Researching teacher educators’ preparedness to teach to and about diversity : Investigating epistemic reflexivity as a new conceptual framework

There is growing international concern about the extent to which teachers are prepared to work with an increasingly diverse student (and community) population. To date, research into the relationship between teacher preparation and preparedness to teach diverse learners has not focused on teacher educators’ understandings about teaching to/about diversity. Such understandings can be informed by epistemic aspects of professional work. Epistemic cognitions (cognitions about knowledge and knowing) allow professionals to generate perspectives necessary to tackle new and old challenges. The social lab reported in this paper investigated 12 Australian teacher educators’ perspectives about teaching to/about diversity using the 3R-Epistemic Cognition (EC) framework. The findings showed that the 3R-EC framework could be useful for capturing epistemic reflexive dialogues about teaching to/about diversity, although some aspects of the framework were identified by the teacher educators as challenging. On the basis of these identified challenges, refinements concerning communication and use of the 3R-EC framework were identified. The feedback also led to some refinements of the social lab methodology for use in the larger national study

Integrated Curriculum Approaches to Teaching in Initial Teacher Education for Secondary Schooling: A Systematic Review

Demands that Initial Teacher Education (ITE) prepare teachers who can equip students to be agile real-world problem solvers are frequent. Guidance about ITE integrated curriculum approaches to achieve this aim is harder to find, a significant gap given increasing time and policy pressures for ITE educators. Drawing from an Australian context, this systematic review investigates how integrated curriculum is conceptualised and enacted in secondary schooling ITE courses. Three conceptions of integrated curriculum for ITE are highlighted – Interdisciplinary, Disciplinary Literacy, and Transdisciplinary approaches – alongside benefits and barriers to enacting integrated curriculum. Recommendations for further research and practice around integrated curriculum are proposed

Health Conditions and Their Impact among Adolescents and Young Adults with Down Syndrome

Objective: To examine the prevalence of medical conditions and use of health services among young adults with Down syndrome and describe the impact of these conditions upon their lives. Methods: Using questionnaire data collected in 2011 from parents of young adults with Down syndrome we investigated the medical conditions experienced by their children in the previous 12 months. Univariate, linear and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: We found that in addition to the conditions commonly experienced by children with Down syndrome, including eye and vision problems (affecting 73%), ear and hearing problems (affecting 45%), cardiac (affecting 25%) and respiratory problems (affecting 36%), conditions also found to be prevalent within our young adult cohort included musculoskeletal conditions (affecting 61%), body weight (affecting 57%), skin (affecting 56%) and mental health (affecting 32%) conditions and among young women menstrual conditions (affecting 58%). Few parents reported that these conditions had no impact, with common impacts related to restrictions in opportunities to participate in employment and community leisure activities for the young people, as well as safety concerns. Conclusion: There is the need to monitor, screen and provide appropriate strategies such as through the promotion of healthy lifestyles to prevent the development of comorbidities in young people with Down syndrome and, where present, to reduce their impact

Rehabilitation versus surgical reconstruction for non-acute anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL SNNAP): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common debilitating injury that can cause instability of the knee. We aimed to investigate the best management strategy between reconstructive surgery and non-surgical treatment for patients with a non-acute ACL injury and persistent symptoms of instability.MethodsWe did a pragmatic, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial in 29 secondary care National Health Service orthopaedic units in the UK. Patients with symptomatic knee problems (instability) consistent with an ACL injury were eligible. We excluded patients with meniscal pathology with characteristics that indicate immediate surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either surgery (reconstruction) or rehabilitation (physiotherapy but with subsequent reconstruction permitted if instability persisted after treatment), stratified by site and baseline Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score—4 domain version (KOOS4). This management design represented normal practice. The primary outcome was KOOS4 at 18 months after randomisation. The principal analyses were intention-to-treat based, with KOOS4 results analysed using linear regression. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN10110685, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02980367.FindingsBetween Feb 1, 2017, and April 12, 2020, we recruited 316 patients. 156 (49%) participants were randomly assigned to the surgical reconstruction group and 160 (51%) to the rehabilitation group. Mean KOOS4 at 18 months was 73·0 (SD 18·3) in the surgical group and 64·6 (21·6) in the rehabilitation group. The adjusted mean difference was 7·9 (95% CI 2·5–13·2; p=0·0053) in favour of surgical management. 65 (41%) of 160 patients allocated to rehabilitation underwent subsequent surgery according to protocol within 18 months. 43 (28%) of 156 patients allocated to surgery did not receive their allocated treatment. We found no differences between groups in the proportion of intervention-related complications.InterpretationSurgical reconstruction as a management strategy for patients with non-acute ACL injury with persistent symptoms of instability was clinically superior and more cost-effective in comparison with rehabilitation management

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Possibilities for an international assessment in geography

A recent editorial in International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education (IRGEE) highlighted an opportunity for the inclusion of geography as a subject in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests. At present, TIMSS tests only encompass mathematics and physical sciences. The IRGEE editors encouraged geography educators to take the initiative and be proactive for a TIMSS international assessment in geography to become a reality. This paper reports on a research project to identify the perceptions of the global geography education community on the advantages and challenges of initiating and implementing such tests. The authors highlight a number of consistencies and tensions revealed by the respondents as well as potential issues of validity, reliability and fairness of a geography assessment instrument. The implications of these findings for ongoing research are discussed.15 page(s

How is Impact Defined in Initial Teacher Education Policy in Australia?

In Australia and globally, there is a push for accountability systems that focus on impact on student learning as an indicator of teacher quality. Therefore, how impact is defined in Australian policy documents in teacher education must be made clear before it can be enacted in practice. This study uses Foucauldian archaeology and associated discourse analysis techniques to trace impact through three Australian policy documents. Findings reveal that the evidence base for prioritising impact in the recent lexicon of Australian Initial Teacher Education (ITE) policy is based on specific and shifting ways of thinking around the concept, with only certain voices being heard in the debate. The authors recommend ways for thinking about impact more holistically and using broader sensibilities