Language, self-esteem, and academic achievement: mature students’ emotionally incited stories

Through empirical evidence we have found that female students reflect their emotions through the language they use. This paper examines responses of 24 adult female students in higher education on Early Childhood Studies (ECS) programmes. It draws on qualitative interview data from a recent research project and interactions in meetings. The aim of the research was to determine the views of students on perceived benefits of higher education to their early childhood, education, and care (ECEC) practice in a sector that is notoriously low paid and carries low status. The research was undertaken in a further education (FE) college on the Isle of Wight in England to establish the impact of HE in childhood studies. What started as research into early years policy morphed into a very unexpected and emotional response. The language used also revealed the insecurities and lack of confidence of this student group as they embarked on, and during their time as students in HE. Our experience as professionals working in higher education, is that adult female students can express their levels ambition (or lack of) through their language, especially where they feel they do not really belong in higher education, and where their prospects of success are tempered by their view of themselves and their perceived ability

From setting to strategy: a study into perspectives on higher education of experienced early years practitioners, a 'paradigm shift' on two levels

Research was carried out on the Isle of Wight, in the United Kingdom, to determine the impact of Higher Education (HE) in childhood studies as studied at a Further Education (FE) college. The original aims were to find out what a childhood studies graduate ‘looks like’ and what degrees in the sector offer employers. It also set out to evaluate the impact of the Graduate Practitioner Competences (GPCs) offered by HE providers. Research took the form of focus groups with childhood studies undergraduates and on analysis. The participants focus was on professional progression and personal development beyond the early years setting. Findings pointed to an appreciation of the skills and abilities of childhood graduates by managers but, once embarked on HE programmes, Early Childhood Education Care (ECEC) practitioners tend to look to develop their careers beyond the setting they are employed. The participants used their degrees to move away from the role of ECEC practitioner into more ‘professional’ positions such as teaching and social work. It was not possible to evaluate the impact of GPCs in the way intended, because the participants had little knowledge of this new government initiative. This constitutes a paradigm shift in two ways: first, students begin to see the opportunities available to them and look for career development, and second, the research on this group took a different direction to that first anticipated. It began to focus not on the impact of HE on practitioners in the ECEC workforce, but on the perceived benefits to practitioners in terms of career progression and self-satisfaction. It is recommended that for further research on GPCs be carried out on practitioners at earlier stages in their careers

Home-schooling during the lockdown in England

Since the start of the pandemic, schools around the world have closed their doors to children to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. This meant that many parents were forced to start home schooling their children which requiring significant efforts, knowledge, and the right equipment. Home schooling, or ‘Elective Home Education’, requires parents to ensure that their child receives efficient full-time education appropriate to his-her age and ability (Department for Education, 2019). Home schooling has become the new ‘norm’ during the first and third lockdowns in England. This paper reports on relevant policy analysis, empirical research/literature review and findings from semi-structured interviews with parents who home schooled their primary school aged children. Findings indicate that the habitus of familial environment and the social position of field are significant determinants of education outcomes, in which the cultural and material deprivation have played a part. This paper highlights that home schooling has brought inequalities in educational experience into sharp focus and has shown the importance of embodied preferences and cultural goods in the drive to improve outcomes across the country. Had cultural approaches not been so different, the experiences of children from the North and the South, and from richer and poorer families, would not have been so different. Findings also shows how financial privilege does not provide an escape from stress and how parents’ well-being, regardless of their economic background, has been affected by home- schooling

Determination of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and ammonia in ambient air using the passive sampling method associated with ion chromatographic and potentiometric analyses

Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), and ammonia (NH3) were determined in the ambient air of Al-Ain city over a year using the passive sampling method associated with ion chromatographic and potentiometric detections. IVL samplers were used for collecting nitrogen and sulfur dioxides whereas Ogawa samplers were used for collecting ozone and ammonia. Five sites representing the industrial, traffic, commercial, residential, and background regions of the city were monitored in the course of this investigation. Year average concentrations of ≤59.26, 15.15, 17.03, and 11.88 μg/m3 were obtained for NO2, SO2, O3, and NH3, respectively. These values are lower than the maxima recommended for ambient air quality standards by the local environmental agency and the world health organization. Results obtained were correlated with the three meteorological parameters: humidity, wind speed, and temperature recorded during the same period of time using the paired t test, probability p values, and correlation coefficients. Humidity and wind speed showed insignificant effects on NO2, SO2, O3, and NH3 concentrations at 95% confidence level. Temperature showed insignificant effects on the concentrations of NO2 and NH3 while significant effects on SO2 and O3 were observed. Nonlinear correlations (R2 ≤ 0.722) were obtained for the changes in measured concentrations with changes in the three meteorological parameters. Passive samplers were shown to be not only precise (RSD ≤ 13.57) but also of low cost, low technical demand, and expediency in monitoring different locations

Benefits of protected areas for nonbreeding waterbirds adjusting their distributions under climate warming

Climate warming is driving changes in species distributions and community composition. Many species have a so-called climatic debt, that is, shifts in range lag behind shifts in temperature isoclines. Inside protected areas (PAs), community changes in response to climate warming can be facilitated by greater colonization rates by warm-dwelling species, but also mitigated by lowering extirpation rates of cold-dwelling species. An evaluation of the relative importance of colonization-extirpation processes is important to inform conservation strategies that aim for both climate debt reduction and species conservation. We assessed the colonization-extirpation dynamics involved in community changes in response to climate inside and outside PAs. To do so, we used 25 years of occurrence data of nonbreeding waterbirds in the western Palearctic (97 species, 7071 sites, 39 countries, 1993-2017). We used a community temperature index (CTI) framework based on species thermal affinities to investigate species turnover induced by temperature increase. We determined whether thermal community adjustment was associated with colonization by warm-dwelling species or extirpation of cold-dwelling species by modeling change in standard deviation of the CTI (CTISD). Using linear mixed-effects models, we investigated whether communities in PAs had lower climatic debt and different patterns of community change than communities outside PAs. For CTI and CTISD combined, communities inside PAs had more species, higher colonization, lower extirpation, and lower climatic debt (16%) than communities outside PAs. Thus, our results suggest that PAs facilitate 2 independent processes that shape community dynamics and maintain biodiversity. The community adjustment was, however, not sufficiently fast to keep pace with the large temperature increases in the central and northeastern western Palearctic. Our results underline the potential of combining CTI and CTISD metrics to improve understanding of the colonization-extirpation patterns driven by climate warming.Peer reviewe

Benefits of protected areas for nonbreeding waterbirds adjusting their distributions under climate warming

Climate warming is driving changes in species distributions and community composition. Many species have a so-called climatic debt, that is, shifts in range lag behind shifts in temperature isoclines. Inside protected areas (PAs), community changes in response to climate warming can be facilitated by greater colonization rates by warm-dwelling species, but also mitigated by lowering extirpation rates of cold-dwelling species. An evaluation of the relative importance of colonization-extirpation processes is important to inform conservation strategies that aim for both climate debt reduction and species conservation. We assessed the colonization-extirpation dynamics involved in community changes in response to climate inside and outside PAs. To do so, we used 25 years of occurrence data of nonbreeding waterbirds in the western Palearctic (97 species, 7071 sites, 39 countries, 1993-2017). We used a community temperature index (CTI) framework based on species thermal affinities to investigate species turnover induced by temperature increase. We determined whether thermal community adjustment was associated with colonization by warm-dwelling species or extirpation of cold-dwelling species by modeling change in standard deviation of the CTI (CTISD). Using linear mixed-effects models, we investigated whether communities in PAs had lower climatic debt and different patterns of community change than communities outside PAs. For CTI and CTISD combined, communities inside PAs had more species, higher colonization, lower extirpation, and lower climatic debt (16%) than communities outside PAs. Thus, our results suggest that PAs facilitate 2 independent processes that shape community dynamics and maintain biodiversity. The community adjustment was, however, not sufficiently fast to keep pace with the large temperature increases in the central and northeastern western Palearctic. Our results underline the potential of combining CTI and CTISD metrics to improve understanding of the colonization-extirpation patterns driven by climate warming

Developing the practice of staff in partnership with employers

This chapter invites you to reflect on and recognise the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing partnerships between themselves and further education colleges (FECs) whilst acknowledging some of the controversies about how the employers support higher education opportunities for the EY sector. It also provides the prospect to understand the development of the Foundation Degree in Early Years (FDEY) and reflect upon employers’ and students’ perspectives of the programme. There is a summary of reactions and examples of impacts on practice from different categories of employers. The chapter continues with a focus on views of FDEY students with the relevance of a growing graduate workforce, including the recent Graduate Practitioner Competences introduced by the Early Childhood Studies Degree Network (ECSDN), being explored within the complexities of the current political framework. The chapter furthermore introduces the notion of continual professional development (CPD) and what this means for the EY profession. Case studies and examples to show the skills in planning and facilitating self-managed learning are explored. The chapter concludes with suggested strategies for employers to support staff and colleagues with their CPD requirements

Mature students’ stories: a study investigating the complexity of interpretation

Recent evidence (UCAS, 2013) shows that in terms of participation, students over 20 years old are under-represented in Higher Education. The focus of this study was to investigate the effect of relevant existing policies on ‘non-traditional’ students and to highlight the possible emotional impact caused. The aims were to find out, through narrative inquiry, whether the application and admission policy best suits the needs of this ‘group.’ Also, greater understandings of those who wish to apply from employment to HE were sought, and how emotionally demanding the process of becoming a university student can be. Our reflection on the study shows the complexity of the interpretation of narratives due to the fluidity and multi-layer nature of the emotions, and the difficulties in recording and categorising the data. For example, many participants reported that applying through the ‘unknown terrain’ of UCAS was initially a real challenge that generated negative emotions. However, these emotions were transformed into relief after attending an interview

Pattern of distribution of syngeneic spleen cells in the lymphoid organs of neonatally thymectomized mice.

Newborn mice were thymectomized and intraperitoneally inoculated with syngeneic spleen cells on days 0, 3, 7 and 20 after birth. Donor cells were chromosomally distinguishable from host cells (T6). Cytological analysis performed between days 2 and 118 post-natal revealed greatly increased proportions of donor cells in host lymph nodes if comparison were made with similarly injected non-thymectomized hosts. The effect is highly specific, since the proportions of donor cells in the host spleen and bone marrow remained similar to those in control, non-thymectomized mice (syngeneic standard). The mechanism behind this phenomenon is unclear