Disabled parents' involvement in their children's education: an examination of good practice

This report comes at the end of an 11 month study exploring disabled parents' experiences of involvement in their children's education. Supporting parents' participation in their children's schooling has been a government goal for decades. However, previous research has shown that some groups of parents face particular barriers to involvement. This includes disabled parents - although few studies (Joseph Rowntree Foundation 20031, Wates 20042, Morris 20043, Robinson et al4) have focused on their experiences. The focus of this research is very much on identifying and exploring examples of good practice in involving disabled parents within schools and local education authorities. These case studies of individuals' positive experiences are set alongside a review of relevant literature, a critical analysis of wider policy and practice frameworks across the UK, and an analysis of key informant interviews. The report begins with a brief resumé of the project aims and methods. It goes on to present the key findings of the research and finishes with a conclusion which draws out implications for policy and practice

Supporting disabled parents' involvement in their children's education. Good practice guidance for schools

In this guidance you will find the voices of a range of disabled parents describing how good practice in schools has helped them to be involved in their children's education. The guidance is based on the findings of a research project. It is intended for people working in schools, especially heads and teachers seeking to improve parental participation and inclusion. Education policy makers and Inspectorates may find it helpful for informing their reviews of policy and practice. It may also be of interest to disabled parents and the disability voluntary sector. The document contains information about current UK policies on parental involvement and describes the research project which investigated the perceptions of disabled parents. It looks at five different aspects of parental involvement, giving examples of good practice and highlighting suggestions as these emerged from the research project. Key points are summarised in the conclusion, while the appendices include useful resources and contacts

Disabled parents' involvement in their children's education : an examination of good practice. Summary for parents

This leaflet sets out the main findings from research about disabled parents' involvement in their children's education. The research, completed in August 2009, was conducted by a team from Strathclyde University

A century of change in classical ballet teaching: the role of the Royal Academy of dancing/dance in the training of teachers of classical ballet (1900-2000)

Progressive phases in the evolution of the Royal Academy of Dancing's founding intentions and philosophy have been explored in order to determine the on-going development and contextualisation of the training of classical ballet teachers. While the use of archival material and interviews comprised the main source of evidence another significant source was the author's personal perspective first as a student and then as a teacher and examiner in the system under review. An examination of ways in which the many issues, values and practices of teaching ballet interrelate and function revealed a number of tensions, one of which was the identification of how the specifics of this multiform enterprise of teaching have been amalgamated at key stages to achieve reliable learning outcomes in the Academy's development. Since its foundation as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain in 1920, the Royal Academy of Dancing, RAD (retitled in 200 las the Royal Academy of Dance) devised a spectrum of examinations, reaching its zenith m the last decade of the twentieth century with the introduction of degree programmes validated by the University of Durham. In terms of structure, content and aspirations, an in-depth study of these degrees, and of the Routemaster which followed them, reveals tenets considered necessary to produce an increasingly informed classical ballet teacher. As the RAD enters the twenty-first century with its declared policy of widening access and extending genre, and with the introduction of a single distance learning degree, questions are raised concerning the ability of the World's leading organisation in classical ballet education to maintain and promote its reputation for executant excellence. While acknowledging that some of the current changes reflect the difficult financial position facing the Academy, a case is put forward for alternative ways of proceeding and recommendations made for a critical reappraisal of classical ballet teaching m the light of the original aims of the organisation and the current context in which it operates

Disabled parents' involvement in their children's education: looking at good practice: Accessible Summary

This research project looked at how disabled parents, including people with learning disabilities, are involved in their children's education. This could be helping children with homework, going to parents' evenings at school, helping out in the classroom or on school trips, or being part of a parents' group. Children do better at school when their parents are involved in lots of different ways

Curriculum architecture - a literature review

The analysis of almost 400 abstracts, articles, books from academic sources, policy documents and the educational press has been undertaken to attempt to illuminate the concept of Curriculum Architecture. The phrase itself is not current in the Scottish educational discourse. This review has attempted to look at the international research literature, available over the past ten years or so, on the sub-themes identified in the SEED specification

Asking difficult questions about institutional repositories: Factors for success and new directions for development and research

This interactive point/counter point panel session on institutional repositories will present current research and practice related to the factors for success of IR's. Difficult questions about the feasibility of investing in the development of an institutional repository will generate long overdue conversations about the future directions for research and development of institutional repositories.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78322/1/1450460120_ftp.pd

“Because we have really unique art”: Decolonizing Research with Indigenous Youth Using the Arts

Indigenous communities in Canada share a common history of colonial oppression. As a result, many Indigenous populations are disproportionately burdened with poor health outcomes, including HIV. Conventional public health approaches have not yet been successful in reversing this trend. For this study, a team of community- and university-based researchers came together to imagine new possibilities for health promotion with Indigenous youth. A strengths-based approach was taken that relied on using the energies and talents of Indigenous youth as a leadership resource. Art-making workshops were held in six different Indigenous communities across Canada in which youth could explore the links between community, culture, colonization, and HIV. Twenty artists and more than 85 youth participated in the workshops. Afterwards, youth participants reflected on their experiences in individual in-depth interviews. Youth participants viewed the process of making art as fun, participatory, and empowering; they felt that their art pieces instilled pride, conveyed information, raised awareness, and constituted a tangible achievement. Youth participants found that both the process and products of arts-based methods were important. Findings from this project support the notion that arts-based approaches to the development of HIV-prevention knowledge and Indigenous youth leadership are helping to involve a diverse cross-section of youth in a critical dialogue about health. Arts-based approaches represent one way to assist with decolonization for future generations

Image-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy: preliminary outcomes and toxicity of a joint interventional radiology and radiation oncology technique for achieving local control in challenging cases.

PurposeTo determine the ability of image-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy (IG-HDR) to provide local control (LC) of lesions in non-traditional locations for patients with heavily pre-treated malignancies.Material and methodsThis retrospective series included 18 patients treated between 2012 and 2014 with IG-HDR, either in combination with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT; n = 9) or as monotherapy (n = 9). Lesions were located in the pelvis (n = 5), extremity (n = 2), abdomen/retroperitoneum (n = 9), and head/neck (n = 2). All cases were performed in conjunction between interventional radiology and radiation oncology. Toxicity was graded based on CTCAE v4.0 and local failure was determined by RECIST criteria. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed for LC and overall survival.ResultsThe median follow-up was 11.9 months. Two patients had localized disease at presentation; the remainder had recurrent and/or metastatic disease. Seven patients had prior EBRT, with a median equivalent dose in 2 Gy fractions (EQD2) of 47.0 Gy. The median total EQD2s were 34 Gy and 60.9 Gy for patients treated with monotherapy or combination therapy, respectively. Image-guided high-dose rate brachytherapy was delivered in one to six fractions. Six patients had local failures at a median interval of 5.27 months with a one-year LC rate of 59.3% and a one-year overall survival of 40.7%. Six patients died from their disease at a median interval of 6.85 months from the end of treatment. There were no grade ≥ 3 acute toxicities but two patients had serious long term toxicities.ConclusionsWe demonstrate a good one year LC rate of nearly 60%, and a favorable toxicity profile when utilizing IG-HDR to deliver high doses of radiation with high precision into targets not readily accessible by other forms of local therapy. These preliminary results suggest that further studies utilizing this approach may be considered for patients with difficult to access lesions that require LC