bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
To be conformative or not - a question of style or education? A Comparative Study of Teacher Students in Sweden and Community Education Students in Scotland
Authors: Boström Lena , Coburn Annette
Published: April 2022

Education systems in Sweden and Scotland are currently undergoing reforms which have shifted curricula from content driven to student focused approaches. In Higher Education, the shift from elite to more accessible mass education may bring direct implications for teaching and learning. Institutions continually seek evidence of the effectiveness of methods used to facilitate student learning and it is important for teachers in Higher Education to be aware of the different ways that students learn. This article examines the learning styles preferences for 70 students in Sweden and Scotland to consider whether, in light of international research on learning styles, these groups differed. Findings were used to explore why and how this might impact on higher education in terms of students´ learning strategies. The findings suggested the need for diverse teaching approaches and concluded that community education students and teacher students differed in their preferences towards sound, design and conformity. The article considers how these differences might be explained and so, might be of interest to those engaged in teaching and learning in Higher Education and those working in discrete professional practice communities.
Outdoor Education Provision in Scottish Schools
Authors: Christie Beth , Nicol Robbie , Beames Simon , Ross Hamish , Higgins Peter
Published: April 2022

This paper examines the frequency and nature of outdoor learning provision in Scottish schools, with specific attention paid to teachers’ approaches to learning outdoors, and it considers what further support and professional development teachers need to progress their practice. This enquiry is timely as limited data has been gathered over the past ten years (see Higgins et al. 2006 and Mannion et al. 2007) and little is known about how the policy document Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning and associated Education Scotland support has influenced outdoor learning provision. Questionnaires were administered to primary and secondary schools (n=90 returns) across four local authority areas. The results indicate that secondary schools are keen to develop outdoor learning provision and they need support to do so. Also, there is an increased use of school grounds as a context for learning within the primary school sector. In light of these findings and recent developments within national education, recommendations are made for both in-service and pre-service teacher training.
Measuring the ‘Quality' of Educational Research: Reflections on the Australian Experience
Authors: Santoro Ninetta
Published: April 2022

In the last ten years in Australia researchers have come under intense scrutiny as assessment measures of research quality have dominated their work. While these initiatives have made highly visible the work of some educational researchers, at the same time, they have made invisible the scholarship and work of many others in education faculties and schools of education. In this paper, I explore some of the tensions and complexities of the educational research context in Australia. I draw on my experience as a researcher, teacher educator and academic manager to examine the discourses that shape educational research in Australia. I provide a profile of educational researchers and how they are positioned in the current research climate, who is funded and what is funded, and what counts as ‘quality’ research. I conclude by suggesting the need for broader and more inclusive categorisations of educational research and educational researchers and better recognition of the diversity of education academics.
Inclusive Pedagogy: A transformative approach to individual differences but can it help reduce educational inequalities?
Authors: Florian Lani
Published: April 2022

The 2014 SERA Lecture provides an overview of the concept of inclusive pedagogy, a distinctive approach to classroom teaching offering an alternative pedagogical approach that has the potential to reduce educational inequality by enhancing learning opportunities for everyone. Inclusive pedagogy focuses on improving the quality of mainstream education by reducing variability in practice. It was developed from studies that focused on understanding the expertise of teachers who are able to work with diverse student groups and achieve good academic attainment results for all students, including those who have been identified as having additional support needs. As an alternative approach, inclusive pedagogy offers a partial response to three interrelated problems of educational inequality: (1) those that are associated with organisational and pedagogical strategies based on bell curve distributions; (2) the identification of additional support needs; and (3) the disproportionate statistical representation of certain minority groups in special education.
A.S. Neill and Scotland: attitudes, omissions and influences
Authors: Humes Walter
Published: April 2022

Alexander Sutherland Neill (1883- 1973) is well-known as the leading figure in the 20th century movement for progressive, child-centred education, a movement which attracted both supporters and critics. The independent school which he founded, Summerhill, was located first in Lyme Regis, Dorset and later in Leiston, Suffolk, both in England, but many of Neill’s ideas need to be understood as a reaction against his experiences as a pupil and young teacher in Scotland. This paper examines his attitude to Scotland and Scottish education, drawing on his own writings, including his autobiography, the work of Jonathan Croall, Neill’s biographer and editor of a collection of his letters, and the testimony of Scottish educators whose work was influenced by Neill. Detailed examination is given to Neill’s 1936 book, Is Scotland Educated?, which has received limited attention from commentators. This volume is particularly interesting in relation to Neill’s political, cultural and psychological perspectives on Scottish life and their relevance to his educational views. The book reveals the strength of his (mainly negative) feelings about his native land but also his limited awareness of some important developments that were taking place, especially in the field of child guidance. In addition, the paper explores Neill’s links to other Scottish progressive educators, most notably John Aitkenhead and R. F. Mackenzie, both of whom sought to introduce qualified versions of Neill’s philosophy into schools in Scotland. It is argued that it is not necessary to subscribe to every aspect of Neill’s approach to education to appreciate his value as a source of an alternative narrative to official accounts of the Scottish educational tradition.
Building Blocks and Beyond: How Human Rights Education in Initial Teacher Education May Help to Change the Human Rights Landscape in Scotland
Authors: Struthers Alison
Published: April 2022

Following the recently published report Building Blocks for Improving HRE within ITE in Scotland (2015), this article identifies some of the challenges facing Human Rights Education (HRE) in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Scotland and provides suggestion for how these could be overcome, or at least alleviated. It argues that HRE in ITE is important not only for equipping teachers with the confidence and skills to be able to provide effective and empowering education in this area in their classrooms, but also for contributing to a broader cultural change where human rights are mainstreamed and accepted to a greater extent within society. The article suggests, however, that a number of changes in both policy and practice would be necessary to overcome the current barriers to HRE and to ensure that education in this area is consistent, widespread and effective.
The Reinvigoration of the Scottish Further Education Sector: an exploration and analysis of the recent reforms
Authors: O’Donnell Patrick , Murphy Mark , Norman Carey
Published: April 2022

In July 2012 the Scottish Government published ‘Reinvigorating College Governance: the Scottish Response to The Report of the Review of Further Education Governance in Scotland’. The Report advanced a radical new structure for the Scottish Further Education (FE) sector and the overall impact has been unparalleled, creating seismic transformations to its operating structure and governance. The newly emerging paradigm overturned previous structural and governance arrangements, rescaling the Scottish FE landscape. This paper analyses the recent policy context unfolding within the Scottish FE sector; illuminating the central driving forces and legitimising discourses behind the current restructuring, cognisant of the emergent European educational policy space. It argues that the emerging policy reforms for Scottish FE, commonly referred to as ‘regionalisation’, is simultaneously a continuation and departure from the governing structures set in place in the early 1990s. The paper offers productive ways of framing thinking about the regionalisation of Scottish FE. Consequently, it will be of interest to Scottish Government policy makers and those working within or in partnership with the Scottish FE sector.
Scottish higher education and social justice: tensions between data and discourse
Authors: Riddell Sheila
Published: April 2022

This paper considers the extent to which higher education in Scotland may be seen as a socially just system. The paper begins with a discussion of recent literature on the nature of social justice, drawing on the writing of Fraser (2005), Phillips (2004) and Sen (1992). Phillips’ argument that social justice must be understood in terms of equality of group outcomes, and not just equality of opportunity, is noted. Administrative data are used to explore social differences in higher education participation rates, which are linked to social differences in school attainment. The social priorities implicit in the allocation of the education budget by sector are discussed. The paper then explores policy makers’ understanding of fairness and their views of Scottish Government policy. Key informants in the most selective institutions were strongly supportive of universal free tuition, whilst those in colleges and post-92 universities were more critical, suggesting that budgetary priorities should be reviewed in order to channel more funds to schools and colleges. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need for a more critical and nuanced debate on the type of social justice which is sought within higher education, the ways in which progress should be measured and the initiatives which are likely to foster a more socially just system of higher education in Scotland.
Getting into higher education: young people’s views of fairness
Authors: Minty Sarah
Published: April 2022

Free tuition in Scotland is frequently linked to principles of equal access and fairness. But just how ‘fair’ do young people think access to higher education is? And what concepts of fairness are their views based on? This article reports the findings of semi-structured interviews with 121 young people aged 15-18 in Scotland. The paper outlines the position of those who felt access was equal for all, where meritocratic ideas of hard work, motivation and individual ability were paramount, versus those who believed that access is inherently unequal and based on socio-economic background and school attended. The majority of young people conceptualised fairness on the basis of equality of procedure, with many perceiving contextual admissions to be an ‘unfair’ form of discrimination. Findings point to the need for better communication of the rationale behind contextual admissions and greater discussion of social justice issues in schools more broadly.
Mind the Gap: How should we set about teaching the successful learner?
Authors: Reeves Jenny
Published: April 2022

Many countries are in the process of adopting radical changes to the purpose, nature and organisation of the school curriculum as the principles of lifelong learning are transferred to schooling. One of the most fundamental changes lies in the emphasis on learning how to learn as a transferable skill set that underpins the whole curriculum. On this basis we are seeing the importation into schools of ideas and practices drawn from adult education and the commercial sector. In particular those that posit that the most effective relationship between those who learn and their learning lies in self-direction through the mastery of the performativity cycle (goal setting, activity, evaluation). The second radical change, also cross-curricular in its focus, consists in formalising learning in schools that, in the latter half of 20th century, had been identified as part of the implicit, or hidden curriculum. Learning outcomes under such themes as Health and Wellbeing relate directly to the ‘socialisation’ of students with a focus on developing their personal qualities and their social conduct. Both these changes place an increased emphasis on children and young people’s capacity for self-regulation which has profound implications for teachers and their professional practice. In recognition of these implications there has been an expansion of advice on pedagogic issues in both policy documents and in the educational literature. Drawing from policy and educational literature this paper explores the nature of this advice and discusses how effective or otherwise it may be in helping teachers to understand and fulfill a new role in their classrooms.
Teacher Leadership Development: An exploration of issues arising from programmes in Scotland and New Zealand
Authors: Torrance Deirdre , Notman Ross , Murphy Daniel
Published: April 2022

There is growing awareness of the contribution teachers can make to school leadership, particularly in relation to improvements in curriculum and pedagogy. Teacher leadership offers the potential to engage teachers in bottom-up approaches to school improvement and liberate the professional creativity of teachers. Despite such positioning, clearer conceptualisation is needed of ‘teacher leadership’, its espoused purposes and practice realities. Through this, better understanding can emerge of how willing and interested teachers can be supported to develop their leadership capabilities. This article reports on early findings from a small-scale exploratory experiential investigation in two education systems of similar size, Scotland and New Zealand, investigating how those teachers conceptualise teacher leadership and its practice. The study is intended to contribute to our understandings of the motivations and barriers that face teachers involved in developing their leadership capacities. The article explores some implications for policy and practice as we look to unlock teacher leadership potential.
Diversity and Social Justice – Beyond Motherhood and Apple Pie
Authors: Arshad Rowena
Published: April 2022

The majority of teachers are aware that inequalities impact on the lives of individual pupils. For others, there is also deeper awareness of how inequalities impact at community and societal levels. For those who work in areas of multiple deprivation, many are reminded on a daily basis of the ‘everydayness’ of coping or survival for their pupils and their families. However, research has also found that teacher and student teacher confidence levels on addressing equality and discrimination issues vary depending on the issue and the context. This article considers why it is important for teacher personal commitment to equality issues to be underpinned by an understanding of social justice concepts and frameworks.
Social Justice Leadership in Scottish Education
Authors: Torrance Deirdre , Forde Christine
Published: April 2022

Leadership has been identified in contemporary policy as a critical factor in taking forward school improvement and enhancing outcomes for pupils (Pontz, Nusche and Moorman, 2008) in many educational systems including Scottish education. A second policy driver in Scottish education currently is focused on ‘closing the gap’ (Scottish Government, 2016) between the attainment of pupils from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds and this is measured largely in terms of assessment outcomes and post school destinations. However, there is a danger that such drivers become reductive and as a result the focus narrows to attainment statistics, causing social factors which militate against pupil achievement to be overlooked. In a context where school populations are becoming more diverse there is a question then about how headteachers maintain a more critical focus on the attainment and achievement of these diverse groups of learners. This article explores the concept of ‘social justice leadership’ which has emerged in the literature in recent years to characterise the work of school leaders looking to enhance the learning outcomes for all learners in a school. The article draws from the case studies conducted in Scotland as part of the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN) research project on social justice leadership to explore this concept in a Scottish setting. As part of this study a framework was generated to track three levels of educational decision-making was generated encompassing the macro, meso and micro levels. This article uses the ISLDN framework to explore some of the enabling factors for headteachers in their practice as social justice leaders and some of the hindering factors that they grapple with.
“This is theirs”: The implementation of the South Lanarkshire Framework for supporting pupils with severe and profound needs
Authors: Rees Kirstie , Tully Scott , Ferguson Kirstin
Published: April 2022

This paper details the development, implementation and evaluation of the South Lanarkshire Framework for Supporting Children with Severe and Profound Learning Needs (“The Framework”). The document assists Scottish schools in taking forward the Curriculum for Excellence for this group of learners and in building capacity amongst staff. The guidance and resources place emphasis on the identification of relevant and individualised learning outcomes and on teaching approaches which promote pupils’ development in key areas. Seven Additional Support Needs (ASN) establishments in South Lanarkshire completed a pre- and post- audit of curricular practice and 24 staff completed an evaluative questionnaire. Eight staff also participated in semi-structured interviews. Analyses indicated that the Framework has influenced teachers in terms of their mind-set, practice and ability to set appropriate targets. Responses also suggested that the document has led to increased collaboration amongst staff and has been shared positively with parents. The findings are discussed in relation to implications for practice and future research directions.
Belonging: Blurring the Boundaries
Authors: Meharg Debbie , Craighill Stephanie , Varey Alison , Cairncross Sandra
Published: April 2022

This paper applies Whitchurch’s (2008) concept of the ‘third space’ to the emergent territory occupied by further education college students as they ‘cross the boundary’ to continue their studies at the university. Findings reveal that these transitioning students face barriers to success, feelings of being isolated and encounter negative perceptions. While this paper focuses on the Scottish education system and emphasises the Scottish Governments aim to remove barriers to widening access and participation in HE, the findings have a more general applicability and can support a variety of transitions made in the education sector. Research outcomes can, therefore, inform academic leaders, enhance the student experience, guide policy makers and aid knowledge transfer.
Joining the dots through Scottish crofting education: Rural development, crofting futures and educational opportunities.
Authors: Britton Alan , Hunt Rachel , Blee Harry
Published: April 2022

The ‘Crofting Connections’ (Ceanglaichean Croitearachd) project is described in this article as an exemplar of the prescribed ‘Scottish approach’ to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Drawing upon the evaluation of this project an argument is made for increased attention to such initiatives that seek to (re)connect children with issues of community, heritage, land and place. In doing so, we also call for a reconceptualization of crofting in academic discourse and in the curriculum. While crofting is a specifically Scottish phenomenon, this may be of interest to readers in other nations with similar small scale agricultural traditions.
The Professional Development of Teacher Educators in Scotland: researcherly dispositions and tensions.
Authors: Bain Yvonne , Gray Donald
Published: April 2022

This paper explores the professional learning needs identified by teacher educators in Higher Education Institutions in Scotland, with a particular focus on their “researcherly dispositions” (Tack & Vanderlinde, 2016), and identifies some of the implications for the professional learning of teacher educators more broadly. The Scottish data were part of a wider European wide study conducted by the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development (http://info-ted.eu/), and were drawn from a survey based research (Czerniawski, Guberman and MacPhail, 2016), and follow-up in-depth interviews with university based teacher educators (MacPhail et. al., 2018).

The data from 61 questionnaire respondents and 11 interviews revealed recognition of the multi-faceted nature of the role, the self-determined nature of professional learning, the need for support in becoming a teacher educator, and disparity and tensions in being research active despite an expectation, although to varying degrees, of research and scholarship being an expected activity within the professional and academic role as a teacher educator in Higher Education.
‘It’s a Grand Thing to Get Leave to Live’: The Educational Legacy of Nan Shepherd
Authors: Pirrie Anne
Published: April 2022

This article offers some insights into the early life and educational experiences of the writer and educationalist Anna (Nan) Shepherd (1893-1981), with a view to exploring her legacy for contemporary educators and academics – and indeed for all those who have a stake in education. Nan Shepherd’s example suggests that it is only by contemplating what surrounds us with due care and attention rather than ruthlessly exploiting our natural resources that we may live our lives ‘with a great but quiet gusto’ (Macfarlane, 2011, p. xi). Her example stands as a necessary corrective to the contemporary emphasis on ‘excellence’ and ‘impact’ and utilitarian views of both education and research. These are increasingly seen as means for securing prestige for individuals and institutions and broader competitive advantage in a climate where economic gain is regarded as an unquestioned good. Shepherd’s legacy underlines the broader civic purposes of education, for example the creation of a more just and fulfilling society and the conduct of more meaningful lives, lived fully and in respectful relation to others. These dimensions are explored through Shepherd’s relationship with others, including her friend and contemporary John Macmurray, the novelist Neil Gunn and the teachers who influenced her during her time at school and at university.
From Oil to Soil. Learning for Sustainability and Transitions within the School Garden: a project of cultural and social re-learning.
Authors: Gray Donald , Colucci-Gray Laura , Donald Robert , Kyriacou Aristea , Wodah Daniel
Published: April 2022

Profound socio-environmental changes taking place at a planetary scale are threatening food security (Godfray et al., 2011 ), with food production located at a critical nexus between land-use, reduced availability of fossil fuels and the urgent need to reduce emissions (Harvey & Pilgrim, 2011 ). While debates on food security and energy transitions proliferate in the scientific literature, policy discussions continue to focus on technical solutions, “without seriously engaging with the content and social practices of education for sustainable transitions” (Bangay & Blum, 2010, p. 335). In this context, school gardens are receiving renovated attention. Drawing on current drivers in Scottish policy seeking to tackle economic disadvantage and ‘close the attainment gap’, this project developed as a partnership between a teacher education institution, a non-governmental organisation, a city council planning and infrastructure department, and three primary schools in three regeneration areas of a city. Data were collected through a semi-ethnographic approach incorporating qualitative data obtained through observation schedules; visual data and interviews with teachers and pupils over the course of the project. By adopting a socio-material approach to the analysis, findings articulate the significant changes in both discourses and practices of learning associated with school gardening. Beyond the use of gardens as a context for delivering curricular outcomes and/or acquiring practical skills, tending to the gardens and growing food showed to contribute to the formulation of a learning aesthetics which foregrounds the centrality of the body in learning; acknowledges the living state of materials and positions children’s actions as a way of being and becoming into the world.
Trying to do Socially Just Educational Research: Doing Things Differently
Authors: Maguire Meg
Published: April 2022

In this paper I want to think about some of the issues involved in trying to do inclusive and socially just education research. I draw on two education research projects that I am involved with. The first project is a small-scale exploratory study with twelve Education academics who are ‘staying on’ post retirement. The second is a major investigation that explores how England’s vocational education and training (VET) system could better support the transitions into further education, training and work of those young people aged 16-20 not taking the university route. Drawing on these two studies, the intention is to ask questions about what is meant by socially just research – that is, research that is both socially just in the way it is carried out (for example, doing research with participants instead of to them and including marginalized voices) and that seeks to contribute to more socially just educational practices in the future.

There is some danger in claiming that education research should always have some practical utility; there is also a danger in thinking that more socially just research, without any wider political commitment to social change, will ‘make education better’. But trying to do ‘research differently’ and promoting a more deliberate socially just perspective in our research methods and design may be part of a prefigurative politics where we start to contribute towards more equitable social change.
A story of transforming teacher education.
Authors: Kennedy Aileen , Hay Lizzie , McGovern Becca
Published: April 2022

This article is actually a story, a story of our experiences of transforming teacher education. In this story I (Aileen) narrate a journey that led to the development of a completely new two-year initial teacher education programme: the MSc Transformative Learning and Teaching. The story traces my first intellectual connection with the concept of transformative professional learning, and charts how that understanding has grown and subsequently come to shape my work in teacher education in an explicit way. The story goes on to discuss key concepts from research on teacher education, and on assessment, that shaped the MSc programme; a programme influenced heavily by a social justice perspective. My narration, as the then programme director for the MSc programme, forms only part of the story: in an effort to gain multiperspectivity, my story is interspersed by conversations in which Lizzie (a recent graduate of the programme) and Becca (a current year 2 student) discuss their experiences with each other.
The Elusiveness of Equal Access to Educational Opportunity: Scotland, After a Decade of Inclusive Policies.
Authors: Adam Janet , I’Anson John
Published: April 2022

The achievement of equal access to educational opportunity is an international policy imperative that remains as elusive as it is desirable. Despite a plethora of inclusive policies and initiatives in Scotland such as Getting it Right for Every Child (2008 & 2012), Curriculum for Excellence (2009) and the Scottish Attainment Challenge (2015), significant numbers of young people cannot be said to experience equal access to educational opportunity. This paper draws upon complementary sociological and philosophical perspectives to explore why such barriers to equality of educational opportunity persist, before suggesting ways in which serious engagement with such theory might counter deficit assumptions in play and offer possible new ways forward.

The point of departure is Bourdieu’s typology of various forms of social capital which highlights how possession of capital is advantageous to upper and middle class families, whereas lack of such capital serves to restrict educational opportunities for young people from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds. Such an analysis argues that reproduction of social conditions, styles of thinking and decision-making, coupled with oppressive societal structures, all serve to disempower young people and impact negatively upon their educational attainment.

This paper explores a variety of ways in which theory might challenge and interrupt assumptions informing discourses associated with inequality and their associated remedies. Through engaging a series of problematics within current framings of inequality, the paper argues that a more sustained engagement with theory offers the possibility of more nuanced understandings of inequality and a provocation to imagine otherwise. Engaging in such imaginative work might, moreover, enable the barriers to equality of educational opportunity to be better addressed.
Teachers working in special education in Scotland: Perceptions regarding emotional awareness and regulation amongst pupils within the Autism Spectrum
Authors: Smith Clara , Mercieca Duncan
Published: April 2022

Impairments of emotional awareness and regulation are recognised features of autism spectrum conditions and are known to impact school experiences and outcomes. However, most research in this field takes place within clinical settings, and there is a scarcity of literature describing how these difficulties are addressed within schools, particularly in Scotland. This research describes the perceptions of 18 additional support needs teachers within Scotland regarding the emotional awareness and regulation of pupils with autism spectrum conditions. This includes how emotional concepts are taught, and what barriers exist in the development of emotional competence. The research took the form of an open-ended online questionnaire which was distributed through social media platforms. The results demonstrate a recognition of the importance of a collaborative approach across school and beyond to support pupils to develop emotional competence, as well as highlighting potential problems with the ways in which emotions are labelled and concepts are taught.
A Critical Analysis of the European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning: The Limitations of the Human Capital Theory
Authors: Loumpourdi Maria
Published: April 2022

Lifelong learning has been the subject of international policy debates and incremental developments over the past century. The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the neoliberal discourse of key competences for lifelong learning, which is promoted by the European Union as a self-sufficient policy solution that can cure a wide range of educational, economic, political, and social ills.

Drawing on Nussbaum’s human capabilities theory, this paper seeks to query the neoliberal assumptions behind the aims of the European Reference Framework, namely employability, personal fulfilment, active citizenship, and social inclusion, and unveil the limitations of the proposed policy solutions. This paper argues that the current neoliberal discourse of the European Reference Framework decontextualizes the learner, reducing the need to form broader policy solutions that could address the structural roots of unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion. The individualisation of these issues does not allow for their structural roots, which stem from the asymmetrical socio-economic system, to be addressed. This paper argues that the aims of the European Reference Framework could be better served through the development of a wider policy intervention involving a synergy between the education system, labour market, and welfare state.
Interpretations of the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872
Authors: McKinney Stephen J. , Humes Walter M.
Published: April 2022

This article discusses the ways in which the 1872 Act, often perceived as landmark legislation in the history of Scottish education, has been interpreted by historians. In pursuing this aim, the article examines celebratory and critical narratives about the importance of the Act and highlights some key aspects of the 1872 Act: central and local administration; its implications for teachers; and the financial consequences for poor families. This is followed by a section that argues that the permissive provisions in the Act had limited effect in the short term, and that certain areas of educational importance did not feature at all. Finally, the sensitive religious issues, which were partly responsible for thwarting earlier attempts to introduce legislation, are discussed. The article concludes with some brief reflections on the social and cultural provision of the 1872 Act and its significance for the ‘democratic’ tradition of Scottish education.
Correlation of D-dimer and Outcomes in COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Nemec Hannah M. , Ferenczy Allison , Christie Benjamin D. , Ashley Dennis W. , Montgomery Anne
Published: April 2022

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has impacted daily life and medical practices around the world. Hospitals are continually making observations about this unique population as it relates to laboratory data and outcomes. Plasma D-dimer levels have been shown to be promising as a prognostic factor for outcomes in COVID-19 patients. This single institution retrospective study investigates the correlation between D-dimer and patient outcomes in our inpatient COVID-19 patient population.

Methods

COVID-19 confirmed positive patients who were admitted between March 2020 and May 2020 at our hospital were identified. Admission and peak D-dimer values and patient outcomes, including intubation and mortality, were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

Ninety-seven patients met criteria for inclusion in the study Mean age was 63.2 years, median admission D-dimer 2.35ug/mL, and median peak D-dimer 2.74ug/mL. Average time to peak D-dimer was 3.2 days. Patient’s requiring intubation had higher admission D-dimers (3.79ug/mL vs. 1.62 ug/mL)

Discussion

Higher admission and peak D-dimer values were associated with worsening clinical outcomes, specifically with higher rates of intubation and mortality. Noting D-dimer trends early in a patients’ COVID course, regardless of patients’ clinical condition, may allow opportunities for physicians to provide early intervention to prevent these outcomes.
A Cohort Study of an Enhanced Recovery Pathway for Pancreatic Surgery at a Community Hospital
Authors: Grosh Kent M. , Folkert Kyra N. , Chou Jesse , Shebrain Saad A. , Munene Gitonga M.
Published: April 2022

Background

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways have been shown to improve pancreatic surgery outcomes, though feasibility in a community hospital remain unclear. We hypothesized that an ERAS protocol would reduce hospital length of stay (LOS) without increased morbidity.

Methods

An ERAS pathway was initiated for patients undergoing pancreatic surgery at a community cancer center and compared to a historical cohort. The primary outcome was hospital LOS. Secondary outcomes included 30-day readmission rates, comprehensive complication index (CCI®), textbook outcomes (TO), and mortality.

Results

A total of 144 patients were included, with 63 patients in the ERAS group and 81 in the control group. The mean LOS decreased significantly in the ERAS group (6.85 [± 4.8]) vs 9.96 [±6.8] days, P = .001), without an increase in 30-day admission rates or CCI.

Conclusions

Implementation of an ERAS protocol in a community setting reduced LOS without a corresponding increase in readmission rates or morbidity.
Association of Controlling Nutritional Status Score With Adverse Outcomes in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Huang Lijun , He Renliang , Sun Xiajun , Lv Jing , Chen Shaoxi
Published: April 2022

This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to examine the association between the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score and adverse outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). PubMed and Embase databases were searched for eligible studies from their inceptions to December 12, 2021 to identify studies investigating the association of the CONUT score with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and all-cause mortality in CAD patients. Twelve studies (36,198 CAD) patients satisfied the criteria. Comparison of the high with low CONUT score, the pooled multivariate adjusted risk ratios (RR) was 1.78 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.36-2.32) for MACEs and 1.45 (95% CI 1.27–1.66) for all-cause mortality, respectively. When compared with patients with normal nutrition, malnourished (defined by the CONUT score ≥2) patients conferred a 52% increased risk of MACEs. Additionally, per point CONUT score increment was associated with 15% and 11% higher risk of MACEs and all-cause mortality, respectively. Higher CONUT score independently predicts the MACEs all-cause mortality in CAD patients. Estimation of nutritional status using the CONUT score could be helpful for improving risk classification of CAD.
Comparison of Care Settings for Pediatric External Auditory Canal Foreign Bodies: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: White Ana C. , Shih Michael C. , Nguyen Shaun A. , Carol Liu Yi-Chun
Published: April 2022

Objective:

To compare the success and complication rates of pediatric external auditory canal foreign body (EAC FB) removal between Emergency Departments (ED), Primary Care Providers (PCP), and Otolaryngologists (ENT).

Methods:

PubMed, Scopus, and Embase were searched through January 13, 2022. Studies mentioning EAC FB removal success rates and types of healthcare settings were included. Pooled measures included abrasions/lacerations, TM perforations, and success rate stratified by healthcare setting.

Results:

Thirteen studies and 3891 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Most comparisons between EAC FB removal success rates for EDs versus PCPs versus ENTs were statistically significant. The highest FB removal success rate was in patients who presented to ENTs without previous removal attempts (92.9% [95% CI 84.6-98.2]). EDs had the lowest success rates (64.0% [95% CI 48.3-78.3]). For patients that had a previous attempt at FB removal, ENTs had a success rate of 64.1% [95% CI 42.0-83.5].

Conclusions:

For ENTs treating pediatric EAC FB, removal success rates decrease if a different healthcare provider previously attempted EAC FB removal. This effect likely is due to decreased patient cooperativeness or increased FB complications (eg, canal edema and bleeding limiting visualization) after previous removal attempts. Individual institutions should identify conditions that increase EAC FB removal failure rates and necessitate ENT referral. Therefore, the communication and concerted efforts between EDs, PCPs, and ENTs are critical for the improved outcomes of pediatric EAC FBs.
“Walking in Two Worlds”: Toward an Indigenist Ecological Systems Model for Group Therapy
Authors: Fish Jillian , Hirsch Glenn , Syed Moin
Published: April 2022

Walking in two worlds is a common metaphor Indigenous peoples use to describe their experiences navigating the differences between Indigenous and Western epistemological and ontological worldviews across various contexts. Despite wide support for this phenomenon, there have been few attempts to address Indigenous–Western cultural incongruities through structural changes in counseling psychology, although as a profession, it is well equipped to do so. Thus, we propose for counseling psychology to move toward the Indigenist ecological systems model (IESM) as an integrative framework for promoting Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies in science and practice. We provide a brief overview of IESM and a direct application of the model through a case illustration of Walking in Two Worlds, a psychotherapy group for Indigenous peoples. With IESM, we describe creating an Indigenous-informed clinical intervention that leverages Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies, prompting real ecological change. We conclude with implications IESM has for counseling psychology.
Presenting as a chief strategy officer: A discourse-analytical study of elite subjectivities and vulnerabilities
Authors: Knight Eric , Jarzabkowski Paula
Published: April 2022

Do elite strategists always project powerfulness in how they talk about their strategy work? Whilst the strategy discourse literature has often assumed that those occupying senior strategy positions project strength in how they negotiate power through discourse, our findings challenge and elaborate this assumption by revealing aspects of vulnerability and powerlessness in how they talk about themselves as elite strategists. Based on the strategy discourse of 48 elite strategists around the world, our findings extend the literature at the intersection of power and subjectivity, strategy discourse, and strategy work in three ways. First, we illuminate surprising vulnerability and powerlessness in some elite strategists’ discourses about themselves, an element that goes beyond the assumption of exclusivity and influence embedded in current studies. Second, we contribute to the discursive opening up of the strategist role itself, showing how elite strategists position themselves in contrast to a variety of ‘others’ in strategy work beyond traditional hierarchies. Finally, we advance understandings on discursive competence in the strategy professional field, illuminating new ways in which its discursive competitiveness and continuity is manifest.
Firm Pay Policies and the Gender Earnings Gap: The Mediating Role of Marital and Family Status
Authors: Li Jiang , Dostie Benoit , Simard-Duplain Gaëlle
Published: April 2022

Using data from the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database between 2001 and 2015, the authors examine the impact of firms’ hiring and pay-setting policies on the gender earnings gap in Canada. Consistent with the existing literature and following Card, Cardoso, and Kline (2016), findings show that firm-specific premiums explain nearly one-quarter of the 26.8% average earnings gap between female and male workers. On average, firms’ hiring practices, due to differences in the relative proportion of women hired at high-wage firms (known as sorting), and pay-setting policies, due to differences in pay by gender within similar firms, each explain approximately one-half of this firm effect. The compositional difference between the two channels varies substantially over a worker’s life cycle, by parental and marital status, and across provinces.
Stable and quadratic-optimal parallel-distributed-compensation controller design for time-varying Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model System: A complementary computational approach
Authors: Chou Fu-I , Ho Wen-Hsien
Published: April 2022

A complementary computational approach is proposed for the time-varying Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model system (TVTSFMS). The proposed approach integrates orthogonal-functional approach (OFA), hybrid Taguchi genetic algorithm (HTGA), and a stabilizability condition (SC) for use in designing stable and quadratic-optimal parallel-distributed-compensation (SQOPDC) controllers for optimal control problems. First, the SC was set according to linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Next, OFA was used to derive an algorithm that only required algebraic computation to solve the TVTSFMS. Finally, The HTGA could be used to search the SQOPDC controller for the TVTSFMS. The SQOPDC controller obtained by the proposed complementary computational approach was evaluated in a case study of a vibratory pendulum design; the successful design verified the usability of the proposed hybrid intelligent computing method.
Exploring Thresholds in the Foundational Skills for Reading and Comprehension Outcomes in the Context of Postsecondary Readers
Authors: Magliano Joseph P. , Talwar Amani , Feller Daniel P. , Wang Zuowei , O’Reilly Tenaha , Sabatini John
Published: April 2022

There is a range of reasons why college students may be underprepared to read, but one possibility is that some college students are below a threshold of proficiency in the component skills of reading. The presence of thresholds means that when students fall below that threshold, their proficiency in that component skill of reading is not sufficient for there to be a relationship with comprehension performance. The present study assessed (a) whether there were thresholds in proficiencies in foundational skills, (b) whether students falling below the thresholds were disproportionately in developmental literary programs (i.e., institutionally designated as underprepared), and (c) the implications of being below the thresholds on engaging in strategic processing during reading. College students were administered assessments of foundational literacy skills, text comprehension, and strategic processing of texts. The sample included students who were enrolled in developmental literacy programs and students who were not. Thresholds were found in the foundational skills associated with word-, sentence-, and discourse-level processing. Participants below these thresholds were represented disproportionately by students determined to be underprepared for college and assigned to developmental literacy programs. Finally, students falling below the thresholds demonstrated lower reading strategy scores than students above the threshold.
Agrarian Distress and Seasonal Out-migration: Insights from a Field Survey in North Bengal
Authors: Thapa Rukmini , Mishra Deepak K.
Published: April 2022

A substantial section of India’s migrant labour force is pushed into precarious livelihoods in the informal economy. The circular dynamic of seasonal migration, taken to fill the recurrent voids in earnings and employment, is the only distress-ameliorating strategy of marginalised households and should not be equated with accumulative and aspirational forms of livelihood diversification. We analyse the processes behind the emergence of a mobile labour force in the backdrop of the declining viability of agriculture. We have documented illustrations of livelihood distress of two villages using data from a primary field survey conducted in the northern region of West Bengal. Our findings show that the multiple modes of migration in both villages were outcomes of migrants’ relentless efforts to continuously evolve and explore new routes for livelihood and, in the process, develop ways to minimise risks and social costs. With rising employment insecurity in the urban economy, migrants were building resilience against different forms of vulnerability and redundancy from traditional modes of reproduction. The linkages between the crisis of survival of the agrarian classes in rural India and the continued vulnerability of the seasonal and circular migrant workers point to the specific ways in which labour is getting absorbed, most often in adverse forms, in a rapidly globalising Indian economy.