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Early science: what is it and how do we support it?
No full textAn introduction to thinking about science in early childhood education
Can dogs reduce stress levels in school children? Effects of dog-assisted interventions on salivary cortisol in children with and without special educational needs using randomized controlled trials
Get PDFProlonged or excessive stress negatively affects learning, behavior and health across the lifespan. To alleviate adverse effects of stress in school children, stressors should be reduced, and support and effective interventions provided. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) have shown beneficial effects on health and wellbeing, however, robust knowledge on stress mediation in children is lacking. Despite this, AAIs are increasingly employed in settings world-wide, including schools, to reduce stress and support learning and wellbeing. This study is the first randomized controlled trial to investigate dog-assisted interventions as a mediator of stress in school children with and without special educational needs (SEN) over the school term. Interventions were carried out individually and in small groups twice a week for 20 minutes over the course of 4 weeks. We compared physiological changes in salivary cortisol in a dog intervention group with a relaxation intervention group and a no treatment control group. We compared cortisol level means before and after the 4 weeks of interventions in all children as well as acute cortisol in mainstream school children. Dog interventions lead to significantly lower stress in children with and without special educational needs compared to their peers in relaxation or no treatment control groups. In neurotypical children, those in the dog interventions showed no baseline stress level increases over the school term. In addition, acute cortisol levels evidenced significant stress reduction following the interventions. In contrast, the no treatment control group showed significant rises in baseline cortisol levels from beginning to end of school term. Increases also occurred in the relaxation intervention group. Children with SEN showed significantly decreased cortisol levels after dog group interventions. No changes occurred in the relaxation or no treatment control groups. These findings provide crucial evidence that dog interventions can successfully attenuate stress levels in school children with important implications for AAI implementation, learning and wellbeing
The role of social justice theory in education studies
No full textHatley argues for a deeper approach to social justice which can support the interconnected thinking that education studies programmes aim to foster. Beyond 'harmony, equity and justice' which can arguably present a surface-level and easily dismissed notion aligned simply with 'fairness', including a theory of social justice throughout a degree programme can enable students to more fully appreciate the systemic nature of justice on multiple scales and equip them to truly understand and navigate the systems they will work within as future educators. Nancy Fraser’s theory of Democratic Justice, with its focus on recognition, redistribution, representation and participatory parity provides a more thorough exploration of issues and supports the critical questioning and orientation towards social justice that education studies degree programmes aspire to foster
The fatigue-related symptoms post-acute SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary comparative study
Get PDFA sizeable sub-group of individuals continue to experience persistent debilitating symptoms post-acute SARS-CoV-2. Although these can vary from person to person, fatigue appears to be the most common symptom. Post-viral fatigue has been documented in conditions such as influenza, infectious mononucleosis and more recently chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The current study uses measures that successfully describe the fatigue-related symptoms associated with CFS to investigate the fatigue experienced post-acute SARS-CoV-2. Twenty-six volunteers were recruited from Long COVID support groups active on social media. Data were collected anonymously using an online survey platform. These data were compared to pre-pandemic data from non-fatigued and CFS groups. The post-acute SARS-CoV-2 volunteers reported significantly higher levels of fatigue and cognitive difficulties than the non-fatigued controls. They also report more individual symptoms (such as lack of concentration) and problems with sleep quality. There was a similarity between the post-acute SARS-CoV-2 volunteers and the CFS group in terms of levels of depression, perceived stress, emotional distress and cognitive difficulties. Although this was a small-scale study, it demonstrates the range of symptoms experienced post-acute SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the similarities between this group and CFS suggests the need for further research into the mechanisms at play here, the need to identify those at risk of long-term symptoms and the development of possible interventions
The fairy tale therapist
Get PDFCreative Work: The Fairy Tale Therapist:-
My original intention was to create a new form of self-help book using fairy tale characters to address psychological problems. The book I wrote does use fairy tale characters to address psychological problems, but it isn’t written as a typical self-help book.
Instead, it’s the story of Helen, a therapist whose personal life suddenly and dramatically falls apart. Her solution? Not one she would suggest to her clients. She leaves everyone she knows and sets up a new practice in a small village in Wales, where her troubles start to fade. Until, that is, the fairy tale characters start coming in through her office window.
Contextualising Research: The Fragility of Equilibrium in Therapy and Writing:-
In this part of the thesis, I explore the methodologies, underpinning literature and the personal journey of discovery that led to the final book. I examine bibliotherapy, the self-help genre and case studies after selecting a canon of well-known self-help books. I then review classical fairy tales and I try using fairy tale characters rather than case studies as examples in a self-help book. I present these attempts and argue why this straight substitution doesn’t work well. Instead, therefore, I decided to use fairy tale characters’ dilemmas to illustrate the process of psychotherapy, so readers can better understand the aims and processes in therapy, and see inside a therapist’s mind.
The resulting book ('The Fairy Tale Therapist', the creative part of my thesis), raised two further questions which I answer and explore in the critical component.
Is there a concept that is central both to writing fiction and to carrying out/undergoing psychotherapy, and if so how does it achieve this? Story is the bridge that links these disciplines, and I found the key within story is the concept of equilibrium, the desire to return to a stable state an organism is disrupted by a challenge. Equilibrium is, however, elusive: once achieved, disequilibrium begins again.
How might changing perspective help to better understand characters in fiction and clients in therapy/self-help? I found that by adhering to the plot but looking at what happens from a different perspective, as an author I gained a deeper understanding of characters other than the central character. I can also apply this technique to help my patients. Instead of trying to change what’s going on outside of themselves, I can challenge them to try changing the way they consider what’s going on, and in so doing help them to learn to accept—perhaps even celebrate—their circumstances
"But are you religious yourself?": being non-binary between ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’
No full textThis webinar presentation links personal ‘lived experience’ of the difficulties of answering that question with the academic critique of the concept of ‘religion’, especially in relation to Dharmic (Buddhist, Jain, Hindu) and newer forms of nature-based religiosity such as found in contemporary Paganism, as well as some forms of ‘progressive’ Christianity. What are the implications of this issue for RE/Religion and Worldviews Education
Subterranean [group exhibition]
No full textThe underground world is enigmatic, exciting, alluring, dangerous and mysterious. There is much more beneath the earth’s surface besides earth, minerals and roots. There is also the glowing magma of volcanoes, underground aquifers, unexplored caves, rabbit holes, catacombs, and metro tunnels.
The Subterranean group exhibition uses four themes to explore how artists through the centuries have depicted the worlds beneath our feet. This extensive exhibition features 101 works by 62 artists. The works take us into the caves and cavities of the earth’s crust, the mythological realms of death, the rabbit holes of literature and traces of the exploitation of the earth beneath our feet.
The historical and contemporary works in the exhibition form a multi-faceted image of underground realities. Subterranean includes paintings, sculptures, photography, installations and video art. The oldest work in the show is from 17th century, while the newest ones were completed just for this exhibition.
Artists in Subterranean are:
Roma Auskalnyte, Felipe de Ávila Franco, Per Barclay, Antoine-Louis Barye, Ursula Biemann, Louise Bourgeois, Tom Claassen, J. F. Clemens / Nicolai Abildgaard, Johan Christian Dahl, Tacita Dean, A K Dolven, Gustave Doré, Cho Duck-Hyun, Cecilia Edefalk, Magnus Enckell, Anna Estarriola, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Helene Garberg, Ane Graff, Håkon Gullvåg, Inma Herrera, Nicola Hicks, Leif Holmstrand, Peter Johansson, Per Kirkeby, Jussi Kivi, John Augustus Knapp, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Lucila Mayol, Elina Merenmies, Gustav Metzger, Félix Nadar, Joar Nango & Ken Are Bongo, Ernesto Neto, Mariele Neudecker, Tuula Närhinen, João Penalva, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Tal R, Eduard Riou, Pipilotti Rist, Auguste Rodin, Nina Roos, Hans Rosenström, Martinus Rørbye, Geir Harald Samuelsen, Sten Are Sandbeck, Nedko Solakov, Axel Straschnoy, Pascale Marthine Tayou, John Tenniel, Katja Tukiainen, Marianna Uutinen, Marko Vuokola, Jens Ferdinand Willumsen, Per Wizén, Joseph Wright of Derby, YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIE
Play in UK primary schools
No full textPlay is considered beneficial for children’s learning and development; however, how this is enacted in practice will vary depending upon the age of the child and the type of setting. School is where children spend a vast amount of time, with the majority of children in primary school in the UK being between the ages of 5 and 11 years. This age span encompasses different curricula which vary throughout the four nations of the UK. Usually children encounter a play-based curriculum in their younger years, for example, the Early Years Foundation Stage in England or the Early Years Foundation Phase in Wales. However, past the early years of schooling, and for the majority of their primary schooling, children encounter a subject-based curriculum. In these curricula, the mention of play is either missing or there is little or no mention of play. These differences in curricula expectations present tensions for teachers and teaching within primary schools which have different curricula and implications for curriculum delivery by teachers. This will be discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, another aspect to children’s play within primary schools is playtime and, although this is being increasingly eroded, the value of playtime for children’s development and learning will also be discussed in this chapter. Finally, this chapter will present the need for a focus on playfulness, rather than alongside play, which, it will be argued, transcends subject-based delivery and can be implemented by all teachers regardless of the age of children being taught
Drawing In [group exhibition]
No full textThis exhibition explored how the process of drawing, in all its various forms, can invite a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us