The Open University Advanced Diploma in Educational Management (DO2): A Study of the Effectiveness of the Course in Preparing Senior Managers in Schools for their Role in the 1990s

The study investigates the motivation of a small group of students from the Greater London area in undertaking the Open University Advanced Diploma in Educational Management. Four questions are posed: a. Why some middle and senior managers in schools chose this course at a time when the demands made of senior managers were increasing. b. Why they persevered with the course in a contracting market for promotion. c. How successful the course was in preparing them for promotion. d. Whether, and is so how, the course had improved their effectiveness as senior managers. The research was conducted over a period of intense educational change, both locally and nationally, as the Education Reform Act (1988) heralded unprecedented changes in the nature of senior management and in the relationships between schools, parents, local and central government, in its quest to raise standards and increase accountability. Whilst the initial focus of the study was on the career development of individuals, the evolving political context was to redirect attention towards the role of senior staff in managing these changes and enhancing the quality of learning. The value of the Advanced Diploma emerged to be its effectiveness in preparing senior managers for this role, enabling them to cope with the stresses of an ever-changing situation, and developing vital analytical and communicative skills. Students are found to be motivated by a sense of professionalism. They choose distance learning as a means of acquiring new skills and knowledge which hold the promise of meeting their immediate, higher order, needs for self-actualisation, as well as offering the longer-term possibility of career development. Whilst most students do achieve promoted positions during or after their studies, this is not their prime expectation, and their success cannot be attributed definitively to the course. The value of the Advanced Diploma lies primarily in promoting a sense of achievement and recognition. This is found to sustain students when career aspirations are blocked by institutional or personal circumstances, and when they might otherwise fall into a state of professional stagnation. By developing more effective individuals, the Advanced Diploma thus achieves the Open University's aims of improving the quality of school management, yet simultaneously satisfying students. The compatibility of meeting personal and individual needs is thereby demonstrated. Recommendations are made which recognise the value of distance learning and its ability to appeal to teachers' professionalism without any need to resort to more formal means of accountability or inducement to undertake training for the changig role of senior managers in schools

Session III Nursing, Business, and Psychology/Counseling Presentation 4: Utilizing Sandtray Therapy with Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Poster without Oral Presentation)

A look at the effects of using sandtray therapy with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

National Indigenous Palliative Care Needs Study

This study involved extensive consultation with the community to identify the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in palliative care

The Relation Between Prescription Drug Usage and Cognitive Performance in Later Life

Older adults, the primary consumers of prescription medications in the United States, may be particularly prone to medication side effects. The present study examined the relation between change in prescriptions and change in cognitive performance (i.e., inductive reasoning and everyday problem solving), as well as how three common classes of medication (i.e., cardiovascular, hormone/synthetic substitutes, and central nervous system agents) were related to cognitive performance. Data were collected from 78 community-dwelling older adults (M = 71.14 years, SD = 5.35) over an 18-month period. Results indicated that types of drugs were differentially related to cognitive change and that the total number of prescriptions was related to change in cognitive performance. Clinical and research advantages of using specific cognitive and prescription assessments, rather than more global measures, are discussed

Pupils with social, emotional and mental health special needs: Perceptions of how restrictive physical interventions impact their relationships with teaching staff

Positive teacher-child relationships (TCRs) are vital for pupil well-being and are especially important for at-risk children. This qualitative study investigated the impact of restrictive physical interventions (RPIs) on TCRs in focus groups comprising ten boys aged 9-11 years attending two special schools in England. We examined the immediate and post incident impact of RPIs on the TCRs of two groups: students who have experienced RPIs and those who have witnessed RPIs. A range of consequences for student well-being, educational support and the TCR were identified. The implications of current study findings for the prevention and implementation of RPIs are discussed

Foreign language learning and technology in England from the 17th to 21st centuries : an investigation into the functional and symbolic values attributed to foreign languages in England over four centuries of technological change

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Advancing Maternal Health Equity in Southern States: What Are Medicaid Programs Doing and What More Could They Do?

The US is facing a severe maternal morbidity and mortality crisis, and Black women and other women of color are at particularly high risk. Maternal mortality is also higher in the South than in other regions. Given evidence that abortion restrictions are associated with higher maternal mortality, such risks could grow under the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, especially in the South, where in many states abortion is now severely restricted. With more than 40 percent of all births nationally, 65 percent of births among Black women, and 59 percent of births among Hispanic women covered by Medicaid, state Medicaid policies and practices have the potential to improve maternal health and reduce racial and ethnic inequities in maternal health outcomes.For this study on Medicaid and maternal health, we conducted interviews with national experts, a national policy scan, and case studies in three Southern states (Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) that are using various approaches to promote improvements in maternal health care for their Medicaid populations. We sought to identify facilitators of and barriers to maternal health equity and promising programs and policy levers that could advance maternal health equity to inform approaches in other Southern states

The Impact of Ethnicity, Immigration Status, and Socioeconomic Status on Juror Decision Making

The purpose of this research was to examine how ethnicity, immigration status, and socioeconomic status (SES) may contribute to juror bias. A total of 320 Euro-American venire persons were as- signed to 1 of 8 criminal court trial transcript conditions that varied defendant ethnicity (Mexican or Canadian), immigrant status (undocumented or documented), and SES (low or high). Dependent measures were verdict, sentencing, culpability, and trait attributions. Results indicated that the low-SES undocumented Mexican defendant was found guilty more often, given a more severe sentence, thought to be more culpable, and rated lower on a number of trait measures compared with all other conditions. Subtle bias theories, such as aversive racism, appear to best explain the biases in juror decisions