Search results

This paper aims to offer a commentary on Denne et al.’s (2024) article discussing the journey undertaken by the Sharland Foundation Developmental Disabilities Applied Behavioural Research and Impact Network to augment evidence surrounding the efficacy of the online Headsprout® Early Reading programme.

Drawing from over 15 years of professional experience as a qualified teacher in special education settings, the author reflects on the network’s approach and its alignment with their own expertise.

While acknowledging the commendable focus of the network on amassing additional evidence, this commentary underscores the importance of identifying barriers and fostering adaptability within the educational landscape. Central to the discussion is the imperative to prioritise students’ needs and tailor data collection methods to suit their unique contexts.

This commentary is aimed at professionals working in special education settings striving to improve their practice and student outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the many ways in which those who have experienced early life adversity and trauma can continue to be failed within health-care settings and other organisations. The author explores the impact that repeated exposure to indifference and a lack of help and support has on the ability to recover and rebuild a meaningful life. The author takes the reader through a journey of various autoethnographic vignettes to explore the living experience of continuing to be unseen. The author hopes to contribute to improving the lives of service users.

The author has written about the many ways in which distressing experiences and mental health difficulties were left unsupported by various professionals and organisations. The writing is rich and evocative and gives voice to the distress experienced from a lack of caring attention.

The author concludes that whilst it has been painful to remember the varied ways people with lived experience of early life trauma continue to be failed it has also been cathartic and helpful. It is noted that the writing of these events brings some perspective and enables the author to limit the potential for self-blame which is a regular feature of the psychology of those living with early-life relational trauma. The writing of these events serves to highlight the ways institutions might improve responses to those seeking support. The author concludes that this is a meaningful way to use such harmful experiences.

The author concludes that recovery and the ability to rebuild a meaningful life after early-life trauma is often hindered and denied by the responses received when seeking support from various institutions and people who may be able to intervene to prevent further harm occurring. These testimonies may contribute to the wider learnings about the impacts and lived experience of early life trauma and how institutions might support and encourage recovery. The author notes the helpfulness of writing about these experiences to bring perspective and remind those who seek help that it is a great act of courage despite unhelpful responses.

The author has found that writing about these experiences helps to soothe any feelings of self-blame in terms of being unable to recover sooner from early life trauma and that recovery and moving forward must be positioned as a social phenomenon and not a solely individual pursuit. It is noted that writing about difficult experiences can be cathartic and bring fresh perspective and hope. Contributing to ongoing research in terms of how helping professionals can respond wisely is satisfying and meaningful for the author.

This is the author’s firsthand and unique testimony of how easy it can be for survivors of trauma to continue to be unseen and failed. The author also shows that there are many opportunities to support and help which are inadvertently missed which contributes to ongoing distress. The author hopes that the courage taken to write of these experiences will contribute to learnings within many professions and organisations of how to notice, support and help those in distress and living with the effects of early life trauma. The author has found the writing of this paper to be meaningful. The process has helped the author to make sense of previously distressing events. It is hoped it will be of value to the reader.

This paper offers a reflection of a research process aimed at listening to young children's voices in their everyday school life through a play-based context in a Scottish school. Throughout the research process, the complexity of conducting this research was kept in mind as listening to children's voices presents methodological and conceptual difficulties and tensions. Reflecting on the research process after the data was collected, the process was critiqued using Deleuze-Guattarian ideas. The critique aims at opening and challenging each researcher, allowing them to think-again about the next research project aimed at listening to children's voices.

The research involved an observation study that took place over one week in a primary school in Central Scotland. As part of the educators' approach to play-based pedagogy, children had the opportunity to engage in free play throughout the day. Observations were chosen as the main approach to “capture” children's voices in their natural settings.

The empirical research brought forth two main ideas, that of children as agents, and how children amplify their voices through play. The reflective part offers the possibility of understanding the intensities and forces when conducting such research and the possibilities of engaging with these.

This paper offers a critique of research aimed at listening to children's voices. The aim is not to limit engagement in researching children's voices but to open, or make complex, such processes.

This paper aims to determine the impact of mentorship on the development of self-directedness among beginner teachers in their initial years of teaching.

The researcher adopted a positivist paradigm to explore the situation of concern. Quantitative research was conducted, involving the collection and analysis of numerical data. Two closed-ended structured questionnaires were utilised, derived from the 40-item self-directed learning readiness scale (SDLRS) developed by Fisher and King, and a pre-determined questionnaire by Glazerman focused on the first-year teaching experience, induction and mentoring of beginner teachers.

Beginner teachers merely relying on the knowledge obtained from their studies is insufficient to achieve a satisfactory level of self-directedness when starting a teaching career. Most beginner teachers faced significant challenges in their early years of teaching due to the absence of mentoring support. In addition, most indicated that they resume their teaching duties and rely on their district for general support, guidance and orientation. Finally, the results have shown that mentoring positively impacts beginner teachers’ self-directedness.

The first limitation was that this study was narrowed to one South Africa University part-time B.Ed honours students working as beginner teachers in different provinces at primary and secondary schools. As a result, the findings of this research might be interpreted by some critics as one-sided and not representative of the views of most beginner teachers in South Africa who are working. The second limitation of this study is the sample size. In this study, 222 responses were received. As a result, the findings of this research might be considered not representative of the target sample size.

The presence and effective implementation of mentoring programmes in schools can positively impact beginner teachers' professional development and retention during their first years of teaching.

We contend that our research holds significance for international readership as it aims to garner attention towards potential research endeavours in diverse settings concerning mentorship programs for beginner teachers, specifically promoting self-directed learning. Our research offers opportunities to compare our findings with studies conducted in more comprehensive, comparative contexts and foster research possibilities in broader, contrasting contexts.

Based on the findings of this research, the availability and effective use of mentoring programmes would significantly affect beginner teachers' self-directedness, improve their retention rate and alleviate their teaching challenges. This study was the first research on the perceptions of the influence of mentoring on the self-directedness of beginner teachers.