Reading for teachers

The author encourages teachers to read to further their knowledge and practice. Included in this article is a list of ten books every teacher should read

Teacher resources on numeracy

Teachers have to persistently orient mathematics teaching towards building a strong foundation and improving achievements of students. This article provides a list of short topical online readings on teaching and learning mathematics published by ACER

Policy brief: Teacher professional development for students with disability in the Asia-Pacific

Around the world, policymakers and development organisations are increasingly supporting the education of students with disability, particularly in the bid to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 – to ensure ‘inclusive and equitable quality education for all’. Yet globally, more than half of students with disability drop out of secondary school due to the lack of support in classrooms (UNESCAP, 2019). In the Asia-Pacific region, resource shortages and high student drop-out rates significantly impact the shift to inclusive education. Additionally, educational segregation of students with disability is widely accepted in low- and middle-income countries in the region, despite international evidence of improved academic and social outcomes for students with disability educated in inclusive settings. Developing teachers’ understanding of disabilities and building their capacity to implement evidence-based inclusive teaching practices and effectively use assistive technologies, are key to transitioning to inclusive education of students with disability

A study of feto-maternal outcome of jaundice in pregnancy

Background: Jaundice in pregnancy complicates 3-5% of cases and carries a grave prognosis. The purpose of the study was to assess the epidemiology, magnitude, causes and the maternal and fetal outcome of pregnancies complicated by jaundice.Methods: The maternal and fetal outcomes of 101 cases of jaundice in pregnancy were reviewed retrospectively from July 2013-June 2016.Results: The incidence of jaundice in pregnancy was 2.32%. Primigravidas constituted 46.53%. Women aged 20-30 years constituted 86.13%. Unbooked cases included 60.39%. Serum bilirubin was >10 mg/dl at admission in 1.98%. Out of the 101 women, 4 remained undelivered. Labor was spontaneous in 53.52%, vaginal delivery in 55.67%. However, 38.63% newborns required NICU care.  Perinatal mortality was 8.91% (3.96% stillbirths and 4.95% early neonatal deaths. The causes for jaundice were viral hepatitis (30.69%), HELLP syndrome (30.69%), intrahepatic cholestasis (15.84%), acute fatty liver of pregnancy (13.86%) and the rest in combination constituted 8.91%. Maternal mortality was 3 in 101. The various maternal complications were DIC (44.55%), septicemia (10.89%), ARDS (7.92%), acute renal failure (8.91%) and MODS (3.96%). ICU was needed in 14.85% of mothers and blood component therapy in 70.29% cases. All deaths were within 3 weeks of admission.Conclusions: This study emphasizes the need for essential antenatal care at domiciliary and peripheral levels. Early detection and treatment can prevent most of the complications

Pattern of adverse drug reactions reporting in two medical colleges of Tripura, India: a cross sectional study

Background: India as an important clinical trial hub in the world. In clinical trials, many of the drug issues related to the safety are inadequately studied in highly selected and limited number of patients. Due to introduction of many new drugs in the country, it has become essential to have an effective Pharmacovigilance system nationwide. Under reporting of ADRs is widespread and a daunting challenge in Pharmacovigilance programme of India (PvPI).Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted for two months with the objective to study the pattern of ADRs reporting in two teaching hospitals of Tripura. The data were collected in “Suspected ADR reporting forms” of Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC). Suspected ADRs were assessed for causality using Naranjo ADR probability scale.Results: 44 ADR reporting forms were received with 58 ADRS. Among them, Gastrointestinal System ADRs were the highest (25.86%). More ADRs were seen in males than females (52.27% vs 47.72%). 68.18% cases had the medication through oral route. Out of all ADRs, 67.24% were Type A reactions. Most of the reactions reported, were mild (90.9%) based on modified Hartwig severity scale. Most of the ADRs reported were of probable causality (score 5-9) measured by Naranjo’s Algorithm.Conclusions: This study would definitely give an insight into the pattern of ADRs in tertiary health care centers and may help to increase awareness of health care provider for further Pharmacovigilance studies

Teacher professional development for disability inclusion in low- and middle-income Asia-Pacific countries: An evidence and gap map

In the Asia‐Pacific region, around one‐third of the children who are out‐of‐school have a disability and given that teacher readiness and capability are key contributors for inclusive education, it is high time for a mapping of disability inclusive teacher professional development (TPD) interventions in this region. The key objective of this evidence and gap map (EGM) is to locate evidence on interventions for in‐service TPD focussing on education for the inclusion of students with a disability in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) in the Asia‐Pacific region. A broad range of bibliographic databases and repositories were searched electronically to identify the evidence published between January 2000 and December 2021. Key search platforms included the British Education Index (BEI), Education Research Complete (ERC), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), SCOPUS, 3ie Development Evidence Portal (Evidence Hub) and the Campbell Collaborations Systematic Reviews and EGMs portal (Better evidence for a better world). In addition, potential program evaluations/impact reports, reviews, case studies, and program descriptions/summaries were sought through ‘snowballing’ based on searching bibliographies and reference lists of papers located during the search process, as well as specific searches of relevant grey literature. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to contain sufficient details about TPD interventions that support early childhood educators and kindergarten to Year 12 teachers to understand the needs of students with disabilities and aid them to create inclusive mainstream classrooms and/or provide improved support for students with disabilities in special education settings. A total of 820 records were entered into the MS Excel file in which the entire data extraction process was managed. All records were screened against the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers and any differences were resolved through consultations. All included studies and their characteristics were extracted from the MS Excel file and uploaded to the ACER server in.csv file format. The interactive, online EGM is available here: https://datavis.acer.org/gem/disability-inclusion-TPD/. Fifty studies from 16 countries out of the 41 LMICs in the Asia‐Pacific region were identified, whereby Thailand had the largest number of studies with evidence (7) followed by China, Vietnam, and India (5 each). Two main gaps in research about professional learning were identified. First, only three studies reported interventions aimed at supporting mental health among students with a disability. Second, no studies were found that reported on how teachers could support positive student behaviour. These gaps are important because research has persistently suggested that experiencing disability is an important risk factor for young people developing mental health conditions. This report illustrates the critical value of evaluating and publishing evidence from disability inclusive TPD interventions in LMICs, including any that are ongoing, or are components of highly resource intensive large‐scale education sector programs

Compassion is the need of the hour

The pandemic reminds us of our duty to inculcate the values of empathy and compassion in every child so that they learn to become individuals who not only display sensitivity towards the situation of others but also support them in times of need

Mother tongue, please!

There is sufficient research to show that mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) can help improve learning levels of students. Anannya Chakraborty discusses the key role of teachers in driving MTB-MLE and the systemic challenges of successfully engaging teachers in such programmes

Re-examining participatory approaches in education

Drawing from the challenges of participatory approaches to development, Anannya Chakraborty describes the need for innovations to successfully engage education stakeholders at every level

Teacher resources on higher order thinking skills

Teaching higher-order thinking skills right from school can bridge the education and employment skills gap. Our ACER experts share a list of free teaching resources on higher order thinking skills