Breaking Down Barriers for Student Parents and Caregivers with Family-Friendly Library Spaces

Abstract

In 2016, J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte opened a reservable study room where student parents and caregivers can study with their children on campus. In 2018, the library opened a second family-friendly study room to meet the needs of our growing campus community. To inform the room design, the library conducted a mixed methods research study that included a user survey, an examination of room reservation and usage data, and one-on-one user interviews. This paper focuses on the user-centered design process used to inform the development of the second, family-friendly, library study room.     

The Provision for Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship in School-based Elements of Primary Initial Teacher Education

This small-scale research study looks at the PSHE/Citizenship framework and the opportunities for student teachers to understand and experience within school the relationship between values, personal and social development and learning. A questionnaire was given to two sets of student teachers on their final school-based placements. The research suggests that there needs to be greater recognition of the centrality of multi-cultural awareness and understanding within the political literacy section of the PSHE/Citizenship framework. This is the counterpart to a previous study of the opportunities for values education within the university-based elements of Primary Initial Teacher Education ( Mead, 2003 ).     

Digital Inclusion in Library Context: A Perspective from Users with Print Disability

Digital inclusion is a strategy pursued to foster social inclusion of those who have been sidelined from the mainstream of information society due to lack of access to digital technologies and the skills to use them. Libraries have been working to close the gap by providing access to computers, the Internet, digital content, and digital literacy programs. However, research reveals a new type of divide where digitally competent people could be digitally excluded. This shows the need for a better conceptualization of access and literacy. This paper commits to exploring the concept of access to digital content from the perspective of people with print disability. It involved in-depth interviews with ten participants with print disability where the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health was used as a framework for data analysis. The overall analysis shows that digital inclusion would be more meaningful if it involved providing content in alternative formats and empowering users to make informed choices. Issues such as flexibility and adaptability in content presentation and design of content discovery tools are among those discussed.     

中国剩余定理在曲面拼接中的应用

用计算机代数方法,研究了两个二次曲面的光滑拼接,给出了应用中国剩余定理得到的在两个截面平行的条件下的三次拼接曲面,并且由此得到的拼接曲面还满足超限插值问题.     

The impact of a professional development programme on teachers' attitudes towards inclusion

This article describes a study that aimed to answer the following question: ‘Will a programme of professional development in the area of special and inclusive education be effective in achieving attitudinal shift in teachers?’ Forty‐eight teachers who were enrolled on a Master's programme in Special and Inclusive Education were surveyed via a questionnaire at the beginning and end of a ten‐week introductory module. The results indicated overall attitudinal shift and attitudinal shift for four categories of inclusion to suggest more positive attitudes at the end of the module, compared with at the beginning. The implications for providers of pre‐ and in‐service education and training courses for teachers are discussed.     

The deployment,training and teacher relationships of teaching assistants supporting pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream secondary schools

Growing numbers of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are attending mainstream schools, and increasing numbers of additional staff are being deployed to support them. Recent research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of this support, by highlighting issues relating to deployment and training, and to relationships with class teachers. This study, conducted by Wendy Symes, who is a Research Associate at the University of Manchester, and Neil Humphrey, who is Professor of Education in the same university, interviewed 15 teaching assistants supporting pupils with ASD in four mainstream secondary schools in the north‐west of England to explore these issues. Analysis yielded several key findings. The majority of teaching assistants worked with just one pupil at a time and worked in a variety of lessons. Their role primarily involved helping pupils to stay focused and follow instructions. Many teaching assistants had no experience of ASD prior to starting their job. The amount of training received varied, but all felt that generic training about ASD was not helpful. A lack of time for joint planning with teachers was raised as a key concern. These findings are discussed in relation to the growing literature on inclusive education for pupils with ASD.     

一类二元非乘积型Meyer-knig-Zeller概率算子的饱和定理

借助二元抛物线引理,探讨一类二元非乘积型Meyer-knig and Zeller概率算子的饱和性,得到了一个点态饱和定理.     

Mapping the educational experiences of children with pathological demand avoidance

‘Pathological demand avoidance’ (PDA) describes a pattern of difficulties increasingly recognised as forming part of the autistic spectrum. Although clinical reports suggest that children with PDA are likely to experience considerable difficulties in education, their educational experiences have not yet been explored in any systematic way. In the current study, 42 parents of children with PDA completed a questionnaire about their child's educational experiences. Parents' responses indicated that this group of children displays high levels of problem behaviours in school, and receives corresponding high levels of special educational need support and professional involvement. Despite this support, the group had experienced high rates of exclusion and placement breakdown, with only 48% now in mainstream education. Parents reported relatively high satisfaction in their children's educational placements, with success defined by parents in terms of child outcomes, school characteristics and PDA‐specific factors. Findings are discussed with reference to what is known about the educational experiences of children with more typical autism spectrum conditions and in terms of the implications for the inclusion of this group of children with complex needs.     

Assessing the special education professional development needs of northern Malawian schoolteachers

This research examines special needs education professional development needs among both general and special education schoolteachers in northern Malawi. A semi‐structured questionnaire with open and close‐ended questions was used for the research. Quantitative and thematic analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which teachers believe that students with disabilities should be educated together with students without disabilities, the importance of professional development for teaching students with disabilities, prioritised professional development needs regarding special education knowledge, and self‐identified needs for successful special education classrooms. Results indicate that teachers are generally in favour of inclusive practices and identify a high need for special education professional development. Participants identified training and resources to teach students with visual impairments or auditory impairments as a high priority. Participants noted a need for improved infrastructure, more educational materials, and recognition by the government for work in special education.     

Special educational needs and inclusion,moving forward but standing still? A critical reframing of some key issues

This article draws together my thinking in relation to special educational needs and inclusion that have dominated my practice. The article, through the concept of embodiment, revisits, reviews and reframes the key issues of the construction of special educational needs, inclusion and the ideology that binds them together. Through this exploration, I argue we often seem to move forward with policy while in reality standing still in ensuring the ‘success’ of all of our pupils. By critiquing and reframing taken‐for‐granted assumptions and the sacred words ‘success’ and ‘achievement’, this article maps out the future directions of inclusive education. It concludes with a reflection on my first days as a ‘teacher of special educational needs’ and my work to support Kenny, a student with cerebral palsy. This personal reflection maps out a different form of educational success that perhaps could provide a forward momentum to develop more successful inclusive education policy and practice.