Inclusive education policy provision in South African research universities

The 4-A Framework suggests that all inclusive education systems must be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable. South Africa is committed to establishing an inclusive education system that does not exclude students with disabilities. South African university disability policies translate the imperatives of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into institutional mandates that govern the implementation of inclusive education. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent disability policies at South African research-intensive universities addressed the markers contained in the 4-A Framework. The framework was reworked and operationalised for the higher education context, and expanded to include a fifth marker, namely affordability. A deductive thematic analysis, using a protocol based on the five markers, was used to analyse these policies. Results indicate that, of the five markers, affordability was not sufficiently addressed. Various disclaimers also limit policy provisions related to other markers.     

中年级小学生笔迹工整性与自信心的关系研究

中文笔迹特征与人格特质关系密切，为了研究中年级小学生笔迹的工整性与自信心的关系，采用罗森博格《自信心量表》和中文笔迹评定材料对125名中年级小学生进行测试。结果发现：（1）中年级小学生自信者和自我感觉平常者比重大，约占95%，自卑者和超级自信者比重小，约占5%；(2)自信心和笔迹工整性正相关显著（r=0.24,P<0.05)；（3）笔迹工整性对自信心具有预测作用，笔迹工整性可解释自信心9.3%的变异（R2=0.093)；(4)笔迹工整性存在显著的性别差异(F=41.62,P<0.05)，男性笔迹得分的平均分显著低于女性。可以得出：（1）中年级小学生自信心状况整体良好；（2）受测者笔迹越工整，自信心越高；（3）笔迹工整性对自信心具有预测作用；（4）性别影响笔迹工整性，男生的笔记工整性不如女生。     

Exploring the intersection of transnationalism and critical race theory: a critical race analysis of international student experiences in the United States

International student mobility to the United States (US) has increased over the past two decades. Despite the increase in numbers, international students may experience racism, nativism, and other forms of discrimination within the US context. Much of the existing literature focus on how international students can assimilate and cope with these issues rather than interrogating the systems of oppression that create negative student experiences. Thus, we utilized critical race theory (CRT) as a framework for interrogating how international student experiences are portrayed in current literature. Although CRT is grounded in US-based legal theory, we argue that CRT must move beyond the rigid confinement within US borders and expand to consider how transnationalism and global exchange contributes to the fluidity and applicability of this theory. We also provide recommendations for critical race praxis, with an emphasis on implications for practice, theory, and future research.     

Decrypting cultural nuances: using drama techniques from the theatre of the oppressed to strengthen cross cultural communication in social work students

ABSTRACT

Despite widening participation in social work education in the UK, social work students from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds can find that they have less positive experiences on social work courses than their counterparts. This can happen when courses do not equip students to navigate the subtle rules of communication with service users that are premised on dominant UK values. As a consequence BME students can be assessed as having poor interpersonal skills and poor skills in engaging service users. However, the issue is often more one of cultural differences and high expectations of cultural integration than one of incompetence.

This paper reports on a drama workshop using techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed to foster awareness of the complexities of cross cultural communication that BME students may face. The workshop facilitates insight into the nuances of culturally informed values that differ from dominant UK values.

Drawing on student workshop evaluations, the authors highlight the positive use of techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed as a pro-active pedagogical approach to equipping BME students with insight and skill to circumnavigate cross cultural communication in practice and develop awareness of empowering strategies to combat negative paradigms about BME cultures.     

大学生参与社会实践活动意愿实证分析与提升路径

参与社会实践活动对大学生成长成才具有重要现实意义和成效，然而当前社会实践活动大学生的参与率相对较低。在对福建省四所高校大学生参与社会时间活动意愿问卷调查的基础上，就影响大学生参与社会实践意愿的因素进行了实证分析，认为是否为学生干部、是否熟悉参与方式及家人是否支持正是影响大学生参与社会实践的三大要素。相应地，在实际工作中，加强宣传协同优化社会实践环境、改变学生家长教育观念争取支持、创新形式多元筹集经费支持等举措，实为拓宽大学生社会实践参与路径之关健。     

The serene student: Evaluating a group-based mindfulness training program for MSW students

ABSTRACT

Social work educators are exploring the benefits of mindfulness training for social work pedagogy. The authors evaluate the outcomes of a mindfulness program for MSW students. The authors assessed changes in mindfulness, self-compassion, affect, mood, and impairment due to emotional distress before and after the program, and at 4-month follow-up. The authors examine how the group process may facilitate the development of mindfulness and consider how mindfulness practices can support group development and student learning. Results demonstrate that mindfulness training supports student self-regulation and well-being and suggest that the active ingredients of the group process may play a role in mindfulness training outcomes.     

Patterns of alcohol use and marijuana use among students at 2- and 4-year institutions

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand substance use patterns of alcohol, marijuana, and simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use among 2- and 4-year college students. Participants: Participants were 526 young adults aged 18–23 (n?=?355 4-year students; n?=?171 2-year students) recruited from February 2015 to January 2016 who were participating in a larger longitudinal study. Methods: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify past-month classes of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use. Results: Among both 2- and 4-year students, a four-class solution yielded the best-fitting model, with 2-year classes tending to include greater marijuana use and less alcohol use and 4-year classes tending to include heavy alcohol use. Demographic characteristics were largely similar across classes. Conclusions: Classes of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use differed by education status. Screening and prevention efforts for 4-year students may need to be tailored for the needs of 2-year students.     

iDecide: supporting inclusive decision-making in European schools

iDecide is a KA3 - Support for policy reform project with partners from public and private sectors- from Cyprus, Romania, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. iDecide was conceptualised with the aim of supporting school leaders and teachers in their efforts marginalised groups, and to support their learning in their everyday decision-making. The iDecide toolkit supports the decision-making processes that the majority of schools face every day in all aspects of school life (visits and excursions, school projects, parental involvement, school canteen, homework, students’ council etc). The iDecide toolkit has the capacity to provide teachers and school leaders with practical guidelines for these common decisions in straightforward, simple language. It also gives school leaders the opportunity to retrieve pupils’ and parents' opinions through online polls and forum discussions. This short paper describes the iDecide toolkit functions.     

基于高校学生工作视角下微信自我呈现的性别研究

自我呈现是指策略性的表现自我以寻求社会认同的方式，主要形式包括微信个人信息和朋友圈的自我呈现。作为高校学生工作管理者，通过关注和解读学生的微信信息，可获取一手的学生动态，及时掌握学生的情况，进行深入细致的研判。本文通过抽样调查发现：大学生群体中，男同学自我呈现的学业和社会导向较高，女同学自我呈现的情感和生活导向较高；女同学整体自我呈现程度高于男同学。