Book Review of Leadership, Community Partnerships and Schools in the Pacific Islands. Implications for Quality Education

N/

Defying Definition: Rethinking Education Aid Relationships in Solomon Islands

The discourse of aid—its language, structures and practice—powerfully ascribes roles and attributes to those involved in aid relationships such as developed/developing, partner, recipient/donor etcetera. This discourse is driven by a complex system of diverse and often competing ideas, values, actors and relationships, within which individuals must make sense of their role and agency at both professional and personal levels.  While recent years has seen much focus on improving relationships by reordering some of these categories, little research has investigated how individuals themselves make sense of all this, and how it then influences their practice.  The research presented in this article investigated the professional subjectivities of a small group of public servants working for the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in Solomon Islands. The primary aim of the research was to explore the ways in which professional subjectivity is influenced by, and influences, aid relationships in Solomon Islands. The research findings demonstrate the complexity and multiplicity of professional subjectivities within the education sector in Solomon Islands and provide insight into how this impacts on aid relationships and aid effectiveness.  The research findings highlight the need to move beyond reified binaries of ‘self’ and ‘other’ and resist the appeal of bounded categorisations of aid actors.  Embracing the dissonance inherent in aid relationships and continually reflecting on the dynamic interaction between discourse, professional subjectivities and individual agency are offered as potential means for strengthening education aid relationships across Oceania and beyond.

An Intervention in literacy in three Pacific nations: Implications of a context specific approach to co-design

In this paper, we consider the implications of a commitment to acknowledging the role of context within a research practice partnership. We outline the approach to doing so within a design-based research intervention with 42 schools across three Pacific Island countries to improve literacy learning and language development. In doing so, the paper identifies context as a central concern for student and teacher learning, for schools as organisations and for intervention implementation. We draw on theories of context from each of these research bases to consider how aid interventions can best contribute to enhancing student learning outcomes across varied student populations in a way that is contextually appropriate, and builds sustainable local capability for ongoing improvement.  In considering these concerns we argue for the potential of a design-based research approach, based on the Learning Schools Model (McNaughton, Lai, Jesson Wilson, 2013) to incorporate ‘co-design’ of the intervention.  We exemplify how the process of jointly designing the content and implementation within preset phases of implementation is possible in ways that draw on the varied expertise of in-country and external partners. The focus on collective knowledge building, collective problem solving and sharing practice within trusting relationships is considered to foster capacity for sustained adaptation and improvement at local levels. We believe such an approach is relevant to the challenges faced by Pacific Island Ministries of Education and their aid donor partners in designing effective interventions for learning improvement

Special issue editorial : The Festival of OCIES 2020

No abstract available

Pacific Pedagogies for Literacy and Language Development: Exploring a research-practice intervention

The Pacific Literacy and School Leadership Programme (PLSLP) was a three-year intervention in three Pacific primary school systems. PLSLP was funded by New Zealand MFAT and delivered through a partnership between the University of the South Pacific’s Institute of Education and the University of Auckland. Its overall goal was for improved literacy learning and language development. PLSLP took a design-based research (DBR) approach to working collaboratively with Ministries of Education and schools across Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Cook Islands. In this paper, we provide an overview of the programme and how the DBR approach was implemented within the different contexts of PLSLP. The paper is based on reflections of four PLSLP team members with a particular focus on the interface of literacy and language, and the development of contextually tailored learning resources. We maintain that the DBR approach, as coconstructed by the researcher-practitioners involved in each country, responded well to the challenges faced by Pacific Ministries of Education and their Development Partners in designing and delivering effective interventions for learning improvement. Underpinning PLSLP was the belief that aid interventions must contribute to enhancing student learning outcomes in a way that is contextually appropriate, and by building sustainable local capability for ongoing improvement. The central focus of PLSLP on teacher-student interactions, the pedagogical exchange, and codesign methods offered through DBR, ensured our interventions were built from and for the contexts engaged in

Altered Cerebrospinal Fluid Clearance and Increased Intracranial Pressure in Rats 18 h After Experimental Cortical Ischaemia

Oedema-independent intracranial pressure (ICP) rise peaks 20–22-h post-stroke in rats and may explain early neurological deterioration. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume changes may be involved. Cranial CSF clearance primarily occurs via the cervical lymphatics and movement into the spinal portion of the cranio-spinal compartment. We explored whether impaired CSF clearance at these sites could explain ICP rise after stroke. We recorded ICP at baseline and 18-h post-stroke, when we expect changes contributing to peak ICP to be present. CSF clearance was assessed in rats receiving photothrombotic stroke or sham surgery by intraventricular tracer infusion. Tracer concentration was quantified in the deep cervical lymph nodes ex vivo and tracer transit to the spinal subarachnoid space was imaged in vivo. ICP rose significantly from baseline to 18-h post-stroke in stroke vs. sham rats [median = 5 mmHg, interquartile range (IQR) = 0.1–9.43, n = 12, vs. −0.3 mmHg, IQR = −1.9–1.7, n = 10], p = 0.03. There was a bimodal distribution of rats with and without ICP rise. Tracer in the deep cervical lymph nodes was significantly lower in stroke with ICP rise (0 μg/mL, IQR = 0–0.11) and without ICP rise (0 μg/mL, IQR = 0–4.47) compared with sham rats (4.17 μg/mL, IQR = 0.74–8.51), p = 0.02. ICP rise was inversely correlated with faster CSF transit to the spinal subarachnoid space (R = −0.59, p = 0.006, Spearman’s correlation). These data suggest that reduced cranial clearance of CSF via cervical lymphatics may contribute to post-stroke ICP rise, partially compensated via increased spinal CSF outflow

Multidetector CT improving surgical outcomes in breast cancer (MISO-BC) : a randomised controlled trial

Background: Early diagnosis of malignant axillary nodes in breast cancer guides the extent of axillary surgery: patients with known axillary malignancy receive a more extensive single operation at the same time as surgery to their breast. A multicentre randomised controlled trial assessed whether a Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the axilla could more accurately diagnose malignant axillary lymph node involvement in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer when compared to usual care. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer (identified via screening and symptomatic pathways) at two NHS Trusts in the North East of England were recruited and randomised in equal numbers. Both groups received routine diagnostic and surgical care. In addition, one group received a CT scan of their axilla on the same side as the breast cancer. The primary endpoint was the need to undergo a second axillary surgical procedure. Findings: The trial recruited 297 patients of whom 291 contributed to findings. The proportion of patients undergoing a second operation was similar (CT vs UC: 19.4% vs. 19.7%; CT-UC: −0.3%, 95%CI: = −9.5% to 8.9%, χ2 [1]: p = 1.00). Patients in the two groups were similar before treatment, had similar types and grade of cancer, experienced similar patterns of post-operative complications and reported similar experiences of care. Interpretation: CT scan-guided care did not result in a change in the number of patients requiring a second operation; similar numbers of patients needed further axillary surgery in both groups. New diagnostic imaging technologies regularly enter NHS centres. It is important these are evaluated rigorously before becoming routine care

Adverse events in radiation oncology: A case series from wake up safe, the pediatric anesthesia quality improvement initiative

BackgroundRadiation therapy in pediatric patients often requires anesthesia and poses environmental challenges. Monitoring must be done remotely to limit radiation exposure to the provider. Airway access can be limited by masks or frames. Care is often delivered in relatively inaccessible locations in the hospital. While individual institutions have reported their outcomes, this case series aims to review a multicenter registry of significant adverse events and make recommendations for improved care.MethodsWake Up Safe: The Pediatric Quality Improvement Initiative maintains a multisite, voluntary registry of pediatric perianesthetic significant adverse events. This was queried for reports from radiation oncology from January 1, 2010 to May 10, 2018. The database contained 3,379 significant adverse events from approximately 3.3 million anesthetics. All 33 institutions submitted data on a standardized form to a central data repository (Axio Research, Seattle Washington). Prior to each significant adverse events case submission, three anesthesiologists who were not involved in the event analyzed the event using a standardized root cause analysis method to identify the causal or contributing factor(s).ResultsSix significant adverse events were identified. In three, incorrect programming of a propofol infusion resulted in overdose. In case one, the 3â yearâ old female became hypotensive, requiring vasopressors and volume resuscitation. In the second, the 2â yearâ old female experienced airway obstruction and apnea requiring chin lift. In case three, the child suffered no consequences despite a noted overdose of propofol infusion. In case four, a 2â yearâ old female with recent respiratory infection suffered laryngospasm during an unmonitored transport to the recovery area. She developed profound oxygen desaturation with bradycardia treated with succinylcholine and chest compressions. In case five, a 6â yearâ old former premature child suffered laryngospasm at the conclusion of mask creation under general anesthesia with a laryngeal mask airway. The radiation mask delayed recognition of copious secretions. Finally, in case six, a 6â yearâ old undergoing stereotactic radiosurgery in a head halo suffered bronchospasm and unintended extubation during therapy which required multiple attempts at reintubation by multiple providers ultimately requiring cancellation of the treatment and transport to the intensive care unit.ConclusionThere were few radiation oncology significant adverse events, but analysis has led to the identification of several specific opportunities for improvement in pediatric anesthesia for radiation oncology.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148238/1/pan13567_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148238/2/pan13567.pd