Executive Summary: Post-16 education and training outcomes for young people who use English as an Additional Language (EAL): aspirations and trajectories

This study focuses on access to education, training and employment for young people aged 16-25 who have English as an Additional Language (EAL). In particular, the research examines their post 16 pathways and outcomes and how they may differ depending on young people’s linguistic self-identification, if at all

Competition, efficiency and collective behavior in the "El Farol" bar model

The El Farol bar model, proposed to study the dynamics of competition of agents in a variety of contexts (W. B. Arthur, Amer. Econ. Assoc. Pap. and Proc. 84, 406 (1994)) is studied. We characterize in detail the three regions of the phase diagram (efficient, inefficient and better than random) of the simplest version of the model (D. Challet and Y.-C. Zhang, Physica A, 246, 407 (1997)). The efficient region is shown to have a rich structure, which is investigated in some detail. Changes in the payoff function enhance further the tendency of the model towards a wasteful distribution of resources.Comment: 7 pages Latex, 7 Postscript figures; changed reference, acknowledgments included. Accepted for publication in Europen Physics Journal

A Guiding Hand or a Slap on the Wrist: Can Drug Courts be the Solution to Maternal Opioid Use?

As the opioid epidemic has expanded its reach, the number of pregnant women addicted to opioids has increased exponentially in recent years. The increase in the number of opioid-addicted pregnant women has resulted in a drastic expansion in the number of newborns who experience Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Newborns affected with NAS experience painful withdrawal and cost more to care for due to their increased health needs. In an effort to address the growing number of pregnant women using opioids and babies born with NAS, some states have turned to the criminal justice system. Three states–Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama–have criminalized maternal drug use, either through construction of a new statute or by using existing statutes for this purpose, which has been upheld in their courts. Although high courts in many other states have continuously determined that such prosecutions are unlawful, women across the United States continue to face criminal charges for their substance use while pregnant. This Comment addresses the concerns opioid addicted pregnant women pose to the criminal justice system and argues that drug courts are a crucial component to comprehensive reform. The drug court system needs to follow the lead of a recently established drug court in Buffalo, New York and embrace necessary reforms to better serve the health needs of pregnant women struggling with opioid addiction. This Comment argues the following reforms are necessary to effectively adjudicate cases involving pregnant drug use: expedited proceedings to begin treatment and avoid jailing; access to medication-assisted treatment; allowing women to spend time with their newborns; an appropriate sanctions system that recognizes the medical reality of relapse; and funding considerations that prevent women from having to pay for treatment. If drug courts are part of a comprehensive solution to treatment for opioid addiction, these reforms can contribute to better meeting the health care needs of women and their children

Big Food and Soda Versus Public Health: Industry Litigation Against Local Government Regulations to Promote Healthy Diets

Diets high in fats, sugars, and sodium are contributing to alarming levels of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers throughout the United States. Sugary drinks, which include beverages that contain added caloric sweeteners such as flavored milks, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and sodas, are the largest source of added sugar in the American diet and an important causative factor for obesity and other diet-related diseases. City and county governments have emerged as key innovators to promote healthier diets, adopting menu labeling laws to facilitate informed choices and soda taxes, warnings labels, and a soda portion cap to discourage consumption. These measures raise tension between the public health promotion and the food and beverage industry’s interests in maximizing profits. This article analyzes the food and beverage industry’s efforts to undermine local government nutrition promotion measures, including lobbying, funding scientific research, public messaging, and litigation. It examines four case studies (New York City’s soda portion cap, San Francisco’s soda warnings ordinance, and soda taxes in Philadelphia and Cook County), and distills steps that local governments can take to address industry opposition and help ensure the legal viability and political sustainability of key public health interventions

Global Learning in England: Baseline analysis of the Global Learning Programme Whole School Audit 2013–14

The GLP-E is an initiative aimed at supporting the teaching and learning of global learning in schools in England at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. It is a five-year national programme of support to schools to enhance their provision of global learning. Specifically, the GLP-E works with teachers to enhance their confidence and ability to provide whole school support to global learning across their institutions. The GLP-E has a strong emphasis on research and evaluation, in particular using research evidence to support the development of better practice in the programme.The Whole School Audit (WSA) is an online data-gathering tool that respondents in participating schools complete after registering onto the GLP-E. This paper presents findings from the baseline analysis of WSA submissions for schools joining the GLP-E between June 2013 and February 2014. Specifically, the paper responds to four key questions: 1. Which schools are signing up for the GLP-E? 2. Why are schools signing up for the GLP-E? 3. What global learning activities are schools signing up to the GLP-E already involved in? 4. What are levels of global learning in schools signing up to the GLP-E

School Linking - where next?

Linking between schools in the UK and schools in sub-Saharan Africa has been a feature of the educational landscape for more than twenty years, but became a government priority between 2000 and 2010. Whilst the interest in Ireland was less, both countries resourced linking programmes primarily as a means of raising awareness of development issues. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also became involved in school linking during the first decade of the twenty first century with Plan UK and Link Community Development (Link) being the leading organisations in this field. However due to funding constraints and change in UK government policy post 2010, both of these NGOs ended their linking programmes in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Link’s involvement in school linking came from a development perspective; links were primarily seen as a mechanism for improving schools in sub-Saharan Africa. Development education only became a main feature of their linking programme with their European Union funded project, Partners in Development (PiD), which ran from 2010 to 2012. This project was funded from a development awareness budget line, but the NGO’s proposal included development goals within the project. This became a major source of tension that was unresolved throughout the life of the project. This report is an evaluation of the Partners in Development project that was based on linking schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, with schools in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and South Africa. The evidence gathered was based on a combination of quantitative based questionnaires, interviews with key staff within Link and in-depth data gathered from a number of schools in Scotland

Changing the home literacy environment through participation in family literacy programmes

This paper presents findings from a study of family literacy provision in England and focuses on the effects of family literacy programmes on the home literacy environment. The fieldwork took place between September 2013 and December 2014 and involved 27 school-based programmes for pupils aged between 5 and 7, and their parents. The study used mixed methods, which involved observations of family literary sessions, a quantitative pre- and post-survey of 118 parents, and pre- and post-telephone qualitative interviews with a sub-sample of 24 parents. Building on previous theoretical work, the study conceptualises the home literacy environment into four areas (family resources; parental literacy behaviours and attitudes; parental beliefs and understandings; and family literacy activities and practices). The paper develops understandings of how parents translate and implement messages from family literacy into the home setting, and it shows how participation in these programmes leads to changes in family literacies across all four areas identified

The role of family literacy classes in demystifying school literacies and developing closer parent–school relations

This paper is based on a large study of family literacy provision in England, which was carried out between July 2013 and May 2015. It explored the impact of classes on parents’ relations with the school and their children, and their ability to support their children’s literacy development. The study involved 27 school-based programmes for pupils aged between five and seven, and their parents. It used mixed methods, which involved surveys of 118 parents and 20 family literacy tutors, telephone interviews with a sub-sample of 28 parents, analysis of teaching plans and observations of classes. Findings showed that parents wanted to learn the ways the school was teaching their child to read and write, and by demystifying school literacy pedagogies and processes the programmes developed greater connectivity between home and the school, and parents felt more able to support their children’s literacy development at home