Review of the literature on individual education plans

Aims and Scope of the Review - this review was carried out under a contract with the New Zealand Ministry of Education, which contained the following requirements: A literature review of national and international developments in the use of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) with schools and families, with particular attention to special education assessment practice(s) and their relationship to the IEP process. The purposes of the review were defined as follows: 1. To undertake a literature review of national and international developments in IEP processes and special education assessment practice to contribute to the Ministry of Education’s current project to review, revise and position the Individual Education Programme (IEP) Guidelines in relation to: the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2007), current assessment practices, effective teaching and learning practices, and engagement and reporting to parents, family and whanau (National Standards). 2. To provide both New Zealand and international research evidence of effective and/or evidence based practice, which, along with the data being collected by the Ministry of Education project team, will ultimately inform the future use of IEPs. The scope of the review was defined as follows: 1. The focus of the review is to be on: students with special needs in all school sector settings, students as learners, not the disability or the diagnosis they present with, the use of IEPs with schools and parents, the role of special education staff and other agencies in the IEP process, and what makes the IEP process effective for schools, students and their families, and what evidence there is of their effectiveness, with particular reference to the educational implications. 2. The literature sourced will include studies from both New Zealand and overseas, and peer reviewed journals and other publications

Emergency cross-cover of surgical specialties: Consensus recommendations by the Association of Surgeons in Training

AbstractIn recent years, working time restrictions and a restructuring of postgraduate surgical training have resulted in increased reliance on emergency cross-cover (ECC) – the provision of emergency care by a doctor trained or training in a different specialty to that which they are requested to assess or manage. There are increasing concerns surrounding the provision of ECC, particularly regarding appropriate supervision of trainees and in turn their competence, experience and confidence in dealing with surgical problems of outside their own specialty. Surgical training has failed to keep pace with workforce changes and in this document we outline the key principles of providing safe ECC. In particular this includes the medico-legal implications of providing such cover outside a surgical trainee's normal area of practice, particularly without previous experience or means for regular skills practice and up-dating. We report the findings of an ASiT snapshot survey that demonstrates concerns surrounding existing cross-cover arrangements. Variable access to senior support, together with varied willingness to provide this, and a paucity of specific training opportunities for trainees required to provide cross-cover were highlighted. These have the potential to promote variability in patient care and resource use by those providing care outside of their usual specialty. This document provides consensus recommendations to address these issues, including clarification of curricula and improved provision of training for, and supervision of, trainees who are expected to deliver cross-cover

Comparative review of education doctorates in three Countries..

Researchers affiliated with education PhD programs in Australia and New Zealand, and an education EdD program in the United States aimed to enhance understanding of contemporary education doctorate approaches and challenges. The central research question was: What knowledge will emerge regarding education doctoral programs through the lens of globalization? Using a descriptive interpretive research paradigm, collaborators determined that although education doctorate approaches vary, skills developed are similar. As researchers are increasingly viewed as strategic assets, access to quality education is essential. Doctoral program planners must attend to the paradigm shift away from traditional apprenticeship supervision pedagogy to structured and standardized approaches. For sustainability, online education must be integrated into doctoral programs, while ensuring faculty are trained in distance education theory and best practices. As growth in doctoral enrollments drives the need for more faculty, program planners must also aim to solve related problems of contingent academic labor

Mental health handbook for schools

As the government strives for a more inclusive education policy, more and more teachers find themselves in the frontline when dealing with children with mental health problems. Many have not had training in such matters and so feel unprepared and uncertain when faced with difficult situations. The Mental Health Handbook for Schools provides valuable information on a comprehensive range of mental health problems with which teachers are often confronted. Drawing on up-to-date research and practice in these areas the book considers what schools can do, within the special needs framework, to help pupils with these problems. It usefully reflects on the role of the mental health services in relation to schools and how schools can adopt a whole-school preventative approach to mental health problems. The authors address an extensive range of mental health problems including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorders and schizophrenia. They also cover situations that can often lead to the development of mental health problems including bullying, divorce and marital conflict, bereavement and physical, sexual and emotional abuse

Developmental Changes in GABAergic Mechanisms in Human Visual Cortex Across the Lifespan

Functional maturation of visual cortex is linked with dynamic changes in synaptic expression of GABAergic mechanisms. These include setting the excitation–inhibition balance required for experience-dependent plasticity, as well as, intracortical inhibition underlying development and aging of receptive field properties. Animal studies have shown that there is developmental regulation of GABAergic mechanisms in visual cortex. In this study, we show for the first time how these mechanisms develop in the human visual cortex across the lifespan. We used Western blot analysis of postmortem tissue from human primary visual cortex (n = 30, range: 20 days to 80 years) to quantify expression of eight pre- and post-synaptic GABAergic markers. We quantified the inhibitory modulating cannabinoid receptor (CB1), GABA vesicular transporter (VGAT), GABA synthesizing enzymes (GAD65/GAD67), GABAA receptor anchoring protein (Gephyrin), and GABAA receptor subunits (GABAAα1, GABAAα2, GABAAα3). We found a complex pattern of different developmental trajectories, many of which were prolonged and continued well into the teen, young adult, and even older adult years. These included a monotonic increase or decrease (GABAAα1, GABAAα2), a biphasic increase then decrease (GAD65, Gephyrin), or multiple increases and decreases (VGAT, CB1) across the lifespan. Comparing the balances between the pre- and post-synaptic markers we found three main transition stages (early childhood, early teen years, aging) when there were rapid switches in the composition of the GABAergic signaling system, indicating that functioning of the GABAergic system must change as the visual cortex develops and ages. Furthermore, these results provide key information for translating therapies developed in animal models into effective treatments for amblyopia in humans

Celebrating is remembering: OUTing the Past as a study in the reflective and transformative potential of small events

Since its emergence in the latter half of the twentieth century, public history has engendered ongoing transformations in the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Its aims, as well as efforts undertaken as part of its praxis, are reminders that collaborative engagements with individuals and communities can simultaneously serve to commemorate, educate and empower. Recent scholarship that examines pop-up events underscores both their significance to public history and the innovative potential they represent in celebrating LGBT+ lives and experiences. In particular, the extent to which they encourage considerations of space that are more attentive to localities and pluralities is indicative of the disruptive significance of small-scale events. Among other possibilities that lend themselves to expanding the reach of public history, particularly by adopting new modes of interpretation that place a premium on active engagement, creative arts programming provides a pathway to stimulating interest in exploring and understanding the past. The work of OUTing the Past, a UK-based organisation, effectively reflects aspirations associated with public history, with the logistical benefits of pop-up events and the contributions of creative productions finding purchase in its programming. Documenting the commitments it makes to re/centring history and the frameworks it has strategically developed in realising these provides the impetus for this critical study of a multifaceted approach to promoting small-scale LGBT+ celebrations