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\"Lesson Study has been developed and used in Japan for over a century and is increasingly used in the Far East, USA and now in Europe. Lesson Study: Making a Difference to Teaching Pupils with Learning Difficulties shows how this powerful model of professional learning has been integrated with the principles of inclusive practice by classroom teachers in the challenging area of teaching pupils in the spectrum from Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) to low attainment. The book illustrates how Lesson Study has been practised and explores the optimal conditions in schools for its effective use.Essential reading for trainee and practicing teachers with an interest in how professional practice can enhance reflective practice as a means of school improvement and innovation for all pupils\"-- Provided by publisher.

This article analyses current and future issues about the distinctive contribution of professional educational psychologists in a changing English service context. This is about the context of greater inter-professional and multi-agency working, but also the moves towards more quasi-market systems of service delivery. I examine the identity and service focus dilemmas that educational psychologists have to address. This raises questions about the distinction between basic and applied psychology, the nature of applying psychology and whether applying psychology requires professional educational psychologists. One of the main arguments is that how we think about applying psychology is crucial for the future in a changing context. The task is for professional psychologists to be innovative in service terms to ensure a continuing and valued position in the service network. The significance of this analysis of educational psychology in an English context for other countries is also discussed.

Special Educational Needs: A New Look by Mary Warnock was initially published by the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain in 2005.In this new edition, Warnock has updated her argument, Brahm Norwich has contributed a counter-argument and Lorella Terzi has provided an introduction and afterword, drawing the two debates together.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine variations within lesson study (LS) practices and their connections with related traditions: teacher research/enquiry approaches, professional development models, professional learning communities and group problem-solving approaches. Questions are addressed about the relationships between different professional learning approaches in terms of definitions and frameworks.Design/methodology/approachAcademic databases and website sources were searched in a purposive way to identify 20 practices associated with these traditions for comparative analysis.FindingsA conceptual framework consisting of eight dimensions was constructed to account for the variations within and between these professional learning traditions: for instance, about the settings in which the practices take place, the purposes of the practices and the specific procedures involved. By illustrating how specific practices fitted within this framework it is concluded that the variations within the LS tradition are wide enough to make it difficult to identify a set of necessary and sufficient features of LS to distinguish LS practices from the other non-LS professional learning practices. Reasons are also given for considering whether a polythetic type of definition of professional learning/development practices might be constructed.Research limitations/implicationsThe possibility for a more systematic review of professional learning approaches for the construction of a conceptual framework is discussed.Practical implicationsWays in which this kind of conceptualisation can be useful in promoting clarity about professional learning practices and in developing these practices are discussed.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in the construction of a conceptual framework to analyse similarities and differences within and between various professional learning traditions.

Background Childhood antisocial behaviour has high immediate and long-term costs for society and the individual, particularly in relation to mental health and behaviours that jeopardise health. Managing challenging behaviour is a commonly reported source of stress and burn out among teachers, ultimately resulting in a substantial number leaving the profession. Interventions to improve parenting do not transfer easily to classroom-based problems and the most vulnerable parents may not be easily able to access them. Honing teachers’ skills in proactive behaviour management and the promotion of socio-emotional regulation, therefore, has the potential to improve both child and teacher mental health and well-being and the advantage that it might potentially benefit all the children subsequently taught by any teacher that accesses the training. Methods/Design Cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the Incredible Years teacher classroom management (TCM) course with combined economic and process evaluations. One teacher of children aged 4–9 years, from 80 schools in the South West Peninsula will be randomised to attend the TCM (intervention arm) or to “teach as normal” (control arm). The primary outcome measure will be the total difficulties score from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed by the current class teachers prior to randomisation, and at 9, 18 and 30 months follow-up, supplemented by parent SDQs. Secondary measures include academic attainment (teacher report supplemented by direct measurement in a sub-sample), children’s enjoyment of school, and teacher reports of their professional self-efficacy, and levels of burn out and stress, supplemented by structured observations of teachers classroom management skills in a subsample. Cost data for the economic evaluation will be based on parental reports of services accessed. Cost-effectiveness, using the SDQ as the measure of effect, will be examined over the period of the RCT and over the longer term using decision analytic modelling. The process evaluation will use quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess fidelity to model, as well as explore Head teacher and teachers’ experiences of TCM and investigate school factors that influence the translation of skills learnt to practice. Discussion This study will provide important information about whether the Teacher Classroom Management course influences child and teacher mental health and well-being in both the short and long term. It will also provide valuable insights into factors that may facilitate or impede any impact. The trial has been registered with ISCTRN (Controlled Trials Ltd) and assigned an ISRCTN number ISRCTN84130388. ( http://www.controlled-trials.com/isrctn/search.html?srch=ISRCTN84130388&sort=3&dir=desc&max=10 )

This book takes an in-depth look at how education and psychology relate to each other, and at the current state of this relationship. Through comprehensive analysis of the ideological, historical, social and professional contexts of this interaction, the author develops the theme that, despite basic differences in aims, the fields are interconnected. 1. Introduction 2. Education as theory and practice: does it need a scientific basis? 3. Psychology as a study of humanity or as a science 4. A special relationship? 5. Conclusion: a future based on recognising dilemmas and connective specialisation Brahm Norwich is Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine variations within lesson study (LS) practices and their connections with related traditions: teacher research/enquiry approaches, professional development models, professional learning communities and group problem-solving approaches. Questions are addressed about the relationships between different professional learning approaches in terms of definitions and frameworks. Design/methodology/approach Academic databases and website sources were searched in a purposive way to identify 20 practices associated with these traditions for comparative analysis. Findings A conceptual framework consisting of eight dimensions was constructed to account for the variations within and between these professional learning traditions: for instance, about the settings in which the practices take place, the purposes of the practices and the specific procedures involved. By illustrating how specific practices fitted within this framework it is concluded that the variations within the LS tradition are wide enough to make it difficult to identify a set of necessary and sufficient features of LS to distinguish LS practices from the other non-LS professional learning practices. Reasons are also given for considering whether a polythetic type of definition of professional learning/development practices might be constructed. Research limitations/implications The possibility for a more systematic review of professional learning approaches for the construction of a conceptual framework is discussed. Practical implications Ways in which this kind of conceptualisation can be useful in promoting clarity about professional learning practices and in developing these practices are discussed. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in the construction of a conceptual framework to analyse similarities and differences within and between various professional learning traditions.

This article reports findings from an international study about dilemmas of difference in relation to special educational needs and disability in education. It was part of a larger study of the perspectives of 132 education practitioners and policy makers in England, the USA and the Netherlands to a range of dilemmas of difference. It also compares these current perspectives with ones from similar groups in England and the USA from the early 1990s. Participants were interviewed about their perspectives on a presented dilemma about the consequences of identifying children as having a disability or a special educational need. The data are presented in quantitative terms (degrees of recognition and resolution of dilemma) and qualitative terms (reasons, justifications and suggested resolutions). The findings show variations in responses to the dilemma that relate to national differences, but also commonalities in the recognition of this dilemma, reasons for recognising and ways of resolving the dilemma.

This paper examines data from the novel use of Lesson Study (LS), an internationally known strategy for professional development, to improve the teaching of students (11–14 years old) with moderate learning difficulties (MLD). The paper aims to use a systematic qualitative analytic approach to identify variations in LS practice in a development and research project with about 100 teachers across 30 schools in two LS phases. It also examines the extent to which the immediate context of undertaking the LSs relates to the LS practices and the outcomes for teachers and learners. Different data sources were used to examine the LS context, LS practices and outcomes. Analysis showed how teachers adapted the LS strategy to their particular subject areas, the needs of students identified with MLD and their teaching contexts, while mainly keeping to the expected LS procedures. Co-variation analysis showed how the degree to which contexts were supportive of LS could be related to student learning gains and teacher outcomes, but no mediating factors were identified. The conclusions indicate the importance of context for successful LS use. The findings are discussed in terms of possible mediating factors to better understand what is involved in quality and effective LS.

This paper reports a comparative analysis of international perspectives about curriculum design relevant to disability in education. It was part of a larger study of the perspectives of 132 education practitioners and administrators in the UK, USA and the Netherlands on several dilemmas of difference. It also compares current perspectives to previous ones for similar groups of educators from the 1990s. Participants were interviewed about their perspectives to a presented curriculum dilemma about the consequences of having either a common or a differentiated curriculum for children with disabilities/special educational needs. Findings show that a majority in each country recognised the dilemma about curriculum commonality-differentiation, that this has continued over a decade and that there were similarities across the countries in how the dilemma was recognised and resolved. The findings are discussed in terms of national differences, common cross-country perspectives and a general framework of curriculum differentiation informed by an assumption of dilemmas of difference.