Design and Evaluation of a "Pharmacists in Schools" Community Outreach Programme: A Pilot Study.

Aims: To design, evaluate and pilot a novel programme that would allow school children to become “pharmacists for the day”,encouraging them to recognise the importance of science, to contribute to the Department of Health‟s Building the Community Partnership strategy and University Outreach to the community and to provide undergraduate pharmacy students with teaching experience and an opportunity to build their CV.

Methods: Concept and formulation development, branding work,schools visits,questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.

Results: Suitable formulations were developed and prepared by school children on visits to their schools. The children seemed to enjoy the experience and their teachers gave both positive and constructive feedback. Pharmacy undergraduate students felt they had gained valuable experience that will benefit their future careers.

Conclusion: The Pharmacists in Schools outreach programme has now been successfully piloted and launched and will now be fully implemented in 20 schools in the local community.

Transforming Researchers into Educators: Some Reflections on the University College Dublin School of Law Syllabus Design Workshop 2010

The priority given to the development of research skills during doctrinal legal education often neglects the importance of equipping PhD students with the pedagogical skills necessary to fulfill their important educational role as academics. Thus, in many instances there is a significant gap in the requisite skill base that PhD students acquire when they complete their doctrinal education. This paper outlines a first step that has been taken to address this deficiency in postgraduate legal education in Ireland. The PhD community of the University College Dublin (UCD) School of Law convened an internal Syllabus Design Workshop in April 2010 in order to provide doctrinal students with an opportunity to design a university module and to explore the issues which arise in undertaking such an exercise. The first part of this paper outlines how the workshop was conceived and convened, and provides an account of the considerations that each student had to take into account in the design of a syllabus. From here, we address the content of the workshop and reflect upon some of the important issues which were
raised. Finally, we offer a number of recommendations in relation to the development of doctrinal students as future educators. By highlighting the importance of uniting research and teaching, it is hoped that this paper will contribute to postgraduate legal education in Ireland,and also internationally.

A Pupil Baseline Study in Northern Ireland: Reported Willingness to Challenge Sectarian Bullying in School

Topic Background: Peace education initiatives in schools are often based on social psychological theories assuming that social identity affects ingroup and outgroup attitudes and, in turn, behaviors relating to relevant outgroups. However, research evidence on the role of children's social identity has often failed to take account of different social identity dimensions or to conceptualise behavior in the context of children's understandings of the social world. While recent research relating to bullying and bystander behavior amongst children has addressed the latter point, this has rarely been considered in conjunction with a differentiated view of social identity. This paper is therefore distinctive as it will address the role of social identity dimensions with regards to reported behavior as captured in bystander scenarios relating to outgroup derogation. This is particularly important in the context of divided societies, where peace education initiatives are crucial in promoting positive community relations for the future and where such initiative may be hampered by communities' concerns about loss of identity. In the context of Northern Ireland, a divided society emerging from conflict, social identity, outgroup attitudes and behaviours have been key concepts addressed by peace educators
for many years.

Research questions: This paper therefore set out to investigate the relationship between social identity, measured as affiliation with the group and exploration of its meaning for the child, sectarian attitudes and pupils' reported willingness to challenge sectarian bullying in their school environment in Northern Ireland.
Research methods: The findings are based on the analysis of a baseline survey, which forms part of a randomised control trial of an intervention aimed at promoting community relations and reconciliation. The trial includes 35 primary and post-primary schools and about 800 pupils from 8-11 years old who completed an online questionnaire at the start of the programme. Main instruments for this study included adapted scales measuring identity affiliation and identity exploration, sectarian attitudes and scenarios capturing pupils' intentions in bystander situations relating to sectarian bullying.

Analytical framework: Results are analysed using regression analysis and additionally investigate gender and religious differences.

Research findings and/or contribution to knowledge: Results are discussed in the light of the role of social identity dimensions and their relationship to outgroup attitudes and willingness to challenge outgroup derogation. The paper concludes with potential implications for peace education initiatives in Northern Ireland and beyond.

Adolescents' educational outcomes in a social ecology of parenting, family, and community risks in Northern Ireland

This study examines the influence of social ecological risks within the domains of parenting, family environment, and community in the prediction of educational outcomes for 770 adolescents (49% boys, 51% girls, M = 13.6 years, SD = 2.0) living in a setting of protracted political conflict, specifically working class areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Controlling for religious community, age, and gender, youths' lower academic achievement was associated with family environments characterized by high conflict and low cohesion. School behaviour problems were related to greater exposure to community violence, or sectarian and nonsectarian antisocial behaviour. Youths' expectations about educational attainment were undermined by conflict in the family environment and antisocial behaviour in the community, as well as parenting low in warmth and behavioural control. Findings underscore the importance of considering family and community contributions to youths' educational outcomes. Suggestions regarding targeted interventions toward promoting resilience are discussed, such as assessing both child and family functioning, developing multidimensional interventions for parents, and building community partnerships, among others.

Longitudinal relations between sectarian and nonsectarian community violence and child adjustment in Northern Ireland

Although relations between political violence and child adjustment are well documented, longitudinal research is needed to adequately address the many questions remaining about the contexts and developmental trajectories underlying the effects on children in areas of political violence. The study examined the relations between sectarian and nonsectarian community violence and adolescent adjustment problems over 4 consecutive years. Participants included 999 mother-child dyads (482 boys, 517 girls), M ages = 12.18 (SD = 1.82), 13.24 (SD = 1.83), 13.61 (SD = 1.99), and 14.66 (SD = 1.96) years, respectively, living in socially deprived neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a context of historical and ongoing political violence. In examining trajectories of adjustment problems, including youth experience with both sectarian and nonsectarian antisocial behaviors, sectarian antisocial behavior significantly predicted more adjustment problems across the 4 years of the study. Experiencing sectarian antisocial behavior was related to increased adolescent adjustment problems, and this relationship was accentuated in neighborhoods characterized by higher crime rates. The discussion considers the implications for further validating the distinction between sectarian and nonsectarian violence, including consideration of neighborhood crime levels, from the child's perspective in a setting of political violence. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013.

Dental erosion among 12-14 year old school children in Khartoum:A pilot study

Objectives: To investigate dental erosion among 12-14 year old Sudanese school children and evaluate the associated risk factors. Basic Research Design: Cross sectional survey in secondary schools in Khartoum city, Sudan. Method and Participants: A sample of 157 school children was obtained from both private and public schools. Erosion on the labial and palatal surfaces of maxillary incisors was measured by criterion based on the Smith and Knight Tooth Wear Index. Dietary intake and other related factors were assessed using a questionnaire. Results: The overall erosion prevalence in this group was 66.9%, of which 45.2% was mild and 21.7% was moderate erosion. A strong association was found between erosion and private schooling (higher socioeconomic groups), carbonated drinks, herbal hibiscus drink and traditional acidic food consumption. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of dental erosion among Sudanese school children which was mild to moderate in severity and was strongly associated with acidic dietary intake © BASCD 2007.

Staffing, status and subject knowledge: what does the construction of citizenship as a new curriculum subject in England tell us about the nature of school subjects?

Almost a decade ago, the new subject of citizenship was created in the English National Curriculum and several universities were funded to train teachers in this new subject. This presented a rare challenge, namely how to train people to teach a subject that did not exist in schools, and in which they were unlikely to have a specialist degree. In this article we have taken the opportunity afforded by the
tenth birthday of the report in which Crick recommended this curriculum reform to reflect on that experience from the perspective of teacher educators. Through reflecting on the case study of citizenship education in England we highlight several themes that are of more general interest to teacher educators. The key issues that have emerged in this case study relate to the general problems of translating central policy into classroom practice; the nature and aims of subjects in the curriculum; and the identities of teachers in secondary schools. The article illustrates how teacher educators responded to the formidable challenge of creating (or at least contributing to) a new subject and a subject community.

Cross-age tutoring in kindergarten and elementary school settings: a systmeatic review and meta-analysis

Background: Qualified teaching staffs are neither available nor affordable to provide large numbers of children with individual attention. One solution to providing individual tuition has been the development of tutoring programs that are delivered by nonprofessional tutors, such as classmates, older children and community volunteers. Objectives: We have conducted a systematic review of cross-age tutoring interventions delivered by non-professional tutors to children between 5 and 11 years old. Only randomized controlled trials with reliable measures of academic outcomes, and continuing for at least 12 weeks, compared to instruction as usual, were included. Results: Searches of electronic databases and previous reviews, and contacts with researchers yielded 11,564 titles; after screening, 15 studies were included in the analysis. Cross-age tutoring showed small significant effects for tutees on the composite measure of reading (g=0.18, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.27, N=8251), decoding skills (g=0.29, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.44, N=7081), and reading comprehension (g=0.11, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.21, N=6945). No significant effects were detected for other reading sub-skills or for mathematics. The quality of evidence is decreased by study limitations and high heterogeneity of effects. Conclusions: The benefits for tutees of non-professional peer and cross-age tutoring can be given a positive but weak recommendation, considering the low quality of evidence and lack of cost information. Subgroup analyses suggested that highly-structured reading programs may be more useful than loosely-structured programs. Large-scale replication trials using factorial design, process evaluations, reliable outcome measures and logic models are needed to better understand under what conditions, and for whom, cross-age non-professional tutoring may be effective.

Cross-age tutoring in kindergarten and elementary school settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review summarizes effects of peer tutoring delivered to children between 5 and 11 years old by non-professional tutors, such as classmates, older children and adult community peer volunteers. Inclusion criteria for the review included tutoring studies with a randomized controlled trial design, reliable measures of academic outcomes, and duration of at least 12 weeks. Searches of electronic databases, previous reviews, and contacts with researchers yielded 11,564 titles. After screening, 15 studies were included in the analysis. Cross-age tutoring showed small significant effects for tutees on the composite measure of reading (g = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.27, N = 8251), decoding skills (g = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.44, N = 7081), and reading comprehension (g = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.21, N = 6945). No significant effects were detected for other reading sub-skills or for mathematics. The benefits to tutees of non-professional cross-age peer tutoring can be given a positive, but weak recommendation. Effect Sizes were modest and in the range −0.02 to 0.29. Questions regarding study limitations, lack of cost information, heterogeneity of effects, and the relatively small number of studies that have used a randomized controlled trial design means that the evidence base is not as strong as it could be. Subgroup analyses of included studies indicated that highly-structured reading programmes were of more benefit than those that were loosely-structured. Large-scale replication trials using factorial designs, reliable outcome measures, process evaluations and logic models are needed to better understand under what conditions, and for whom, cross-age non-professional peer tutoring may be most effective.

‘Plugging the Gap’: Shared Education and the promotion of community relations through schools in Northern Ireland

Although there is no consensus amongst educationalists as to the role schools play as drivers of hostilities in divided societies, there is broad agreement that they can facilitate more positive intergroup relations. In Northern Ireland the promotion of school based inter-group contact has been offered as a means through which this can happen. Until 2007, the approach was twofold, reflected on the one hand in short-term contact opportunities for pupils in predominantly Catholic and Protestant schools, and on the other, in support for integrated schools which educate Catholics and Protestants together. In 2007 the Shared Education Programme was introduced to ‘bridge the gap’ between short-term opportunities for contact, and ‘full immersion’ integrated schools. Informed by contact theory, shared education offers curriculum based interaction between pupils attending all school types, aimed at promoting the type of contact likely to reduce negative social attitudes and ultimately contribute to social harmony. In this paper, we examine the impact of shared education thus far. Our analysis suggests that whilst shared education is generally effective in promoting positive assessments of other group members, there is a danger that programme impact may be inhibited by the foregrounding of educational over reconciliation priorities. Appreciating that the downplaying reconciliation objectives may have been necessary when the programme was established in order to maximize recruitment to it, we argue that if the full potential of shared education is to be realized, moving forward, it is important for schools to engage with issues of group differences.