Early exposure to storybooks in the home: Validation of title/author checklist measures in a sample of children at elevated risk of reading difficulty

Title/author checklists are a reliable and valid method of measuring young children’s exposure to storybooks. Early storybook exposure is robustly associated with concurrent oral language; a correlation between storybook exposure and concurrent pre-literacy skills was observed for typically developing children, but not for children at elevated risk of reading difficulty

Constructions of higher ability in two maintained and two independent schools

This research is an exploration of constructions of ability, especially `greater ability' within four Maintained and Independent case study schools in Scotland, from a variety of group perspectives. It seeks to illuminate the commonalties and differences between and within schools in individuals' implicit theories of ability and explores the possible implications of such constructs. An analysis of policy and political debate provided the starting point for this research. This led into the empirical work in four case study schools. Data were gathered from semi structured interviews with headteachers, principal teachers of English, Maths, Art and music, class teachers, parents and pupils. In addition, non-participant observation took place for each subject area and class. Multiple perspectives helped to create meaningful layers of perceptions of ability while also making it possible to analyse the complexity of values and beliefs within each class and school. The research found that there were distinctions to be made between schools in both sectors which reflected contrasting viewpoints, echoing `communitarian concerns' and the `culture of self interest' (Ball, 1997). However, the experiences, judgements and choices of individuals presented a more complex pattern in which contradictory beliefs could lead to experiences of dissonance in maintained schools and highlighted the importance of the negotiated ability constructs being brought to bear by individuals within institutions

"There's a lot of places I'd like to go and things I'd like to do": Personalised social care, austerity, and adults with learning disabilities in York. A report on the 'LD Voices, York' project.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Background: Social care in the United Kingdom has been transformed in recent years, driven by the implementation of the personalisation agenda alongside significant budget cuts, which have resulted in restricted eligibility for social care services. The personalisation agenda aims to eradicate a ‘one size fits all’ service, by providing individuals with the opportunity to contribute to the identification of their needs and the opportunity to choose and manage their own care through a personal budget. Previous studies evaluating the effectiveness of the personalisation model in the UK have reported that individuals who are more able, and who have stronger support networks, benefit most from personalised social care [1]; however, this same group is considered most at risk of becoming ineligible for statutory service provision due to restricted eligibility criteria. Reduction of budgets at a local authority level has also been associated with services only being provided to those individuals classified as having critical or substantial needs [2]. The current study aimed to explore the daily living experiences of a group of adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities (LD), who were either not accessing statutory social care services, or who were considered at risk of becoming ineligible for continued statutory support. The study was undertaken following a request from a voluntary sector forum, whose members were concerned about the impact of changes in the social care system on the lives of people with mild and moderate LD. 1.2 Method: • Seven focus groups were conducted, including 26 people with LD and 15 support workers, who were recruited via third-sector organisations. Participants were aged between 23 and 60. • A semi-structured question schedule was implemented, through which people were asked about their experiences in relation to managing their home, involvement in their local community, and access to healthcare, support services, education, employment and leisure activities. • The focus groups were video-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. 1.3 Findings: Themes identified in the focus group discussions are summarised below. Independence and control • People often wanted to live independently, but many found managing the transition into supported or independent living challenging. • Conflicts between the wishes of people with LD and their family carers can result in individuals becoming less of a priority for supported living allocation. • People valued employment and wanted paid work, but were concerned about the impact of this on their benefits. • People had difficulty in managing personal assistants (PAs) and reported having to fit in with PAs’ timetables. The role of employer was identified as stressful, with a lack of training and support provided. • The limited range of employment, social activities and educational opportunities available for people with LD is a barrier to independence. • Stereotyping of people with LD negatively influences employment and education opportunities. • Bullying and harassment in the community can impact on social inclusion and independence for people with LD. Social networks and wellbeing • Voluntary sector organisations offered opportunities to socialise within the local community, which were highly valued and improved quality of life. • Social networks have been fragmented following the closure of specialist day services, resulting in social isolation for some people. • Statutory assessment of need places more emphasis on basic living needs than on social relationships. • The high turnover of PAs made forming and maintaining relationships difficult. • A lack of social support limited opportunities for independence. • Mental health can be adversely affected by the breakdown of social networks. 1. 4 Conclusions Participants used the language of personalisation when talking about their aspirations for greater independence. However, they also identified a number of barriers to greater independence, e.g. not having adequate training and support in navigating the benefits system, or ‘managing’ a PA under the personal budget system, the lack of availability of educational, employment, and leisure opportunities and experiences of discrimination and harassment in the community. There were also examples of people who did not aspire to greater independence and who wanted more support but were not able to get this. The personalisation agenda, delivered in the context of an imperative to reduce spending, perhaps is not a good fit for these individuals. Voluntary sector organisations were seen as central to supporting social relationships, yet many of these organisations are also facing funding cuts. Strong social support networks were described as having a clear influence on quality of life and wellbeing. Wellbeing is now the responsibility of local authorities [5, 6] yet statutory assessment was described as not focusing on the development or maintenance of social networks. This study highlights the need to listen to the voices of people with LD. The findings of this report will be shared with organisations that plan, commission and deliver care to people with LD in York

Does personalised social care meet the needs of adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities?

This article is a summary of a paper delivered at the North-east of England Branch Annual Conference in September 2015. The presentation reported findings from a qualitative focus group study with adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and representatives of community organisations providing support for people with intellectual disabilities (PwID). An overview of key findings is presented here, highlighting: (a) instances in which the personalisation agenda in social care, with its drive to reduce dependence and promote individual responsibility, can be at odds with the needs of PwID, and (b) some contextual constraints on agency and social inclusion within this population

Pre-service teachers and conceptions of intelligence in the Scottish context: challenging a unidimensional view

This exploratory study aimed to investigate the implicit (personal theories) of student teachers through consideration of their beliefs about the nature of ability (intelligence). By drawing on ideas of personhood and identity to investigate constructions of intelligence, the authors also hoped to begin to explore the legitimacy of a multifaceted notion of individual accounts of ability. A questionnaire was administered to student teachers undertaking a one-year intensive postgraduate diploma in order to become high school teachers (n = 46) (12–18 years) or primary teachers (n = 41) (3 up to 12 years). Findings highlight the ways in which these student teachers held contrasting views of intelligence depending on their positioning and the implications for teaching decisions and children’s learning experiences

Fiction reading experience predicts narrative production skills in 9- to 12-year-old children.

Print exposure predicts vocabulary, word reading and reading comprehension in middle childhood (Cain & Oakhill, 2011; Mol & Bus, 2011); there is also some evidence that reading for pleasure may scaffold the development of mentalising skills (Boerma, Mol, & Jolles, 2017; Mar, Tackett, & Moore, 2010), although the mechanisms underpinning these associations are yet to be established. Narrative production requires a range of linguistic, discourse organisation, and perspective-taking (mentalising) skills (Norbury & Bishop, 2003). The current study aimed to investigate the predictive role of fiction reading experience in 9- to 12-year-old children’s narrative skills. We report cross-sectional data collected from 125 children (49% males; mean age 10;6) from the north of England. Measures of fiction reading experience, vocabulary, mentalising, and narrative production were administered during a single testing session. A factor score representing fiction reading experience was derived from an author recognition test, book recognition test, and self-report measure. Children’s narratives were elicited using a wordless picture book. Narratives were coded for eight variables tapping linguistic quality (e.g. syntactic complexity), discourse-level skills (e.g. cohesion; coherence), and psychological engagement with the story’s characters (e.g. mental state language use; false belief narration). Correlations between children’s fiction reading experience and narrative production variables were generally weak to moderate in strength. After controlling standardised measures of vocabulary and mentalising, fiction reading experience was a significant unique predictor of two narrative variables: (a) semantic score (the number of propositions suggested by the illustrations that were included in the narrative); and (b) false belief episode narration. These findings suggest that children who read more fiction show advantages in certain narrative skills, and specifically in measures that require the inference of narrative detail, including characters’ mental states, from illustrations