Self-Efficacy of General and Special Education Teachers Regarding Inclusion

This sequential mixed methods study was designed to compare the perceptions, attitudes, and self-efficacy of elementary and middle school general and special education teachers and administrators regarding inclusion. The study identified specific areas of needed support and training to improve these factors. The study took place at a kindergarten through 8 research site in the southeastern portion of the United States. The problem addressed was that school administrators are uncertain about the perceptions of general and special education teachers’ self-efficacy regarding effective instructional inclusion of students with special needs in the general education classroom. Using quantitative survey inquiry and qualitative interview protocols, the study examined the perceptions of general, special education teachers, and administrators to compare responses to the research questions. Research questions inquired into the perceptions of inclusion effectiveness and what training could be provided to assist with the challenges of inclusion within the general classroom. The results of the study revealed that special education teachers scored slightly higher than general education teachers in self-efficacy within inclusive settings. Teachers with preservice or graduate training for inclusion also scored higher for self-efficacy. Administrators scored the self-efficacy practices of teachers higher than teacher perceptions of their abilities. All groups believed that teaching inclusion within the general education classroom can be improved through ongoing professional development training

Why does passion wane? A qualitative study of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in married women

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is a prevalent and disabling condition for women and their partners. With one in three women experiencing a significant lack of interest in sexual activity, it is the most common female sexual dysfunction. It is also the most treatment resistant. Despite increased awareness of the problem, we have seen an increase in cases of low sexual desire over the past two decades. There is currently no standard treatment modality recommended for HSDD because of difficulties (1) defining the vague concept and (2) establishing what is normal. Recently, clinicians have favored a treatment relational approach because of the importance of interpersonal influences for women. Yet, treatment outcomes have not improved and HSDD remains poorly understood semi-structured interviews, participants were asked what causal attributions they make and barriers they perceive to their loss of sexual desire. Grounded theory methodology was utilized to identify emergent themes and build a comprehensive theory about loss of desire. Three core themes emerged from the data which appeared to represent dragging threes on sexual desire. They are (1) institutionalization of relationships, (2) over-familiarity with one\u27s partner, and (3) the de-sexualization of roles within these relationships. Based on these core themes, a model of female sexual desire is presented. It is a model of dilemmas, or paradoxes, that women appear to experience related to sex. On one hand, women work toward and value marriage and the meanings associated with it, such as security and family. Ironically, however, their sexual needs are in direct competition with its very ideals. The extent to which couples navigate these dilemmas may be a determinant in successful treatment for HSDD; Until now, anger, communication problems and other relationship influences have been stressed in the literature as reasons for loss of desire and the focus of clinical interventions. However, our data suggest that reasons that married women lose desire may have more to do with factors such as physical attraction, lack of sexual novelty, and role incompatibility than relationship factors. Clinical implications are discussed and possibilities for future research explored

Separation anxiety disorder in toddlers

The present study examined differences in families with a child with no symptoms of separation anxiety, subclinical separation anxiety (1-2 symptoms), and Separation Anxiety Disorder (3 or more symptoms). Specifically, an initial attempt was made to identify variables that may contribute to the development of Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in toddlers. Parents of 60 toddlers were administered the SAD portion of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule to determine if their child met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for SAD. Thirty percent of parents had children with no SAD, 43% had children with subclinical separation anxiety, and 27% of parents had children who met criteria for SAD. Parents completed the Family Environment Scale, the Conners\u27 Parent Rating Scale, and the Social Support Questionnaire-Short Form. Teachers of each child also completed the Conners\u27 Teacher Rating Scale. Results indicated that children with SAD displayed significantly more internalizing behaviors than children with subclinical SAD and children with subclinical SAD displayed significantly higher levels of internalizing behaviors than children without SAD. In general, families of a child with SAD reported higher levels of cohesion than families with a child without SAD, though differences were not significant. Additionally, families of children with SAD did not differ significantly from families of children without SAD with respect to levels of independence, conflict, and number of social supports. Results are discussed with respect to implications for etiology and treatment of SAD in toddlers

Senior Exhibition Show Card

Show card for Senior Exhibition featuring Karen E. O\u27Connor and Shawn Irvin Sims.https://digitalcommons.udallas.edu/senior_87-88/1000/thumbnail.jp

Applied Learning Activity for Health and Fitness Students to Advocate for School Playground and Gymnasium Safety

Playground accidents are a leading cause of injury to children at school and home. Health and physical education faculty and students from a university school of education and college of nursing collaborated with wellness team members in a public school system to complete a systematic planning process. The aim was to enhance the school health program and reduce risk of injuries. University faculty mentored health and physical education students as they developed professional competencies related to program planning and advocacy. Students identified safety hazards in 52 school/community playgrounds and 45 gymnasiums, and reported maintenance issues to reduce the risk of injuries. Teachers, parents, students and community residents can learn to assess playground and gymnasium safety, identify hazards, and plan improvements to the school health environment

Creating a Professional Development Plan for a Simulation Consortium

As the United States struggles with health care reform and a nursing education system that inadequately prepares students for practice, dramatic advances in educational technology signal opportunities for both academic and practicing nurses to affect our profession as never before. Simulation technologies provide large and small institutions with the means to educate health care students and novice professionals effectively and efficiently through hands-on experience, but the costs of such a venture can be prohibitive. A simulation consortium offers a venue for different health care and educational institutions with shared goals to pool knowledge, monies, and labor toward health care education throughout a geographic area. This article details one Midwestern U.S. region's work in creating a professional development plan for a new simulation consortium

A profile of children’s physical activity data from the 2012 and 2015 health survey for England

Background. Low childhood physical activity levels constitute an important modifiable risk for adult non-communicable disease incidence and subsequent socio-economic burden, but few publications have explored age and sex related patterns within the UK population. The aims were to profile child physical activity data from the Health Survey for England from 2012 (1,732 respondents) and 2015 (5,346 respondents). Methods. Reported physical activity episodes were converted to metabolic equivalents with reference to child-specific compendiums. Physical activity levels were aggregated for each domain, and again to produce total physical activity estimates. Contributions from each domain to total physical activity were explored, stratifying for age, sex, socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity, and weight status. Further analyses were run stratifying for physical activity levels. Few differences were detected between the survey iterations. Results. Boys reported higher absolute levels of physical activity at all ages and across all domains. For boys and girls, informal activity reduces with age. For boys this reduction is largely mitigated by increased formal sport, but this is not the case for girls. Absolute levels of school activity and active travel remained consistent regardless of total physical activity, thereby comprising an increasingly important proportion of total physical activity for less active children. Conclusions. We recommend a specific focus on establishing and maintaining girl’s participation in formal sport thorough their teenage years, and a recognition and consolidation of the important role played by active travel and school-based physical activity for the least active children

A profile of children’s physical activity data from the 2012 and 2015 health survey for England

Background: Low childhood physical activity levels constitute an important modifiable risk for adult non-communicable disease incidence and subsequent socio-economic burden, but few publications have explored age and sex related patterns within the UK population. The aims were to profile child physical activity data from the Health Survey for England from 2012 (1,732 respondents) and 2015 (5,346 respondents). Methods: Reported physical activity episodes were converted to metabolic equivalents with reference to child-specific compendiums. Physical activity levels were aggregated for each domain, and again to produce total physical activity estimates. Contributions from each domain to total physical activity were explored, stratifying for age, sex, socio-economic deprivation, ethnicity, and weight status. Further analyses were run stratifying for physical activity levels. Few differences were detected between the survey iterations. Results: Boys reported higher absolute levels of physical activity at all ages and across all domains. For boys and girls, informal activity reduces with age. For boys this reduction is largely mitigated by increased formal sport, but this is not the case for girls. Absolute levels of school activity and active travel remained consistent regardless of total physical activity, thereby comprising an increasingly important proportion of total physical activity for less active children. Conclusions: We recommend a specific focus on establishing and maintaining girl’s participation in formal sport thorough their teenage years, and a recognition and consolidation of the important role played by active travel and school-based physical activity for the least active children

Targeting choroid plexus epithelia and ventricular ependyma for drug delivery to the central nervous system

Background: Because the choroid plexus (CP) is uniquely suited to control the composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), there may be therapeutic benefits to increasing the levels of biologically active proteins in CSF to modulate central nervous system (CNS) functions. To this end, we sought to identify peptides capable of ligand-mediated targeting to CP epithelial cells reasoning that they could be exploited to deliver drugs, biotherapeutics and genes to the CNS.Methods: A peptide library displayed on M13 bacteriophage was screened for ligands capable of internalizing into CP epithelial cells by incubating phage with CP explants for 2 hours at 37C and recovering particles with targeting capacity.Results: Three peptides, identified after four rounds of screening, were analyzed for specific and dose dependant binding and internalization. Binding was deemed specific because internalization was prevented by co-incubation with cognate synthetic peptides. Furthermore, after i.c.v. injection into rat brains, each peptide was found to target phage to epithelial cells in CP and to ependyma lining the ventricles.Conclusion: These data demonstrate that ligand-mediated targeting can be used as a strategy for drug delivery to the central nervous system and opens the possibility of using the choroid plexus as a portal of entry into the brain