scholarly journals Identifying and Shifting Disempowering Paradigms for Families of Children With Disability Through a System Informed Positive Psychology Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvana Mahmic ◽  
Margaret L. Kern ◽  
Annick Janson
Keyword(s):  
Early Intervention ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Children With Disability ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Early Intervention Professionals

Despite the emergence of socio-ecological, strength-based, and capacity-building approaches, care for children with disability remains primarily grounded in a deficit-based perspective. Diagnoses and interventions primarily focus on what children and families cannot do, rather than what might be possible, often undermining the competence, mental health, and functioning of both the children and their families. We first critically examine typical approaches to disability care for families of young children, describe the importance of a systems-informed positive psychology (SIPP) approach to care, and identify the existence of two dominant paradigms, disability is a disadvantage and experts know best. Then, we present a case study investigating families’ experiences with these two paradigms and whether shifts to alternative perspectives could occur through participation in a SIPP-based program co-designed by professionals and families. Of program participants, nine parents and five early intervention professionals participated in two separate focus groups, and ten e-books were randomly selected for review. Thematic analysis of the e-books and focus group data identified two primary themes representing alternative perspectives that arose through the intervention: we will start with our strengths and we’ve got this. Participant comments indicated that they developed a greater sense of hope, empowerment, engagement, and wellbeing, enabled by embedding wellbeing concepts and practices in their routines and communications with their children. We suggest that benefits arose in part from the structure of the program and the development of wellbeing literacy in participants. While care needs to be taken in generalizing the results, the case study provides clear examples of shifts in perspectives that occurred and suggests that the incorporation of SIPP principles within early intervention approaches provides a potential pathway for shifting the problematic paradigms that dominate disability care.

The Tomato Pip's Story: Creative Narratives as Bridging Cultural and Science Discourses for Indigenous Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-184
Author(s):  
Lorrin Ruihi Shortland ◽  
Terry Locke
Keyword(s):  
Digestive System ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Disciplinary Literacy ◽  
Word Count ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Science Discourse ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Human Digestive System

This article reports on what happened when a Rumaki pūtaiao kaiako (Science) teacher at a New Zealand high school trialled the use of creative narratives with her Year-10 students as a way of developing their understanding of the human digestive system. These students were members of the school's Māori immersion unit, and creative narratives were in part utilised as a bridge between science discourse and the cultural knowledges these students brought to their learning. In this case study, students developed ‘Tomato Pip’ narratives through four versions, which told the story of a tomato pip travelling through the human digestive system. Word-count data based on these versions and from a summative test were analysed and correlations found between test scores and three categories of word-count total (total words, total science words and total discrete science words). A discourse analysis of one student's narratives identified two distinct voices in these texts: the personal narrator and the emerging biologist. Questionnaire and focus-group data indicated that the use of creative narratives was both motivational to these students and effective as a bridge into science discourse mastery. It is argued that the findings have implications for disciplinary literacy theory, Indigenous education and science instruction.

scholarly journals Classroom Re-design to Facilitate Student Learning: A Case Study of Changes to a University Classroom

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Perks ◽  
Doug Orr ◽  
Elham Al-Omari
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Teaching Learning

This case study examines the physical aspects of a particular university classroom, and what affect specific changes to the classroom had on the perceptions of students, instructors and observers regarding the room as an effective learning space. We compare survey and focus group data collected from students taking courses in the classroom prior to changes to the physical environment with comparable data from students taking courses in the same classroom after specific changes had been made. Immediately following changes to the classroom, notable increases were observed in reported perceptions of student satisfaction with the physical environment, including perceptions of the classroom as a more effective and engaging learning space. Similar perceptions of improvement as a teaching-learning space were reported by instructors and observers. However, subsequent follow-up data collection and analyses suggested little if any sustained increase in perceptions of efficacy of the room as a learning space; indeed, most reported variables returned to baseline levels. The implications of these findings and their relevance to classroom design nevertheless may provide insight regarding the manner in which physical space might support or even enhance teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Up-scaling sanitation provision using mixed design methodologies and failure risk assessment: a case study of Marikuppam, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
M. Gormley ◽  
L. A. Williams ◽  
B. Ongole
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Risk Model ◽  
Mixed Design ◽  
Open Defecation ◽  
Failure Risk ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Single User ◽  
Areas Of Concern

Abstract Simplified sewerage provides an improved alternative to single user on-site options in peri-urban areas in India, and contributes to the aim of reducing the need for human handling of waste (manual scavenging), and the Government's goal of making India open defecation free by 2019. This research develops a mixed methodologies approach to design, optimise and assess failure risk for a proposed installation in a village in India. A steady state simplified sewerage model was used to do the initial design which was further modelled in DRAINET, a numerical model traditionally used for building drainage systems. The input data for DRAINET were obtained from a detailed survey carried out on site, which included usage pattern and focus group data. A total of 106 properties were included in the design and the survey. Test runs were carried out for the whole site over a 12-hour period. All main pipe runs were 100 mm diameter and set to a gradient of 1:100. A risk model was developed and applied to the DRAINET results which confirmed that the design operated effectively; however, there were areas of concern at the extremities of the site, which required additional flow boosting devices or gradient changed.

Education for Citizenship as a Permanent Laboratory

2019 ◽  
pp. 517-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Balconi ◽  
Elisabetta Nigris ◽  
Luisa Zecca
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Teacher Professional

In this chapter, the authors discuss the results of three focus group discussions conducted in the context of the teacher professional development project STEP (school territory environment pedagogy) undertaken by researchers and teachers from three EU Countries—France, Spain, Italy—and one non-EU country, Switzerland. Specifically, they present findings regarding changes in how the teachers in the Milano Bicocca case study represented citizenship education practices. The focus group data was subjected to content analysis, using a set of categories drawn from the national reference documents on curriculum design and the transnational curriculum defined in the STEP project. The changes in the teachers' representations concerned three main aspects: dialogue with the local community and territorial context, the gap between teachers declared intentions and actual educational actions, and the adoption of a complex perspective in the choice of knowledge to be mobilized.

scholarly journals Investigating Coaching Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study Within a Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-133
Author(s):  
Jonathan Glen ◽  
Julie Gordon ◽  
David Lavallee
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Tennis Players ◽  
Coaching Behaviors ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Sport And Exercise ◽  
Sports Coaching

The purpose of this case study is to offer reflections for both applied researchers and practitioners on our experiences of investigating coaching behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case is based on the delivery of remote, online tennis coaching sessions to children over a period of 3 weeks. Questionnaire, observation, and focus group data were collected from tennis players, coaches, and parents/guardians. Analyses revealed similarities and differences with previous investigations measuring coaching behaviors, as well as the perceived effectiveness of sports coaching in an online environment. Novel insights and recommendations for applied researchers and practitioners in sport and exercise psychology are highlighted, including the importance of staying connected during the pandemic, keeping players and parents motivated, and creativity. The authors consider the context of conducting a case study into coaching behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic itself, and conclude by providing reflections on our case study within the case study of COVID-19. These include enhanced communication (as it was easier to connect with each other), the nature of the online delivery improving presession preparation, and the research process being relatively more straightforward to implement, all due to barriers being removed as a direct result of COVID-19 quarantine, stay-at-home restrictions.

'Clinton Faces Nation': A Case Study in the Construction of Focus Group Data as Public Opinion

2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Wilkinson ◽  
Celia Kitzinger
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Newspaper Report ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
The Usa

This paper analyses the way in which a particular newspaper report constructs ‘public opinion’ based on data from small-scale qualitative research. Using as a case study a report of a focus group discussion of Clinton's grand jury testimony, we show how these data are ‘worked up’ as representative, generalisable, and valid. By capitalising on the advantages of focus group data, while attending to and countering their disadvantages, the newspaper report is able to suggest that the views of ten people in San Francisco offer an authoritative indication of public opinion about Clinton across the USA. Finally, we sketch out some of the implications of this case study in relation to the construction of facticity more generally.

scholarly journals Relationship-based early intervention services for children with complex needs: lessons from New Zealand

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 330-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Relational Pedagogy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Needs ◽  
Early Intervention Services ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Family Practices

Purpose A case study is reported of a relationship-based early intervention (EI) service for children with complex needs in New Zealand. The purpose of this paper is to explore parent and professional views and perceptions about the key characteristics of a relationship-based EI service. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study involved interviews and observations with 39 participants (10 children, 11 parents and 18 professionals). Findings Parents appreciated the knowledgeable, well-trained professionals who invested time in getting to know (and love) children and families and family practices, worked together in harmony and valued the contribution that parents made to their child’s progress and achievement. Professionals described the key characteristics of the service in terms of the range of therapies offered by the service, the focus on a strengths-based and family-focussed approach, play-based assessments, acceptance and value of family practices (including responsiveness to Maori and bi-culturalism), appropriate and respectful places to meet and greet families and work with children, and recruitment and retention of humble professionals who identified with the ethos of the model. Observable social processes and structures within the delivery of the model include respectful professional interactions and relationships with children and families, integrated professional working, effective and timely communication between professionals and families, pedagogy of listening, waiting and personalisation, engaged families and actively participating children. Originality/value This case study emphasises the significance of professional love and relational pedagogy to EI services and the value of this to improving parent-child relationships and children’s long-term outcomes.

scholarly journals Investigating Changing Work and Economic Cultures Through the Lens of Youth Employment: A Case Study from a Psychosocial Perspective in Italy

Young ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-293
Author(s):  
Fiorella Bucci ◽  
Stijn Vanheule
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Youth Employment ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Transient Nature ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Psychosocial Perspective ◽  
The One

Changes in the forms and cultural meanings of work have gone deep during the last decades, with the transient nature of work becoming the norm rather than the exception. This is impacting particularly on youth employment, as Italy’s case epitomizes. Based on interview and focus group data, our study provides a multidimensional model to read and map the multiple tensions young people experience, at an emotional level, on entering today’s corporations. Our findings show, on the one hand, that young professionals’ expectation of work as a place of social learning and exchange clashes with the corporate focus on assimilating young people into target-oriented environments. On the other hand, both in younger and older workers, we found the experience of labour relationships that struggle to direct themselves towards a creative purpose and a developmental prospect, while tending to collapse emotionally inwards, in a fight for security.

“Going to Lunch”: The Role of Catch Phrases and Language in Constructing a Heteronormative Leadership Culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 232948841986689
Author(s):  
Kimberly R. Mungaray ◽  
Nancy J. Curtin
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Leadership Culture ◽  
Organizational Identities ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data

This study examines raw focus group data from a previous case study that demonstrated the existence of a heteronormative leadership paradigm, personified in the heteronormative ideal leader who is strong, agentic, charismatic, and typically White and male. The current study corroborated the findings from the previous case study, which contributes to even more profound meaning for the current study’s conclusions. For this study, the second author independently analyzed the data using a methodology that combines elements of discourse analysis and conversation analysis to identify what organizational cultural and identity messages are communicated by focus group participants. Through this methodological framework, the researchers found that catch phrases and language were used to construct personal and organizational identities integral to a heteronormative leadership culture despite the organization’s stated and intended dedication to being a “pro-woman” firm.

“Why Don’t You Reach Out to Dad?”: Involving Fathers in Therapy

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110243
Author(s):  
Alvin Thomas ◽  
Jocelyn R. Smith Lee ◽  
Michael Muhammed ◽  
Cleopatra H. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Process ◽  
Nonresident Fathers ◽  
Father Engagement ◽  
Clinician Training ◽  
Course Work ◽  
Group Data ◽  
Focus Group Data ◽  
Multiple Case

Purpose: The literature indicates that engaging fathers in family therapy improves children’s mental health outcomes; however, clinicians are generally ill prepared for this challenge. Method: This qualitative study applies multiple case-study design to focus group data addressing social worker’s training experiences and attitudes toward involving fathers in therapy. Results: From an analysis of qualitative data from 14 social workers in training, three themes are discussed: (1) clinician exposure to nonresident fathers and their perceptions of the role of fathers in families, (2) barriers experienced in engaging fathers in the therapeutic process, and (3) training to work with nonresident fathers. Discussion: The themes are discussed with sample responses from representative participants and training areas. The findings suggest areas of focus for clinician training and practice such as modeling in session strategies, providing supervision and consultation, adjusting institutional policy, and offering additional course work and seminars that encourage and scaffold father engagement.

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