations for the Libraries' linking strategies in EBSCOhost databases. Several user education needs were identified and communicated to the Libraries' Subject Liaisons.     

Introducing the Microcomputer into English. I. Aspects of classroom organization and their consequences for the curriculum

The organizational problems and decisions associated with introducing the microcomputer into the English curriculum are considered. The factors influencing decisions concerning how many machines to use are identified as availability; the classroom environment, in terms of its physical properties, patterns of use, and availability of resources; resources of teacher time, including previewing materials, organizing equipment, and lesson time. The attitudes of teachers and pupils are contrasted. The organization of classroom activities must facilitate learning through small-group discussion, and so accepted English teaching practices at secondary level are challenged by the introduction of the microcomputer.     

Collaborative Development and Evaluation of an Online Nursing Course

Institutions of higher education acknowledge that online learning represents a growing segment of the modern learning environment, and most students have mastered basic computer skills. However, reluctance to engage in online learning remains among both faculty and students. This article presents a case study of three schools of nursing that collaboratively developed and implemented an online undergraduate-nursing course. The article discusses the challenges that were encountered by faculty and students. The faculty used the distance education literature to address these challenges related to technological, institutional, and pedagogical aspects of online learning, as well as the recruitment and retention of online learners. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the course. The paper concludes with suggestions to overcome the challenges of online learning, such that faculty and students receive the inherent rewards.     

Sex-related differences on objective tests among undergraduates

Objective tests, such as multiple-choice and relationship analysis questions, are often used in mathematics to assess certain ranges of skills and abilities. This article examines the performance of men and women students in mathematics at university level and shows that there are significant differences between the sexes.