Promoting gender equality in primary schools through teachers’ reflections upon their own constructions of gender and the implicit messages that they may convey to pupils

The aim of this study is to develop teachers’ understanding of their pedagogy with the purpose of promoting gender equality in primary schools. In early childhood, children can receive extensive and formative messages about the significance and implications of gender with possible consequences for their future interests and career choices. Taking a social constructionist approach, this study takes the position that gender is performative, with understanding of appropriate behaviour governed by social norms. Teachers are identified as one of the significant influences in children’s lives. Focussing specifically on teachers’ reflections on their own attitudes to gender and how these can impact on their practice, this study furthers understanding of how teachers’ promotion of gender equality in the classroom can be enhanced through seeking to explore and evaluate the attitudes of a sample of teachers. Participants were interviewed about their gender construction, life experiences, influences, childhood and attitudes towards gender equality. They reflected on the implicit messages they may convey to their pupils concerning gender and how they could improve their practice in this area, considering language, learning environment, resources and curriculum content. What emerged from the interviews was the power of the reflective process itself and the findings suggest that inviting teachers to reflect on their practice in this way has potential to be a powerful tool in promoting gender equality when teaching children

Teaching lads’ lads and girly-girls: why recognising and tackling gender stereotypes still matters in education

Teachers’ representations of femininities and masculinities were examined to consider how their understandings of gender might impact upon the developing gender constructions of the children they teach. In interviews, teachers reflected on their gender construction in their personal lives as well as how this impacted on their displayed attitudes to gender within their pedagogy. Findings suggest that teachers made associations between femininity, nurture and physical appearance, and, in contrast, associated masculinity with physical strength, enjoyment of sport, and the role of financial provider. Although one might assume that gender stereotypes are dated and that contemporary British society has moved beyond such discourses, the data suggests that limiting binary gender stereotypes perpetuate, and with them the possibility that teachers might still be constraining their pupils’ opportunities. Having reflected in this way, the teachers in this sample presented as more inclined to modify their practice for an increased focus on equality

Conceptualising inclusive pedagogies: evidence from international research and the challenge of autistic spectrum disorder.

The historical development of special education has left a legacy of beliefs regarding special procedures and teaching approaches for specific groups of children. These practices would appear to contribute to the continued growth of pedagogical practices that do not acknowledge the issue of inclusion. This paper considers the notions of inclusive pedagogies that emerges from a vignette study as part of an international review of the conceptualisation of special educational needs. Within this data evidence emerges regarding students with autistic spectrum disorder, a group who are often advocated as in need of special and specific educational provision. This paper critically examines this evidence. The implications of this analysis for understanding inclusive classrooms are discussed, including the extent to which effective education for students with autistic spectrum disorder can be part of an effective education for all

Using vignettes as a research method to investigate placement and provision for children with special educational needs in different countries

This paper examines the use of vignettes as a research method in a comparative exploration of the provision for children with special educational needs across eleven countries. The investigation selected in-country researchers, who responded to questions with respect to children described in 14 vignettes. The questions related to school placement options; assessment processes; support arrangements; service provision; curriculum responses and those involved in placement decisions. The vignette findings were able to highlight differences in placement decisions between the countries; the general lack of pupil voice in decision making and the ubiquitous influence of medical categories within educational settings. The utility of using vignettes in this type of research is discussed in relation to reflecting the complex reality of educational practice in different countries

Exploring provision for children identified with special educational needs: an international review of policy and practice

This project aimed to create a descriptive map of international research which explores the notion of the continuum of educational provision for children with special educational needs. It also aimed to determine and examine the nature of how the continuum of provision is conceptualised, operationalised and enacted in a sample of selected countries. Commissioned by the National Council for Special Education, it also identified implications for the development of provision within the Irish context. The research involved a systematic identification and thematic review of theory, identifying and examining literature associated with the conceptualisation of the continuum; it examined the policy and provision across 55 administrations as publically reported, primarily to international agencies; it carried out more detailed examination of policy and practice in 10 countries using a survey and vignette study; and it involved a series of interviews with a range of individuals in a range of settings in four countries with differing approaches to supporting children with special educational needs. This paper outlines the overall findings of the research. It focuses in particular upon the need to change how we think about provision associated with continua, recognising the lack of international coherence in approaches to support for pupils with special educational needs. It identifies in particular the opportunities presented by a reconceptualisation of the class and the management of class resources, and the role key personnel can play in creating links between diverse services

Oscillatory activity in the infant brain and the representation of small numbers

Gamma-band oscillatory activity (GBA) is an established neural signature of sustained occluded object representation in infants and adults. However, it is not yet known whether the magnitude of GBA in the infant brain reflects the quantity of occluded items held in memory. To examine this, we compared GBA of 6–8 month-old infants during occlusion periods after the representation of two objects vs. that of one object. We found that maintaining a representation of two objects during occlusion resulted in significantly greater GBA relative to maintaining a single object. Further, this enhancement was located in the right occipital region, which is consistent with previous object representation research in adults and infants. We conclude that enhanced GBA reflects neural processes underlying infants’ representation of small numbers

Studies on the Restriction of Murine Leukemia Viruses by Mouse APOBEC3

APOBEC3 proteins function to restrict the replication of retroviruses. One mechanism of this restriction is deamination of cytidines to uridines in (−) strand DNA, resulting in hypermutation of guanosines to adenosines in viral (+) strands. However, Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) is partially resistant to restriction by mouse APOBEC3 (mA3) and virtually completely resistant to mA3-induced hypermutation. In contrast, the sequences of MLV genomes that are in mouse DNA suggest that they were susceptible to mA3-induced deamination when they infected the mouse germline. We tested the possibility that sensitivity to mA3 restriction and to deamination resides in the viral gag gene. We generated a chimeric MLV in which the gag gene was from an endogenous MLV in the mouse germline, while the remainder of the viral genome was from MoMLV. This chimera was fully infectious but its response to mA3 was indistinguishable from that of MoMLV. Thus, the Gag protein does not seem to control the sensitivity of MLVs to mA3. We also found that MLVs inactivated by mA3 do not synthesize viral DNA upon infection; thus mA3 restriction of MLV occurs before or at reverse transcription. In contrast, HIV-1 restricted by mA3 and MLVs restricted by human APOBEC3G do synthesize DNA; these DNAs exhibit APOBEC3-induced hypermutation

‘Small successes make it worthwhile’: The rewards and challenges of the SENCo role in a primary school in England

Previous research by the authors of this piece hinted at the heavy workload of Special Educational Needs Co‐ordinators (SENCos) within settings in England, and their ever‐mounting challenges in the context of reduced local government services and cuts in funding to schools for their children with Special Educational Needs. As a result of these findings, the aim of this research was to focus exclusively on the lived professional experience of the SENCo in primary schools in England. Through anonymous survey, we asked SENCos to share with us their perception of their role and the responsibilities that it included. Although our sample of 20 was relatively small, it provided rich data about the preparedness and the perceived competence and confidence of those in this role. Workload, and the erosion that excessive demands caused to the well‐being of SENCos dealing with complex systems, was prominent in the data we collected, in line with most recent investigations of the educationalist's experience in England. However, our data also raised questions about the status, or lack of, of the SENCo in settings, the way in which the nationally recognised qualification associated with the role is delivered and sources of support available to those in the role

Measuring the Impact of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Programs: Evaluating Hazard Reduction Using the Healthy Home Rating System

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) use the Healthy Home Rating System (HHRS), a tool developed to quantitatively assess the reduction of health-related housing hazards during the implementation of OLHCHH programs. This study evaluated the reduction of home-based hazards in 62 homes after remediation work was completed. The most common hazards identified in all homes were lead-based paint and domestic hygiene, pests, and refuse. The program was successful in reducing a variety of hazards, resulting in 100% reduction of lead-based paint hazards, 69% of water supply issues, 68% of concerns related to entry by intruders, and 60% reduction in hazards related to flames and hot surfaces. Still, other issues in the home could not be addressed due to cost and limitations in funding. While there is utility in using the HHRS, we need to consider changes to improve upon ways in which data are collected and impact is measured