Toward An Understanding of Developmental Coordination Disorder: Terminological and Diagnostic Issues

Awareness of children who experience unexpected difficulty in the acquisition of motor skills has increased dramatically over the last twenty years. Although the positing of a distinct syndrome has proven seminal in provoking further questions, several basic terminological problems remain unresolved. In this paper, we conduct a component analysis of the three, principal competing labels for this disorder, two of them being elements derived from systematic diagnostic frameworks. Our preference for the DSM IV term Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is stated find justified. Problems in diagnosis are discussed, especially in relation to the etiology-dominated medical model. We argue that an attempt should be made to identify (pathological) positive signs that can reliably be detected rather than relying entirely on normative evidence of a lack of skills exhibited by other children of the same age. The high degree of overlap between DCD and other developmental disorders suggests that DCD might not constitute a distinct syndrome. In this context, we emphasize the need to determine whether incoordination takes a different form when it occurs alone or whether it is combined with general developmental delay or with other specific disorders in children of normal intelligence

Qualitative Study of Current and Prospective Student Perceptions of a University Website

Building a sustainable system that goes beyond myopic interests and short-term policies is an arduous task for any school leader. In the U.S., our education system has been criticized for being too shallow in curriculum and unsustainable in the long run. In fact, a 2007 report by UNICEF concerning children’s well-being in 22 countries ranked the U.K. and the U.S. at the bottom of the industrialized nations in the survey. Hargreaves (2007) laments that these two countries, in their single-minded pursuit of economic competitiveness and development at all costs, are destroying the planet, while “eating their young.

Developing mathematical thinking in the primary classroom: liberating students and teachers as learners of mathematics

This paper reports on a research study conducted with a group of practising primary school teachers (n = 24) in North East Scotland during 2011–2012. The teachers were all participants in a newly developed Masters course that had been designed with the aim of promoting the development of mathematical thinking in the primary classroom as part of project supported by the Scottish Government. The paper presents the background for this initiative within the context of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence reform. Particular attention is given to the epistemological positioning of the researchers as this influenced both the curriculum design process and also the theoretical framing of the research study which are both described. The project was set up within a design research framework, which aimed to promote classroom-based action research on the part of participants through the course and also research by the university researchers into the process of curriculum development. The research questions focused on the teachers’ confidence, competence, attitudes and beliefs in relation to mathematics and their expectations and experiences of the impact on pupil learning arising from this course. Empirical data were drawn from pre- and post-course surveys, interviews and observations of the discussion forums in the online environment. Findings from this study highlight the way the course had a transformational and emancipatory impact on these teachers. They also highlight ways in which the ‘framing’ of particular aspects of the curriculum had an oppressive impact on learners in the ways that suppressed creativity and limited the exercise of learner autonomy. Furthermore, they highlight the ways in which a number of these teachers had experienced mathematics as a school subject in very negative ways, involving high levels of ‘symbolic violence’ and of being ‘labelled’

Planting Prosperity and Harvesting Health: Trade-offs and Sustainability in the Oregon-Washington Regional Food System

This assessment reveals food system sustainability trends in Oregon and Washington, focusing specifically on the producers in both states and the consumers in the Portland- Vancouver region. We began the assessment by asking a group of food system stakeholders from Oregon and Washington to define broadly supported goals for a sustainable food system. They also helped us identify the data necessary to understand trends in the food system. This information can be used in the future to establish benchmarks and to assess future progress toward food system sustainability goals. Framed by stakeholder concerns, this report will assist program and policy decision makers in prioritizing efforts to shape and strengthen the regional food system. This information is also a foundation for building new and unique partnerships among organizations in food system planning

Insights about the role of movement in literacy learning based on movement ABC-2 checklist parent ratings for students with and without persisting specific learning disabilities

Movement, which draws on motor skills and executive functions for managing them, plays an important role in literacy learning (e.g., movement of mouth during oral reading and movement of hand and fingers during writing); but relatively little research has focused on movement skills in students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) as the current study did. Parents completed normed Movement Assessment Battery for Children Checklist - 2nd edition (ABC-2), ratings and their children in grades 4 to 9 (M=11 years, 11 months; 94 boys, 61 girls) completed diagnostic assessment used to assign them to diagnostic groups: control typical language learning (N=42), dysgraphia (impaired handwriting) (N=29), dyslexia (impaired word decoding/reading and spelling) (N=65), or oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD) (impaired syntax in oral and written language) (N=19). The research aims were to (a) correlate the Movement ABC-2 parent ratings for Scale A Static/ Predictable Environment (15 items) and Scale B Dynamic/ Unpredictable Environment (15 items) with reading and writing achievement in total sample varying within and across different skills; and (b) compare each SLD group with the control group on Movement ABC-2 parent ratings for Scale A, Scale B, and Scale C Movement-Related (Non-Motor Executive Functions, or Self-Efficacy, or Affect) (13 items). At least one Movement ABC-2 parent rating was correlated with each assessed literacy achievement skill. Each of three SLD groups differed from the control group on two Scale A (static/ predictable environment) (fastens buttons and forms letters with pencil or pen) and on three Scale C (non-motor, movement-related) (distractibility, overactive, and underestimates own ability) items; but only OWL LD differed from control on Scale B (dynamic/unpredictable) items. Applications of findings to assessment and instruction for students ascertained for and diagnosed with persisting SLDs in literacy learning, and future research directions are discussed