Narratives of change: the role of storytelling, artefacts and children’s literature in building communities of inquiry that care

Xenophobic discourse surrounding migration, resulting in marginalisation of the other, is on the rise. This article tracks the formation of a professional community of teacher inquirers who wanted to challenge the prevalent negative discourse by generating narratives of change. Using narrative inquiry methods to capture ‘stories of experience’ told in response to artefacts of value, the community of inquiry revealed through their storytelling the value of excavating knowledge connected to language, culture and identity. This personal knowledge evoked care and empowered the teachers to confidently select and use children’s literature alongside creative response strategies to re-imagine their classrooms as spaces to welcome refugee and new-arrival children. The article argues that communities of inquiry provide potential ways forward for educators to pre-figure ‘an imperative of mutual care’

Cultural interventions through children’s literature and arts-based practices in times of disaster: a case study of reading mediators’ response to the Mexican earthquakes (September 2017)

Recent natural disasters have challenged current models of crisis management and intervention, demanding speedy, flexible and emergent social actors to respond at multiple levels. To provide a comprehensive response, top-down models have incorporated the critical role played by citizen-volunteers in assisting communities in distress. However, few post-crisis response models have identified new social actors who can contribute with creative, coordinated, and sustainable solutions. In this article, we present the case study of the 2017 Mexican earthquakes and the post-disaster activities developed by an emergent group of social actors — reading mediators. We argue for the critical role of mediators and their use of children’s literature and arts-based practices as essential instruments for community reconstruction. Drawing upon a case study methodology, we share the mediators’ post-disaster activities and experiences in four stages: immediate recovery, stabilisation, development and consolidation. We argue that such cultural interventions are essential in assisting communities recover and build resilience and, more importantly, new social actors such as reading mediators need further formal and institutional support. In this sense, el Protocolo, the cultural protocol developed in response to the mediators’ work, stands as an exemplary model that complements the emergent and distributed actions of reading mediators. As a whole, the Mexican cultural response provides a unique comprehensive approach that could be modeled in other contexts to address the needs of all citizens in vulnerable post-disaster circumstances

‘Why does that lighthouse have a speaker on it?’: the potential of Arabic picture books

The work presented in this article arose from a small-scale project in the west of Scotland and was funded by the University of Glasgow. Three researchers and a visiting scholar worked with two local educators to examine the impact of using internationally available Arabic picturebooks for language and literacy learners in multilingual classrooms

Evaluation of a rehabilitation support service after acute stroke: Feasibility and patient/carer benefit

Background: Stroke survivors returning home after discharge from hospital and their carers require support to meet their rehabilitation needs (independence in Activities of Daily Living, exercise, psychosocial support). Voluntary or charitable care providers may be able to address some of these needs. Objective: To explore the feasibility of delivering and evaluating enhanced support to stroke survivors and their carers, with a Rehabilitation Support Worker (RSW). Methods: 16 consecutive stroke survivors and their carers were included. All participants received usual hospital care. Seven of these patients and their carers were also allocated an RSW from a charitable care provider. The RSW accompanied therapy training sessions with the patient, carer and therapist in hospital. On discharge, the RSW visited the patient and carer at home over the initial 6 week post-discharge period to support them in practising rehabilitation skills. Patient function (Barthel Index) and patient/carer confidence were independently assessed at discharge (Week 0). The above assessments and patient/carer mood (GHQ-12) and Carer Giver Strain were also assessed at Weeks 1, 6 and 12. RSWs were interviewed for their views about the service. Results: Participants’ functional ability at Week 1 post-discharge was significantly higher in the RSW group. At 6 and 12 weeks post-discharge, functional ability was not significantly different between groups. Carers in the intervention group were less confident at all time points, however, this was not significant. There was no significant effect on carer strain or well-being. Interviews with RSWs highlighted areas of their training that could be enhanced and the need for greater clarity as to their role. Conclusions: The results showed that a definitive trial of rehabilitation support is feasible. A number of obstacles however would need to be overcome including: difficulty in identifying suitable patients, clarity of the RSW role, and appropriate training content

Mentoring in the North: New provision, new perspectives?

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Children’s literature in critical contexts of displacement: exploring the value of hope

The article builds upon work carried out through a Children’s Literature in Critical Contexts of Displacement (CLCCD) network funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council–Global Challenges Research Fund. The network brought together academics as well as government and non-governmental organisations with expertise in children’s literature, migration, and education who were actively working in Egypt and Mexico. They collaboratively designed workshops that examined the use of children’s literature as a cultural tool for post-crisis interventions that could contribute to creating a safe space for children and their families to reimagine and restore their self and group identities. This article begins by unravelling the concept of hope, arguing for a critical understanding of hope for transformative use within contexts of flux. Using a critical content analysis approach, five picturebooks used by Egyptian and Mexican mediators were analysed in order to develop an understanding of how critical hope developed within the texts. The emerging themes have been expanded into a set of guiding questions that will enable mediators and educators to use children’s literature in contexts of displacement or precarit

Linking Auxin with Photosynthetic Rate via Leaf Venation

International audienceLand plants lose vast quantities of water to the atmosphere during photosynthetic gas exchange. In angiosperms, a complex network of veins irrigates the leaf, and it is widely held that the density and placement of these veins determines maximum leaf hydraulic capacity and thus maximum photosynthetic rate. This theory is largely based on interspecific comparisons and has never been tested using vein mutants to examine the specific impact of leaf vein morphology on plant water relations. Here we characterize mutants at the Crispoid (Crd) locus in pea (Pisum sativum), which have altered auxin homeostasis and activity in developing leaves, as well as reduced leaf vein density and aberrant placement of free-ending veinlets. This altered vein phenotype in crd mutant plants results in a significant reduction in leaf hydraulic conductance and leaf gas exchange. We find Crispoid to be a member of the YUCCA family of auxin biosynthetic genes. Our results link auxin biosynthesis with maximum photosynthetic rate through leaf venation and substantiate the theory that an increase in the density of leaf veins coupled with their efficient placement can drive increases in leaf photosynthetic capacity

The scholarship of teaching and learning: a university teacher learning community’s work in progress1

The understanding of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has raised debate amongst many academics employed in Higher Education (HE). One way of exploring the issues surrounding SoTL in academic institutions has been through the establishment of learning communities (LCs). Very popular in HE establishments within the United States of America, LCs allow a comfortable environment in which academic staff may explore ways to develop professional scholarship in relation to individual disciplines. This can be achieved through sharing of ideas and fostering a multidisciplinary approach to SoTL by establishing contact with other academics who may not otherwise have the chance to meet.This paper examines the experience of exploring SoTL at the start of a newly formed LC that is composed of a relatively new breed of academic staff, entitled ‘University Teachers’ (UTs), at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. This LC, believed to be one of the first in existence in HE in the UK, will allow a diverse group of academics to explore SoTL in a community environment. This article explores the issues arising in the establishment of the newly formed LC, as well as raising the question of the potential impact of the LC on university policy for SoTL and UTs

The scholarship of teaching and learning: a university teacher learning community’s work in progress1

The understanding of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has raised debate amongst many academics employed in Higher Education (HE). One way of exploring the issues surrounding SoTL in academic institutions has been through the establishment of learning communities (LCs). Very popular in HE establishments within the United States of America, LCs allow a comfortable environment in which academic staff may explore ways to develop professional scholarship in relation to individual disciplines. This can be achieved through sharing of ideas and fostering a multidisciplinary approach to SoTL by establishing contact with other academics who may not otherwise have the chance to meet.This paper examines the experience of exploring SoTL at the start of a newly formed LC that is composed of a relatively new breed of academic staff, entitled ‘University Teachers’ (UTs), at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. This LC, believed to be one of the first in existence in HE in the UK, will allow a diverse group of academics to explore SoTL in a community environment. This article explores the issues arising in the establishment of the newly formed LC, as well as raising the question of the potential impact of the LC on university policy for SoTL and UTs