‘Are we being de-gifted, Miss?’ Primary school gifted and talented co-ordinators’ responses to the Gifted and Talented Education Policy in England

This is the accepted version of the following article: Koshy, V. and Pinheiro-Torres, C. (2013), ‘Are we being de-gifted, Miss?’ Primary school gifted and talented co-ordinators’ responses to the Gifted and Talented Education Policy in England. British Educational Research Journal, 39: 953–978. doi: 10.1002/berj.3021, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.3021/abstract.Over a decade ago the UK government launched its gifted and talented education policy in England, yet there has been very little published research which considers how schools and teachers are interpreting and implementing the policy. By seeking the views of the gifted and talented co-ordinators (For ease of reference, the term gifted and talented (G&T) co-ordinator is used throughout the paper as a generic shorthand for the research participants who were either designated school gifted and talented co-ordinators or teachers or head teachers with responsibility for policy implementation) with responsibility for addressing the requirements of the policy, the study reported in this paper explored how primary schools in England responded to the policy. Drawing on data gathered using questionnaires with a national sample of primary schools as well as follow-up in-depth interviews with a sample of G&T co-ordinators, the authors report their findings. The study found that there was considerable unease about the concept of identifying and ‘labelling’ a group of pupils as ‘gifted and talented’. G&T co-ordinators found it difficult to interpret the policy requirements and were responding pragmatically to what they considered to be required by the government. Curriculum provision for the selected group of gifted and talented pupils was patchy. The paper concludes by identifying a need for further professional development for teachers and by challenging the policy's over-emphasis on identifying and labelling gifted and talented pupils. We posit whether the gifted and talented education policy would have been better introduced and enjoyed greater success by leaving the identification of pupils to one side and by placing greater emphasis on developing effective learning and teaching strategies instead

Opportunities and challenges of working with gifted and talented students in an urban context: A university-based intervention program

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article appeared in Gifted Child Today, 34(1), 2011. Copyright 2011 @ Sage Publications.No abstract available

Nurturing the young shoots of talent: Using action research for exploration and theory building

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(4), 433-450, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1350293X.2011.623515.This paper reports the outcomes of a set of action research projects carried out by teacher researchers in 14 local education authorities in England, working collaboratively with university tutors, over a period of three years. The common aim of all the projects was to explore practical ways of nurturing the gifts and talents of children aged four–seven years. The project was funded by the Department of Education and Skills in England as part of the government's gifted and talented programme. The project teachers felt that their understanding of issues relating to nurturing the gifts and talents of younger children was enhanced through their engagement in the project. It was possible to map the findings of the projects to the English government's National Quality Standards for gifted and talented education which include: (1) identification; (2) effective provision in the classroom; (3) enabling curriculum entitlement and choice; (4) assessment for learning; (5) engaging with community, families and beyond. The findings are also analysed within the framework of good practice in educating children in the first years of schooling. Participating practitioners felt that action research offered them a suitable methodology to explore the complexity of the topic of giftedness through cycles of planning, action and reflection and personal theory building

Eating the elephant whole or in slices: views of participants in a smoking cessation intervention trial on multiple behaviour changes as sequential or concurrent tasks

Background: This paper explores smoking cessation participants’ perceptions of attempting weight management alongside smoking cessation within the context of a health improvement intervention implemented in Glasgow, Scotland. <p/>Methods: One hundred and thirty-eight participants were recruited from smoking cessation classes in areas of multiple deprivation in Glasgow and randomised to intervention, receiving dietary advice, or to control groups. The primary outcome of the study was to determine the % change in body weight. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 intervention and 15 control participants at weeks 6 (during the intervention) and 24 (at the end of the intervention). The current paper, though predominantly qualitative, links perceptions of behaviour modification to % weight change and cessation rates at week 24 thereby enabling a better understanding of the mediators influencing multiple behaviour change. <p/>Results: Our findings suggest that participants who perceive separate behaviour changes as part of a broader approach to a healthier lifestyle, and hence attempt behaviour changes concurrently, may be at comparative advantage in positively achieving dual outcomes. <p/>Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to assess participants’ preference for attempting multiple behaviour changes sequentially or simultaneously in addition to assessing their readiness to change. Further testing of this hypothesis is warranted

Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination of Vanadium(V) with N-p-Chlorophenyl-2-naphthohydroxamic Acid and Investigation of Its Solid Complex

A simple, selective and sensitive method for the extractive spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V) using N-p-chlorophenyl- 2-naphthohydroxamic acid (CP-2-NHA) is described. Vanadium( V) is quantitatively extracted from 3-8.4 M HCl as a violet complex with CP-2-NHA into chloroform. Beer\u27s law is applicable in the concentration range 34 and 224 fig of vanadium(V) per 25 ml of chloroform extract. The Sandell sensitivity of the system is 0.0089 μg/cm2 at 530 nm. The method has been satisfactorily employed for the determination of vanadium in steel. The solid complex, VOCI (C11H11N02Cl)2, was prepared and characterised by melting point, elemental analysis, visible and infrared spectra

Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination of Vanadium(V) with N-p-Chlorophenyl-2-naphthohydroxamic Acid and Investigation of Its Solid Complex

A simple, selective and sensitive method for the extractive spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V) using N-p-chlorophenyl- 2-naphthohydroxamic acid (CP-2-NHA) is described. Vanadium( V) is quantitatively extracted from 3-8.4 M HCl as a violet complex with CP-2-NHA into chloroform. Beer\u27s law is applicable in the concentration range 34 and 224 fig of vanadium(V) per 25 ml of chloroform extract. The Sandell sensitivity of the system is 0.0089 μg/cm2 at 530 nm. The method has been satisfactorily employed for the determination of vanadium in steel. The solid complex, VOCI (C11H11N02Cl)2, was prepared and characterised by melting point, elemental analysis, visible and infrared spectra

Whole Body Cooling (WBC) for newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia: A feasibility trial

INTRODUCTION: Neonatal mortality accounts for two-thirds of the infant mortality rate in India and other developing countries. It is estimated that over 1 million newborn infants die during the first four weeks of life. The current neonatal mortality rate in India is 39 per 1000 live births.1 Asphyxia was the single most important cause of still-births, accounting for 45.1% of all intrauterine deaths and the primary cause for neonatal mortality, accounting for 28.8% of all the deaths.2 Morbidity associated with perinatal asphyxia includes cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, visual and hearing impairments, behavioural abnormalities and residual motor or cognitive disabilities. These have a considerable effect on the surviving babies, their families and on society. The etiology of perinatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) includes those conditions that can affect the cerebral blood flow in the fetus and newborn compromising the supply of oxygen to the brain. They may develop antepartum (20%), intrapartum (30%), intrapartum and antepartum (35%) or postpartum (10%). HIE that develops in the setting of perinatal asphyxia is part of a multiorgan system disease. After an asphyxial event, there may be an opportunity to intervene to minimize brain damage. The first phase of brain damage, early cell death, results from the primary exhaustion of cellular energy stores. Early cell death can occur within minutes. Damage to the brain is limited at this stage by immediate resuscitation to restore oxygen supply and blood circulation. A secondary phase of neuronal injury occurs some times after the initial insult. There are several mechanisms involved in this process. Treatment during the post resuscitation phase aim to block these processes thereby limiting secondary cell damage and minimizing the extent of potential brain damage. Neuroprotection was achieved in animal models of brain ischemia by reduction in brain temperature by 2°C to 5°C.6-11 Randomized control trials done in the developed countries using expensive equipment was shown to reduce mortality and morbidity among newborn survivors of perinatal asphyxia.12-17 The present trial was conducted to evaluate whether whole-body cooling could be achieved in a lowresource setting using simple available cooling materials. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: Aim and objectives: To study the feasibility of whole body cooling for newborn infants with perinatal asphyxia in a low resource setting. Primary objective: Achievement of target temperature within 1 hour of initiation of treatment and within 6 hours of birth and maintaining the target temperature for 72 hours. Secondary objectives: Monitoring adverse events and possible complications that could occur secondary to whole body cooling. 1. Cardiac arrhythmia, 2. Persistent hypoxemia, 3. Hypotension despite full inotropic support, 4. Skin changes, 5. Thrombocytopenia, 6. Life threatening coagulopathy, 7. Arterial thrombosis, 8. Hepatic and renal failure, 9. Electrolyte disturbances, 10. Death. METHODOLOGY: Babies who were recruited into the trial included inborn (born at the Christian Medical College and Hospital) and outborn (born in a place other than the Christian Medical College and Hospital) admitted into the neonatal unit of the hospital. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for Inborn babies. Inclusion criteria: 1. Gestational age >35 wks, 2. pH 12 in umbilical cord arterial blood sample or postnatal ABG within firs hour of life AND, 3. Any two of the following, 4. Apgar score < 5 at 5 minutes, 5. Ventilation initiated at birth and continued for at least 10 minutes, 6. History of acute perinatal event (any one) • Intrapartum fetal distress, • Cord prolapse, • Placental abruption, • Maternal respiratory arrest, • Uterine rupture / dehiscence. Exclusion criteria: 1. Inability to start cooling the baby by 5.0 hours of age, 2. Small for gestational age babies (less than 10th centile for age), 3. Chromosomal abnormality, 4.Major congenital anomaly, 5. Refusal of consent for study participation. Inclusion and Exclusion criteria for Outborn babies: Inclusion criteria (all 3): • Gestational age >35 wks. • Babies who did not cry immediately after birth with any or all of the following features: 1. Not breathing normally at five minutes of birth, 2. Given assistance for breathing during or soon after birth, 3. Limp or flaccid since birth, 4. Not sucking well at the breast since birth without any oro-facial abnormality if documented by a pediatrician, 5. Apgar score of 5 or less at 5 minutes, • Evidence of encephalopathy Exclusion criteria: 1. Inability to start cooling the baby by 5.0 hours of age, 2. Small for gestational age babies (less than 10th centile for age), 3. Chromosomal abnormality, 4. Major congenital anomaly, 5. Refusal of consent for study participation. CONCLUSIONS: The conclusions of this feasibility trial are: 1. In a low resource setting, it is feasible to • Obtain an informed consent and start the procedure within the acceptable time-frame of 6 hours following birth. • Achieve a target rectal temperature within 6 hours of birth and 90 minutes of commencement of whole body cooling. • Maintain the target rectal temperature for 72 hours. 2. Low-cost, easily available and reusable materials like cloth covered ice-gel packs are sufficient for achieving and maintaining the target rectal temperature. 3. Constant and careful monitoring of the skin temperature may be adequate in low resource centers. 4. There were only minimal serious adverse events during this procedure. • Newborn infants who have deranged coagulation parameters with obvious signs of bleeding should probably be excluded from the cooling process