Examining current provision, practice and experience of initial teacher training providers in Ireland preparing pre service teachers for the inclusion of students with special education needs in physical education classes.

Research from an international perspective in relation to the preparation of pre service teachers in physical education and special educational needs indicates that initial teacher training providers are inconsistent in the amount of time spent addressing the issue and the nature of curricular content (Vickerman, 2007). In Ireland, research of Meegan and MacPhail (2005) and Crawford (2011) indicates that physical education teachers do not feel adequately prepared to accommodate students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in physical education classes. This study examined initial teacher training provision in Ireland in the training of pre service physical education teachers in SEN. The methodology used was qualitative and included questionnaires and interviews (n=4). Findings indicated that time allocation (semester long modules), working with children with disabilities in mainstream settings (school or leisure centre based), lack of collaboration with other PETE providers (n=4) and a need for continued professional development were themes in need of address. Using a combined approach where the recently designed European Inclusive Physical Education Training (Kudlácěk, Jesina, & Flanagan, 2010) model is infused through the undergraduate degree programme is proposed. Further, the accommodation of hands on experience for undergraduates in mainstream settings and the establishment of inter institutional communities of practice, with a national disability research initiative, is essential to ensure quality adapted physical activity training can be accommodated throughout Ireland

Working collaboratively to highlight the voices of young people in Townsville

Youth crime and crime prevention have been the focus of media attention and policy reforms in Australia. Recent inquiries, reports and reforms have brought about policy changes in the youth justice field, including engaging young people through diversionary services. The Lighthouse operated by the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service is an afterhours diversionary youth service. In this paper we present and discuss the current youth justice policy and funding context that led to the establishment of The Lighthouse, the service delivery model and practice of The Lighthouse, and report on the research collaboration, establishment, procedure and current status. We then describe a research collaboration between The Lighthouse and social work academics from James Cook University ('JCU'), based on research needs identified by The Lighthouse staff. This research is focused on exploring the voices of young people about service delivery, experiences and needs and mentoring Indigenous leadership. The collaborative research process and endeavours will be described and interim findings of the collaborative research presented

Using photography to voice young people's views about community and local service delivery

Youth offending has received significant attention in recent years in Queensland and across Australia. While the voices of young people who are offending or at risk of offending are evident in some studies, other reports do not identify them as key stakeholders. A recent university-industry research collaboration sought to prioritise the voices of young people engaging with The Lighthouse, a diversionary service within Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Heath Services (TAIHS), through use of qualitative, Photovoice methods. The primary aim of this photovoice project was to capture the perceptions and needs of young people currently at risk of offending, and to document those views to help shape local service delivery. A thematic analysis enabled the identification of four key themes. These themes identified that participants felt unsafe and under surveillance in public spaces; they wanted more amenities where they could enjoy being in the community with their peers; they reported that peers and family were very important to them; and they appreciated services on offer at The Lighthouse and acknowledged these services supported behavioural change. The findings provide a unique contribution to the use of creative research methodologies, and to policy and service delivery focused on young people at risk of offending

The voices of “at risk” young people about services they received: a systematic literature review

In Australia young people who are at risk of offending have attracted much media and policy attention. In recent times, policy reform has seen increased funding for social services delivery to support young people at risk of entering, or are currently in, the juvenile justice system. However, there is limited literature that explores how young people experience services delivered to them. This article reports on a systematic literature review exploring the voices of children and youth on social service delivery for young people who have offended or are at risk of offending. The review aimed to identify English language publications in the fifteen-year period from 2004 to 2018, critique their methodological quality, and analyse and describe the findings of identified studies. Through a search of electronic social sciences databases twelve (n = 12) eligible publications were identified, including six qualitative studies, one quantitative study and five reports. The review highlighted a scarcity of research on this topic but provided evidence about how young people who are at risk of offending experienced social services, and their recommendations for effective service delivery. Implication Statement •Practitioners need to create supportive, caring and respectful environments that facilitate young people’s agency and self-determination; •Young people need information and clarification but may not ask for it; •Experiences of racism need to be acknowledged and racist attitudes actively addressed. An easy read poster has been developed on the recommendation of practice-based research partners to highlight the implications for practice

The Lighthouse Guide to Working with Young People

This Easy Read poster reports results of a systematic literature review exploring the voices of children and youth on social service delivery for young people who have offended or are at risk of offending. Through a search of electronic social sciences databases twelve (n=12) eligible publications were identified, including six qualitative studies, one quantitative study and five reports. The review highlighted a scarcity of research on this topic but provided evidence about how young people who are at risk of offending experienced social services, and their recommendations for effective service delivery. The data anaylis identified six themes:Supportive & Caring Relationships; Importance of Peers; Respectful Engagement; Dealing with Racism; Information & Clarification and Agency & Empathy. This easy read post was developed on the recommendation of practice-based research partners to highlight the implications for practice

Release from sheep-grazing appears to put some heart back into upland vegetation:A comparison of nutritional properties of plant species in long-term grazing experiments

Rewilding or wilding is a popularised means for enhancing the conservation value of marginal land. In the British uplands, it will involve a reduction, or complete removal, of livestock grazing (sheep), based on the belief that grazing has reduced plant species diversity, the ‘Wet Desert’ hypothesis. The hope is that if livestock is removed, diversity will recover. If true, we hypothesise that the species extirpated/reduced by grazing and then recover on its removal would more nutritious compared to those that persisted. We test this hypothesis at Moor House National Nature Reserve (North‐Pennines), where seven sets of paired plots were established between 1953 and 1967 to compare ungrazed/sheep‐grazed vegetation. Within these plot‐pairs, we compared leaf properties of seven focal species that occurred only, or were present in much greater abundance, in the absence of grazing to those of 10 common species that were common in both grazed and ungrazed vegetation. Each sample was analysed for macro‐nutrients, micro‐nutrients, digestibility, palatability and decomposability. We ranked the species with respect to 22 variables based on effect size derived from Generalised Linear Modelling (GLM) and compared species using a Principal Components Analysis. We also assessed changes in abundance of the focal species through time using GLMs. Our results support the ‘Wet Desert’ hypothesis, that is, that long‐term sheep grazing has selectively removed/reduced species like our focal ones and on recovery, they were more nutritious (macro‐nutrients, some micro‐nutrients) palatable, digestible and decomposable than common species. Measured changes in abundance of the focal species suggest that their recovery will take 10–20 years in blanket bog and 60 years in high‐altitude grasslands. Collectively, these results suggest that sheep grazing has brought about biotic homogenization, and its removal in (re)wilding schemes will reverse this process eventually! The ‘white woolly maggots’ have eaten at least part of the heart out of the highlands/uplands, and it will take some time for recovery