scholarly journals A survey of Korean elementary schoolteachers on their communication with students and parents from migrant backgrounds and the need for quality language services

Author(s):  
Jieun Lee

This paper investigates communication problems facing teachers when they interact with students and parents from migrant backgrounds, and explores the need for quality language services in educational settings. According to a questionnaire-based survey of 142 elementary schoolteachers, about 20–25 per cent of respondents frequently experienced difficulties in communicating with students and parents who lacked Korean language proficiency. However, the teachers usually managed without outside assistance largely because of the lack of language support services. Effective communication is needed through the delivery of more language services to support children’s learning, school education and parents’ meaningful participation in both. Most teachers surveyed supported more effective language services in their schools, but were not very vocal in advocating for professional interpreting services. Instead, they tended to emphasise other forms of language and cultural training for multicultural students and their parents. This response may derive from their lack of experience with professional interpreting services, and a lack of awareness of the limited resources available for quality service provision or the influence of assimilation policies. The findings also indicate that teachers do not consider the interpreting and translation skills of language service providers as highly as cross-cultural mediation skills, understanding of the education system or interest in individual students’ needs. The results call for further research into what would constitute best practice in educational interpreting to effectively mediate cultural differences between schools and multicultural families, and address the needs and concerns of teachers, students and parents from multicultural backgrounds.

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199945
Author(s):  
Amy Louise Schwarz ◽  
Maria Resendiz ◽  
Laura Catarina Herrera ◽  
Maria Diana Gonzales

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Speech–language pathologists who speak more than one language and who are members of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association self-identify in one yes/no question whether they have the proficiency level to be bilingual service providers. This research note describes a preliminary attempt to address the very practical issue of whether and in what circumstances Spanish–English bilinguals can accurately judge their proficiency levels in both languages. The research question is: Will bilingual adults accurately identify their first language and second language proficiency levels using a self-assessment when compared to a commonly used standardized norm-referenced test (SNRT) in both formal and informal contexts across the following outcome measures: (a) overall proficiency; (b) listening; (c) speaking; (d) reading; and (e) writing? Design/methodology/approach: Classification accuracy studies require at least 34 participants. Thirty-nine participants completed the commonly used Language Use Questionnaire (LUQ) self-assessment and the commonly used Woodcock–Muñoz Language Survey SNRT (WMLS-III). For this pre-pilot study, participants were Spanish–English bilingual university students. Data and analysis: Forty likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated. Benchmarks for interpreting LRs for classification accuracy studies were applied to identify the likelihood of an individual being proficient or non-proficient in two languages. Findings/conclusions: For the overall proficiency and formal speaking proficiency outcomes in Spanish, positive LRs met the benchmark for strong agreement. Originality: The current study is the first to show that Spanish–English bilingual adults can accurately judge their Spanish proficiency levels for two specific outcome measures. Significance/implications: These results are important for two reasons. First, they suggest that Spanish–English bilingual adults can accurately judge their overall proficiency levels in Spanish. Second, they identify which outcome measures from the LUQ and WMLS-III should be considered in a future classification accuracy study.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S584-S584
Author(s):  
L. Castelletti ◽  
F. Scarpa

IntroductionForensic psychiatric care is aimed at improving mental health and reducing the risk of recidivism of mentally ill offenders. For some mentally disordered offenders long forensic psychiatric care is required. Due to different legal framework, policies and resources in member countries, treatment programs and care provided for these subjects may vary substantially across Europe.ObjectivesCOST Action IS1302, a EU project aimed at establishing a European network of researchers, clinicians and service providers about long-term forensic psychiatric care, has involved nineteen European countries for 2013 to set the basis for comparative evaluation and research on effective treatment and the development of best practice in long-term forensic psychiatry in Europe.MethodIt is constituted by three main areas of interest and research. One group works on determination of patient characteristics, looking into prevalence, duration of stay and the most determinant characteristics of long term patients. The second area of research aims at obtaining better understanding of complex external factors that influence the poor progress of patients residing for an above average time in forensic services. Third group of research focuses on knowledge about specific needs brought about by psychiatric symptoms and how these specific needs might optimize the quality of life of patients in long term forensic psychiatric care.Results/conclusionsLaunched four years ago, the action is at its last of activities. We display features, activities and data emerging from the research conducted so far.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


Author(s):  
Juliane Jarke

Abstract This chapter reflects on the learnings from the three co-creation projects featured in this book and attends to the central research questions posed in the introduction. In sum, the chapter presents nine learning points. These cover very different aspects of co-creation ranging from the different roles local government, social care service providers, intermediaries and older citizens may assume, to the implications of embedding co-creation processes in existing service portfolios and strategic policies. The chapter furthermore reflects on different types of co-creation methods (e.g. cultural probes, data tables, data walks) and how they allow for meaningful participation and sharing of knowledge. Ultimately the chapter considers to what extent the openness of a co-creation process impacts on the sustainability of its results and the ways in which co-creation may contribute to joint socio-technical future-making.


Author(s):  
Anton MATVEEV

Since 2004, the International Civil Aviation Organization has imposed pilots and air traffic controllers elsewhere in the world to comply with the established language proficiency standards as a safety measure against language and communication problems during flights. Currently, one of the problems that aviation English practitioners face is the lack of training materials on aviation specifications to learn various language aspects. This article discusses peculiarities of technical English used in aerospace. Thus, technical English not only facilitates communication between native and non-native English speakers but reduces the risk of errors and overall risks as well. In this regard, appropriate teaching approaches should be chosen, various tools and forms of teaching English aviation language should be used to form the language competence of future specialists.


Author(s):  
Henriette I. Weber ◽  
Sebastian Vogt ◽  
Lisa-Marie Eberz-Weber ◽  
Holger Steinmetz ◽  
Sascha A. Wagner ◽  
...  

Consultative participation of citizens in political decision-making processes has been increasing in order to facilitate democratic legitimacy and responsiveness. Consequently, participatory budgets have been established as a 'best practice' for consultative participation of citizens in political decision-making processes. The authors compare participatory budgets of 31 German municipalities. An analysis of differences between successfully and unsuccessfully rated participatory budgeting processes provides informative insights and allows for in-depth comparison on a municipal level. The authors show that external service providers and electronic participation channels significantly increase the number of participatory citizens and are positively connected with pursued objectives of dialog processes and public responsiveness as well as efficient and effective decisions. Furthermore, the acceptance of all participants proved to be a key factor for a successful public participation process. The authors' analysis opens up new starting points for further research.


2001 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. 323-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
WENDY L. CURRIE ◽  
PHILIP SELTSIKAS

This paper draws from the findings of a large-scale empirical research program on the global application service provider (ASP) industry funded by research grants from the European Commission (EC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). A conceptual framework consisting of a taxonomy of ASPs is used to demonstrate the different market segmentation strategies adopted by ASPs for competing in this fledgling and turbulent industry. Drawing from empirical research carried out in the US and Europe, the paper evaluates ASP strategies for deploying, hosting, managing and enabling software applications on behalf of their customers. The ASP business model is advocated as an attractive value proposition for SMEs, dot.com companies and other start-up firms seeking hyper-growth. Yet the evidence so far suggests a slow start to the ASP market as few reference sites demonstrating best practice exist. ASPs will therefore need to re-evaluate their strategies if they are to convince potential customers of the benefits of application outsourcing. Against this background, the paper evaluates the benefits and risks of the ASP model.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grainne Hickey ◽  
Sinead McGilloway ◽  
Yvonne Leckey ◽  
Ann Stokes

Prevention and early intervention programmes, which aim to educate and support parents and young children in the earliest stages of the family lifecycle, have become an increasingly popular policy strategy for tackling intergenerational disadvantage and developmental inequality. Evidence-based, joined-up services are recommended as best practice for achieving optimal outcomes for parents and their children; however, there are persistent challenges to the development, adoption and installation of these kinds of initiatives in community-based primary health care settings. In this paper, we present a description of the design and installation of a multi-stakeholder early parenting education and intervention service model called the Parent and Infant (PIN) programme. This new programme is delivered collaboratively on a universal, area-wide basis through routine primary care services and combines standardised parent-training with other group-based supports designed to educate parents, strengthen parenting skills and wellbeing and enhance developmental outcomes in children aged 0–2 years. The programme design was informed by local needs analysis and piloting to establish an in-depth understanding of the local context. The findings demonstrate that a hospitable environment is central to establishing interagency parenting education and supports. Partnership, relationship-building and strategic leadership are vital to building commitment and buy-in for this kind of innovation and programme implementation. A graduated approach to implementation which provides training/education and coaching as well as organisational and administrative supports for practice change, are also important in creating an environment conducive to collaboration. Further research into the impact, implementation and cost-effectiveness of the PIN programme will help to build an understanding of what works for parents and infants, as well as identifying lessons for the development and implementation of other similar complex prevention and intervention programmes elsewhere. This kind of research coupled with the establishment of effective partnerships involving service providers, parents, researchers and policy makers, is necessary to meeting the challenge of improving family education and enhancing the capacity of family services to help promote positive outcomes for children.


2020 ◽  
pp. 136548022094376
Author(s):  
Amy E Heberle ◽  
Úna Ní Sheanáin ◽  
Mary E Walsh ◽  
Anna N Hamilton ◽  
Agnes H Chung ◽  
...  

This US-based study examined the experiences of school counselors and social workers implementing a systems-oriented, programmatic student support practice model, City Connects, within high-need urban contexts. The City Connects model represents current best practices in student support, positioning school counselors and social workers primarily in the role of identifying students’ needs and strengths and making connections between students, families, teachers, and service providers. This stands in contrast to older models in which these professionals functioned primarily in a direct care role. The goal of the study was to understand practitioners’ experiences of efficacy, satisfaction, and engagement as well as the barriers to each of these within this best practice model. Acknowledging the documented challenges of working in high-need urban schools in the United States and the potential strains of systems-oriented practice, the study aimed to understand which aspects of their work enable practitioners to thrive, as well as which aspects do not. Qualitative analysis was used to examine written reflection data on the experiences of 35 practitioners implementing the model. Our analysis revealed six themes: (1) connecting/cultivating relationships (2) seeing impact, (3) having confidence in the effectiveness of the practice model, (4) having high levels of satisfaction with the practice, (5) managing role clarity, and (6) experiencing systemic barriers. Implications for practitioners, supervisors, clinician educators, and program designers are discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (0) ◽  
pp. 363-397
Author(s):  
Junghee Choi ◽  
◽  
Sungwoon Kim ◽  
Jungnam Kim

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e20687-e20687
Author(s):  
A. A. Basar ◽  
J. Whittome

e20687 Background: Capacity planning in a complex environment such as a chemotherapy unit is a difficult task; combined with ever increasing patient numbers and limited budgets, time and ability to plan is scarce. This project demonstrates how partnership working between the pharmaceutical industry and NHS service providers can optimise chemotherapy capacity in UK centres. Methods: CPORT stands for “Chemotherapy-Planning Oncology Resource Tool”. The tool is a simulator allowing chemotherapy planners to model how different drugregimens, patient flows, resource levels and ways of working influence the performance of a chemotherapy unit in terms of how many patients are treated, how long they wait, and how much care they receive. A small dedicated team at Roche has been working closely with a team of NHS Facilitators, with the full approval and backing of the National Cancer Action Team. The integrated team have been helping with the roll out of the tool, focusing on supporting cancer units implement CPORT from concept through change and sharing best practice. Results: To date more than 2800 simulations have been run through the tool. Service redesign options have been assessed in minutes and hours, as opposed to weeks and months. The simulator has enabled combinations of several service improvement initiatives to be modelled simultaneously, giving managers the ability to model cancer service delivery in a simulated online environment which is both cost free and risk free. Early results include the better coordination of pharmacy and nursing workload to optimise the available capacity; utlising CPORT to plan the merger of two units and model subsequent resource requirements; modelling the relocation of a unit and predicted caseload of patients. Conclusions: This model represents a successful new form of partnership working between the NHS and the industry to increase capacity within chemotherapy services. It promotes equity of service, better access and an improved experience for all patients receiving chemotherapy, embedding and sustaining the concept of capacity planning within the clinical service. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


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