Observing Language Pedagogy (OLP): Developing and piloting a contexualised video-based measure of early childhood teachers' pedagogical language knowledge

To support responsive decision-making in the classroom, teachers need flexible access to rich, well-organised and integrated pedagogical knowledge (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). The design of teacher programmes which effectively foster such knowledge rests on its successful measurement, so that relationships between teachers’ learning experiences and their knowledge growth can be established. However, existing questionnaire-based assessments have thus far failed to capture dynamic pedagogical knowledge in a manner which allows relationships with practice and child outcomes to be established. This study develops and pilots a contextualised tool for assessing the dynamic pedagogical knowledge of early childhood teachers, in relation to oral language development. Respondents watch three short videos of a practitioner interacting with children, and identify the strategies used which may support children’s language skills. This use of ‘teacher noticing’ as a proxy for pedagogical knowledge is based on the premise that expert and novice teachers perceive classroom events differently (Berliner, 1992), and that noticing effective strategies in others is a precursor to successful application in personal practice (Jamil, Sabol, Hamre & Pianta, 2015; van Es & Sherin, 2002, 2006). The tool is piloted in the context of a wider randomised controlled trial in 117 schools, designed to evaluate an oral language professional development intervention for preschool teachers. Responses from 104 teachers (n=72 schools) are used to explore its psychometric properties. Findings indicate that the tool provides a reliable measure of pedagogical knowledge, and that scores significantly predict observed quality of practice. Teachers with greater explicit procedural knowledge, and those who provided interpretations of the interactions they identified, led classrooms with higher-quality language-supporting practice. Teachers who participated in the intervention showed greater procedural knowledge of language-supporting strategies than teachers in the control group. Implications for the understanding and assessment of pedagogical knowledge, and for the design of relevant professional development, are considered

Starting out right : early education and looked after children

Looked after children (LAC) are those for whom the state assumes parental responsibility because the adults caring for them – usually the birth parent/s – are no longer able to. In England, 60 per cent of LAC enter care following abuse or neglect. The majority of LAC are placed with a foster carer, either a registered foster parent or ‘kinship care’ with a relative or friend. The number of LAC in England has been rising steadily in recent years, reaching 70,440 in 2016. Just under one fifth of these children (12,860) were under the age of compulsory schooling. The research evidence is conclusive on the link between early adversity and poorer outcomes. Looked after children are at risk of poorer cognitive, socio-emotional and academic outcomes and are almost ten times more likely than their peers to have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan. In England, the starkest differences are seen towards the end of schooling, with only 18 per cent of LAC achieving five GSCEs at grade C or above, compared to 64 per cent of children not in care. However, research suggests that the gap between LAC and their non-looked-after peers emerges well before school-age. There is also strong evidence that attending early years provision can help disadvantaged children catch up with their peers, with the benefits both more significant and more sustained if provision is of good quality. Given that many LAC are from disadvantaged homes, there is a good reason to believe that the same applies for this vulnerable group. In England, all three and four-year-old children are entitled to a free part-time ‘early education’ place within an early years setting, with take-up rates of more than 90 per cent within the general population. Recent policy initiatives such as free early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds (for which all LAC are eligible) and the early years ‘pupil premium’ for disadvantaged children offer huge potential to improve access to - and the quality of – early education for LAC. However at present not enough is known to ensure that these benefits translate into improved outcomes. This exploratory study aimed to address this gap, and explore the current situation in England

Early education pilot for two year old children : evaluation

This report provides the findings of the evaluation of the early education pilot for disadvantaged two year old children (the pilot). This study aimed to assess the impact of the pilot by looking at: how well the pilot was targeted, parents’ experiences of taking up a pilot place, the quality of the pilot settings, the impact on the children’s behaviour, and parents’ views and experiences of using a pilot place. The pilot provided free early years education to over 13,500 disadvantaged two year olds between 2006 and 2008. The main purpose of the pilot was to improve children’s social and cognitive outcomes, e.g. their social confidence and independence, and their verbal skills and reasoning ability. Additional aims were to have a positive impact on children’s parents and wider family e.g. on the relationship between parents and their children, or on parent’s emotional wellbeing. The funding offered these children 7.5 or in a small number of local authorities 12.5 hours of early years education per week for 38 weeks of the year. The pilot places were available in a variety of early years settings e.g. nurseries, play groups and with childminders, but all were required to operate the Birth to Three Matters curriculum.© National Centre for Social Research 2009. The full text of this report is not available in ORA. You may be able to access the report at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-pilot-for-2-year-old-children-evaluation (URL checked 26 March 2014) or via the publication website link above

Screening for Language Difficulties in Disadvantaged Populations on Entry to Early Years Education: Challenges and Opportunities

Children aged 3–4 years (n = 876) were recruited from deprived areas in England, and a significant minority of the sample were second language learners. Oral language ability was assessed using child administered standardized measures, and parents reported on children’s language. We adapted the Language Use Inventory [LUI; (1)] to capture carer’s reports of the children’s structural language in the language of instruction and their home language (where appropriate). The final measure included six subscales from the original: use of simple words, requests for help, gaining attention, talking about activities/actions, interactions with others, and building sentences. Children’s language abilities and non-verbal abilities were below norms on all standardized tests administered except non-word repetition. Factor analysis indicated that all the six scales of the adapted parent completed measure loaded on one language factor. The revised total scale score correlated significantly (p < 0.0005) with child assessed language measures, specifically expressive vocabulary and grammar. Different patterns across gender, language status and parental education were examined. Sensitivity and specificity of the scale to identify children with the greatest delays were evaluated. These preliminary data indicated that parent-reported information on children’s language skills at 3 years of age has the potential to provide a reliable indicator to inform pedagogy and practice at the start of nursery school. Study limitations are examined and avenues for future development explored

Use of the environment rating scales in England : policy, practice and research

研究ノート (Note

Potential influence of selection criteria on the demographic composition of students in an Australian medical school

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prior to 1999 students entering our MBBS course were selected on academic performance alone. We have now evaluated the impact on the demographics of subsequent cohorts of our standard entry students (those entering directly from high school) of the addition to the selection process of an aptitude test (UMAT), a highly structured interview and a rural incentive program.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Students entering from 1985 to 1998, selected on academic performance alone (N = 1402), were compared to those from 1999 to 2011, selected on the basis of a combination of academic performance, interview score, and UMAT score together with the progressive introduction of a rural special entry pathway (N = 1437).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Males decreased from 57% to 45% of the cohort, students of NE or SE Asian origin decreased from 30% to 13%, students born in Oceania increased from 52% to 69%, students of rural origin from 5% to 21% and those from independent high schools from 56% to 66%. The proportion of students from high schools with relative socio-educational disadvantage remained unchanged at approximately 10%. The changes reflect in part increasing numbers of female and independent high school applicants and the increasing rural quota. However, they were also associated with higher interview scores in females vs males and lower interview scores in those of NE and SE Asian origin compared to those born in Oceania or the UK. Total UMAT scores were unrelated to gender or region of origin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The revised selection processes had no impact on student representation from schools with relative socio-educational disadvantage. However, the introduction of special entry quotas for students of rural origin and a structured interview, but not an aptitude test, were associated with a change in gender balance and ethnicity of students in an Australian undergraduate MBBS course.</p

Universal Pre-school Education: The Case of Public Funding with Private Provision

© 2016 The Authors. The Economic Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Economic Society This article studies the effect of free pre-school education on child outcomes in primary school. We exploit the staggered implementation of free part-time pre-school for three year olds across Local Education Authorities in England in the early 2000s. The policy led to small improvements in attainment at age 5, with no apparent benefits by age 11. We argue that this is because the expansion of free places largely crowded out privately paid care, with small changes in total participation, and was achieved through an increase in private provision, where quality is lower on average than in the public sector

Technology-assisted stroke rehabilitation in Mexico: a pilot randomized trial comparing traditional therapy to circuit training in a Robot/technology-assisted therapy gym

Background Stroke rehabilitation in low- and middle-income countries, such as Mexico, is often hampered by lack of clinical resources and funding. To provide a cost-effective solution for comprehensive post-stroke rehabilitation that can alleviate the need for one-on-one physical or occupational therapy, in lower and upper extremities, we proposed and implemented a technology-assisted rehabilitation gymnasium in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Gymnasium for Robotic Rehabilitation (Robot Gym) consisted of low- and high-tech systems for upper and lower limb rehabilitation. Our hypothesis is that the Robot Gym can provide a cost- and labor-efficient alternative for post-stroke rehabilitation, while being more or as effective as traditional physical and occupational therapy approaches. Methods A typical group of stroke patients was randomly allocated to an intervention (n = 10) or a control group (n = 10). The intervention group received rehabilitation using the devices in the Robot Gym, whereas the control group (n = 10) received time-matched standard care. All of the study subjects were subjected to 24 two-hour therapy sessions over a period of 6 to 8 weeks. Several clinical assessments tests for upper and lower extremities were used to evaluate motor function pre- and post-intervention. A cost analysis was done to compare the cost effectiveness for both therapies. Results No significant differences were observed when comparing the results of the pre-intervention Mini-mental, Brunnstrom Test, and Geriatric Depression Scale Test, showing that both groups were functionally similar prior to the intervention. Although, both training groups were functionally equivalent, they had a significant age difference. The results of all of the upper extremity tests showed an improvement in function in both groups with no statistically significant differences between the groups. The Fugl-Meyer and the 10 Meters Walk lower extremity tests showed greater improvement in the intervention group compared to the control group. On the Time Up and Go Test, no statistically significant differences were observed pre- and post-intervention when comparing the control and the intervention groups. For the 6 Minute Walk Test, both groups presented a statistically significant difference pre- and post-intervention, showing progress in their performance. The robot gym therapy was more cost-effective than the traditional one-to-one therapy used during this study in that it enabled therapist to train up to 1.5 to 6 times more patients for the approximately same cost in the long term. Conclusions The results of this study showed that the patients that received therapy using the Robot Gym had enhanced functionality in the upper extremity tests similar to patients in the control group. In the lower extremity tests, the intervention patients showed more improvement than those subjected to traditional therapy. These results support that the Robot Gym can be as effective as traditional therapy for stroke patients, presenting a more cost- and labor-efficient option for countries with scarce clinical resources and funding. Trial registration ISRCTN98578807

Comparison of the sensitivity of the UKCAT and A levels to sociodemographic characteristics: a national study

Background: The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) was introduced to facilitate widening participation in medical and dental education in the UK by providing universities with a continuous variable to aid selection; one that might be less sensitive to the sociodemographic background of candidates compared to traditional measures of educational attainment. Initial research suggested that males, candidates from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and those who attended independent or grammar schools performed better on the test. The introduction of the A* grade at A level permits more detailed analysis of the relationship between UKCAT scores, secondary educational attainment and sociodemographic variables. Thus, our aim was to further assess whether the UKCAT is likely to add incremental value over A level (predicted or actual) attainment in the selection process. Methods: Data relating to UKCAT and A level performance from 8,180 candidates applying to medicine in 2009 who had complete information relating to six key sociodemographic variables were analysed. A series of regression analyses were conducted in order to evaluate the ability of sociodemographic status to predict performance on two outcome measures: A level ‘best of three’ tariff score; and the UKCAT scores. Results: In this sample A level attainment was independently and positively predicted by four sociodemographic variables (independent/grammar schooling, White ethnicity, age and professional social class background). These variables also independently and positively predicted UKCAT scores. There was a suggestion that UKCAT scores were less sensitive to educational background compared to A level attainment. In contrast to A level attainment, UKCAT score was independently and positively predicted by having English as a first language and male sex. Conclusions: Our findings are consistent with a previous report; most of the sociodemographic factors that predict A level attainment also predict UKCAT performance. However, compared to A levels, males and those speaking English as a first language perform better on UKCAT. Our findings suggest that UKCAT scores may be more influenced by sex and less sensitive to school type compared to A levels. These factors must be considered by institutions utilising the UKCAT as a component of the medical and dental school selection process